Raining in Rio.....

"Some people feel the rain,
                 others just get wet."


The more your travel and the longer you are away the likelier it is that things will go wrong.  Flights get delayed/cancelled, trains are missed, scams happen, and cabs break down....

Today we woke up to the sounds of pouring rain, we took our time getting ready, made breakfast in the apartment, and were in no real hurry to do anything.  We had set aside today as our "shopping" day.  It is important to note that due to the high cost of importing goods, as well as labor, most things in Brazil are far more expensive than they would be in America.  The Brazilians who can afford to travel buy their goods abroad and the ones who can't don't bother either way. Our plan was mainly just to see what was out there,  see what American shops had made their way to Brazil and what Brazilian shops were popular.  We were going to hit up two popular malls: The Shops at Leblon - similar to your average US mall, a couple luxury shops, but for the most part mid tier goods, and the Village Mall - the upscale luxury mall.  The shops at Leblon was a nice mall - big, a good escape for the rain.  We went to  Zara (beware a lot of the goods, especially shoes and bags end up being far more expensive than they would be in the US, but other things are similarly priced).

How she got an umbrella I'm not sure.

Then we got a cab to the Village mall. Realization #1: It was 5:00 - universal rush hour no matter what country you are in.  The cab was barely moving and after 30 minutes we realized it was going to be a long ride.  A little more time passed and the cab pulled into a popular grocery store - hungry? No. Through hand gestures and the popping of the hood we realized the car had stopped working (is it really smart to pop a hood in the pouring rain?).  We got out of the car and attempted to hail a new cab. Realization #2: it was cabbie shift change, most were on their way home - none were interested in stopping.  So there we were - 35 minutes from an area we knew, in the middle of rush hour, on a busy street, in the middle of a neighborhood with our taxi driver who didn't speak a lick of English - trying to hail a new (working) cab. Oh and it was still POURING rain.

Popped Hood

After the giant truck splashed me

So we waited.....and waited.....I eventually uncovered my head with my jacket and prepared for the Chaka Kahn hairdo to take full effect.  I decided to take pictures of the situation.  My mother decided to yell "what the fuck is your problem" and "asshole" to every cab driver who passed by her.  We all handle stressful situations differently.  Roughly an hour later our cab driver was able to talk another driver into taking us to our destination - granted she bribed him with the taxi fare we owed her and I like to think me poking my chia pet head into the window and looking pitiful also helped.  We eventually made it to the mall (not that either one of us cared at that point) and I had to be firm with the cab driver who tried to jack the price.  Realization #3: Thank God I know the spanish numbers up to 30 so I was able to explain I would not be paying 10 extra reals (Spanish and Portuguese are very similar).

Things will always go wrong when you travel.  Remember to stay calm, it is temporary.  It's a vulnerable situation since there is a language barrier and you may not know where you are or how to get back to where you started.  Try to communicate as best you can (write down addresses and numbers) and don't lash out with your travel partner - they're you're only real ally after all.



So on a day when we were trying to escape the Rio rain, we ended up standing in it instead.  I could get all metaphorical (what with having seen giant Jesus) and talk about how the rain represents struggles in life and how it's important to rise above and work your way through it.  But honestly sometimes shit just happens.  Sometimes you just get fucking wet.....

...the upside was it was hair wash day. Obrigado mother nature. Obrigado.

A random little church

Oh the irony