Eclectic Dyslexic

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I thought carnival would be the party of life, but in actuality, it was just really hot and crowded. No one wears the costumes with sequins and the head pieces. They wear little hats and Minnie Mouse ears. There are only about 20 costume pieces that are worn by everyone. The beer is awful. The stands that sell beverages are dominated by one beer company, and the beer they sell is more similar to water than alcohol. Guys wear dresses, old people get smashed out of their minds, and it is impossible to move more than 3 mph on a bus. If you find yourself in the middle of a bloco (a street party with music), the band is awful and it can so packed that you have no room to dance, move or even breathe. Sometime these blocos go on for half a mile. Some days I heard more English on the street than portuguese. Needless to say, I wouldn’t suggest Carnival to anyone, unless you like hearing “Whehe ahe youuu fhom?” every 15 ft. It is more fun to get drunk on the street when prices aren’t doubled and not everyone is a tourist.

Foreigners in Brazil

So, we have only been here two weeks, but already the majority of exchange students have switched to Brazilian swimsuits. After the first few times we hit the beach, people started feeling awkward about the size of their suits. It is an obvious sign of gringoness, but the real reason is the waves. I kid you not, the reason that Brazilians wear tiny swimsuits is for safety. The waves here can be pretty rough and oftentimes there is a ripe tide. The water grabs hold of your swimsuit and tugs. If it is not tight, it will come right off. One kid already had his swimsuit ripped off of him, and the ripped in two! I have yet to purchase my itty bitty bottoms, but I will soon. It seems prudish the level of coverage we insist on in the US. Everyone is checking everyone out, you might as well display what you got. Even the guys were tiny suits called zungas. I hope we can bring this fad back to the US. Insisting that only people with perfect bodies are allowed to show them off only reinforces the idea that there is only one form of beauty. We all look different and we might as well embrace it instead of beating ourselves up about it. 

Tonight I am watching a soccer game with my host lady (I don’t what to call her, Eliana, I guess). The game is tied, so it;s pretty exciting. The Golden Globes are also on, which is an interesting contrast. Strangely, I think I know more about the futebol game, then the TV shows that are on the award show. My team is is Flamgengo. I chose them, not becuase they are the most popular, but because Eliana likes them, and it makes it mroe fun if we are rooting for the same team. She also yells at the TV, which is hilarious. Then she talks to the cats. This is my kind of women. I meow at cats and shhh the television. She is basically what I will become in 30 years.

I biked around Rio for the first time yesterday. biking here, is a completely different sport than in Santa Cruz, or Claremont. In Santa Cruz, riding a bike is like being a really slow motorcycle. Here, it is more like the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland. People ride on the sidewalks here, if you can call them sidewalks. I wouldn’t even call them cobblestone, ‘cause they are not. The walkways are made up of tiny fragments of smooth rocks in weird quadrangles stuck into cement. They are cool looking, alternating colors and patterns, and you can often find little treasures stuck in between them. However, it makes for a rocky ride. On top of that, the walkways oscillate up and down, and often times corner don’t have a sloped part to go up, which results in a lot of curb hopping. This might all be navigable, if it wasn’t that I was riding a busted-up beach cruiser (which I am currently calling the bruiser). it is huge. And heavy. And rusty. And every time I go over a bump, I am afraid that the bike is going to fall to pieces underneath me. Along the beach, there is a separated bike lane, but it is also used by joggers, skateboarders, rollerblades, and stupid pedestrians, which makes the only flat, easy biking area difficult and full of human landmines to avoid. I need a little bell to warn people that I am coming up behind them, because my breaks don’t work very well, and I need some time to slow to a stop. On my way home yesterday, a drunk guy in a “Just Married” shirt jumped out in front of me and tried to flirt or tease me or something… I am not really sure. I will just have to be careful to not run over anyone. 

I’m not quite sure what to say, or rather what people want to hear. I’ve only been here 6 days (5 really because I slept through the first day). It already feels so much longer. A lot happens in a day, or even if it doesn’t, it feels like it does because everything is new. I am not wandering the same streets or staring at the same store fronts I have for the last 20 years of my life or so. At first, this made me extremely excited, gleeful; now, I am more used to the city, and it doesn’t have the unexpectedness of earlier. I may not have picked up on the pulse of the city yet, but I have the color scheme down, or something. 

I live in the nicest neighborhood of the entire city where all the telenovelas are set. Which is a little strange, because under any other circumstances I could never afford to live here. The rent is as high as New York. Clothing, booze, food and transportation are all as expensive as in California- the Santa Cruz/San Francisco part of California. The area I live in- Zone do Sul- feels a lot like South America’s version of Miami (not that I have ever been to Miami). It is very clean, except on the beaches where people just leave their trash in the sand for workers to pick up after the sun sets, and the canal that separates Leblon (where I live) and Ipanema. All the sewage gets dumped in the canal, so it smells pretty awful. The funniest part is that as the canal runs through the city, it is border by beautiful tree lined streets, and would be a nice place to hang out if it wasn’t so gross.

The most annoying thing so far is coordinating hang out time with other students. Everyone lives in different parts of Zona do Sul, and half the people do not have working cell phones yet. Even then, some people live pretty far away, and I am super lazy about leaving the area I live in. All the other international students are very nice and friendly; it feels a lot like freshman year which was not my favorite. As much as I came with the intention of being the friendliest person in the world, my nature is not as such. I can’t help being a little withdrawn. I get along best with the other “hippie” types. Although this is not the right word. The kids from UCB and UCSB that smoked pot or study the environment, the ones that like to bike and smoke cigarettes- kids that would have fit in at Santa Cruz. That’s not to say I can’t talk to everyone else, only that I enjoy the conversation I have with those kids more.

I wouldn’t say I am homesick. I can get everything here I can in the States and more, and I don’t have a problem spending a lot of time by myself wandering around the city. I don’t feel out of place here. there are lots of other very white people, many of them Brazilian. I don’t stand out, but I think that is mainly because there are a lot of tourists here. The cariocas ( Rio residents) are used to it. As soon as I try to speak portugues they know I am American. A lot of the time they tell me just speak English, which is a little disappointing.  So far, the things I miss most are vegetables and Netflix. Of course, they have vegetables here, but people don’t seem to eat them, maybe a little salad at a buffet, but it is not part of the general diet. After living in Santa Cruz, my belly is not happy with the change. I can get Netflix down here, but the selection is extremely limited, especially with in regards to TV shows, which means no X-Files. I do miss my friends, I haven’t met anyone as crazy as us yet. 

I really like my host “mom”. She is not the typical Brazilian stereotype, more reserved. She has two cats, which is really nice. My room is nice, my bed is comfortable and I have more room than I need. The view out my window looks out onto these famous mountans- Dois Iramos (the Two Brothers) I’ve been spending a lot of time on the computer in my room, because that’s what I always do; I hope my host “mom” doesn’t think that is rude. Once language school starts tomorrow, I’ll actually have a schedule. I like having structure in my life, and hopefully that will fix my messed up sleep patterns. I am slowly adjusting. Today was actually the worst day, because I don’t feel super great, and I don’t have my usual safety nets to fall back on, but I am going to blame it on hormones and make make potatoes, and watch a shit tone of community, which I can get on Netflix. If anyone has specific questions about Rio, go ahead and ask. 

Travel updates here, yo.