So to catch everyone up on where I be at, I'm in Florianopolis. I've been traveling south heading towards Uruguay, but going to take a sharp turn towards Argentina next.

After Ilha Grande I was in Paraty for a few days. Paraty is a beautiful little town known for it's cachaca and colonial architecture. I'm not sure when it was settled, but the center of the town is beautiful (pictures to come!) and filled with little craft shops and slightly overpriced restaurants.

Outside of the town you can take boat trips to beautiful islands and do some snorkeling. I definitely recommend this! The boat trip was R$35 and lasted forr 7 hours! We went to several places to swim around, I dislocated my shoulder (it's better now, thanks for worrying!) and we even saw a pod of dolphins! It was probably one of the best trips I had done.

After Paraty was Sao Paulo: To me, just another big city. It was a lot like NYC, tons of people, tons of shops and not much to do unless you know someone who can show you around. I ended up going to a few churches and found a really nice art museum in the "Park of Light" I also ate a ridiculously large sandwich at the giant market. It was a pretty good day, but I realized I will never want to live in that big of a city.

I think I really love Philadelphia because it's a big city, but manageable. I can walk to where I need to if I need to walk and if I ever just want to enjoy a park qand not be bothered by anyone, well, I can do that too. I have a feeling that when I get to Mendoza it's going to be similar to Philly, so I'm pretty excited for that.

Sorry, back on track: Florianopolis was next (where I am now) and it's a beautiful medium sized town/island. There are tons of beaches which I'm trying to enjoy because it's the last beach town I'll see for awhile. So I'm reading and relaxing and meeting new people, it's delightful.

As for thoughts about the trip, something a bit more in depth: Last night I realized I'm not a party-goer. I will always choose hanging out with friends at a bar over drinking games and sloppy drunks. Granted I have never been much into the party scene, but last night I was in the bar at my hostel, many people drinking, i decided to get in on the games and give it a try, but I didn't get anything out of it. And I still went to bed at 12:30, And I'm perfectly happy with that: To each their own.

Anyway, more pictures soon! Foz da Iguacu (Iguazu Falls in english, I think?) is my next stop, if only for a day. Then off to Mendoza for a wine festival!

So I've fallen behind yet again! Whoops!

I got caught up in Carnaval and afterwards I had to pay for my internet connection, but I'm back for a bit!

Carnaval was amazing. The city truly was alive: People were awake at all hours dancing, talking, drinking and parading. Every day there were several blocos (street parties) happening at the same time in different neighborhoods. Everyone would follow around these large trucks where people were singing samba and a band was playing samba. The people behind the trucks were just having a good time with eachother and would follow the trucks for hours on end. When the music stopped they would move onto another bloco and continue the good time.

I was amazed by the fact that I didn't hear or see any fights happen while I was in Rio. I assumed that during carnaval I would see at least one: When you put millions of drunken tourists in the same city, or even thousands of drunk people in a bloco, I would think there might be a fight or two. But I didn't see one! I feel like that would never happen in the US, maybe people are too aggressive there. Or don't know how to handle their cervejas. Or maybe the lifestyle in brazil is just different enough to prevent fighting.

It seems when a fight is about to break out the two people involved end up talking about it for about ten minutes, then shake hands and walk away. A mutual understanding of sorts, where neither side wins or loses, but both parties are agreed: And if someone is in the wrong he or she tends to apologize.

I love this.

Another side of carnaval was the samba drome where all the big samba schools paraded. Each school has thousands of students that can participate in the parade and each school takes about an hour to an hour and a half to parade though the Samba Drome. The costumes are amazing and lavish as are the floats (Pictures coming soon). It's amazing how much money must go into carnaval every year!


After Carnaval I went to Ilha Grande, about three hours south of Rio de Janeiro. The island was absolutely beautiful. It was like something out of a movie. There was a small town on one side of the island where all the tourists landed, but most of the rest of the island was untouched. The beach Lopes Mendes was incredibly clean with waves about 10 feet tall. On either side of the beach there were these tall stones to frame the picture and the when I arrived the beach was nearly empty of people. It was AMAZING. Other than that the island has beautiful hikes through tropical forests with some prison ruins and farm ruins. It's really full of things to do.

