The media made Brazil out to be The Devil. One of the reasons why I'm not the biggest fan of the news is because they tend to blow things up when they don't need to be. Zika, for instance, while I'm sure relevant, (and it's possible that I may have it because I was bitten 4 times the second day I was in Rio) is now in the US, and isn't the be all end all of humanity. In fact, I probably only really saw a handful of mosquitoes when I was in Rio - unfortunately none of them were the ones that bit me, those sneaky little suckers (literally). CRIME. Again, it exists, but I didn't witness it first-hand (and honestly, it's JUST like the US). Megan says a guy tried to pickpocket her, but he didn't make out with anything because she was vigilant. I had no issues. I will admit that I was scared a couple of times - once when our uber driver stopped to ask directions when we were in a sketchy ghost town-ish looking area (on our way to the Olympic flame), and the other when we were walking through a sketch area on our way to Escadaria Salerón (the steps). But we made it out, and all is well. I mean, even Ryan Lochte made up a story (to be relevant I'm sure) and everyone believed him because the media blows things out of proportion. Who looks like the villain, now? He does. Everyone I encountered was very nice and very proud of their city and country. Should I have learned some Portuguese? Yes, absolutely. Do I know a little bit now? Sure do!
This I will NOT miss about Brazil:
1. Not flushing toilet paper, but instead throwing it in a bin. Possibly the smelliest, grossest thing is to use a public restroom and see the toilet paper piled up in the bin, overflowing. I gagged just typing that. I forgot the first couple of days, but got the hang of things, however grotesque I felt.
2. Not having hot water. Very strange to me that at our second apartment there was just one handle on the faucet, and I never got hot water to come out. Also the case for the larger faucet in the kitchen, and in all of the faucets at any Olympic event. I also took a couple of cold showers, because the hot water (when we had it) didn't always work.
3. Drinking bottled water all the time. I mean, this isn't that huge of a deal, but sometimes when you don't have bottle water to drink, you go to the faucet, or a drinking fountain, or SOMEWHERE you can get a drink of water. Having to purchase water all of the time isn't super fun (especially when you drink a ton of it, and can't get free refills).
4. Humidity. Humidity is in the US, too, but I feel like I can tolerate it better? Maybe it's because there are typically air conditioners nearby when the humidity gets to be too much, which is not the case in Rio - so maybe I will not miss not having A/C instead.
5. Not having central air. This is a luxury, and I do not like to be without. Call me spoiled, whatever. I can take it. (I can't, however, live somewhere there is no central A/C.)
6. Not being able to communicate. I don't like being frustrated, and I got that way a few times because I couldn't ask the question I wanted to ask, or say what I wanted to say. Obviously this is my fault because I didn't try to learn any Portuguese before I left (besides "How are you?" and "I am good.")
7. The smell. Just, no.
8. Mobs of people. This could have been due to the Olympic games, but I'm pretty sure there are always a gazillion people in Rio, and I enjoy not being stuck in crowds all the time.
9. Having to talk to 3 different people before you get whatever you're purchasing. Most places I had to have one person ring me up, only to have to go to another area to pay, and then go back to where I was rung up to have someone else hand me the stuff I bought. Job security, I guess. But so unnecessary, in my opinion.
10. Traffic. Some of the worst I've seen - luckily I wasn't the one driving, but if I had to drive there, I would imagine having severe road rage. Also, they are basically all terrible drivers.
Things I will miss about Brazil:
1. The prices of an Uber. Legit, one of our uber rides cost less than $1 US. Several of our rides were on the low end of things - I think our most expensive uber was $25 and that was going (what seemed to be) pretty far.
2. The view. Atop Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf Mountain were some of the most amazing views. Unfortunately at Redeemer, the mobs of people were everywhere, so it made it a little less enjoyable, but for a moment, you could get a second of peace, and a slight breeze, and it was magical.
3. Drinking a beer on the beach. People would just be selling beers on the sidewalk, and you could just buy one and crack it open. Fantastic.
4. Drinking a beer on the train. People would walk through the train selling beer, soda, water and snacks, and you could just buy one and crack it open. Fantastic.
5. Popcorn, churros, and anything else you can just buy from a street vendor. They were delicious and so inexpensive.
6. The beach. Pretty. Peaceful. I just think I miss the beach whenever I'm not near it.
7. Caipirinhas. Okay, this is the third drink option that I'll miss, but they were pretty delicious, and extremely refreshing.
8. Dressing like a loon and it being okay. This will happen on any red, white and blue holiday (AKA 4th of July), but dressing like the statue of liberty only seems to be okay when cheering on Team USA every 4 years (or two I suppose, if you're into the other Olympics).
9. Servers and eating meals at restaurants. You started with one server, then another would bring your food - you could ask any of the servers for anything. They would all help you, no questions asked. It was beautiful! Also, when you were ready to pay, they bring your check AND a credit card machine to your table, and run your card in front of you. Everywhere has a chip reader, and it's just much simpler. They also include the tip already, so no calculating anything. Genius.
10. Bread. Get it while it's hot! They love their bread, seriously. Mini loaves. Pao de queijo (cheese bread). Rolls. It was all delicious and at most markets you could get it fresh every 20-30 minutes. They had a schedule posted on the wall. I waited once, with like 6 other people. Just wonderful. I wonder how they stay so thin with all of the bread and alcohol they seem to drink. Oh that's right, THEY SAMBA.
