Porto Alegre

I´ve been in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil´s southernmost state, since Monday. I´m here visiting the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) at the request of my scholarship coordinator. The facilities at UFRGS are much nicer than those in Belém, although I am glad to be in Belém as it is more exotic and less developed. Porto Alegre is a very nice city - it reminds me of a saner, smaller São Paulo with a stronger European influence. The state has a strong German heritage, and many people grow up speaking German and Portuguese at home. I even ate at a German restaurant on Wednesday and had a heart-healthy steak covered with cheesy pasta followed by ice cream cake. Rio Grande do Sul has lots of cowboys and cows, so I have helped myself to plenty of beef that does not come from pasture formerly known as rainforest as the beef does in Pará.

I have not been a fan of the cold and rainy weather. Although it is early spring, I froze my ass off and found myself missing my sweaty home for the semester. On Thursday, a five hour bus ride took me to Cambará do Sul, where I visited some amazing national parks. I´ll post photos of the canyons later. Cambará was very chilly at night, and I had to sleep in my thermal underwear beneath two heavy blankets. I returned to Porto Alegre this morning and will fly out tomorrow.