Eu gostaria de te apresentar a Rio de Janeiro....

I have had a serious case of writer's block for the last few weeks, hence the lack of updates. This entry is my attempt at working through it-hope it works!

My plan was to leave for Rio on May 4th. That did not happen. At the time I chalked it up to bad planning on my part, but in hindsight, it was a perfectly engineered mishap. I wound up finding an apartment with cool people, spending extra time with loved ones and working out a few kinks in the process.

My life has a way of working itself out according to a plan that has nothing to do with my agenda. In fact, as soon as I adjust my views and expectations, it changes again, but more often than not, the results far exceed the model.

So here I am, my first day in Rio coming to an end in my newly acquired twin sized bed, windows open to the loud sounds of the city, which any good New Yorker will tell you, are more soothing than any sleep sound machine you will find at your local Brookstone, and I couldn't be more grateful to be living in the moment, right here, right now.

I arrive at 9 AM on an overnight flight from Atlanta (9+ hr flight) with 2 suitcases, a lonely planet Brazilian Portuguese phrasebook and an address. As I exit the plane, standing before me are 10 men dressed in red tshirts, cargo pants, military boots and giant back packs fastened to their bodies, equipped with white cotton surgical masks covering the lower half of their faces, shoving little pieces of paper at us. Great way to wake a girl up or just get her to sweat profusely at the idea that while in the air, the world has gone completely INSANE.

I agree (or so I believe, because it was obviously in Portuguese, and I barely have a grasp on English on one hour's sleep and no coffee) that I have not been sick for the last 10 days with anything resembling influenza or anything else contagious. Welcome to a world united by a fear of Swine Flu! I'd almost forgotten everyone, including Brazil is worried about letting that pesky virus in.

I then attempt to pass for a non-ignorant American when asked by an airport worker "tudo bem?" "bem" I say, thinking this should suffice. The next 2 minutes were excruciating. Apparently, I'm supposed to reply "tudo bem" and so we go back and forth, with him attempting to force those 2 little words out of my mouth, which of course, baffles me because why would I answer a question with a question? Sure I've studied spanish, but at that moment, my mind and mouth fought the obvious answer which I have now saved in my file cabinet marked under "TUDO BEM!"

I find my way safely to a taxi, but the ride itself was anything but. I have learned to accept Manhattan traffic and have a little experience with Atlanta's congestion problem, note to New York City and Atlanta: Rio's rush hour morning commute has you beat. We were cut off by 2 buses, one of which came within inches of taking off our front bumper in the process, and bikers practically rode on our hood in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Meanwhile, an ambulance got through with only God as it's director and a lone-cow with nowhere to go grazed on a patch of highway grass. All this occurred with out so much as a sigh from my taxi driver's mouth. He seemed unfazed and lost in thought, but didn't skip a beat when we were almost trampled by a Mercedes Benz 'omnibus'. Kudos to him for keeping me alive my first day here!

I'm feeling my eyes closing...To Be Continued