Travel stories Archives - Live Out Loud Too

The one about the Third Coast – Chicago

The Vlog about Chicago

Every time I visit Chicago, I want to move back. As I’m filled with the nostalgia of a great time in my life, the city also brings the best in me. When I’m there, I relieve that moments of risk taking, fearless empowerment and make it happen kind of feeling. Do you have a place like that in your life too? I have two. Rio de Janeiro and Chicago. On this post, I’m going to talk about Chicago, we leave Rio for another time.

Last September, we planned a trip to Chicago to celebrate my 10th anniversary in America. If you are new to this blog, Chicago is the place I moved to, after almost two years of agony of living in Sao Paulo. My life is full of up and downs and Sao Paulo was the lowest place I’ve been in my life. Moving back on to. Chicago.

The Windy City, the third coast, the less crowded New York, the much nicer people.

The pilot announced that we would be landing in the next ten minutes. I look at the window, and we were in the middle of the clouds. Suddenly, I felt the plane flew back up.Lord have mercy. The pilots voice came back on to let us know that they needed more time to land, because Midway had other planes to land before us.I remained calm.

I’ve been listening to a podcast called “fear of flying” where a former pilot explain to us how safe is to fly and I guess its working. I hate flying.I don’t like to be up in the air, don’t like to trust my life on someone that might be overworked (33 thousand ft above), and don’t understand how planes work. We landed ten minutes after being hanging around in the clouds.

Chicago was rainy and cloudy.

It was the first time I visited the city since we left, in November of 2019, to Austin. And boy, the Chicago changed a lot. Not the weather, that’s a given. But the city looks like it was trashed. I love Chicago and I would never talk bad about my city. I read a lot about what was going on in the city during the pandemic and also through friends we have there. The city is still vibrant, people are still outside, but I think it’s going to take years to reconstruct the damage of the Corona Virus led the city to.

I love Chicago and I would never talk bad about my city.

After putting our stuff in the hotel, we took the bus to meet our friend Brittney, in a very nice restaurant in Gold Coast. How much I missed my friend!! I was immediately put in a “I want to move back here” mode. I miss my friends, I miss the chaotic energy the city has and how I could move around without relying on a car. We bought a 3 days CTA pass, and we were all over the place. I love big cities, and even though I really like Denver, this is not a big city.

Walking around at the Magnificent Mile, I was surprised by how many stores are closed now, from the time I was living there. Big stores on what is supposed to be a mile of luxury and entertainment are gone. Uniq-lo, Columbia, The Italian food place on the corner, all gone within two years.

Old Italian Village Restaurant

We went to eat in a place close to the hotel at night called “Italian Village”- The oldest Italian restaurant in town. The clientele surely reflects that. And the music, and the Ambience. The poor waiter, who looked like she had drinks a witch’s potion to remain young. Made my creative mind to image her being as old as the restaurant is, but every day before her shift starts, she drinks from a potion of youthness, like a Howard’s moving castle on the opposite way.

Next morning I was ready to run the town.

We walked around Michigan Avenue and hit Eataly, the place I used to work and my very last waitressing job. As soon as I walked into the building I realized why I gave up being a waitress. The anxiety that took over my body only from getting on that escalator was unreal.

The store was having a Sale-tember and we bought some cookies, coffee, chocolate to have breakfast next morning. When we travel we try to have at least one meal at the room, so we save money for a bigger meal later on. Thats how can we afford to travel. We also share meals.

I got Bites on my heart. ❤️

At the end of the first day we went to our favorite restaurant to see another friend, who lives close by. We got at BITES a bit early and we were received like we always were.

The staff recognized us, treated so well and the owner came by the table and she remember we moved to Austin, she asked if we were still living there. We told her we moved to Colorado. She asked if we were moving back. I said I wanted to. I always want to. I never wanted to leave in the first place. The manager sent us some food and we had a great time as always.

They let me take the little flamingo as a souvenir

What I miss most about Chicago is the community sense. People help each other. They talk to each other, on the train. Exchange a few words or a quick smile. That always made a difference especially when I first arrived there in 2012. I never felt alone. We bond over the crazy people on the red line. If you know, you know.

