Hi, my name is Derek Starr, I'm a Junior in Electrical Engineering at the University of Illinois, and this site is all about my trip to Brasil in the summer of 1999, and all the places I went and the people I met.  It was a trip that I know I will never forget.  I went to the city of Fortaleza, which isn't far off the equator, so even though it was technically winter there, it was still no problem to walk down to the beach every day and take a dip in the ocean.

While I was in Brasil, I spent the first five weeks studying Portuguese, and the last two working at a software company.  On the weekends and in the evenings there was still plenty of time left to have fun!

The above picture is from a plantation where Ypioca is made.  Ypioca is a brand of cachasa(pronounced kashasa, it's a bit like tequila).  We visited it during one of our weekend trips.  The beautiful scenery is not unlike many of the places we were able to visit.