Tonight is boring. I could have gone out drinking or dancing or some combination of the two. Instead, I sat around taking pictures and browsing the web. My time here is winding down. I think I am as well.
This picture was taken outside of my apartment window. I just moved into a new place yesterday because the lady rented out the other one from under me. It’s okay, though. This place is much nicer.
There were some very large waves in Rio today. I took a walk with some friends to the border between Ipanema and Copacabana to watch surfers. The waves were crashing over this outcropping of rocks. A lifeguard was out telling people where not to stand. Usually you can pretty much do what you want around here. This must have been really dangerous.
Afterwards, we got some coconut water and relaxed a bit before going to dinner. My friend Alex convinced me to go to an all-you-can-eat sushi place. I have to admit that the food was pretty good. The nigiri were very good, but I wasn’t a fan of the rolls with mango. I know I’m in Brazil and I love mango, but sushi isn’t a good place to put it.
As you can see, this page is back. It is very limited right now because none of my pictures are available. I will eventually get those back one way or another. Worst case scenario is that I upload them from my camera again.
In the meantime, I will be uploading to flickr. I plan on using it more now instead. Hosting my own is only causing problems.
My buddy Camron and I recently took a trip to the steps at Lapa. The artist was there posing for pictures and answering questions. He started putting tiles on the steps in 1998. It is now a living work of art with tiles being replaced and updated regularly. You can even send in a tile of your own and he will install it.
These should really only be maybe 2 or 3 pictures. I couldn’t find a steady place to put my camera so I ended up only being able to take pictures of the lighthouse and the moon. Both of the subjects are somewhat interesting, but maybe not worth the time I spent. My friend and I were hanging out before going to a club so it’s not like I had anything else to do.
I went shopping today at the mall in Salvador. It’s pretty nice inside. There’s even an ice skating rink with fake ice. It’s a little strange to see people dressed for summer on ice skates, but I got over it. When I first arrived, I got a cup of coffee and a brigadeiro and sat down to watch people.
I’ve noticed this before, but never really thought about it. The women here LOVE platform sandals. These sandals have probably 6 – 8 inch thick soles. I don’t know why they do it. It must just be a cultural thing, but they aren’t sexy and they don’t look comfortable. I think they also throw off the center of gravity so these poor women walk as though they are constantly falling forward. Maybe Brazilian men like tall women.
To me, culture shock is anything that I notice different from what I’m used to. It doesn’t have to be anything huge or upsetting. It doesn’t even have to be bad. There have been many moments of culture shock since I arrived in Brazil, but I think the biggest one has revolved around the vendors. A simple walk down the beach is almost certain to be interrupted at some point by a person (usually a man) trying vigorously to sell you something. It’s not just the beach, though. I’ve had vendors try to sell me necklaces and pirated DVDs while I’m inside a restaurant. I’m a somewhat shy person when it comes to interacting with people I don’t know so I tend to just awkwardly brush them off.
The problem comes in when I actually do want something. I can’t ever see myself wanting to buy a crappy necklace, but sometimes I want water or food. One of the most difficult things for me has been to consciously assess what they have and if I want it. It took me about a month to come up with this technique, but it works. If a vendor tries to sell me something, I will engage them in brief conversation, look at their wares, let them know of my interest (or lack of), and thank them for the offer. They are much more prone to leave quickly and I don’t feel harassed. These people are simply trying to make some money and they aren’t doing it at gunpoint.
I just leveled up in Portuguese as well so that helps. I think I’m at level 4 now so I have about 66 more levels if we’re going by WoW rules.
This post was started at 2:30am. I never got around to posting it because I fell asleep at the computer. So, here are pictures of my walk around Barra Beach yesterday.
The lighthouse is actually a nautical museum. It looked nice, but I didn’t go inside. Random historic museums don’t interest me much. The building itself was beautiful, though.
On the other side of the lighthouse is a large outcropping of rocks. I took a few pictures from there, but I’m not sure I took any pictures of it. The rocks and the ocean made it look like such a serene place. Upon closer inspection, it’s absolutely littered with trash and smells like pee garbage.
I had an interesting night last night. The pousada was too expensive so I told the guy that I would be moving. He said he had another, more simple room for R$50/night if I was interested. I took a look and it was definitely more simple. The mattresses on the rickety triple bunk were thin and stained with some unknown substance. The fan was plugged into a socket that cut out if the cord wasn’t dangling in exactly the correct position. To get to the bathroom I had to leave my room (which involved touching the mysteriously greasy doornob) and go slightly down a hall. Once there, it was dimly lit by a single bulb. Overall, it had the feeling of a nice bus station bathroom (that means it didn’t smell like pee). This was very strange considering how nice the pousada is. I don’t know why, but I told the guy I would stay there for one night to see if it was okay. Nobody even dared me to do it! The decision may have been horrible, but it was voluntary. I woke up this morning missing about a pint of blood from all of the mosquito bites. I also spent the night stewing in my own juices because the fan wasn’t keeping me cool. It was no fun. I told the guy that I’d be leaving today and he offered to let me stay there for R$40/night. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t consider it for a while. I am now in a 4-person room at a hostel. There are almost no other guests here so I get the room to myself. It has a bathroom attached and A/C. It’s also R$40/night.
I have a few posts I’d like to do, but right now isn’t going to work. It might actually be a few days before I get around to it.
I spent the night last night in an exceptionally shitty room filled with mosquitoes. I’m now covered in bites and looking for a new place. Once I’m settled in there and feel safe enough to break out my laptop, I’ll have some new posts. There might even be a few new pictures. I went to Praia do Flamengo yesterday without my camera and I need to go back for some pictures. It’s an amazing beach.
I'm not a robot.
