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I have come to take ever-ready Internet access for granted because life without it is very difficult. We finally connected to the Internet in out Flat on Thursday afternoon, 18th June. Other than work, I now must learn a new language from scratch. The mission is to speak Portuguese, made even more difficult since I don’t even speak Spanish. Even without understanding the language, it is clear the people here are very nice and friendly, but the communication barrier is making play catch-up during conversations. The food, weather and people are amazing and are making it very easy for me to adjust. I am trying to sample as much local food as possible, and I am finding the items are similar to that stateside, but prepared with a lot more flavor and flare.
FOOD
I especially like the pineapple in a Hamburger which is an essential part to its great taste.
MUSIC
Everyone meets and greets with a smile and I’m sure that’s a cultural thing because they seem to embrace their customs. However, there is even here an American influence, most notably in their choice of music. From the clothes they were to their choice in ringtones for their phones, the people of Brazil seem to like American pop music. Every store I’ve visited in the local shopping malls have had American music playing, so I assume this is a testament to the level of influence America has had.
Shopping
Most items we are used to using on a regular basis are available, as well as ATM’s which are found in several spots in the local malls.
Laundry
The flat we are staying in has a laundry service near the management office and is conveniently located. They accept drop offs so clean clothes are not an issue.
Internet
Even though I have cable, its still not high-speed broadband, so we have to take every kilobyte per second that we can come by.
Site Seeing
Rio is full of beauty and there is a lot to see. Please feel free to check out my pictures of a local city park overlooking Rio beach. Hand gliders also use this peak in order to take off.