RIO!!!

Well, Tuesday and Wednesday proved to be incredibly busy as well. We went to the Ibirapuera Park in São Paulo, which is like their Central Park. It was so beautiful there! Farina and I planned the excursion and I think it went pretty well. We decided to ride bikes, so Jenny and I thought it would be a good idea to ride a tandem bike...yeah right. We had the hardest time getting on that bike. Oh my. It was so funny! Of course, there was a group of young adults watching us attempt at wielding this machine. They laughed so hard at us, but I thought it was funny, so I didn´t really mind that much. Then I was so worried about crashing into things that I didn´t really see the scenery, but, from what I saw, the trees were really tall and skinny and the lake was beautiful. I had a great time there. I took some great photos, but yet again, the internet here is too slow. Oy. I also went to The Human Body exhibit there at the park. It had some really neat things to see. They only used male cadavers, which I found interesting, and the displays were put in a very interesting and educational manner.

After two very long bus rides, we made it home to find out that we had been invited to a pre-game party at our friend Talita´s house. She picked us up and we had some great little snacks (that was our dinner) and went to the São Paulo Futebol Clube game. São Paulo won 1-0 and the only goal was off of a penalty kick, which the goalie made. The fans were so energetic there. The stands were pretty empty for the most part, but the ones who were there were singing chants the whole time and yelling at the refs. I´m very glad that I don´t know Portuguese swear words. Let´s just put it that way. Ignorance is bliss.

Wednesday we went to the city center and went to an art museum. I was a bit too tired to appreciate it, though. They wouldn´t let us sit on the steps or lay down on the huge benches. It was a little odd. After wandering for a bit we went on the bus. Wow. That bus got SOOOO crowded. It was seriously body-holding-body up so that we didn´t fall over. I feel like my personal bubble has greatly diminished. At one point I ended up face-to-face with this guy and that was a bit uncomfortable for me. Always and adventure here.

Thursday we left for Rio at 6:00am, which meant that we needed to leave the house at 5:15 in order to get there by 5:45. The bus ride went from 6 until 3, when we arrived in Rio. Then we were allowed to get out and do whatever. We all went to Copacabana beach, which happens to be only a block away from our hotel room and from the internet cafe I am using right now. That beach is BEAUTIFUL. Wow. Fortunately, I remembered to bring my frisbee, so a bunch of us played Ultimate. That was so much fun for me. I was able to dive for the 1st time. That was a milestone for me.

Today we went to Petrópolis, which was where the Imperial family lived while Brasil was still under Portuguese rule. We went to the palace there and we had to wear these funny slipper things under our shoes. They made it so we were basically sliding around on the floor. Don´t worry, I did some twirls like a figure skater. Then we went around to a couple of different places and saw the house of the man who invented the airplane (no, it wasn´t the Wright brothers). That was something cool that I learned today. We then got stuck in traffic for about 2 1/2-3 hours and now I´m here. I´m so ready to eat!