No Rio de novo (In Rio again)

Being here now feels like I´ve never left but at the same time that I´ve grown up so much since I´ve gone back to the United States and come back here. On my way to the apartment that I´m staying at, the one on Rua Farme de Amoeido that I lived in when I lived in Rio before, I took note of all the things I was noticing again, that I had forgotten about before in the city. This is my list:

-palm trees
-kombis (cheap van taxis)
-beauty of the lush green mountains in the background
-the small cars
-the dilapidated infrastructure of the poor neighborhoods called favelas
-strong revolutionary messages written in graffiti

Leaving as a college student and coming back as an adult has a lot to do with the switch in perspective for me. Now, I feel more independent because I'm not tied to PUC-Rio, the university I studied at. I know only one other gringo here, so this whole time I've only been speaking portuguese, unless I'm talking to Eve. Relearning the language has been interesting-- I've forgotten a lot of words, but slowly they are coming back to me. Every day that I'm here it gets easier and easier. Luckily Eve's portuguese is really good, so if I need a word,, she's there to help me out. I find it easier to remember the word though if I look it up myself in a dictionary. I tried speaking Spanish to a hippie colombiano on the praia (beach) and it was really hard. I started in Spanish and ended every sentence in Portuguese. The languages are very similar so you have to pay a lot of attention to every word you, at least at first. It'll be easier speaking Spanish once I'm in a Spanish speaking country in a few weeks.

Otherwise, I'm loving being in this country, the people are so happy and friendly and warm, not to mention gorgeous. I've been eating salgados every day and I ate at a churrascaria on Thursday after I went to my friend's graduation ceremony. I can see how people get targeted here for crime, and luckily I think I'm blending a little better this time than I did last time.

I'm leaving for the capital tomorrow, but tonight it's all live samba at this nightclub called Melt.

Beijos!!

Anthony