Germany??

Pomerode claims to be the most German town in Brazil and it definitely lives up to it, other than the palm trees, heh heh. It's nestled in a valley reminiscent of Europe, the streets are cobble stone and many buildings are very German. The majority of the 26000 inhabitants are of German decendancy. Many families speak German at home and students study it in school.
I'm visiting a friend who I met in Ecuador when we were both on the exchange there. She works from 8:00am-5:00pm every day then catches the bus at 5:20pm to another city where she has classes from 6:00pm-10:00pm. When she arrives home near 11:00pm she does her homework... unbelievable.
After lunch with the whole family, I hung out with Jenni, the exchange student from Finland whose been here for just over a month. We went to the zoo, then for ice cream and walked around downtown. Her host mom picked us up and on our way home we stopped by the fire department. There are 68 members, 61 of whom are volunteers! They also have a cadet-type program, for 10-year olds to learn first aid and other useful skills.
Overall I found the town really nice. If I ever get the chance to live in Brazil again, I think I would like to live in the South :)