Posterous theme by Cory Watilo
Haley A

I Know Why They Call It "the Marvilous City"

I learned a lot from my trip to Rio de Janeiro.  For example, there’s a pretty good chance that you won’t survive the trip if you take the overnight bus, and that I like Copacabana Beach better than Ipanema.  But first things first:  our bus driver epitomized “crazy Brazilian driving,” and we’re pretty sure that one of the tires blew out in the middle of nowhere at about 3 am. But, at 7 am, we finally arrived at the Rodoviária Novo Rio- a little late, but still in one piece. 

I don’t think I was quite awake yet, but, when our drive to our hostel in Copacabana took us past the Sambadrome, I became aware of the fact that I was finally in Rio de Janeiro.  The former imperial capital, Rio has become a cultural icon.  Countless movies have taken place there, the city’s beaches are beyond famous, and everyone knows the song “The Girl from Ipanema” (I’m pretty sure I hear it every time I go to a Japanese restaurant, for whatever reason). 

It's hard to say when it happened, but at some point in time, I became a Brazilian history nerd.  It’s safe to say that I’m obsessed.  It’s really been good for me though, as my desire to read books in Portuguese in order to gain insight into the Brazilian viewpoint on their own history has resulted in a significant improvement in my writing and vocabulary.  This has also resulted in my (possibly over-) enthusiasm for travel.  I wish I could do more.  Every time that I go somewhere new, especially if I’ve already learned a decent amount about the history of that place and its implications in Brazil’s history trajectory, I feel like I am rediscovering the past of the country I have been calling home for more than four months now. 

Cristo

I could definitely live in Rio.  I might like to transplant my family there, but I’m pretty sure they’d like it to.  I had an amazing time during the three days that I spent there, but I feel that my greatest take-away was the desire to go back.  I did touristy things on my first day:  Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado, Sugar Loaf, the Lapa steps, etc.  After that, the majority of my next two days were spent on the beach.  Since I’ve been in Brazil, I’ve been more interested in getting the local vibe of a place than I have been in running around and hitting all of the tourist spots.  I had the opportunity to do just that while hanging out on the beach, listening to conversations (eavesdropping) and people watching; but also when I went to a very locals-only party (in a house/club on the beach that you would never find if you didn’t know where it was, as in was down a hill from Avenida Atlantica- cabs had trouble locating it, as it was hidden around a curve.  It also had some questionable construction going on... definitely not up to code), and when we went to Lapa at night.  I really, really still want to go to the Imperial Palace, Leblon, the National Library, and the bar where “The Girl from Ipanema” was written, but I know that, even if I had made it to all of these spots, I would still want to go back to Rio de Janeiro.  I’ve heard it has that effect on people.  In fact, I believe that there’s a sizeable population of people who visited Rio, quit their jobs at home, and moved there.  I guess we’ll see what the future has in store for me...

Palace
(oh yeah- next time I'm staying at the Copacabana Palace)