Bug U

Yesterday's adventure took us to the Universidade Federal do Paraná 

(Federal University of Paraná)

Wayne mentors a doctoral candidate there and he needed to check up on his progress in writing his thesis in - you guessed it - flies! Can you imagine?! Besides having to write all those pages about his fly research, he has to do it in English, because English is the international language for dissertations. A bit of a challenge, to say the least.

Anyway, this is Daniel in the upper left picture with some of those flies.

The University houses not just flies but all sorts of bugs in those drawers. They are very proud of their collections.

This no BYU, WSU, USU, or even U of U when it comes to campuses and facilities.

 Wayne and Diane have many specimens of their speciality, shore flies, in the collections. These flies are about the size of a gnat. Who knew that annoying flies could be so little. 

These pictures are for David. I'm sure he is enjoying his new lab facilities at the Huntsman Center.

(Here are some of the students in their labs - and me looking at the cells of a butterfly wing.)

Speaking of borboletas, Olaf Meilke (upper left picture) is the head butterfly guy at the University. He has the best collection in all of Brazil.

(I do realize that big one is a moth!)

Luciane Marinoni is in charge of most of the other bugs.

Some haven't been pinned yet.

This is the outside of the Biology Building.

Of note, the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR) is one of the oldest universities in Brazil and is a symbol of Curitiba. These federal universities are tuition-free. However, most of the students in these universities come from middle-class or wealthy families. Applicants must take very competitive entrance exams to be in these universities and most spots go to the private school graduates who are better prepared than those who attend the public schools.

As an alternative, college students can attend for-profit universities, which enroll 3/4 of all wishing to get a higher education. The plus side to all this is that more and more young people in Brazil are realizing how important a good education is in order to raise their standard of living.

Well, that was our day visiting all the bugs at the University.

Get it?

BUG U

(P.S The Portuguese word for flies is MOSCAS.)

Rua XV de Novembro

One of my favorite places to go to in town is 

Rua XV de Novembro

(15th of November Street)

It is one of the major streets in downtown Curitiba. 

 In 1972, it became one of the first major pedestrian streets in Brazil. Now it's a "must go to" place for tourists when visiting the city. 

You will stroll past hundred-year-old buildings, restaurants, shops, pots of flowers (hence the AKA name Flower Street - Rua das Flores) and musicians galore. There seems to be no end to the talent exhibited on this street! 

Sometimes there are clowns, mimes, magicians, and other miscellaneous performers. 

One thing is certain, however - You will always find 

STATUE MAN!

If you put money in his pot, he will whistle, take your hand and kiss it. 

The little kids hang around because sometimes people will give them money as well.

You will also find illegal peddlers selling their stuff - until the police happen by - at which time they can clear out mighty fast! 

There's just so much to see and do downtown. 

You want to watch the time, however, and not stay too late or you will get stuck in the commuter traffic - on the bus.

No place to sit and hardly any place to stand. 

When y'all come to visit, we will for sure take you to XV de Novembro. We might even take you out to our favorite pastel place. It's just around the corner! 

Called to Serve

 We will be

the Lord's missionaries

to bring the world

His truth

(Army of Helaman)

Today I want to give a "shout out" to all the missionaries who are touching our lives at this time.

#1

We just got a new missionary couple for the temple. 

Elder & Sister Werneck from Falls Iguazu. 

They speak NO English.

#2

We got two new Elders in our ward 

Elder Ferguson (from Texas) and Elder Angulo (from Costa Rica)

They BOTH speak English!!!

#3

Elder Paulo Meira has been serving in the temple with us. He has been called to Portugal and leaves the end of the month. 

He also speaks English. 

#4

As part of our responsibilities, we are sometimes asked to accompany the presidency to different places in the temple district and - ick - speak. Last week we had a fireside in Ponta Grossa.

 Here we are trying sweet maracujá right off of the vine. Very good, BTW. 

Next, it was off the the church for that speaking obligation.

This is also a stake center. They have these neat walls in the halls - all the missionaries who have ever served from the stake, the history of the church in Ponta Grossa with a timeline, and all the temples throughout the world listing them as each one was completed. 

#5 

Speaking of the temple missionaries - Last week one of our sealers cooked us up a churrasco. Steak, pork wrapped in bacon, chicken, sausage, and grilled pineapple. We furnished the salads and drinks. I was asked to make maionese (potato salad). The Brazilian variety can contain carrots, peas, corn, green beans, olives, you name it. I made the American kind. Mine had none of the above. Just saying. 

It was also Wayne's birthday. Now he and Don are the same age. Who can guess how old that is?!

