Brazil: Rio’s Best

Several hours after my hang-gliding experience, I was set for a favela tour. The term favela is used to describe the living conditions and communities of the lower class in Brazil. The conditions were saddening yet adequate for survival. All poverty is now relative to my experiences in the Democratic Republic of Congo. There, it truly is a matter of survival. Interestingly, the police have very little control over the favelas as they are rather controlled by drug lords. While this seems to sound frightening, it quite contrarily results in a safer environment as the drug lords are adamant of a non-violent community. Violence only occurs when rival gangs from other favelas or the police intervene.

From the favela, the beach enticed me. As I made the longer than realized walk from Ipanema Beach to Copacabana beach, the aura of the Brazilian beach struck me. Men in Speedos, children playing soccer, magnificent sand castles being built, and the warmth of the sun were all indicators of the Brazilian culture. Sipping coconut water under the shade of an umbrella, I absorbed all that was around me. The perfectly fit bodies that strolled by were of no surprise as beachside weight equipment overlooked the ocean all along the beach.

Carlos a 28 year-old energetic Brazilian, met me and prepared to lead me to my arranged home stay in the small artistic district of Rio. Prior to heading to the home, we made a Detour to Maracana Futbol Stadium, we watc hed a soccer game in the world-renowned stadium. Though the stadium was far from its 100,000-person capacity, it was an amazing experience to be in the stadium that legends such as Pele have played. Returning from the game, I was dropped off at the contemporary home of the family that I would be spending the night. It was a pleasurable experience but nothing spectacular.

Arising, I decided that I would head downtown and attempt to visit an investment company, preferably American. Jumping onto a San Francisco-like cable car train, downtown arrived in a matter of minutes. Having little sense of what I was looking for, I stopped a full-suited man and asked him where the large American investment firms were located. He was unsure but guided me to the investment branch of the company he worked for. Simply looking for directions, I rather received the run down on Prosper from their marketing director. As she reviewed the PowerPoint slides that she had printed out for me, she spoke proudly of the company’s $1 billion net revenue.

Heading to the top of Cristo Redentor on the cog train, two other girls on SAS happened to be sitting behind me. After taking photos of the world-recognized statue and gazing out upon the beautiful scenery of Rio de Janeiro, they invited me to hang out with them along with several SASers. Waiting in the long line for Club Six, we decided to head for the VIP line and attempt to bypass the long wait. With an eyebrow of suspicion, the bouncer questioned us. After proceeding to tell him that “we are in Rio for the weekend seeing my dad who works for the U.S.,” we were quickly allowed to enter! The three-level club was amazing with techno, hip hop, and house music playing on the different floors of the lively club. As the DJs busted their mixes, I danced with a group of five Brazilian girls until 4 a.m.!

Sleeping for less than three hours, I headed to the airport for my return flight to Salvador. Exhausted, the next day I simply moseyed around the city. Onboard the MV Explorer by 9:00 p.m., I fell asleep quickly as we left for South Africa. That means that school begins again. Ugh, I hate the transition!

TS