So first things first. After an 11 sleepless hours flight, we arrived at Rio de Janeiro GIG and decided to take the shuttle bus to our host family's apartment in Ipanema a route of about 45-50 minutes away. This was our first test getting around. I was so nervous, although I know how to speak Spanish, the locals "cariocas" smiled and politely guided us to the right stop and direction to our home. Our home only a block away from Ipanema beach. On the bus ride "home" it was already incredible to see the different qualities of landscapes within the city, but what was more obvious was the great change of social class. As we exited the airport we drove through a neighborhood which seemed unsafe, the kind that everyone warns you not to go about. The kind that most people think Rio is made up of. As we drove through this neighborhood, I accepted reality, I was finally here, but was it safe? Would I make it? The neighborhood consisted of windowless brick homes, with clothing hung up outside, flat roofs, some painted, mostly covered in grafitti. What truly touched me the most was when we passed through a concrete soccer/basketball court and a group of kids were playing soccer without shoes. This to me was incredible, I couldn't find words to describe this moment, seeing how local kids despite the commodities they do or do not have, they still do what they love most, soccer.
Now I'll explain why I mentioned earlier the huge gap of social class disparity. After driving through this area, the bus finally reaches the downtown area, which is similar to New York, the busy streets, the huge sidewalks, and the tall buildings. As we get closer, and finally reach our destination, I couldn't help but notice, the gated communities, with door watchmen at almost every single building in Ipanema. All of these buildings were over 4-5 stories high and after talking to a local, about over 2,000R a month which is equivalent to 1,000$ for rent per month. Now another social class observation, which really caught my attention was the arrangement of the apartment here in Ipanema. The apartment had an extra bathroom and bedroom separate from the rest of the apartment for the "maid". However, our hosts did not have one. It really amazed me how this place in South America still had a colonial concept of dividing or placing people in social classes. I've been to Ecuador, here in South America, and I've never encountered that situation before.
So after settling in, my colleague Alex and I decided to start our trip off with a small tour of the Botanical Garden, a 15 minute walk from the house. This was our first breath taking experience, seeing the nature in store for us here in Rio.
Here you can see a small pocket of green space at our host home.