Last day was the day to film some footage for the channel and walk around The Bean, at the Millenium park. Also have lunch in Chinatown. The city has the best Dim Sum ever. I couldn’t believe how easy was to jump on the train, have lunch and come back to downtown Chicago.

The city is a melting pot of cultures. It’s like New York, but better. Even though it has a lot of problems and concerns about safety, and I would still visit anytime I get a chance to.

What I tell everyone is if you are looking for fun and different types of cuisine and different types of people, go to Chicago. Go get a Chicago Italian beef, or a deep dish pizza, Go get a donut at Stan’s donuts. Go get some of the latino vibe at the Pilsen neighborhood. Go to Andersonville for a Scandinavian taste at Svea.

How much I miss the city vibe.

Last remarks of what happened before I go:

We jumped into the orange line in the Midway airport, an elderly man started talking to us, engaging about the mac and cheese he would have to buy. He was worried that he would forget and asked us to keep remind him. He asked me if I like to cook and I said yes, but not mac and cheese.

Another time on the train, a man was with his headphones, was dancing for the hispanic lady on her seat. He danced around, hugged and humped the guy who was standing before he proceed to leave the train. None of this humans knew the dancer.

As you can see, I shared a few videos of what I’m working in our youtube channel TRVLS & COMIDA . If you are kind to subscribe, I will be very thankful for it. I’m going to keep working to improve it.

See you next week, possibly.

JS XXX

24 hours in Vail, Colorado!

Back in Vail for 24 hours! What to do for fun and where to eat for a cheaper price!

It was windy. A cold, strong breeze, with leaves flying in a spiral. Last time in Vail for this witch was 13 years ago. Social media was still on its first steps, there was not immediate sharing, only enjoying.It was the first time in my life that I felt truly happy. Until the day the hotel I was doing my internship told us we, all the student visas holders, would have to leave by the end of the season, in April. With that being said, we will not be able to renew the visa for the summer season, like planned. It was a the ice bucket challenge. But not for good cause.

Like the Coldplay song Viva La Vida says:

“One minute I held the key. Next the walls were closed on me And discovered that my castles stand Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand”.

Every time I hear this song, I’m immediately transported back to those days.

One minute I was hopping around town, filled with happiness, going to coffeeshops and bars, the next minute my castle crumbles and I’m packing my bags back to my parents house in Brazil, with a canceled visa. Only to be back 13 years later, married, with a decent job, that allows me to stay in nice hotels and with a document that allows me to stay forever, and not be shipped back home due to any financial crisis. Anyway! The mini trip was great!

Vail 13 years later! What changed? I changed!

We rent a car on Turo, which is similar app to Airbnb, but only for cars. They have all kinds of luxury cars that you can rent, but also cheaper options like the one we got. The reason why we had to rent a car, its because with the Colorado laws, you have to have a 4X4 car to go up the mountains.

Our ballerina CT Lexus would not be up to the game. It would literally flip around like its on a try out for a Broadway show. We would also face the possibility to get fined up to a thousand dollars, it was better and safer to spend about 100. We ended up getting a SUV type of Mercedes, quiet and steady. The trip was about to get real!

Vail is only 1 hour and 40 minutes away from Denver.It is a very beautiful scenery, as you get lost in the white snow covered Aspen trees. Every few miles you can spot a ski resort along the road. I did our check in online and a few minutes later they texted us telling our room was ready.

The Grand Hyatt Vail Resort is stunning! Our room faced the mountains and had a couch. Once again they had robes, or this time 1 robe. I had to share with Josh for the photos, as he embark in my madness and partake the in my adventures. The hotel is big with 3 restaurants, a spa, plenty of outside area. For our surprise the hot-tub and the pool were open. We didn’t have bathing suits. I think it was the voice of reason saving us from a pneumonia. I will be back when its warmer.

Food!

There is a way to eat cheaper while in Vail and I can prove it. As I was a local many years ago, I kept myself away from those fancy restaurants, that wants to charge you a huge amount of money for the name of the chef. I’m still a local in my heart and looked for places I used to eat when I lived there. One of them is called Route 6.

