Days of the Week- Part 2

Thursday

Luis (Torrez, a chicano who was born in Mexico) and I went to a Rodizio de Pizzas. This is where you sit down and they bring out pizzas and you pick which ones you want a piece of. Among the pizzas there was a pizza that was covered with steak and French fries, a pizza covered with sushi, and multiple dessert pizzas, my favorite being warm chocolate and strawberries. It was delicious and we both got extremely full.

The rest of the night is a blur. Next thing I know we are at Edgar (also a Chicano) and Josu’s (who is straight up Mexican) apartment, then we are at Baixo da Gavea and I am peeing behind a bush because there aren’t any restrooms within a half an hour of walking distance and Jaime(pronounced Haime because he is a chicano too- are you getting my point?) is standing in front of me keeping watch for other people and spilling out his feelings for a girl he likes. I tell Renata this and she laughs and tells me that one of the most vivid memories she has of Italy is one where she peed in a street. Then we are suddenly at a bar in Ipanema and I am chatting with some gringos, one of whom is crushing on me, the other is engaged, and all of my friends are going home. I say good night to Christian (Mexican!) and Josu invites me to his apartment.

That night at his apartment made me feel like I was in the movie “L’auberge Espagnole”. The Italian man (or as I should call him, the Italian Stallion) brings home one of the Spanish girls and they are at it all night long… I should also mention that his room has a sheet for a door, so sound travels. Josu tells me that Italian Stallion is also having sex with other Spanish students as well. Despite the occasional awkward noises coming from the other room, Josu, me, and a Brazilian named Felipe manage to talk for hours. The doorbell rings at 5 in the morning and Josu won’t answer it because it might be the man from Bahia, a man who lived there for a week, stole their food, and has been coming back trying to stay there ever since. Nope, it happens to be the man from Buzios who is currently sleeping with Alicia, another Mexican girl who lives at the apartment. He comes into our room and immediately falls asleep. Alicia never comes home, probably because she’s hooking up with someone else. Meanwhile in the next room down Edgar is sharing a bed with a French guy because it is cheaper to live that way. Oh, the craziness that is living abroad.

Friday

I leave the apartment at 7:30 in the morning and realize that choosing classes that start at 3 pm was the best decision I ever made (where as some of my friends have missed 6 days of class, I make it to class every single day!). I walk outside to a bright, beautiful morning and I decide to take a stroll through Leblon. Everything is just beginning to open and I realize that I haven’t been out walking this early in Rio yet. In the morning here in Rio everything seems so fresh and new and happy to see you, and I walked with a spring in my step. Good morning, Brazil!

Days of the Week- Part 1

Monday
The day started at the Federal Police. I walked in at 7:30 in the morning and walked out at 4:30 pm. Holy cow. However, two different guys asked me for my number/ on a date while I was there, which was quite flattering.
--later on---
Cristian, Renata, and I walked through the rain soaked streets of Rio de Janeiro at two in the morning, sidestepping puddles and holding hands.
“Did you know that Rio was just voted the happiest city in the world?” Cristian asked. Renata and I replied that we didn’t, but that we weren’t surprised. I looked at the three of us, walking through this amazing city, drenched from head to toe, and I knew that it must be true.
Later I caught a cab and conversed with the driver only in Portuguese. We talked about Brazil and Colorado and whether Argentines really are bad people. He told me (in Portuguese) that at that moment it was close to 2:30 in the morning, and that he loved his job driving people at night, and that he was extremely happy with his life. It made me happy. When I got home he waited for me to make it inside (the mark of a good cab driver) and we waved goodbye.

Tuesday (Mexican Independence Day)

It was one in the morning. Josu stood on the countertop and yelled in Spanish about the greatness of Mexico. After he finished a point we would all yell, “Viva!” I was one of just three people at the party who wasn’t fluent in Spanish, but I could understand completely the electricity flowing through the room. Finally he yelled one final phrase and every single person in the room (there were about 20) yelled as loudly as they possibly could.
“VIVA MEXICO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”


An hour later finds us at a bar in Ipanema. We are all chatting with a homeless man who we adopted when we gave him some of our cachaca (which is a kind of alcohol here), and he became an instant friend.

(Cristian and the homeless man)
He was giving my friend safety tips in Portuguese when Cristian asked me to dance.
Before you get any ideas- Cristian is just a friend and nothing more. But let me tell you American ladies- there is nothing quite like dancing with a Latino. I have never danced with a lover the way we danced that night- noses touching, looking into each other’s eyes, pushing away only to pull back even closer- it was the most fun I have had in a long time, and that is saying something. We sang all the American songs on the top of our lungs (he is fluent in English, having family in Canada) and danced and danced and danced. There were many moments where I was so overcome with mirth that I laughed aloud with happiness.

