Why It's Nice to Stay With Locals - The Real Brazilian Hospitality (Curitiba City, Brazil)

Curitiba City is one those places you've probably never even heard of. This is one of the cities that made me fall in love with Brazil, which is my favorite country in South America. Brazil is huge and this place will make you realize that there's more to Brazil than Rio de Janeiro. Curitiba, the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Paraná is an important political, cultural and economic center in Latin America. You'll see in the architecture some European influence as a number of European immigrants came here after 1850, mainly Italians, Germans (mostly from Russia), Poles and Ukrainians.

During my three-week stay here, my friend took me to the Ukrainian Memorial. This place pays tribute to Ukrainian immigrants in Curitiba.

But how did I end up here?

I ended up here after realizing that I needed to get my visa to Argentina by passing through Uruguay. So I did the whole long way round coming from Iguazu Falls, which is the story below.

See 'Iguazu Falls' Before You Die - My Trip to the 'Devil's Throat' (Garganta del Diablo)

I hitchhiked from Foz do Iguaçu to Curitiba. I had to go to an embassy here and wait. It happened that a friend from Couchsurfing hosted me for 3 weeks in her house. And that was when all the fun had started.

That's my host and her friends. She organized this another barbeque party and invited all her male friends. She likes to drink, like drink a lot of alcohol! I couldn't keep up with her, my alcohol tolerance is really bad now compared to when I was still in University. Her friends were like, "what there's a traveler staying in your place?", then we had regular visitors in her house. We went out, partied and slept until the middle of the day. Welcome to Brazil!

When I first came to her house, she invited her friends and I got drunk instantly that night. It's better to ask her what happened. Blame that Cachaça and other sweet, hard liquor in Brazil. I even got tired of all those parties almost every night. But I sure miss it now, those were the best days of my life in Brazil. It's even hard to describe my whole stay here as it was filled with nothing but good times, good friends, good parties and good food. They will really go out of their way to show you what the real Brazillian hospitality is like. I traveled in Brazil for like 4 months, and that was not even enough time to really explore Brazil. If you check the map, you'll know what I mean. It was the people that made my whole travel unforgettable.

I met friends from all over the world through the couchsurfing community, and without this platform, it might not even be possible for me to travel. I was able to travel for 4 years because of this community. It's not only because I'd rather skip the fancy hotel or resorts, it's also because I find it more meaningful to stay with locals. What is the point of traveling to a different country if you are just going to stay in a hotel the whole duration of your travel? Then leave the country without even having made friends with any locals. For me, my travel was all about cultural immersion and having more meaningful experiences.

And that was me probably drunk with wine, ha! That I couldn't even help out the friend of my host while he was preparing our dinner. You see, I was lucky to have met really good couchsurfer hosts in Brazil. They will cook for you, introduce you to their friends and host parties in their houses.

I couldn't remember how many times I had been invited to parties and other fun events in Brazil. Whether there was a barbeque party at the rooftop somewhere in favela or some nice dinner at someone else's house. There was no dull moment with my Brazilan friends, they are very helpful with travelers and they know how to have proper fun.

Basically, my time in Curitiba City was eat-drink-sleep-repeat, it was hard for me to leave the place. I got attached to the people here as I became part of their lives. I was the new one coming in, and they are the ones who already have established lives here. I had to adapt to the changing environment all the time. However, for them, I was at the greener side. My friends here were even asking me to just find a job and live here. I told them that I would think about it as I had to move on. This was the sad thing, eventually, I had to say goodbye.

My hosts there having fun cooking!

They showed me around the city and invited me to a party where I met their friends and other couchsurfers. Like as soon as I arrived, coming from a 500km+ hitchhiking. Brazilians are just excited to meet people from different countries, and they will really find time to show you the places. When I was hosting travelers in my own country, I make sure that I spend time with my guests. For me, this is the real couchsurfing spirit, it's not only about a free stay. I'd rather pay for a hostel than stay in someone else's house and not have a real human connection. Couchsurfing is more of an exchange, to break the cultural barriers and share experiences.

My stay here was really unplanned, but I can say that it is the best experience so far during my travel in Brazil. Like I said, the people really make the place. I don't care if I am in a nice, expensive European city or in a posh beach resort, where I will only feel like alone in the middle of the crowd. Brazilians are down-to-earth, not arrogant and are welcoming. It's probably due to the culture and the environment that shaped the way they think and interact with people. Brazil is really diverse, due to the history of early immigration. Sure, you can still see that there's a huge gap between the rich and the poor, and a certain group constantly praised by the media. But I guess this is always the case in any developing countries.

Curitiba is probably the nicest and most developed city in Brazil, and it's easier to get around here. The city has resolved the common urban issues in Brazil like homelessness, poverty, and pollution. The people here have an above-average quality of life. It was not a bad place for me to recharge while immersing in Brazil at its best.

For me, I travel to have unique or exclusive experiences. And this is only possible by staying with locals. I get to share unique moments, learn new and unexpected things and visit places in an authentic way. The memories I built will be mine and my new friends only. I was welcomed in a totally new environment and took part in their daily lives. Staying with locals is the best way to learn about the culture and what it's like to live in another country.