I hope I don`t speak too soon when I say... I have fallen in love with Rio. Ive been here for like, 3 days so far, and I have hardly seen any of it, but I LOVE IT! A couple friends and I are staying in this adorable neighborhood called Santa Teresa. It is quiet and quaint, and has a trolley that goes up and down and all around the area because it is on a big big hill. The hostel we are staying in is amazing, (Jimi Hendrix just came on the stereo. What more could a girl ask for?) and we have hardly gone out at night because there is always something to do here. Lucy and I decided that after we graduate from college, we are going to buy a house here and open up a coffee shop with a hostel above it. Its a very exciting life plan, and I welcome any support / ideas anyone has about it.
Our first day in the city, Efren and I went to explore downtown, and ended up on the metro going to Copacabana beach (totally not in our original plan), and then bought what we thought were tomatoes, but were actually a strange sweet fruit. Not good for spagetti. We talked to a random homeless guy who tried to sell Efren a Linux magazine and a Wicca magazine. It was hilarious.
The beaches here (Copacabana and Ipanema) are gorgeous, with these incredible backdrops of fantastic mountains (the tall buildings get in the way) and islands in the front. The waves are like nothing Ive ever seen on the east coast... HUGE, sandy, and cold! The only people who actually get in the water are either barely in or are surfing. On Ipanema yesterday, a wave came while I was sticking my toes in that was so big it completely covered all my stuff that was about 30 feet back from where I was on the edge of the water. I lost my book, and my watch, and my sunscreen and chapstick. BOO!!! Its ok, I guess it is just a gift to Yemanja, the goddess of the ocean.
I was so worried about traveling and all this business of carrying all my stuff around, but it really isnt so bad. I head to Belo Horizante on Sunday, and then to Sao Paulo next saturday, and then to Buenos Aires on next sunday. It should be a great month. It has had a fantastic start, so hopefully it will just continue like this!