Route 6 is a dinner in Eagle Vail, nothing extraordinary, but good for a reasonable breakfast meal. I got a breakfast sandwich and Josh got a steak. He didn’t like it, but also, who order steak in a side road dinner? Well, Josh does. I always set lower expectations, and at Route 6 I knew what to expect. Meal number 1.

In the afternoon, while walking around the Vail Village, Josh got hungry again and I decided to join him. We stop at the bottom of the mountain restaurant, to have some beers and tacos. Well, I had the beer. I asked about the people coming down the slopes, only to find out that the mountain was closed due to a power outage, around 12pm. The time the witch arrived in town. Surprised yet?

At night, after walking around town and trying to take a nap, we decided to eat again. Now it was time for dinner. I didn’t want to go out again, so we ate at the hotel bar, we shared half chicken with gnocchi and wine. Plus dessert. The hotel restaurant only open the dining room Fridays to Sundays and I though this was a great idea. They should do that at my work place.

Fun!

Around Vail you have some sub-divisions like Eagle-Vail, Avon, Edwards, Minturn and Gypsum. People usually live on Eagle-Vail, Avon and Edwards and work in Vail. Very rich people lives in Vail. The working peasants hide in smaller, more affordable places.

In the morning after breakfast at Route 6, we drove over to the apartment complex I used to live. I didn’t realize how much I had to walk to take the bus, in the cold and snow, everyday. It is a long way!

It was great to revisit and I bet the prices now are way higher than 1200 a month with utilities. The complex had a painting job and I saw some people that looked like J1 visa holders living there, like I was once. The pain of carrying your laundry basket in the cold is real.

From that memory lane, we moved to another. We stopped at Avon, to walk around and see the little town center. In my mind the supermarket was in a different direction and this time I didn’t want to cross the train tracks to go to Starbucks, like I used to. The witch is old and tired.

I wanted to go to Beaver Creek, but the wind was too strong to get the gondola up, and get the bus that take us there. Walking around was painful, as a dust particule hit josh’s eyes and he immediately freaked out. Let’s go buy sunglasses then.

Later on we took the hotel shuttle to walk around the Vail Village. Most of the bars I used to hang out are still there, including the one where me and my friend had a blast time and Jesus was the for the resident DJ for the party. Vendetta’s was the place and Joana was the queen (as I like to portrait myself in my mind)

I took more photos, tested my new phone lenses, at least tried, my hands were cold because I forgot my gloves. The streets were empty, only a few people walking around, as the season was coming to an end.

After Dinner, we went to bed at 9pm, after all, it was my day off and I wanted to sleep on the nice bed as much as I could. Early morning the next day, I took some time to take some photos with the hotel robe, which I believe is going to become a thing, because you just look fancy in it.

We check-out at the hotel and once again, stopped at Vail Village to pick up a coffee and muffin at Loaded Joe’s for the trip back, but we only had 10 minutes, because we didn’t want to pay for parking. Couldn’t even tell the barista about the time I lived in town, as I told everyone else I encountered.

It was a great short trip! I can’t wait to be back, with more time and a bathing suit packed next time! Now let me go edit the videos to post on youtube, as the channel is coming together! I have way more to show on videos!

Stay Healthy, Stay Sane!

JS XXX

What would I tell the 21 years old me. Advice from the vault.

A couple of weeks ago, I started working in a Brazilian steakhouse, close to my house. I went there for lunch and they offered me a job. The manager told me they needed another manager and with my experience in restaurants, I could do the job. He called me the next day and offered me the hostess position. According to him “You will need to know the other employees first, so they don’t get frustrated with the new manager.” I accepted the hostess position. They just hired a new manager.

Was I tripping? No, because we had the interview in Portuguese, so I can’t even use the excuse of being lost in translation. They just allured me into getting a job, to get a better position later, that won’t probably happen. So here I’m, 36 years old, working again as a hostess.

For little to no money. It’s all good. I’m working with some 20 something years old, and I feel like I have a lot to teach and share my wisdom *insert sarcasm*. I think I do have some life experience that’s worth sharing, and the best part is, they listen to me. At least I think they do.

So here is some of what I’ve been telling them. Some things which I would love that someone would have told me when I was 21.

Arraial do Cabo – Rio de Janeiro – Sorry about the 2008 Camera Resolution.

