Alive and kicking

In fact I kicked a lot..weird opening to a blog entry you say? Well let me justify myself-I kick myself a lot here, because of the bumpy roads. Sometimes there are so many things about the Curitiba (my current location)that reminds me of Toronto- the appearance of the locals, the greeness of the city, the landscape, the recycling garbage bins...little things here and there always instill a sense of déjà-vu in me that very often the only thing that reminds me of Curitiba being a Brazilian city is in fact, the roads.

To say that roads here are bumpy are really an understatement. It's extremely not user-friendly to the sight-impaired or the blind. Maybe it's just me, but I find that if you don't watch where you are going, or observe the paths diligently, you will end up kicking a lot of things-stone, other people's feet, yourself-and trip and fall. It makes walking around downtown a real bumpy ride, both in the mental-touristy and physical sense.

Last weekend I went to a town called Antonina with 11 other Brazilian students. In short, it was a party. Antonina is a historical town around 2 hours or so outside of Curitiba, near the coast (yay for beaches)! Me being me of course made fun of how most Brazilians can't really make the sound [ch] (yay for IPA), and had a lot of fun teaching them how to say "beach" and "bitch". Anyway. Antonina was shaking good fun. Every year the Universidade Féderal de Paraná hosts a winter festival in this town and there are concerts and other jolly festivities. Of course with students it's just another excuse to party, and drink some more cachaça and such.

And like the roads reserved for pedestrians, highways in Brazil can be bumpy too - but not so bad. It was a very safe ride and certainly a lot of fun hanging out with people your age. While I had some trouble communicating with some of the in the beginning, at the end of the day we all enjoy each other's company. And as I officially started a curso intensivo in Portuguese (3 hours a day, 5 days a week), I am really hoping to improve my language skills. And I am!

Best wishes to all my family and friends, wherever you are. Beijos!