So everyone has warned me about safety in Rio de Janeiro since day one of me planning this trip. In our experience so far, we feel safer here than in the tenderloin district of San Francisco. The reason? Everything, including the beach, is very well lit, people are out enjoying the ‘winter’ weather, and police are seen everywhere. Not to say that we aren’t being watchful and smart with our belongings–ie: leaving the passport and credit cards at home. But, in all, we are really relieved to feel safe in our area. Oh, one more thing, there are hardly any homeless that we’ve seen so far, and the ones that we do see, are handicapped some how or offering an artisan service for money. So, all in all, we are really enjoying learning all about Rio and Brazil–and we’re picking up a lot of the language too!
Author: Benjamin Trotter
Hello from Rio de Janeiro!
So we made it to Rio after a very trying flight! Due to weather in Atlanta, we were delayed about 2 more hours than we were supposed to be, and ended up making our connection in Houston, just in time! The flight was at night, so we soon started dozing off, yet never seemed to completely fall asleep. Before we knew it, our tries became moot and we were landing in Sao Paulo. Coming into Sao Paulo, we couldn´t believe the spanse of buildings! This was on par with Tokyo–I really was surprised. After we landed in Sao Paulo, about half the plane emptied out and we departed again for Rio de Janeiro. After a quick 35 minute plane ride, we were descending into the beautiful scenery of Rio protected by Corcavado–the Christ statue. It was really cool. He really does look down upon the city.
Once out of customs, we saw our driver holding the sign with our name and we got some cash and headed into the city with our new friend Claudio. He himself had just moved to Sao Paulo and was learning about the city, and several of the touristy things that we are planning to do, he seemed interested in joining.
After about 30 minutes drive, we arrived at our flat which is just a block and a half away from the beach of the south end of Copacabana. A short walk down from there we reach Ipanema easily. After we unpacked and got freshened up, we headed out to the beach to walk in the sand and get our bearings of the city. A short walk turned into an all day event with us having a lunch at a typical brazilian churresca, full buffet with fresh meats and salads. Everyone we have met so far has been extremely enthusiastic and helpful. I have also been doing my best at learning Portugese, but it seems like Spanish is the only thing coming out!
During our walk on Ipanema, we came across an artist with an amazing painting of Rio. Joe wanted one created specifically for him, so we left him a deposit, and hopefully tomorrow and the next day, we will see him painting it!
We then met Scott, a Canadian who has lived here for almost a year now. He told us about the tours he works for and he sounds like he is working out a pretty good deal. We have been keeping tabs on how much things that we are wanting to do costs, so we can benchmark everyone else.. hang gliding, city tours, sailing trips..etc
Now we are off to dinner and planning out tomorrow for a nice day on the beach!
Mr. Belding
For those of you who watched Saved by the Bell when we were kids, this will be funny to you. During my trip home, my mom and I drove over to Signal Mountain to Shuford’s barbecue to try some of their ribs. When we walked in, there were pictures of famous people who had come in to eat their ribs before, but a couple of Mr. Belding from Saved by the Bell. I had remembered hearing that he was born and raised in Chattanooga, but as I turned around, he popped out of the restroom! I was really surprised, and we went ahead and introduced ourselves and asked him some questions. It was just so funny to actually ‘meet’ Mr. Belding of Bayside High!
CNN.com Highlights Chattanooga
Today I was at the internet cafe in the Apple store and was checking the news on cnn.com. As tomorrow is my flight back to Tennessee, the article Chattanooga, A Riverfront Reborn obviously struck interest with me. It will be very interesting to be back home in Tennessee, only to come back to San Francisco in stopover on my long journey to my new life in Sydney.
Farewell Party at Rebecca’s
Tonight I had the best farewell party! The day started pretty hectic as there was a lot of shopping and preparations that needed to be done for the amount of people coming for the party. After a run to CostCo and picking up enough to serve about 70 people, we got the party ready and started. I was so happy to get a chance to say goodbye to so many people and the turnout was great! Throughout the entire evening there was about 50-60 people who showed up. The event went down in my book as the biggest best celebration I’ve ever had! Thanks to everyone who made the effort to come over and say goodbye. You guys have all been a great party of my chapter here in San Francisco, and I know that I will be in touch and hoping to see any of you down in Australia! You now have a place to stay!
Company Farewell Party
Today was the farewell party that my company put together for me, all with the best chocolate cake straight from a Scandanavian bakery. It was great! With all goodbyes and last minute wishes, you never feel like ‘everyone’ is there, but I saw so many people yesterday who came to wish me luck in my new endeavor that it was really touching to see everyone. The most touching was getting so much praise from people who never even really worked with me, but just new me running around the office, all up-beat and friendly. It felt so nice to be able to tell everyone how bittersweet the move is, because it really all comes down to the people–it’s not the job that I’m sad to leave, it’s the people.
Newest Member of My Camera Family
So I finally made the purchase of the much awaited Canon Digital Rebel XT, Canon’s newest addition to their SLR line. For several months I’ve been researching which SLR camera I would like best, and with the quality, size, and UI of these cameras, I knew this was the one for me. This will be the start of my professional image library that I hope to start selling some of my works. Be sure to stay tuned as I finalize my galleries and start posting to my images site!
The Countdown Begins!
Today, I gave my formal resignation to my company. After almost three years, I have ended this chapter in my life. Obviously there will be several colleagues that I will miss, but moving to Australia will be a great new adventure for me–as well as helping me build my educational foundation for a new career. Just 10 more days of having to go to work! Yippee!!
Australian Visa Approved!
Today, I got great news from the Australian Embassy that all my paperwork and medical examinations have passed inspection and my 2 year student visa has been approved! This means, I will be legal in Australia until March 2007!
This is a huge stress relief, because I was very concerned about the follow-through of the doctors after dealing with them in person for my xrays and medical exam. But, in the end, it all worked out and it’s smooth sailing from here on out!
A Lot Like Love
I’m on a movie kick! It’s been so long since I’ve been to the Metreon that I figured I should get back into things. So, I went to see A Lot Like Love, and yes, it does seem like it would be a predictable, Hollywood, lame film, and yes, it was predictable, but the underlying message and feeling that I got from it was really good. The idea about crossing paths with people and taking chances is really energizing to me, and I can’t wait to see how my life continues to unfold with all my crossings — Just like my buddy Alan said yesterday–you never know where we’ll meet again, especially with globetrotters like ourselves.