I almost cannot believe I have only been in Belem for three days. With the vast amount of experiences I have had, I feel like I have been here for a week. Today was the most scenic day yet. We ventured out to arboretum a federally reserved location. There we beheld the most gorgeous views of Belem, the Amazon River and the rainforest across the river. In the same area we encountered flamingos, turtles, various species of birds and butterflies, and greenery. The Amazon area has so many different species and we only got a glimpse of them.
For lunch, we set out to the mall. The food court had many different types of food to offer us including, McDonald's, Subway, Panda Express, Giraffas, Bob's Burgers, a Brazilian buffet, and a Japanese restaurant. Most of our group ate at Giraffas, and the rest ate at Bob's Burgers. I enjoyed a chicken sandwich and french fries, with a fruity Brazilian brand soda. One thing I noticed was that the McDonald's served coconut milk with it's "healthy choice meal" instead of the regular milk served in the United States. In fact I have not seen very much milk anywhere we have gone. Dan noticed that Panda Express was not serving orange chicken. It's interesting how the most popular choice in the United States is not even an option in Brazil. I hope to unearth more variations between the cultures in the coming days.
At the Universidade Federal Do Para, a friendly, welcoming group of Brazilian students approached our troop. They spoke English well and were pleased to have the opportunity to practice it on us. They wondered about where we are from and what brought us to Brazil. They even attended our class lecture with us! It was compelling to discover their excitement about speaking to Americans in english. It is a little understandable seeing as there are so few residents of Belem that speak english. However, their generous nature is something I have found to be a regular occurrence in Brazil.
No comments:
Post a Comment