Day 12

8/22 (Day 12)

 It was time to leave. After breakfast, I got to the bus to airport leaving for Pittsburgh. I should be happy because I had achieved my goal, learning more knowledge, making more friends and knowing more about Brazil. But every time saying goodbye, I felt very sad and not sure when we would meet next time. Luckily before the flight from Sao Paulo to New Jersey, Joe, Fowzia, DJ, Ivy and were still together playing cards. I even showed them my magic (LOL).

I appreciated this short Brazilian trip and nice to meet you guys. Good luck for you and your life in future. 

Day 11

8/21 (Day 11)

Today we would visit two places. The first one is a cattle farm Fazenda Colombari. During the visit, we knew how a farm worked. It was interesting to learn that more milk could be obtained if they listened to music during milking process. The manure from the cattle was of great use. Some of them were used as fertilizer, while the rest would be an energy source to produce biogas to power a generator. The farm helped me expand my horizon on sustainability.

After lunch, we got to have a travel on Itaipu Dam. The Dam was one of the largest energy sources in Brazil. In 2013, the plant created a world record in power generation of 98630 GWh, which reached 75% of the Paraguayan demand and 17% of the Brazilian demand. The Dam was super large and the total length of the dam is more than 7000 meters. When I stood close to the reservoir, I felt it boundless, though it ranked 7^th in size in Brazil. Then we went through the dam and saw the structure and control room. It was amazing to find harmonious cooperation between the two countries.

After Itaipu Dam, we visited local temple. It is interesting to see Bodhisattva in another country except China.

We had a farewell dinner tonight and I felt sad. Though the trip only lasted for 11 days, I thought it was too short and we just got to know each other. Memory of the trip would keep in my heart forever. I would treasure the knowledge I learnt and friendship we build.  

Day 10

8/20 (Day 10)

  Today we were going to visit Bird Park and Iguazu Falls National Park. When in the Bird Park, I could see various kinds of bird and had a close view on them. They were colorful, beautiful and clever, and some of them even could spoke after me! I also saw a huge snake and touched it, though I was somewhat feared. In this park, I felt relaxed and full of energy.

After lunch in the park, we went to see the fall. Iguazu falls was one of the seven natural wonders in the world. Some of us took a boat that could carry 20 people to the fall. The fall was worthy of its reputation. It was spectacular and unbelievable. The staff drove us under the fall, I felt exactly the nature power. It was pretty exciting that all of us were striken by the fall and then got wet. During the ride, we saw two beautiful rainbows. Afterwards, we walked to have a 360-view of the fall. It seemed that we were surrounded by the falls. I could see the amazing scenery, listen to the roar from the fall and feel the strong power of nature.

We then got to a place where we could see this three countries Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay at the same time! Later on, we went to enjoy the buffet and Latin shows in a restaurant. During the ride we went back to hotel, everybody kept singing and laughing. This was one of my unforgettable night. 

Day 9

8/19 (Day 9)

After breakfast and two-hour ride, we got to Renuka. At first we listened to a presentation. It was a sugarcane ethanol plant which was founded in 1998. It contained 11 mills (7 in India and 4 in Brazil) with total 20.7 Mtons/ year crushing capacity. In addition, the sugar quantity they produced ranked 5^th in the world. Sugar, ethanol and power were their major product. The power they produced solely to their own plant.

After the lecture, we had a visit the plant. All I could smell was sugar and it was really good. We saw several trucks loading sugar cane come in and then got to have a sample check to judge quality based on fiber degree. The production process would be modified according to the quality. Then sugar cane was unloaded for washing can crushing for juice. The sugar cane seemed too dry came into my notice. The instructor told me that was because they were burnt before harvest. After that the sugar could be extracted by a polymer. After crushing 5 times, some juice would continue a fermentation process for ethanol while others would conduct a crystallization process for raw sugar. The waste called bagasse would be burnt for energy. During the whole process, the use ratio of sugar in the company was up to 97%, but there was some larger plants with 98% efficiency. This trip was so meaningful that I could gradually understand the whole productive procedure.

We also had free lunch in the plant restaurant and after that travelled 7 hours to Foz fo Iguassu.

Day 8

8/18 (Day 8)

  Today we went to the university Federal do Parana. There were two parts for us to visit. The first place we visited was hydraulic lab. There was a big dam simulation facility which helped to measure velocity as well as water level. But it didn’t concern the environmental impact of the dam. Then we saw a tank used for measuring water velocity by observing fish behavior since fish was sensitive to velocity. We also saw a spillway but it didn’t work. The lab was quite an interesting place.

  After that we visited the biomass lab. They cultivate microalgae and made use of it to produce algal biomass which can be used as health food, fertilizer, industrial materials and biofuel. They tested different bacterial with different conditions to obtain good result and then scaled them up for large use. Actually it took a long time to cultivate appropriate bacteria and they were sensitive to conditions change. I was told that many bacteria were dead in lab last two weeks because of the issues from compressed air facilities. Then we went outside to see the photobioreactors. The reactors were amazing. By receiving enough sunlight and carbon dioxide, they could produce microalgae biomass for different use, but only emit oxygen. The research group was still trying to improve the efficiency. It was really excited to see such sustainable project!

Then we went back to the bus and took a 7-hour trip to Sao Pedro do Ivai in Parana.

Day 7

8/17 (Day 7)

  After breakfast, we travelled to Curitiba. It was a long trip. Due to the traffic accident along the way, it took more than five hours to get to our destination, Oscar Niemeyer museum. Oscar Niemeyer was one of the most famous architects in the world, and known for his design of civic buildings for Brasilia. The museum looked magnificent, it was like an huge eye elevated in the sky. In the museum, there were plentiful art works. The famous part was the exhibit of Frida Kahlo, a famous artist known for her self-portraits. However, the waiting line for the exhibit was long and time was not enough, so I missed it. What a pity!

Then we went to the hotel in Curitiba to check in. At night we got to a shopping mall and enjoyed dinner with professors.

Day 6

8/16 (Day 6)

Today we were to go rafting and have hot spring. I felt very excited because it was my first time to raft. After leaving the hotel early, we took the bus to our destination for rafting. First of all, we all wore wet suits provided by staff. After 10 minutes warm-up, we got to the boat in the river and followed instructor’s command. The rafting was really amazing. River was cold and rushing, and we used the paddles to control the direction avoiding rocks. Following the wave, the boat went up and down and sometimes it seemed to sink as lots water got in the boat. Rafting was amazing, as well as the scenery on both sides of the river. Though rainy today, birds hovered above in the sky, trees were on the mountains covered by fog. Though felt cold and exhausted after landing, I thought it was one my most impressive experience during the trip.

After rafting, we checked in the hot springs resort. The buffet in the hotel was delicious. Then we enjoyed hot spring, sauna and swimming pool and play billiards, table tennis in the game room. All the day I felt wonderful.