Day 3 - I'm here!

 Since I got in at 3:30 am, I slept until 11am this morning.  I missed the first meeting for our Study Abroad but I really needed to get some good sleep to start this trip out right.  I arrived just in time to have my first authentic Brazilian lunch.  You put everything that you want on your plate and then they weigh it.  That is how you pay...... by the weight!

After lunch we headed over to the Emílio Goldi Museum.  Click HERE to learn more about it.  

I loved all of the historic buildings.  I wish I would have had more time to read all of the signs and plaques.  There was a ton of information there that would have helped me to have a better understanding of what I was experiencing.  

We went from this museum by foot to visit a catholic church, which I can't remember the name, but it was breathtaking.  One thing that I felt while I was there that it was very peaceful, although they were doing renovations at the time of our visit.  

Then we were back to our hostel until dinner.  I haven't had time to share about our accommodations yet, so here is a brief detail.  We stayed in a room with 6 sets of bunk beds and 11 students... male & female.  It actually wasn't terrible and I may have gotten some of my best sleep of my trip in these first 2 nights.  The name of the hostel was called Ovibe.  You can click HERE to learn more about it.  

And, YES, I did bring a quilt that I made from home and I'm so happy I did.  It helped me to feel comfort and some of the nights did get a little cool with the AC going.  

For dinner we went to a nice pizza restaurant.  It was better than I expected and probably the best pizza I had the entire trip!  

On the way home from dinner it started to rain.  It was a little sprinkle at first and then, within a minute, it was pouring!  I guess that is what is like in Belém during this time of year, during the other half of the year it rains nonstop!

I love this artwork that was hanging in the bar/restaurant area of our hostel.  I'm not sure what it means but it was striking and I'm sure there is a story behind it. 

These are some of my new friends/students that were also a part of our Study Abroad program with Utah Valley University.  I have loved getting to know each of them and learning more about their lives.  We are all so uniquely different but can also still find things in common with each other.  They have been so accepting of me, and our age difference.