Life in Brazil

    Living in Brazil for the past couple weeks I have walked quite a lot. I forgot how pleasurable walking can be and the many details that would be otherwise unnoticed. I walk to the corner store for a acai, I walk to the market for water and other necessities. I walk up and down the beaches of Rio, constantly entertained by the people, sports and different ways of life. Everything is similar but yet very different. I am in a foreign land with a foreign language, where sometimes the only way to communicate my feelings is to smile and nod.
    It is not unusual to walk around Rio and see groups of Brazilians headed to the beach or having a leisurely lunch stacking up empty beer cans on their tables. The beach is part of their culture. Coming from Santa Cruz I feel embarrassed that we do not take more advantage of our beaches that are easily accessible and our in our backyards. The beach is a scene, with hundreds gathered even at sunset cheering when the sun sets beyond the horizon. I have settled into my new surroundings and enjoy the people watching. I usually roll out with the bear minium . . . if I'm going down to the beach, I'll try to get down to just boardies and sunglasses. The less I have with me, the less to carry and worry about.
    Alex Cohen and I have had a blast running around Rio on food missions or searching for a cool hang out for a beer. We laugh at ourselves and the many strange encounters we have with other travelers and the locals. Portuguese is a very difficult language, similar to Spanish, but the punctuation is much different. We both are having troubles learning to comprehend and speak the language. Hopefully it will get easier as the weeks pile up.
    Toby, Aaron, AJ, Alex and I tried to pull off the group hang out. With that many people it was hard to get on the same program, so we mostly hang in pairs or 3's. The waves have been dangerously big in Rio. I watched as person after person got a free helicopter ride by the lifeguards. The currents as the tide changes run right out to sea, and even strong swimmers didn't stand a chance without fins or a board. The helicopter would cruise out with a huge bucket, swoop up the stranded swimmer as a crowd gathered on the beach, then the lifeguards would clear a small area on the shore and drop the swimmer off and head on their way like nothing happened. Lifeguarding in Brazil seems to be as close to 'Baywatch' as I have ever seen in real life, it is a honored job.
    I find myself going to the bank or regretting my credit card spendings too often. Brazil (and I'm hoping that especially Rio) is very expensive. I need to either work on my spending habits or my journey may be cut short, I guess it's a learning process. I will focus more on free activities like hiking, hanging on the beach, wondering the streets, reading and writing.
    Writing a blog is interesting because I am writing for friends and family as much as I am for myself. I don't write all the details that I might in a personal journal, so I focus on things that I feel are of interest to those following my trip. I plan on spending more time doing this, it's a good way to jog the memory and be more observant of my perceptions of my travels. I can get bored at times and miss my life back home. I remind myself that this journey will have it's ups and downs, and that all I have to do is try to enjoy myself through the course of my exploration.