Don’t jump into College so fast.

I started college when I was 19, almost 20, and I still drag thinking about what could I have done differently, if I had waited just a little longer. Tourism and Hospitality Management is a vague degree, that you normally don’t need to work in hotels and restaurants. I had friends who took journalism, New Media classes and went to Culinary schools, who don’t work with that anymore, in their 30’s. They all followed their heart at some point and decided to do what made them happy, instead of what society expected from them.

It’s ok if you don’t have money.

Don’t get 70 hour work weeks and be exhausted to enjoy the time of your life, because you need to catch up with all the bills. Be broke, accept some help if someone offers. Help comes in different forms.

Maybe the help is staying in an apartment for free, when they don’t live there, like a housekeeper. Or some food donations from friends, when you have zero money. Make sure to befriend a chef, they are the ones who can feed you, because they always cook too much. It’s ok to struggle in your 20’s. I’m not talking about the kids whose parents are rich and yet they pretend to suffer when the only suffering is to check their bank account for allowance.

I’m talking about the chicken noodle ramen folks. You know who you are.

He/She might not be the love of your life, and it’s ok to admit it.

Life will move on and so does you. They need to feel loved and validated is real and at some point, we all feel like we are going to die if the person doesn’t reciprocate the love. It’s a dead-end zone. Don’t give someone exclusive attention, if the feeling is not mutual.

It’s almost guaranteed you are going to crash at some point. Some people just do that to feed their ego and you are their unlimited amount of coins. You just have to hit your head on the brick a few times, and they get the coins.

Some people just like to allure you into their world, like nothing else matters, only to make themselves feel validated. Make plenty of mistakes, learn from them and move on. Or be like Taylor Swift who wrote a 10-minute song and profit from heartbreak. Something gotta give.

Don’t let people dictate how you should behave.

“Oh, look how crazy she is.” I’ve heard that plenty of times when I was just being as happy as I could be. I didn’t need anyone’s validation and tagging me like the crazy one was their easiest way to bring me down. As you start taming yourself because your loud mouth is not accepted by some members of society. People are usually led by church believes. Bless your heart, honey. Be loud, be crazy, laugh, and make memories. Those shameful folks are always going to judge you, no matter how you behave, so might as well have fun.

First time seeing snow in 2007- North Carolina

Travel. As much as you can and as far as you can.

I remember being in my early 20’s, visiting different places and staying at hostels. Hostels are shared accommodation, very popular in Europe, where the type of hotel was originated. You have CoEd rooms or Male and Female dorms, usually with bunkbeds. It gives you a sense of respect and freedom, and if you are traveling alone like was my case most of the time, you can make friends and meet people from all over the world.

In most of the hostels, you have a communal kitchen, a shared living room, and sometimes a bar, as they had at the one I stayed in Perth, Australia. They offered breakfast in the morning and became a bar at night.

While young and broke, visiting coastal cities in Rio, I had the chance to figure out what I love doing. Photography and travel to new and not-so-popular places. One of my biggest dreams at that time was to backpack around Europe.

I even bought the guide and the backpack itself, but I couldn’t afford to go. I wish someone would have told me to take a risk and go anyway. That’s why I say, if you are broke, go broke. Sleep in a hostel, have one meal a deal, make friends, check out less touristic places, eat like a local. Make memories. Work abroad.

The only time I visited NYC, in 2007. Stayed in a hostel, had 1 meal a deal, +coffee. I was utterly alone in the city. Asking for strangers to take pictures. Other tourists, cause new yorkers don’t stop for you.

If money is a real problem, work abroad.

If I remember correctly, Europe has a type of visa called a Holiday Visa, which allows European citizens to work and travel around Australia for up to two years. And that’s how most of the people I met from Europe were doing in Australia. For some other people, you have to get a working visa and pay some agency fees, but you can get it back with your work in that country. You need that first investment though, but after that, you can make it. It’s all about taking chances. I did.

Before becoming a permanent resident in the States, I came over two times on a J1 type of visa, that allowed me to work for a few months at a time, like in Ski Resorts and restaurants, during the winter season. I also went to Australia, on the same type of visa, to work for a year. Remember you can always volunteer, research what type of temporary visa the country you are interested in has and explore all the options. Not saying this is only a 20’s something thing to do, it’s because it’s much easier when you are younger.