A tip for travelers: When going there, don't book a hostel in advance. There are tons of people willing to rent out an apartment or a room in a pousada for cheap.


And now (just arrived today) I'm in Paraty. I think this might be one of my favorite towns, but I'll tell all of you about that later.

Boa Noite,
-Josh

I posted these pictures because the graffiti here is amazing. I haven't seen any other place with so much good graffiti. Granted, I haven't been to much of New York City, but Manhattan was a little bit lacking compared to Rio. I am a little surprised that it's difficult to find "fine" arts and crafts in the city but the graffiti is so beautiful. I guess this could just have risen out of the lack of public funding, but I wonder what would happen is more money was put towards educating these artists in different media. Or providing other outlets for displaying their works.

I feel like this city (like most cities in the world) have a lot of work to do to move forward. And so I can understand why arts are being pushed back, but I wonder if it will ever change. Will people realize the need for arts is important? Will they ever start putting money back into the development of culture? I think I might start researching cities that are known for their funding of the arts and try to see if there any any differences in lifestyles or development of the city: Are people happier or more sad? Wealthier? Poorer? More relaxed?

Does anyone know of a study like this yet? If so I'd love to read about it.

On the side of fun, touristy stuff: I hiked up the first hill of Pao de Acucar (Sugar Loaf) which is a tall hill, just about in the sea and it offers a great view of Copacabana and Botafogo. It's made up of two hills (I forget the name of the first) And you can take a cable car up both or you can hike up the first and take a cable car up the second. Each cable car ride is R$22 and so I decided to explore and hike up the first.

It was a beautiful hike through a little nature preserve. There are tons of trees and different types of plants and you get to overlook the ocean and the praia de Vermelha (Red Beach). I'll try to get some pictures next time I go up. I also got to see some monkeys! They were pretty damn adorable, people were feeding them (Shh, they weren't supposed to) bananas and apples. And they were getting about two feet away from them, it was fantastic.

I haven't gone to the top yet, but I probably will this week. I'm hoping to go towards sunset, I hear it's one of the best views you'll ever see.

And last night I enjoyed the first bloco: The Blocos are parades where people march and dance behind different samba groups. Every weekend day up until carnaval there is a different bloco in a different neighborhood in Rio. During Carnaval it's very similar with different groups dancing through the city. As of now, it's still two weeks before Carnaval and people are already partying, I have never seen anything like this.

After the parade we went for a swim in the ocean around sunset and it was fantastic. Then I went to bed early and it was probably one of the best nights yet. I have a feeling this city is going to be pretty amazing in the next coming weeks.

Also to answer a few questions from a faithful reader and because they're good questions that I should have answered earlier:

Is the exchange rate favorable now?
The exchange rate has been going up for the past week, I'm not sure why, but I'm not complaining. When I first go here it was US$1 to R$1.75 now it's up to US$1 to R$1.89

How is your money holding up?
My money is holding up well. Since I have been working in the hostel for my accommodations, I haven't had to spend anything on an apartment and so I should even be able to travel after Carnaval.

Is the price of food, housing, travel (bus, etc) the same? Price of gas? any surprises?
The price of cooked food can be a little cheaper than in the US, but generally it's still pretty expensive. Shopping at the supermarket is definitely the way to go. I can make a good meal for R$3.
Housing is definitely cheaper is you're going to get something for long term in the off season. December through February are very expensive because of Carnaval and New Years.
Travel by bus costs about R$10 per hour, I'm not sure how that relates to bus travel in the states. And I think by plane is about the same as the states.
Gas is definitely more expensive, about R$1.70 per liter (or about US$4 per gallon).
And I was surprised at first how expensive it is down here. I assumed it would be a little bit cheaper being in South America, but I guess I shouldn't make assumptions.

Are you language skills improving adequately?
My language skills are improving enough to get around. And I'm beginning to become comfortable with the language.

Is it the immersion experience you hoped for?
When I first planned the trip I was hoping to be nearly fluent by the time I left. Looking back, that was a pretty unrealistic goal in such a short time. Another three months and I think I could be pretty close. However, I wouldn't change this experience for anything. It is an extremely comfortable environment for me to be in. If and when I come back I will probably try to work on a farm in the middle of no where with people who only speak portuguese, however, I have a good start of the language under my belt.

