Curitiba — Day 1

A couple of firsts

• First day in a new city
• First day in South America
• First Day South of the Equator ( its January and summer here !!)
• First day speaking Portuguese to native speaker ( well not quite , it was more of a mime act and a very sympathetic Brazilian trying very hard not to laugh )

Our service apartment is in the middle of town in a district called ( what else )….Centro. Its a nice one bedroom affair with a tiny kitchen , but where it really shines is the fact that its on the 15th floor with large windows which draws in copious amounts of light and air ( the view doesn't hurt either ). Its summer here and since we are away from the equator by a bit, the days are long with sunset only by 2030 hours local time.

The apartment is in the centre of town and we've been told to keep our eyes open when we go out , especially after dusk. The city looks nice enough from our apartment , but once you climb down to the street level you start to form a slightly different opinion. Graffiti is omnipresent and along with the relatively empty street present a picture of seediness that you’d normally associate with place that has perhaps seen better times. A drive around town suggested that the problem with graffiti isnt restricted to the neighbourhood we live in although the overriding sense is that this really is pronounced around where we live….. perhaps a fallout of of living close to the centre of town .

Finding your feet in a new city is tough enough, but when you are transplanted to a place completely different from what you know , hobbled by the fact that very few people speak “Ingles”, it will take a few days before we start to get comfortable with our new situation . Right now we are content to spend our first day picking up a few supplies from stores nearby and setting ourselves up for the next couple of months in Brazil.