Eu Cheguei

I have arrived! The other ETAs and I had our Fulbright orientation in Brasília. It's difficult to describe Brasília. It's unique from anywhere else I've ever been. Unlike most cities, it didn't develop organically; it was planned. In the late 1950s in a kind of phase of national development and general optimism, the then-president Juscelino Kubitschek had all three branches of the federal government moved from Rio de Janeiro to Brasília, and he contracted the planning and design of public buildings out to Oscar Niemeyer. Brasília's climate and location weren't ideal for a metropolis (it's a savanna with an extended dry season), so there were several giant man-made lakes dug around the city. Brasília was supposed to represent a new phase of economic prosperity and its urban planning and architecture reflect that. The city was built in the shape of an airplane with different sectors (the hotel sector and foreign embassy sector, for example) in the wings. The buildings had a modern/futuristic look to them in the 1950s. But that's what's interesting about futuristic designs: we don't actually know what the future will look like so the buildings are just completely different from anything you've EVER seen.

Fulbright orientation was a lot of fun. It was kind of like speed dating; there were many ETAs and from all over. Most of us were outgoing and everybody wanted to make connections and build up their couchsurfing network. We’ve got ETAs all over Brazil from the state of Acre out near Peru/Bolivia to Belém in the North to my city, right next to Uruguay. At orientation we met the American ambassador to Brazil. She’s a Tulane grad from the School of Public Health!

Here’s some of Oscar Niemeyer’s famous architecture: Top: is A Catedral Metropolitana Nossa Senhora Aparecida. 2nd: Inside of the Cathedral. 3rd: I call this one the cereal bowl but it's the Brazilian National Congress. 4th: The President JK (Juscelino Kubitschek - the president that decided to build Brasilia) Bridge is supposed to mimic skipping stones. This one wasn't designed by Neimeyer but by Alexandre Chan.

Rylee, my co-ETA, and I are off to Rio Grande tomorrow. Até mais!