Last day in Brazil

So my time in Rio is coming to a close.

Yesterday I went to a souvenir market and got some good deals on a shirt, decorative towel type thing, and a hat.  Afterwards I was at a costume ball, and it was really amazing to see all of the costumes and people dancing from all over the world.  I got there around 11:30 at night but didn´t leave until 6 AM.  The party was still going strong then.

Today I woke up with the hopes that the 4th time (yes, 4th time) would be the charm with hang gliding.  After waiting an hour past the time they were supposed to show up (again), I spoke with the hostel owner.  They said they would maybe be there in an hour and a half, but I told him I was just too frustrated and not willing to wait around again.  So my next trip to Rio will have to include hang gliding.

Today has been a lazy day of sleeping, packing, and saying goodbye to new friends.  It´s so cool meeting other people that are traveling from all over the world, and it really makes you realize how we are all one people.  Facebook has made it much easier to stay in contact, and hopefully these are people that I will be able to visit and that will be able to visit me.

I can say that I am not going to miss the heat (today I was lying in bed and realized it was a cool day.  It was 92 degrees) nor the disorganization that seems to be a part of Brazil´s culture.  A good example of this is that they used too much water during Carneval yesterday, so the city decided to shut down all water for the Centro region of Rio for the next 48 hours.  This means that I do not get to shower before I leave for my flight tomorrow morning, but I have been through worse.  Despite those downsides, I found people that were willing to help me when I was unsure of where to go and Brazilians that treated me with great hospitality during my stay here.  They have a sense of fun and being happy, even if they have much less that us Americans have.  I will look forward to coming back here when the opportunity arises.