These past ten days have been spent in the beautiful Rio de Janeiro, Brazil! Study abroad allows us to have a ten day free travel period where we are allowed to travel anywhere we'd like. (Well in South America that is ha) I, along with three other friends from the group, chose to do a beach vacation to Rio de Janeiro! Beach days during our semester? Not sure how I was so blessed by that!Our trip has been unforgettable. So many things fell into place despite potential challenges. For one, there's the language barrier. All four of us have been studying Spanish for the semester and we were thrown into a world of Portuguese for the week. We've gotten very good at hand motions and charades this week to communicate what we want and have learned to laugh at all of our mistakes and miscommunications. I never thought I would think that going back to a SPANISH speaking country would be considered "easy," but compared to Portuguese speaking Brazil, Uruguay will seem like a breeze.
It has also been a challenge to navigate the city on our own. Fortunately we got everywhere we wanted to go.
Lastly, there were the safety concerns. Rio really is not the theft-ridden, random gun-war incidents, crime-up-to-wazoo, scary place that people make it out to be. Yes, safety is very important. And yes, it does happen here. But what city doesn't?! This city has so much to offer, and it's a shame that many will not visit because of the supposed horrible crime. 99.9 percent of the locals are the sweetest people I have ever met, and it makes me sad to think that the other .1 percent that are out to get tourists ruin Rio's reputation. We experienced no problems nor witnessed any crime either. Thank you Jesus for smooth safe travels!
My favorite part of the trip was our tour of a favela. Favelas are Brazillian slums. How did I find myself in a Brazillian slum? Let me explain. We found an organization that allows you to spend a day in a favela in a safe and educational way. The organization isn't doing it as a business, they're doing it because they care about the people in the favelas and want to change people's thinking on the favelas and poverty in Brazil. I learned so much from my time in the favela. The people in the favelas are so kind and full of life. And, ironically enough, I felt safer in the favela than anywhere else in Rio. Sure, the favelas have problems. But don't we all? A day in the favela taught me many lessons, and unfortunately I don't know how to put them all in a blog right now. Also, I got to ride a motorcycle taxi! Dream come true lol.
Among other highlights from my time here: the exotic, incredible fruits and juices. the warmth of the people (Brazillians are my new favorite group of people!). seeing Rio de Janeiro's city lights from the top of Sugarloaf mountain. Christ the Redeemer statue. running up the steps of Lapa- steps made from thousands of unique tiles by an artist. drinking coconut water straight from the coconut on the beach. experiencing the beauty of the botanical gardens and Tijuca National Forest. Santa Teressa, the historical neighborhood with great architecture. Copacabana and Ipanema beaches. staying in a hostel with people from sooo many different countries, gotta love meeting international friends. art museums and local art as well. the bright colors and delicious tastes of Brazil.
Well, I guess that sums up my trip. Until next time!
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