When you have some baggage, you are not as free as you were at some point. You are more cautious.

#

I have this conversation with my coworkers and I feel like I’m their Mr. Myagi. Go ahead Hostess-San, be wise and live your life. Take chances. Giving some advice to the novice makes me want to stay in that place just for that purpose. My ego.

See you next week, weather permitting.

XXX

72 Hours in Rio- Part 2

Part 2 –

We took the stairs to the bottom level, where the more upscale restaurants are located. We went to this Italian restaurant because Josh wanted pizza and it was the cheapest thing we could find to share.

Rio is a very expensive city.

It has always been. It is very touristic, very impressive and a cool place to be. No matter where you are if you say “I was in Rio” they know, you most likely had a good time.

When in Rome, you make him eat pizza with a knife and fork. It took two seconds after the picture for him to drop it.

Uber again, which is cheap by the way, and hit the hotel. At night, we were going to meet some of my friends.

It was the hugs that got me.

I miss hugging my friends and letting the conversation flow without having to stop and explain my references. These people are my references, they participate in my stories, they help to create them. Seating in a bar and just talking about life, not trying to impress anyone, just being cool with the surrounding, took a huge weight off my shoulders. It felt like my soul finally met my body. It was a weird feeling of was I off my body this entire time?

In America, for some reason, I’m always on my tiptoes. Walking in eggs shells, watching all my moves. It’s exhausting. It seems like if I say something wrong, I will either be told to go back home or not to be weird. I always have to be watching what I say, and how I say it. Not in Rio.

Day 3 – It’s Not Goodbye, it’s I see you soon.

Saturday morning we for breakfast with one of my childhood friends/Teenage years/Young adult friend. Once again, my heart was full. We went to a hippie neighborhood, to have brunch, in a place where they serve Northeast food. Which by the way is my favorite type of food in Brazil.

We had to wait for a little because it was just the way I like it unorganized and chaotic, but I didn’t care, because I was with my friend and her family. She has the cutest baby and the coolest husband, who joined me while eating compulsively, for one hour nonstop. In this restaurant, you have to mark on the list what would you like them to bring next, and we marked down everything. Josh was too tired to enjoy, but I made sure I ate for both of us.

All these little bowls with food, typical from Northeast Brazil.

Leticia was the one who got me into writing stories. When we were about 12/14, we used to write fanfics, about the backstreet boys and exchange notebooks with each other’s stories, and comment on, like real-life feedback. It was the coolest writing room experience ever.

The restaurant is called Cafe do Alto, and its located in the Santa Teresa neighborhood.

I only have 7 close friends, but I made sure to see them all.

At night, still drowsy by so much food in the morning, I went to meet the other set of people. I have about seven close friends, and I made sure to see all of them. Lilly is my school friend, known her for 20 years, but it feels like I know her from a previous life.

We don’t talk every day, but we are always here for each other. We sat by a table in the street, where there was a tent selling craft beers. The guys put some tap beers, with beers I believe he makes himself, and sell it for a cheaper price than the bars on the street.

Out of nowhere, Lilly was laughing and I asked her why she said “The homeless guy that just passed by, look at Josh and said he was a gorgeous man. Emphasis on the gorgeous” Not that my husband is not gorgeous, but never in America, a homeless guy told him he was beautiful and didn’t even ask him for change. Josh felt precious and I mock him for the next hours.

When in Rio, just go for it.

Soon after, Fabiano joined the group, and the nonsense starts. Gosh, I missed Rio! We started talking about Karaoke, so Fabiano gets up and decides to takes us to Karaoke. We were all asking but where? Where? And all he could say was “Follow me” Oh well, when in Rio, just go for it.

We walked to the place he said the Karaoke was, we knock, and the security guy told us that they were not having Karaoke Saturdays, due to Corona and they didn’t want a crowd a place and get shut down. So we kept walking. Once again, on our way to having dinner at the mall, Fabiano suddenly stops and rings at someone’s door.

“What are you doing? Oh no, he is gonna get shot. Just keep walking, he will follow us.” A guy opens the door, gives Fabiano a big hug like they don’t see each other in months, and invite us all in. The house was a recording studio/bar.

