The Discovery and the Amazon- April 20, 2010

Our first day on the boat, The Discovery, was certainly a day of discovery. We cruised past the Meeting of the Waters, where the Rio Negro and the Solomois run side-by-side for a mile before finally mixing (amazing), saw our first boa constrictor, and had our first of many delicious meals on the boat.

Manaus, Amazonas State, Brazil- April 17-19, 2010

Our first couple days in Manaus, we really just had to acclimate to the humidity and heat. It´s the port city for the Amazon and not much more, but it has air conditioning and was a good place for us to get our supplies in order, buy our hammocks, and get used to drinking tons of water. It might have been more fun if we had our luggage and weren´t subjecting the Brazilians to our same grungy clothes and shampoo-less selves the whole time. The Opera House his amazing as our some of the other older buildings which are relics of the rubber-boom times. The market was also a ton of fun- bustling vendors rhythmically throwing banana bunches and chopping up giant fish.

Ndidi and Lauren's Big 30- April 15, 2010

So today was a big day. Not only was it tax day, but both Ndidi and Lauren turned 30. So we gathered the crew and headed to a nice dinner downtown at Nada which was excellent.

Palo Alto- April 8-11, 2010

My interview at Stanford was a great opportunity to get to see Annie and meet her husband Gary since I missed the wedding. It was a lovely weekend, lots of great food (can always count on Annie for that) and great to see the town again.

Opening Day Parade- April 5, 2010

So for our global health course, we spent the morning out in the community volunteering at Our Daily Bread, a local soup kitchen near Findlay Market. It just so happens that today is also the day of the annual Findlay Market Parade, held on the same day as the Cincinnati Reds Opening Day.

Easter at Elizabeth's- April 4, 2010

Nothing says easter like scrumptious lunch. So needless to say, I had a good easter. We started out with mimosas, a delicious foccacia dish, and cheesy grits and ended the brunch with a walk in the sun.

Red River Gorge- April 3, 2010

Even though I'm not graduating, the upcoming big finish for our categorical friends has spurred me to go out and do things that I've always wanted to do in Cincinnati and haven't gotten around to yet. So Ndidi, Patty, and I headed out to the gorge and Natural Bridge State Park in Kentucky to enjoy the spring and stretch our legs a bit. It was fantastic and after some hiking we even stopped by the UK campus just to see. And yes, that's Ndidi hiking...in nature!!