FGV’s first module ended last Friday. The next day, I left for Rio de Janeiro with my fellow CIEE students to start a two-week vacation. Despite a tough start to this vacation, the trip was excellent. After a description of the trip’s tough start, this post will talk about Rio’s famous sites, my first soccer game, Rio’s nightlife, and my plans for the rest of the break.
Last Saturday, I woke up at 5:00AM to pack and walk to FGV, our departure point. I arrived before anyone else. While I was waiting, an old man conned me out of R$20. Using a perfect American accent, he told me he was an English teacher who was recently robbed by children and needed R$20 for a taxi ride home. Within a five minute conversation, he gave some pretty compelling information about his job and a method of repayment. However, I should have known that he was lying when he did not recognize the name Cormac McCarthy. About five minutes after the conversation ended, my adviser told me that this man was actually a Brazilian con artist. After dealing with this con artist and a similar person in Bloomington, I will probably be more cynical in dealing with glib people asking for money.
The trip in Rio did more than make up for the loss of R$20. Rio possesses the largest urban forest in the world, and the exotic island feel permeated the famous sites of the city. Copacombana and Ipanema were gorgeous. The same is true for Sugar Loaf Mountain and the site of Christ the Redeemer. The statue of Christ the Redeemer is particularly moving when you consider the poverty and crime within the city.
I also attended my first professional soccer game between the Flamencos and Botafogo. The Flamencos are as important to Rio as the Corinthians are to Sao Paulo. The game was extremely intense. I sat with the Flamencos and watched the entire crowd participate in testosterone-filled chants and gestures. Although I did not understand most of the chants, I understood the swear words. The game concluded with a one to zero Flamenco victory.
The nightlife was also very fun in Rio. We experienced live music at two clubs. The first club started traditional samba and moved on to samba rock. The second club started with a band covering American nineties music and moved on to some great house music. Listening to the old American music was a little painful, but I was interested to notice that the Brazilians knew the lyrics better than the Americans.
The rest of the break will be less eventful but more productive. I am working to find a job for my jiu-jitsu professor and an internship for myself. In addition, I hope to visit the Sao Paulo rainforest next weekend and increase the amount that I practice Portuguese and jiu-jitsu.