Does everyone want to practice their English with you?
Nope, only a few people so far. Brazilians are very proud of their culture and language and they're generally very excited to see a foreigner trying to learn their language.

Does the hostel cater to Brazilians or foreigners?
The hostel caters to both. I think more foreigners than brasilians, but since the hostel is cheap it's great for people on vacation in the country.

What is a typical day like for you? Do you work all your hours at once and have days free at time, or a little each day?
I don't really have a typical day. I work six hours a day and six days a week, but I can work when I want. Generally I work 1 - 7, that way I can sleep in a little, check my email, cook some lunch, go running if I want. Then I'll work, and afterwards make some dinner and hang out or go out to a bar.

Do you take day trips to other cities/suburbs?
I haven't yet, I've been exploring Rio quite thoroughly: Checking out different neighborhoods and beaches and sites.

Do you miss Ekta, Tastey House, Noodles? Does Rio have a Chinatown? pockets of other cultures?
I miss them all terribly. The food isn't very exciting in Brazil unless you have money. I went to a Churrasco a few days ago and it was one of the best meals I have ever had. A churrasco is a place where there is a small buffet of salads and breads and some fish, but the main courses are from men who walk around with skewers of meat and you just eat as much as you can. It's pretty fantastic. The downside was that it cost me about US$25. So it's not something I can do often.
There is no Chinatown and there aren't really any pockets of other cultures. There's a strong Italian and Japanese influence here because of previous settlers.

Do more people smoke in Brazil?
Yes, far more.

Are people less obese there than the US?
Yes and no. I think there are places in the US with fewer obese people. Everyone here seems to be skinny until the age of 35 or 40. I imagine after that the metabolism starts to go downhill, and the food they eat isn't really the most healthy.

Do you get around by bike as you do in Philly?
Nope, for the short time I am going to be here, it's not as cost effective. Also, It's scary on these roads.

What do most people do?
Most people have normal jobs and go to the beach when they're not working. It''s a very blue collar town, although I feel like there's a large portion that's on the lower middle class to lower class side of blue collar.


Sorry for the length of the post, I'll try to keep them a bit shorter :)

-Josh

Architecture

Welcome to Rio everyone.

I finally went around and took some touristy photos; hopefully this will help you get a taste of the city. I think there's something oddly amazing about the contrasts in this city. There is new and old, bright and dull.

All around the city you see newer buildings juxtaposed with beautiful old architecture. Recently (I'm not sure how recently) the city of Rio enacted a series of laws dictating how much you can alter a building. Some can't be touched except to be repaired, others you can only change the interior and other you just can't touch the front facade. It's pretty amazing to see a building built about two feet behind the facade of an old building. I'm sure you can find some wonderful metaphor within that, but I'm not that much of an abstract thinker.

As for bright and dull I think it describes the city perfectly. There is such a great sense of hope for the future and a pride for their past and their culture. And I'm not sure what else to say here, someday soon the thought will gel into something tangible and I'll write about it here.

Including these contrasts I absolutely love the architecture here. I'm always finding something different and amazing. It's great to see some buildings that were built before the US was founded and to see the current houses in the favelas where shacks are just thrown together and practically stacked on top of each other. It really is something I would have never seen in the states.

And as for what I'm up to these days, well, I'm still working. However, on a more exciting note I changed my flight home to the 17th of March. After Carnaval (Maybe around the 18th of Feb.) I'm going to do some traveling to the south of Brazil and into Argentina. I'm hoping to stop in Ilha Grande, Sao Paulo, Curitiba, Florianopolis and Buenos Aires. I figure since I'm already a hemisphere away from home I might as well see some of the continent. If anyone has been to any of those places and has some insight on things to do, let me know.

And to close, advice (More of a suggestion of something to try) to fellow or future travelers:

Don't plan everything.

When I went to Europe I planned my whole trip: Buses, trains, hostels, flights, locations. For me it became a thorn in my side. I was always worrying about making the bus or squeezing everything into a short amount of time. If you can do it, I say try to leave it open. That way, if you really enjoy a place, stay an extra night or two, or if you don't, head out sooner. You might meet someone in your travels who tells you of an amazing place to visit (For me: Ilha Grande) and as long as your schedule is flexible you can see things you may not have seen otherwise.

As always, any comments are appreciated.

Boa Noite,
-Josh