The guy brought us a table and some chairs and we bought some drinks. We got beers, Josh tried cachaca, the distilled liquor made from sugar cane juice and we listen to music in a borrowed Bluetooth sound system. Just us, in an empty garage, having a great time. Forget about Corona, forget about the life pains, forget all your troubles. All it matters is here and now.

The night moved on to meet the same friend from the previous day, Renata, at Outback. Renata is also a friend for over 20 years, she was there for all the important moments of my life and I’m here anxious, waiting for the day we are finally going to Disney together to celebrate.

Outback in Brazil is fancy and upscale.

If you say you are having dinner at Outback it means you can afford some prestigious five-star dinner. When I tell this to Americans, they think I’m out of my mind, since Outback here is so random.

I said goodbye to my friends, but I didn’t want them to leave. So they all decided to go to have dinner with us. What was planned for 3, now got a table for 8? It took us over an hour to have a table, but again, I didn’t care. I was enjoying the time I had with my friends. I didn’t have that impostor syndrome that is constant in the back of my head.

Our flight was leaving for Vitoria early in the morning, so we couldn’t stay as much as we would like to. Again, saying goodbye had to be fast, otherwise, I would have just stayed. And I mean stayed, not coming back. It sounds reckless, but I didn’t have this feeling of belonging since I moved to the States in 2012. I miss the feeling of belonging somewhere. All I’ve been doing is pushing through it. Elections, pandemic, elections, vaccines, mask, job changes, online college, moving again.

What’s next?

It’s not fun to live in a constant state of “what’s next?” Where nothing looks familiar and you have scattered friends.

Leaving Rio in a haze of emotions and decisions for the future. I had the best time and I will be looking into writing some scripts in Portuguese, once they are ready, I will try to find them a house. In Brazil. Because have some success where I was born and raised will have a completely different taste.

To all my friends who made time to see me, Lilly, Pedro, Fabiano, Fran, Renata, Lele, Leo, Simone, Phillipe, Patricia, Pablo. You guys are the best.

See you soon, my friends! Stay Healthy and Stay Busy.

XXX

J.Snell

72 Hours in Rio. Part 1

I rang the doorbell.

“Open up, it’s me, Joana, I’m going up”. That’s all I needed to say. The flashback moment in my head, I was 16 again and had just forgotten my house keys. They know my voice. They know who it’s me, I don’t need much more information besides my first name.

These people raised me, helped me to shape myself into who I’m today, and are the most basic foundations of my existence. People say it takes a village to raise a kid. My neighbors in that building were from that village and played the part of a family I didn’t have during my teenage/early 20’s.

They were like an extended family to be exact. They knew how hard my mom worked and they saw how much of a dreamer I was. So after nine years of living abroad, I rang the doorbell like it’s 2002 again.

Rio is home. It’s where I grew up, where I have all my friends, where I know the streets like the palm of my hand.

The city where I know how to place the purse close to my body and be vigilant, to whoever is crossing the street. Growing up in Rio, a 7 million population city and the second biggest city in Brazil, I developed a sense of danger.

Sometimes, those street kid thieves come around, out of nowhere, just slapping the flip flops against the pavement, and you know you need to move faster. This time, I took Josh to see the city, after multiple times in Vitoria, meet my friends and the place I grew up. We only had three days and this is what we’re able to see and do

Day 01 – The arrival

Josh, me, and my mom arrived at Santos Dumont airport. Which is the domestic airport and centrally located. As soon as you get out of the arrivals, you would see a lot of taxi drivers, ready to give you the wrong information about Uber, because they hate each other, and snatch on each other’s business.

I should have known better than to ask one of the taxi drivers about Uber. The guy who informed us about Uber sent us in the wrong direction. Lucky for us, a lady heard us and told us to go to the other side. When you leave Arrivals, go to your left, to the Uber lounge, located at the mall, inside the airport.

After we checked in at the hotel, we all went to meet one of my best friends at the mall to have lunch. All my history in Rio is connected to the mall. The mall where I got my first job, at the movie theater, where I had my first boyfriend, where I broke up with my first boyfriend. Where I was taken to have a nice date/dinner, that it wasn’t at the food court. A real restaurant, with someone serving me? Hooray! This time around, we ate at the food court with our friends.