Best venue/sport: Beach volleyball. The venue was ON the beach. We walked in the sand to get to the stadium, and if it weren't for walking about 10 miles every day, I probably would've worn flip flops every time we went. The view was KILLER in the daytime. The first time we had it, we were way up top, and I got some of the best photos of the beach. The announcers were hilarious, too. I think that beach volleyball in general is a pretty chill sport, so this was no exception in Rio.
Best event to attend: Any USA event. For the first time in the 3 Olympics, we had tickets to see Men's USA Basketball! They played Venezuela, and thanks to nobody caring where you sat, we were 7 rows from the court. It was sweet to see them so close, and the streak is over now! For all the basketball I've seen, I can finally cross the USA Men's team off the list - even if there was no Lebron or Curry. Watching the USA Women's Gymnastics team win the team gold was also amazing! Unfortunately we were 3 rows from the top of the arena, but we had a good view, I guess? Haha! Watching Katie Ledecky obliterate her own world record in the 800m freestyle, and win gold? Awesome. Watching Michael Phelps win a silver medal, and tie one of his rivals and laugh about it on the podium? Sweet. Losing to a guy who was a fan of his and met when he was 8 years old, and then to see them walk around the pool like they were old friends? Super sweet.
Best non-USA event to attend: Brazil vs Germany Men's Gold Medal Football. This was a rematch of sorts from the World Cup in 2014. Germany beat Brazil in that game 7-1 in the same stadium. Watching the home country win a gold medal in a shoot out, on the very last shot was insane - mostly because of the crowd. Brazilians love to cheer for their team, or the underdog. A guy we sat next to for this game was rooting for Brazil. He spoke English, so I asked him what the cheers meant. He told me that most of them have to do with their hatred for Argentina (big rivals), or about the referees and their mothers. The energy was palpable. We wore earplugs and it was still loud. It's possible that it's the loudest sporting event I've ever attended. Unfortunately for the US, the men didn't even make the cut for the Olympics, and the women were ousted early (we were banking on them to be there, and they're the main reason I was in Rio for as long as I was).
Most surprisingly entertaining sport: Badminton. I'll admit that I went to this strictly because of my aunt, but we had a bit of fun here (plus it was nice and relaxing to sit there and not have people screaming in your ears every 20 seconds).
Still the dumbest sport known to man: Table Tennis. COME ON, MAN. THIS IS NOT A SPORT. Also see: Trampoline, rhythmic gymnastics.
Dumbest thing to pay for: Gymnastics Gala. Seriously, we shelled out $$$ so we could see acrobatic gymnastics?! This isn't even an olympic sport. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
Best Today Show Personality: Hoda. She is the most personable! I mean, Natalie, Jenna, and Al were all nice, but Hoda takes the cake. I'm STILL waiting on my photo with Matt Lauer. If it doesn't happen in 2020...
Funnest thing to take a photo with (tie): People who want to take their photo with you and the Olympic torch. It's always fun (to me) when a stranger wants to take a picture with you because you represent your country so well (or you look like a total idiot decked out in head to toe red, white, and blue stuff). When they asked, I started asking them to take a photo with me on my camera. Hello random people! Also, there were about 7 or 8 different places to take your photo with an Olympic torch. I found this to be very entertaining, especially when you were in front of a green screen and they added a crowd or a stadium behind you. What a fun time!
Weirdest food to eat (tie): Tapioca and Acai. First, who knew that tapioca was anything other than pudding?! In Rio, it's a bread-ish thing, that you can add just about anything to- salty or sweet. Our host at our second apartment made it for us with butter - very weird. I had to try it again later, but this time it was with cheese and (Brazil's version of) pepperoni. Again, kind of weird, but better with cheese! Acai is also very strange to me. I tried it with granola at a place where our host recommended, but I was just not a fan. I like berries, but this not so much.
Most pointless thing ever in Rio (tie): Security at Olympic Events and Transportation to Olympic events. On day 4, they asked me to throw away my nail clippers. I had them in my bag the previous 3 days with no problem. So, I pretended to throw them away, but really I didn't. Nobody seemed to care. I smuggled bottled water in my pants because they were charging R$8 for something I paid $2 for outside. Nobody cared. I think security at this (and in London and Beijing) is more for show than for actual safety... Transportation was ridiculous. We took a train, to take another train, to get on a bus, to walk 1.5 miles before we finally made it to where our event was taking place. The worst part about it was the cost. Granted in the long run it wasn't so much money, it just seemed pointless that we had to take an exclusive bus one time and had to pay R$25 to ride it, as opposed to the R$4 any normal fare would've cost. Ah, price gouging. Gotta love that.
I enjoyed my time very much in Rio. I don't think that I would go back, only because there are so many other places in the world to explore. I enjoyed meeting people from all around the world, people from my own country, learning some of the culture of Brazil, chatting it up with Olympians (current and former), and having another once-in-a-lifetime experience. I went on a tour of NBC Studios once when visiting NYC, and the tour guide said that the best view for watching Saturday Night Live is from your couch, on your television. I will say that one disadvantage in going to the games, is that you miss out on some of the fun and the hype when you attend in person. You don't get the commentary, or see the athletes up close and personal. Don't get me wrong, I love being at the games, but there is a little something missing when you don't hear the announcers screaming or getting excited when one of your own does well. I'm lucky to have this be my third Olympics, and I don't plan on stopping here. I'm extremely excited that SOFTBALL will be back in Tokyo in 2020, and I am already looking forward to watching those games there!
I would recommend ANYONE to attend the Olympic games, even if it's just one event. GO. Maybe even in 2024 you won't have to travel so far if it's in Los Angeles! Or better yet, start saving and come with me in 2020.
Gold Medals for Everyone!
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