Submitted by Sidney vanNeerden on the 2024 Winter PLSC/LARC program in Brazil…
After 6 days straight of travel, getting to Rio de Janeiro felt like a sense of relief. Today we had breakfast and class until around 1. After class we went to the beach. The beaches here are super busy and almost a hub of activity. Tourists and locals flood the beaches, setting up colorful umbrellas and beach chairs. Everyone sunbathes under the hot sun and I enjoy the sounds of the waves and the refreshing water. The beach also holds so many sports. Beach volleyball, soccer and paddleball games seem like the most common. Vendors are everywhere you look on the beach, trying to bargain with all the tourists and locals for drinks, snacks, umbrellas, towels, sunglasses, pretty much anything you can think of to enjoy a relaxing day on the beach. I thought this was super interesting as even when they didn’t speak English they still understood how to bargain with us and other non Portuguese speaking tourists. It seemed to me that the beach was more than somewhere to relax but also an almost vibrant marketplace. At some points in the day it was hard to deal with the vendors but we soon got the hang of the phrase “no thank you” which is “não, obrigada” or “não, obrigado” (depending on gender) in portuguese. We stayed on the beach for a few hours but I could feel myself getting burnt so I decided to go back to the hotel where we have a rooftop pool. Honestly the view from the rooftop pool is absolutely beautiful as you get a panoramic view of the entire city and beaches. Unfortunately a tall building next to our hotel does block the view of the famous statue Christ the Redeemer, but we will be going to see it later on the trip. Though we can see sugarloaf mountain. After leaving the pool we all showered and got some poke bowls, which is basically sushi in bowl form. Then I went to bed early to prepare for the long day we have tomorrow with our watercolor classes and to look at Jardim Botanico. Being able to enjoy a long day on the beach felt amazing after being in the heat of the amazon and traveling non stop. I can’t help but feel a sense of gratitude for the relaxation and excitement they brought after six days of continuous travel. (Submitted on January 20, 2024)