After lunch, we moved along to the building where I lived for 10 years. Going up those stairs, where I manifested all I have today, was priceless. It was like the 35 years old was meeting the 16 years old me and screaming “WE DID IT!”

I guess all the emotions took away my hungriness. Josh ate, my mom ate. I couldn’t do it.

Day 1.2 – Girl from Rio

Our dearest friend invited us to have breakfast at a coffee shop inside of a supermarket. It’s very popular in Brazil to have a buffet-style restaurant where they charge your food by weight. For example, 1kg of food on your plate, would cost you around $19,00 reais.

I don’t know anyone who would ever put a kilo of food on the plate unless you fill up with coxinhas and pie. It is never the case. I’d asked the lady at the counter if it was brewed coffee. My friend was quick to make fun of me, saying that brewed coffee was only at home. They have expresso, and the brewed coffee does not refill, like in America.

Of course, it’s Brazilian coffee and you don’t need it. After breakfast, we took part ways. My mom went downtown with her friend, and we went to Copacabana.

Again, my mind filled with memories, I showed Josh the way I used to take to go to school. He asked me if it was normal for you to study in one neighborhood and live in a different one. I have never thought about that, but I guess it’s normal.

We learn very early on how to take the bus by ourselves and move around the city freely. What I mean by that is, I used to escape school a lot. I was never good with rules.

The school gates were open. Now it has a big blue gate, that doesn’t allow anyone to see from the outside. Whatever is inside, it’s a mystery. I pushed the gate and walked in. It still looks the same, while I made my way in, I heard voices in my head, coming from that time.

“You are going to fail again, and you never going to leave this place”

That teacher was right. I would never leave that place. It would be part of me for the rest of my life. Everything I lived while I was there, all the emotions, all the crying, all the D’s and F’s, prepared me for who I’m today, but regardless of what she said, I’m not a failure.

The fact I could go back there, as an adult and be proud of what I’m now, makes me a winner. Walking around the patio and the iconic 2001 rock we all took a picture of it, thinking about that time I stood in line to get bread, and one of my friends saying that it was his 12th time in line, the poor kid was hungry.

We walked around Copacabana, had an Acai for lunch, and headed back for the hotel. I was planning to go to Urca and see the Sugar Loaf, but I got overwhelmed. At night, we met with my best friend for a beer in one of the bars in Botafogo.

Botafogo its is very gentrified now, with a lot of fancy bars and expensive appetizers. Again, I just wanted fries and a beer. Out of nowhere, we heard a lady running and screaming on the street that a thief stole her purse.

We all got up from our chairs and sat back down “She should be paying attention” It is that normal and people always blame the victim. Hooray, Josh had seen his first robbery in Rio! It’s like the baptism of the city.

Day 02- For Christ Redeemer

Note to self: Need to improve my Photoshop Skills

The day was cloudy but it was the only chance we would have to go up to see the Christ Redeemer. We moved on with our plans anyway. It was very quiet, and about 17 dollars per person to go up with the train. We took some photos at the entrance and board.

To get up is about 15 minutes and it’s a beautiful way up, surrounded by the national forest. Once you get there, you have stairs walk up to, we should have taken the escalator, but never mind.

The last time I was there was about 16 years ago, and It was also cloudy. The major difference now is the influencers and the influencer’s photographers. It’s a very crowded place and if you see a picture of someone at the Christ Redeemer and it’s empty, it’s a lie.

She either slept there or used an app to delete everyone. Oh! And there are also the Hoes, who dress up nicely because they think they are going to get proposed by their gringos. I lost my chance.

Josh told me he was never so scared of someone driving like that Uber driver was. One of the first things you realize in Rio is how reckless everyone drives. After the Christ Redeemer, we went to the mall. Where I could show him, where I used to spend hours walking around with my friends.

He asked us where we were going to have lunch. Without thinking I took him to the same place I used to always go and he said “That’s just cheese bread. Let’s find somewhere else”. Sorry, my bad.

Stay Tune for part 2!

Stay Healthy,

XXX

JS Snellenberger