(The Group)

Wednesday
We went over to the Spanish students’ apartment and watched “Tropa de Elite”, a Brazilian movie about the corruption in the police here in Rio. It was good. Continuing with the theme of the week, I did not get home until about 2 or 3 in the morning.

Desculpe

I am sorryyyy for not posting more!

1- I haven't had internet
2- I haven't been home
3-When I am home, some other family member is always using the computer

I dont have enough time to post right now, but rest assured I have things I reallyy want to post about and I will when I can!

Capybaras!

We both groaned as we ambled towards the concrete wall in front of us. After half an hour of walking down this street, we had reached a dead end. I suggested just turning back, but the thought of that made us both cringe. After walking two hours to find the beach, an hour while on it, and another half an hour trying to find the street with the bus stop, we had done more than our fair share of walking, not to mention that it was now around 10 at night and busses would be getting scarce soon. We walked up to the wall in vain and saw a small path leading down to the river.
"I'm gonna check it out and see if there's a path leading to a road," said Josh.
"Watch out for possums!" I yelled back. We had seen many of them already, always giving us the death stare from the shadows.
"I found a path!" He yelled, quickly followed by, "Arggghhhhh! I just walked right into a huge spider web!"
I shuddered and looked at the "path". It was basically walking through the jungle in between a river and concrete walls.
"Come on," he yelled,"It's not far!" I stopped in my tracks. Last time he told me something wasn't far, we walked two more hours before we found it.
"No way!" I yelled. But Josh is a determined man, and wouldn't take no for an answer. After walking almost out of sight he stood there until I reluctantly followed, trying not to think about spiders too much. We walked through the tropical vegetation in the darkness, striving to see any sign of civilization in front of us, when we heard a squeal and a HUGE splash directly in front of Josh.

"What the HELL was that?" He yelled, jumping back.

"It sounded like a horse!" I answered back. We both peered cautiously into the water in front of us where we could make out a shape swimming in the night. It came out of the water and I could hardly contain my joy.

"Capybaras! They are capybaras!"

"Capy whats?"

"Capybaras, the largest rodents in the world!" We watched as 5 of them came out of the water and started grazing on the trail right in front of us.

"Are they vicious? Do they bite?" Josh asked. I answered that I had no clue, but I didn't think so. We looked in front of us and we could see the road, but five dog sized rodents stood between us and our way out. We had no other choice and decided to move forward. I talked to them to let them know we weren't a threat as we crossed the path, and they merely stepped out of the way to let us pass. We stopped once we got past them and looked back. They looked like gigantic hampsters, and made a series of barks, clicking noises, and purrs to communicate with each other. They were absolutely adorable. We stood watching them for a while until they decided to leave, swimming in the water and yipping to each other. We walked down the riverside and watched them swim down the river together, a happy, talkative capybara family in search for the next place they could eat more grass.

"Now aren't you glad we took that little path?" Josh asked.

"Yes, Josh, I am."

Trying Times

Living abroad can be quite difficult. Ironically, what used to be the easiest things to handle back in the states are the hardest things here. Ordering food, talking to someone on the bus, asking for directions... it is all difficult. Every time I leave my house I enter a jungle of unknowns and challenges. Heck, even leaving my room can be scary!
There are many things I can handle here. I can handle ice cold showers that suddenly turn scalding hot. I can handle looking down at my water glass and realizing I just drank ants. I can handle being the only white person. I can handle the constant threat of getting mugged. I can handle it when my credit card suddenly stops working and I have no money to get home. I can handle being sick for one straight month and not having any medicine that works. I can handle not eating cheese (one of my favorite foods!) because it is disgusting here, and I can handle cooking everything from scratch because they don´t have tomato sauce, tortilla chips, salsa, and many more things here in Brazil. I can handle it when my school gives me my family one month late and places me all the way out in Larangeiras where I have to commute an hour just to get to my classes. I can handle not being able to go outside alone at night. I can handle trying to go to the shopping mall and instead ending up in the largest favela in Brazil. I can handle all sorts of things but sometimes the thought of going outside and ordering a hot dog makes me want to curl up in my bed and cuddle my stuffed animal.

I´m Still Alive!

Hey readers, my internet has been down for the last week so there havent been any new updates. Sorry about that! When I get internet I will update immediately.

-Madi