Olé Olé!

Well! Much has happened over the past two wonderful days. I am amazed that it hasn´t even been one week since I left LA. Time is going so awesomely slowly. I am very proud to say that I have tackled the bus AND the metro AND have managed to charm a few more taxi drivers. AND - Samba!! YES!! My hips and my feet keep wanting to slip into a salsa, but I´m getting the hang of it. I even managed to get a Brazilian guy to admit that I am a good dancer. Take that! I ventured into the nightlife scene alone and made friends immediately when Rubens from Sao Paulo and Oliver from Hungary/NYC sent over a napkin that said "Are you alone at this place? Would you like joining us?" Brazil is an amazing place - so charged with friendliness and fun.

Wednesday started off with an adventure as I tried ventured off on foot to find a branch of Bradesco (a bank) with a caixa (teller) - this task proved to be more challenging than I thought. I stopped to get an açai with guarana (which I have had at least once per day - this stuff is so refreshing and incredible) - and this little boy walked into the juice stand, barefoot, begging for money. I nodded no, mostly because I didn´t want to open my bag in front of him. He asked two other people, who also said no, and at this point I felt so sad for him. I walked over as I got up to leave and offered him my unopened water bottle. He refused - he only wanted money. I still don´t really understand his refusal. Here is where I made my mistake - I responded in English, and now he knew I was a foreigner. He followed me for three blocks! Granted it was a busy city street, and this kid could not have been older than eight, but I was freaked out! I had such mixed emotions - the utmost sadness and heartbreak for him combined with my only relative control over my own safety as a young female foreigner who doesn´t speak Portuguese in a city with a lot of crime.

On Wednesday I went to a soccer game at Maracanã! WOW!! I have never experienced a situation where people come together to so fiercly believe in something - it´s way more intense than church. These fans did not stop cheering and singing and dancing and waving their flags throughout the whole game. The way people feel about soccer, and about "their" team, has something to do with the very human need for family/clan/community. I haven´t figured it all out yet, but it´s really fun to watch.

I am behind on this blog - next time I will write about my tour of the favelas - the most incredible thing I have done in Rio - and about soaring over the Tijuca National Forest. It´s called hang gliding :) xx, K