President Obama has posted a bunch of photos from election night on Flickr. Ya know, I really love how he is so involved in technology. Just take a look at his personal website (barackobama.com) or his newly constructed government site (change.gov). They are both well done, easy to read, and provide good information.
Not to mention his use of Youtube, Twitter, Myspace, Facebook, and the list just goes on…
It’s official!!! Barack Obama is the next president, and the first black president. I never thought I would see this day, but I am soooooooooo glad I did!!!!
GOBAMA!!!
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Wow. I feel a little less safe now. Seriously. This is one of the most disturbing videos I have ever seen. It seriously looks like something straight out of a horror film.
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Today was a sad day. A good day, but a sad day. Good because 1) I’m still in Brazil, 2) it’s my birthday, 3) the sun is shining, and 4) I’m in Brazil. However, it’s also sad because today is my last day in Brazil. And that sucks.
The day started out interesting. Ever since I arrived one thing that stood out to me was how close people parallel parked their cars. I had a suspicion that people left their cars in neutral and simply pushed them into place. Today I got my confirmation. That is indeed exactly what happens. It’s crazy. And of course, I had to snap a video. After all, how often do you see someone parallel park their car by pushing it? Enjoy.
After watching the Flinstone powered parking, we ventured back to one of my favorite places in Brazil; Ipanema Beach. Today was different though. Not only was it more crowded than it had been on any other day since my arrival, there were also superheroes on the beach playing soccer … no futbol .. err volleyball. Well, I’m not sure exactly what they were playing, but it sure was entertaining (and simply amazing). I could describe it in words, but that wouldn’t do this sport justice. You have to watch this video. Seriously. This was by far the most impressive thing I saw my entire trip. I was absolutely dumbfounded by the talent/conditioning of some of these people.
After spending a few hours on the beach watching fulleyball (that’s what I’m calling it … back off!), it was time to go pack and get ready for the long trek home. Sad.
Before we boarded our bus however, I was treated to a nice little cake with candles (yeah, I’m still young enough to blow out candles … what?). A birthday in Brazil … now there is something I never thought would happen. I can say this though, I sure am grateful that it did happen and I couldn’t think of a better way to start another year.
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After spending so many days on Ipanema Beach, we decided to take a trip over to Copacabana Beach. The trip ended somewhat short, as Copacabana Beach didn’t really have much to offer. It’s nice. Incredibly nice, but I simply prefer Ipanema Beach. So naturally, that is where the day ended. Enjoy the photos.
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Took a trip to one of Rio’s most famous museums today; the Museum of Contemporary Art. The design of the building was incredible. It truly looks space-age. Unfortunately, the artwork on the inside was not so impressive. Actually, it was down right uninteresting. According to one of the folks working, they were in between exhibits, so the museum was mostly empty. Ah well…
Later that night we took a quick bus ride to Lapa. In short, Lapa is absolutely crazy. Imagine a club. Scratch that, imagine 40 clubs, half of which feature live bands and garage door size openings. Add a few thousand people walking around from one club to another, a few handfuls of beer (per person), and that’s what Lapa is like. Only bigger.
The only bad part of Lapa was that I forgot my camera at home so I couldn’t snap any photos. If you really want to see some more, check out the steps Snoop Dogg is sitting on in his Beautiful video.
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We decided today would be a good day to break away from the program and do some real deal tourist attraction sight-seeing. So, after signing up with one of the local tourist groups, we began our adventure to Ilha Grande (Big Island). The only downside of the entire trip was that we didn’t have enough time to see all of the beaches.
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Today was another trip to a Favela. Man those places are depressing. This Favela had a leg up on the last one we visited, as they did have a few government services (garbage and police). Granted, the police drove around with four to car, windows down, and rifles pointing out the windows, but at least they were there. I guess.
Again, we weren’t supposed to take photos in the Favelas. I asked one gentleman (I hate to sterotype, but he was probably part of the trafico. He was just way to clean cut. And, he was sitting in front of a storage room filled with gas.) to take a photo, but he gave me the no-no wag. Oh well. I managed to snap a few photos in the Favela. I especially like the one of the bricks (these are the bricks a lot of the houses are made of). Interesting.
Once out of the Favela, we ventured to an occupation. The story goes something like this. The government left a few buildings abandoned when they moved the capital. Some lower-class citizens noticed the building was abandoned, and decided that they should live there. It’s a big building, with electricity, water, but no elevator.
The residents pay a monthly fee to the community for food, but everything else is free (water, electricity, rent, etc.). I felt bad for the residents. That was, until we got a tour of a few apartments (they’re basically offices that people sleep in). They had new refrigerators, new dishwashers, new TVs, and computers. The place is not luxury by any means, but the residents are living a decently comfortable life.
To live in the building residents have to make less than a certain salary. However, I couldn’t help but look at a shiny new 36″ flat screen TV and think to myself that some of the residents could move out if they wanted too. But, if I could live rent/mortgage free with free electricity and water, I’d probably do it too.
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Another day, another destination. Today we hopped a bus (side note: I really, really like the public transportation system in Rio de Janeiro) and headed to Sugar Loaf. I’m not really sure how to explain Sugar Loaf other than to say it is a mountain, but fortunately Wikipedia has a nice write-up about it.
Anyway, to get to the top of the mountain you have to take a cable car (two actually). Nothing like being suspended a thousand feet above the ground by cables. And if traveling up mountains by cable wasn’t exciting enough, the wind was blowing something fierce the day we went. It got so bad they actually stopped running the cable cars for about 15min. Oh lucky me…
Once you’re at the top of the mountain, there’s a few things you can do. Shop, eat, look down, go back down the mountain, go to the theater / museum, or catch a helicopter ride for a closeup view of Christ the Redeemer. Other than that, there’s not much up there.
The helicopter ride costs about $200, so that was not an option, and the theater / museum building was closed, so my options consisted of shopping, eating, and looking down. Fortunately for me, the view is absolutely gorgeous. Even better than the view from Corcovado Mountain (in my opinion). Enjoy the photos.
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Felt like getting away from the group today, so we took a not-so-quick taxi ride downtown to the Saara District. It is a few blocks away from the business district, and basically is comprised of street vendors. Check the photos.
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