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Monday, October 17, 2011

RIO DE JANEIRO

I flew out of my niche here in Brazil and lived in Rio de Janeiro for 5 days. I say lived and not visited because the experienced woke me up and made me feel like I was still not at home. I am really moving around a foreign country which I still consider the opposite of what I've always known and feel comfortable experiencing life as I know it to be a random journey that never ends.
When leaving Floripa, I was named the light-packer of the group with only a backpack and my camera in hand, my money hidden inside my bra and my ipod on the go. I was the first to get in the plane and pass out as soon as I sat down... it was 7 am in the morning meaning I had to wake up at way-too-early a.m. But it was all good because after an hour and 30 minutes I was in Rio de Janeiro.
On our way to our hostel, I didn't say a word. The city hypnotized me. It had wide streets and huge trees everywhere tunnels going under huge mountains and, bad drivers and people everywhere (I fought for my life every time I crossed a street.) And then there was a big red house where the taxi stopped, marking the beginning of my first hostel experience... it was great! Great people, great breakfast, bedbug-less and clean bathrooms, although I did get in trouble for being to loud at 3 a.m. once, but I shared my Gioba juice with the receptionist the next day and we made peace.
The first day, I spent a little too much money on food, but it was worth it when you're sitting in front of Copacabana beach, drinking caipirinhas with good friends and eating the best real meal in probably a month an a half, only to get ready for one of the biggest street parties I have ever witnessed. We got there in a taxi cab, keep in mind that this taxi has 10 seats and we were 25 people in it... they allowed it and it was cheaper, also, they were driving really slow. And as soon as we got there we lost half of the group, people from all over the world bumped into us every 10 minutes, tequila shots were being sold at 2 reals and the vendor took one with the customers every time, a big brown mr. clean carried one of my friends out of nowhere saying that she was a beautiful black princess in portuguese and just to balanced the good and the bad here, one of my friends got mugged. I guess, you can't really trust street parties or people that grind on the floor when they dance Funky.
I could really go on and on and on and on, but the point of my trip was that it was the first and best trip so far. I saw the Christ Redeemer; it's really incredible how a statue can make you feel that you are part of the world and not because it made me religious, but because it is a symbol of the world and the people, in my opinion. After, I went to sugarloaf the best view I've been lucky enough to see in my life, I had all of Rio in front of me at sunset and I could just feel the energy of the moment I was living. I knew at that moment that I am living a life that is beautiful and unusual.
The next 3 days I spent them at the beach burning my skin until everyone was sure that I was indeed Mexican and brown, eating fruit ice cream while I saw bare asses everywhere in front of me; women wearing thongs, no matter what the body type, and men wearing speedos, again no matter what the body type, all they had in common was the BUTT... they are all huge and me and all my friends were all depressed because of it. So to feel better... we went out the last night and danced samba, yeah most of us sucked at it, some people stared, but we all had fun and we were all feeling Brazil in our blood.


I guess all that I really want to say about Rio de Janeiro is that everyone should experience it and put it on their bucket list.