And last - but certainly not least 

#6

Our grandson Christian entered the MTC in Provo for his mission to Canada Toronto Portuguese Speaking.

He is already speaking more Portuguese than me and I have a seven month head start!! How rude! Anyway, we are so proud of him and are already loving his emails forwarded from his mom.

Deus esteja com você, Elder McClellan

(May God be with you, Elder McClellan)

The Sidewalks of Brazil

One of the things I love here in Brazil are the sidewalks.

These black and white-patterned sidewalks are can be found everywhere you step. 

I know, it looks a lot like cobblestone. But...it has an attitude...and there's another name for it.

Portuguese pavement, (calçada portuguesa), consists of small flat pieces of various different stones, arranged to form a pattern or picture, like a mosaic. As the name suggests, this art originated in Portugal.

If you ever watch them repairing one or setting up a new mosaic sidewalk, you'll quickly realize how labor intensive it is. And it does require skills! Each stone is shaped in a certain way with small chisels and hammered into place carefully so they don't break but fit together perfectly (generally) to form the desired design.

These paved sidewalks do have a down-side. They can present hazards to us pedestrians. These pavements can be especially treacherous when they are wet - and, for those of you who have been to Curitiba, you know that it rains here A LOT. Also, the stones are prone to becoming loose, presenting more hazards. Sometimes they are missing altogether and there is just this big hole to fall into! You have to develop the skill of having one eye on the sidewalk and the other eye on where you're going. 

You'll find plain 'ole concrete around, too, but these Portuguese stones are just as common. 

So pretty!!!

Imin Matsuri

This week we celebrated the Imin Matsuri.

The Imin Matsuri is the annual festival of Japanese immigration to Brazil, which is celebrated in June, the month that the first ship arrived at the port of Santos. That was in 1913.

Brazil is home to the second largest Japanese population outside of Japan with about 1.5 million Nikkeis (Japanese emigrants and their descendants who have created communities throughout the world). The state of Paraná has the second largest Japanese community in Brazil with more than 140,000 members.

One of these Japanese-Brazilians just happens to be a member of our temple presidency - President Vitorio Furusho. After our temple shift on Saturday, he and his wife invited us to go with them to the Festival do Imigrante Japonês.

One of the hottest areas there was the food court. We all found something fantastic to eat!! 

Gotta love that Japanese cuisine!

Next is was off to the vendors' booths.

The stage featured a variety of cultural and artistic performances. 

Demonstrations...

And, of course, the beautiful flower arrangements ...

Obrigado, President and Sister Furusho.

Or should we say Arigatou?

We had a great day. Oh, and did I mention that because we are idosos (old people) we got in free. Can't beat that!!

Festa Junina

After Carnival, Festa Junina is the most important popular celebration in Brazilian culture. 

This June Festival is a Catholic tradition that was brought to Brazil in the 16th century, when the country was a colony of Portugal. 

By tradition, the June festival consists of celebrating the good results of the harvest and also asking the next planting to bring good results. St. John is the patron saint of harvests and celebrates with his followers: St. Anthony and St. Peter. 

The stores naturally make the most of this month-long party.

 

Everyone has their own way of celebrating. 

This is how the Mormons do it.😐  

First off, you all dress up like farmers! Whiskers and freckles are added to the kids. Pigtails are a must. Oh yes, and straw hats! 

The cultural hall was also fancied up with small colored flags hanging everywhere.

The kids played games and got prizes. 

Everyone ate and ate and ate.

As June is the month when corn crops are harvested, the majority of sweet and savory snacks and cakes are made of corn - broa de fubá (Brazilian corn cake 👍), canjica (hominy and coconut milk in a soup 👎), cooked corn, popcorn, cural (corn pudding 👍), pamonha (a paste made from sweet corn wrapped in corn husks and boiled 👎) - and other goodies - sweet rice, pinhōes (those big pine nuts), peanut brittle, pineapple cake, carrot cake, hot dogs, and much more.

And, of course, you must have quentão. This is a hot drink (to warm your insides - remember - we're in the middle of winter down here!) made with cooked ginger in water, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and - for us Mormons - grape juice. I guess you could call it a Brazilian wassail. 👍👍

Another way to warm up is to have a big bonfire. Our church is in the middle of the city. They frown of bonfires in the middle of the city, so the cake (below) was a good substitute. 

Next - the quadrilha. This is a traditional dance that has kind of a square dance feel because there is a guy calling the dance steps, but the dancers wind their way around the hall, then do a kind of line dance thing, then weave in and out of each other. It can go on for a very long time but it is enjoyed by both the young and the old.

Happy Festa Junina, Everyone!