Rio de Janeiro

I arrived in Brazil in such a haze! I left sunny San Francisco to arrive in rainy Rio, but it is still hot and muggy which I love! On the way to Rio's city center from the airport, I met two British girls who were very laid back. We got a hostel and toured the city together in my hungover jetlagged state. Then I met this great Norwegian girl and Israeli boy. We visited the giant Jesus Christ statue that is perched on top of the tallest peak overlooking all of Rio, and went to the beach.
Rio is a fantastic city. On the streets, everyone is happy and helpful and why wouldn't they be?? Rio was settled by the Portuguese who created a city out of a rainforest on the beach. I don't think I could imagine a cooler scenario. The people of Rio are incredibly diverse and BEAUTIFUL! All the women are  unique and gorgeous with their Afro-crazy curls or euro straight beachsunned locks. They are all vuluptuous and in skimpy colorful bikinis. The men are constantly running or doing pullups, it's like Venice beach all over the place!
The city's culture is very unique. There are illegally built neighborhoods called favelas everywhere. A favela starts by one man building a house in open space and now they have grown into fully functioning cities. They reroute  electricity, dont pay taxes and the police do not go there. It is incredibly cheap to live there but very dangerous. The movie City of God depicts life in a favela and in Obama's most recent trip to Brazil he visited that very favela. There is a great divide between the rich and the poor in Rio which contributed to the need for the favelas. In the past few years, the government has been trying to regain control over the favelas and has had much success. When I visited one of the peaceful favelas I was impressed by the colorful life. In Rio, the rich occupy the flats and the favelas take over the hills. I found this interesting because it is the opposite in the States.
From the favelas, an emerging new type of funk music is spilling into the streets all over Rio. It has heavy beats and dirty lyrics, but is great to dance to. When discussing this with Alex, my Brazilian friend I met in Amsterdam, he said it was comparable to hip hop. I'd have to agree with him about that.
Brazil's economy has boomed in the past 2 years since they found oil off the coast and the cost of living has skyrocketed, which has only furthered the need for the favelas.
There was a shooting at a local high school when i was there which was icredibly sad. They say Brazil is very dangerous but this is a new kind of violence that has shocked the nation.
So far the language barrier has been tough. I have been using my broken Spanish way more than I thought I would in Brazil. They will understand but still respond in Portuguese. It usual takes me repeating what I think they said in Spanish and then getting approval of my translation.
One of my favorite things I have done so far was a night out with Alex. He toured me through the city, showing me all of the landmarks, and then took me to dinner at a real nice samba club in Lapa, Rio. We ate traditional Brazilian food and watched live samba. Alex said one couples dancing were clearly professional. Samba is very quick but still very romantic. I think I would be terrible at it! Very fancy footwork.
I also enjoyed a food market where I tried lots of new fruits I have never seen before! Some were really weird! I have also enjoyed coconut water on the beach. Very refreshing!
I stayed in a hostel in Copacabana called Stone of a Beach. In the hostel, I made many of my meals. One night I was cooking beets to have for dinner and everyone thought I was so weird! They couldn't get over the fact that I was eating them by themselves and not in a salad or dish. But we all know I love beets so it wasn't weird to me!
I went to a couple bars in Ipanema, which is mentioned in a song I love from Astrad Gilberto called "The Girl From Ipanema" that I can't seem to get out of my head now :)
Overall, my time in Rio was great. It's been a difficult transition from my comfortable California living but Rio has been so kind. Even the street vendors are sweet! They come up to you to sell but really just want to chat and enjoy the beach. It has been great.