Brazil!
About three weeks ago I went to Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. I must admit, before the trip I embarrassingly ignorant about Brazil. When I thought of Brazil, the first three things that came to mind were: Brazilian barbeque, Blanka from Street Fighter, and Adriana Lima.
After asking people at work, and poking around on the internet, I was pretty frightened of the country; I got the impression that I was about to enter a war zone. Regardless, I still wanted to go. I spent about a month beforehand listening to Brazilian-Portuguese podcasts, reading my guidebook, and psyching myself up for the trip by reading about plane crashes and kidnappings.
I ended up having a fantastic time— everyone I encountered in Brazil was so warm and friendly. And I love how Portuguese sounds. I even met one guy who lived Paris for a few years, because his mom is French, so he has dual-citizenship. My first reaction was to get down on one knee and propose.
Since I enjoy ranking things, I would place Rio de Janeiro a notch below Barcelona, and Sao Paulo a notch below Los Angeles, in my list of favorite cities. I prefer pedestrian-friendly cities, packed with lots of museums and things to see, so the idea of sitting idly on a beach all day isn’t very appealing to me. Maybe when I get older, but not right now when I’m arthritis-free and can walk for days. Despite what I’ve said, I can’t wait to go back. I loved the little huts lining the beach that sell fresh coconuts and beer. And I loved the food and trying all the different fruits from the Amazon. There are other things I love about Rio and Sao Paulo, but those are the ones I can remember right now (probably because those are the things that matter most to me).
Seeing a soccer game was one of the highlights, because they are so fun and intense! Being a fan of a team automatically signs you up to be a part of the chorus— every one sings throughout the game and there’s even a drummer in the audience. I was told that no alcohol is served because people can’t control themselves, and no bottles are allowed because boys will pee in it and throw it at the other team. This was a game between Vasco and Flamengo, two soccer teams from Rio:
Rio de Janeiro during the day:
The weather was awful, but I still got to see the tourist hotspots, like Sugar Loaf and Christ the Redeemer.
Sugar Loaf:
Christ the Redeemer statue, which, even though I was standing right in front of it, I could only see a vague outline because it was so foggy:
Rio at night, taken from Sugar Loaf:
awesome!
Did you see anyone that looked like Blanka?
I like your night shot of the city.
Wow Min!! This is amazing! I wish I could go there too with you of course!!
miss you!