I touched down in Rio around 6:00 a.m. Ohio time this morning. Sat next to a girl on the flight who is Brazilian but goes to school at Georgia State, Laura. I got her number and hopefully I'll be able to meet up with her and her friends this weekend to see the nightlife.

This trip is going to turn me into a coffee drinker. I only slept about an hour on the plane and as soon as I got into Rio it was already time to go see the Corcovado a.k.a. Christ the Redeemer a.k.a. The Big Guy himself.

On the tram back down we were lucky enough to be the car with a pagodeiro group playing for tips. By the end of the ride everyone was tapping along to the beat.

Afterward we drove around and I had a chance to see some Brazilian culture. I can say without a doubt that the people here are as a whole some of the most beautiful people in the world. A testament to this is the fact that even the baggage claim people at the airport are good looking (No offense to American baggage claim people, I'm sure you're good looking too). Everyone here is much more friendly and open to conversation among strangers. I like it. a lot.

Eating at a Churras Caria is an experience too. You have a stop/go sign and when you have it set to "go" every meat cut imaginable cooked in every way possible is going to come at you. PETA would flip a shit. As a side note, Brazilian beer is moito bom.

By the end of the meal I was running on empty in terms of sleep. I came back to the apartment, opened the window so I could hear the ocean, and took a long nap. Life is tough, let me tell you.

But now it's time to go watch a soccer game with some friends. Everyone has been chanting for the home team all day and in order for them to move on they have to win by a +3 goal differential. If I take pictures I'll post them later.