A Rua Para Rio

It's already my third day in Rio and I just need to get some of these crazy thoughts down before I lose them all!!

First of all, I am thoroughly enjoying seeing the world from a different perspective. Not just being in another country, but my roommate Kirsty is British and we have had some of the most marvelous discussions over the past three days. Seeing what is the same and what is different is really like a breath of fresh air quite honestly. There are a lot of things that Americans do or think that not everyone in the world agrees with, and it's nice to hear that our way of life isn't the only way. On the other hand, there are a lot of experiences that I am incredibly glad I don't have to deal with at home... such as having to throw toilet paper in a trash can next to the toilet instead of actually in the toilet!! It's ludicrous!!

The sightseeing here is incredible. And the people are all so beautiful that it almost makes me feel like we are a bunch of slackers in America. I know I am sort of comparing city life to country life as well - country life is far more relaxed and I love it that way. Dancing really makes me feel incredible, and it's a nice way to get to interact with people even though I'm still not great at Portuguese.

There are so many other thoughts I have had that I want to share and I just don't remember them all well enough to put them down the keyboard!! Capturing everything in a vlog is really fantastic, though the vlog is more about what's on the outside and when I write it's more about what's inside of my head. We are planning more sightseeing tomorrow before our first rehearsal so it's going to be a thrilling time. Every day has so many new adventures... even just grocery shopping is an adventure and a chance to practice my Portuguese!

<3 Jackie