I should not Starbucks

 It’s been about 2 weeks – I’m starting to understand this place better and feel more comfortable getting around. With less fear each time I leave the apartment gate, it’s easier to recognize the beauty of this place.

We have a 4-day break from our intensive language program this weekend since the Pope arrived for the World Youth Day (Jornada Mundial da Juventud – JMJ), and I’ve been trying to make use of it to rest. I am currently without much of a voice (friagem is a beast, man), and have learned that I’m pretty b.a. for using the strongest variety of cough drops sold here. In Brazil, Halls are considered candy, so I’ve been trying to take mine out discreetly during class lest the gum effect apply.

Rest is a bit of a relative term. Since our class starts at 8:10am and goes until 1:30, 6 days a week, waking up past 9 feels magical. Thursday there was a university-organized trip to the imperial city, Petrópolis, for which we met at 7am.

WOAH in the street they’re singing a version of “Children of the Lord” in Portuguese! “sooomething, some someeething, *stomp* give God the glory glory! (Oh --) Riiiise and shiiine and *stomp* give God the glory glory RISE AND SHINE AND *stomp* give God the glooory gloooory chiiilldreeeen oooof theeee Loooooooord.”

It’s cool to have groups of Catholic students from around the world here to see the Pope. Right now it seems like the Brazilians are owning it, though. There has been a tambourine going for at least 10 minutes outside of the Starbucks I’m chilling in. The songs keep coming. Check out the people in yellow on the other side of the road - guitar, tambourine, dancing... sounds almost biblical.

I haven't quite learned the art of public selfie-taking.

Back to the trip. So we travelled about an hour and a half in two huge tourist buses, during which half of that time seemed to be winding around a mountain. The fog was absurd, the roads narrow, the bus huge, and I crossed myself a few times (in the spirit of the season) since words were failing me. Below is just an image of that area that I found, but imagine knowing that this is the landscape immediately on your side without being able to see further than the edge of the road. 

I'm comfortable with death as a concept, just not the stress waiting for it to happen. 

Because of the altitude and humidity (btw it has been raining the past couple days in Rio), it was very wet and very cold most of the time. We stopped by a few tourist spots, including a tour of the imperial palace, but really the most memorable thing was spending time with other international students. On the ride home I stumbled upon PUC-Rio Latino Karaoke Night. It turned out that I had chosen the right bus, because rows 15 through 23 had become little Mexico (I mean, Mexico + friends) – in the absolute least offensive way (which will be evident if you know me). However I was disappointed that I wasn’t familiar with the Latin pop ballads they were all belting (read: mono-screaming). So I guess my lack of voice at this point is not only a result of the wind and water, but my attempts to join in on the party when I happened to know part of a song being “performed”.

I am now going to defend something I said earlier that may not have even been noticed: I am in a Starbucks. Please do not hate on. This thing is so dang convenient. I didn’t even go past the glass door – sitting on the patio (in an awesomely comfy couch) looking over the street can’t be as much of a crime as drinking a café light frapp inside (which I have already done twice).

In contrast to the US, these things do not dominate every street corner. Un/Fortunately, the only one in the area happens to be five doors down from my apartment. Agh they just started playing bossa nova in English – this has to be against some brazilian moral code (although less so than Beyoncé on repeat that I hear in most other stores). Truthfully, the last thing I need right now is coffee (more on that later). What is nice is that if I can forget about the four people sitting within spitting distance to me, I can pretend like this place is my living room.

Woah. Brazilians ask each other to watch over their stuff – that is not airport procedure. Neighbor #5 just claimed a spot and left her backpack… interesting. (I later asked her a question in Portuguese about the wifi, and she responded in English. Then she asked neighbor #3 a question in English, after I had distinctly heard him talk to a barista in Portuguese. Then #2's friend sat down and they began conversing... in English. Alright, Starbucks is not the place to go for immersion.)

In addition to having a Starbucks as my own personal lounge space, I am incredibly blessed in my home stay. Two blocks from the swankiest part of Rio beach, 5 blocks from the most beautiful lake I’ve ever seen. Yesterday I went on a short run and used all of the restraint I could muster to not gawk at the landscape and single myself out as blonde-tourist-girl. Or girl-tourist-blonde, depending on which language we're thinking in. Also, the commerce around me is ridiculous. Thankfully it's too overwhelming for me to want to buy much – I’m too much of a comparison shopper to handle this variety. On the walk back from the lake I found the especially wealthy real estate (Louis Vuitton, anybody?), and felt a little silly in my sneakers and t-shirt.

Get at this, Lake Harriet.

In the apartment I have a beautiful room to myself, decorated with a bunch of different maps and landscapes of Rio/Ipanema. A comfortable double bed with tons of pillows, my own bathroom and shower inside my room, a window with a clothes drying apparatus, a little nook with a desk, chair and shelves and built in closet space. Perfect wifi connection, filtered water, fridge/cupboard space, one laundry load a week, and breakfast provided every morning – which I’ve learned from other people’s experiences that this is one of the greatest blessings/differences from other home stays. Technically I am paying for café da manhã (coffee of the morning = breakfast) in my rent, but it has become increasingly pleasant to wake up knowing that there will be toast & cheese, fruit, and a carafe of coffee waiting for me. The reason I mentioned earlier that I absolutely do not need more caffeine is because I do not easily leave a pot of coffee alone if it is waiting there, and the stuff is pretty strong over here. Also, drinking it Brazilian style with milk and sugar is delicious… even though I may become a coffee wuss once I get home.

My hosts are wonderful; very sweet people who have grace for me when I do something the American way instead of the Brazilian way. My first day here I was brought to a cousin’s house for lunch, and last night almost met up with them to see the Pope (showed up at this same cousin’s store a little too early) ;) I started this journey nervous about what it would be like to enter into someone else’s home for an extended period of time, and now I feel very at rest in my little corner of their beautiful apartment.

All right, this post is getting long. I will get to the meaty/meta part that I have been planning for at a later time.