Our Apartment

We walked over to the botanical garden last Sunday. It is very close to our apartment as you can see from the first photo taken from our bedroom window. The next two pictures were taken from the garden and will show you how tall our building is. It takes 50-55 seconds in the elevator to get to our floor--#21. There are 24 floors in the building.

 

 

 

When you think of birds in Brazil, what comes to mind? I'm sure that it isn't the National Bird of Brazil: The Rufous-Bellied Thrush

 

Christmas 2009 in Brazil--On The Farm

We were invited by Luciane to spend Christmas with her family on a farm in Castro, PR. We stayed in a hotel, 15-20 minutes from the farm. As you can see in the view from our hotel balcony, we did not have a "white Christmas." There were frequent rain showers, which keeps everything green.

 

 

 

 

The farm belongs to Luciane's sister and brother-in-law and the main crops are soy beans and corn. They also have sheep and horses. Sionei maintains a large garden on the farm. It is a very pleasant retreat from Curitiba and we enjoyed our Christmas break very much.

Collecting in Castro

We celebrated Christmas Eve with the family and then did some collecting on Christmas day. We collected at one site in Castro and also on the farm and have about 20 species of shore flies from that area. Our total for Brazil is now close to 50 species.

 

Biology Building, Federal University of Parana

 

This is the front entrance of the University. Dianne uses this entrance more than Wayne because he has a key to the employee back door, which is locked both to go in and to go out.

Our Trip To Santa Cruz do Sul

We have been in Brazil for a little over two weeks. We have been living in the Hotel Deville Express in downtown Curitiba. We can drive to the University and back, take a diversion to the market, and still make it "home." Our apartment is supposed to be ready in two days. Last weekend we went to Porto Alegre, where Wayne served his mission, to visit a museum. We also rented a car and drove to Santa Cruz do Sul to attend a wedding in the beautiful cathedral. We drove through rice fields and tobacco fields and enjoyed the trip. It was hot, and we were hearing news of a snowstorm? (Not to make you jealous, but those sitting around the pool were sweating. We retreated to air conditioning!) We have been invited to spend Christmas with Luciane and her family. We will be driving to Castro, about two hours away, where her sister's family has a farm. They tell us we should have good collecting and Luciane's brother-in-law will hopefully be able to weld Wayne's broken net. We have collected 40+ species of Ephydrids from the small botanical garden on campus.

 

 

 

Last In, First Out

 

Our car is the third from the bottom on the left row. Fortunately the parking lot cleared out quickly in the morning.

Isto Se Chama "Cutie Pie" or "__________"

Fill in the blank to name our new car. It's a 2004 Ford Fiesta. It is a tiny little car, so it will fit in with all the other cars on the road here in Curitiba. We're hoping to safely drive it for 6 months and then sell it to someone else who wants to buy it. Our host keeps telling Wayne, "Wayne, be careful, cuidado, be careful." She knows how everyone drives down here. So far, Wayne is the driver. He says the name should be "Gutless Wonder".

We Arrived Safely

We have arrived in Brazil safely. We passed through three airports and had to go through security in each one. Our host met us at the airport in her new car, which held all of our luggage. We went to the University, had lunch, took a brief tour of the city, and tried to open a bank account. On the latter, we only succeeded in applying for a number similar to a SS# which we need in order to open the account. We are living downtown in a hotel until Dec. 23 when we will move into a furnished apartment near the University. Our apartment will be on the 21st floor so we should have a nice view. Curitiba is a large city with many people, buses, cars, and etc. We did not leave the traffic jams behind in DC! The day we arrived we received an email saying that Grandpa Gibbons had fallen and broken his leg again. He has had surgery and the reports are favorable. We hope he does well.

On Thursday we will be leaving for Curitiba, the capital of the state of Paraná, Brazil. Some of the superlatives from the guide book are: Brazil's highest standards of living, most productive economies, best educated populations, and a pleasant, prosperous place to live. The natural attractions include large swatches of unspoiled rain forest, a pristine coastline whose beaches are the least developed and most idyllic in all of southern Brazil, and Iguaçu Falls. We'll be there for 6 months conducting research in conjunction with the Federal Universidade do Paraná.

Finally, The Hairstyle I Have Wanted

 

This is my new travel hairstyle. Great for Brazil and maybe great for forever. It is so easy. No hair dryer, no curlers, just wash and wear with a little magic potion--control paste.

We haven't packed yet

We haven't packed yet, but we can't delay much longer. The good news is that we are allowed 2 check-in bags each and they can weigh 70 pounds each. Wayne will love that!

Riding Mom's horse with Melmo

We'll miss her.

And, we'll miss him too.