Posts written in June, 2010
Visiting Iconic Rio de Janeiro
When arriving in Rio, I was determined not to like it.
“This place stole the 2016 Olympics from Chicago, and I am going to find reasons why it doesn’t deserve it,” I thought to myself when we arrived.
In the bus ride to the iconic Christ the Redeemer I looked out the window at all of the passing buildings and people. The Copacabana beach flew past us as our tour guide attempted to explain the significance of the city.
“Chicago’s still better,” I thought to myself as we arrived at the Corcovado mountain.
We took another van to the top of the hill and were allowed to walk the 222 steps to the summit. When I arrived I was dumbfounded. I was in awe. The statue, which had been funded my public donations in the early 1930s, was a masterpiece. Its art deco style made it seem even more powerful atop the mountain.
Our guide told us that the weather had been lousy lately and they had been doing a lot of construction work so we were very fortunate to see it in its full form. I tried to take it all in while simultaneously digesting an incredible panoramic view of the city itself.
“Okay. This place isn’t that bad,” I conceded as we made our way back to the van.
Next we visited the main Catholic cathedral in town which had been built in the style of a Mayan temple. The ceilings rose dramatically and were lined with a variety of stained glass and religious symbols. I snapped about a thousand photos and moved on.
“Well that was…amazing,” I thought to myself while getting back on the bus. The Olympic win seemed more and more plausible with every stop.
We made a few more detours in town before arriving at Sugarloaf Mountain. This was another sight that took me by surprise. We rode in two cable cars between the large landforms before arriving at what had to be the best vantage point for a sunset that I’d ever seen. Natalie and I took pictures and wandered all around the top of the mountain before sitting for a moment to have a hot chocolate to warm up. It was truly stunning.
“Well I suppose the Olympic committee knew what it was doing,” I thought as were dropped off back at our hotel. “I can’t wait to see all of this again in 2016.”
Visiting the Favelas of Rio
We never thought we’d ever be involved in a high speed motorcycle chase during this internship.
But GAP Adventures threw us a curve ball today.
Our tour guide, Marcus, led us through the favelas of Brazil, which are essentially the city slums.
As he began to give our group a run down of what to expect, Marcus mentioned the current omnipresence of drug lords and automatic weapons and the 200,000 people who live their lives in such conditions. We weren’t sure what we had gotten ourselves into.
“Our tour begins at the top of the mountain,” he told us. “In order to get there, we need to ride these.” He pointed to a group of motorcyclists who were idly waiting for us. We all hopped on the back of one these rickety motor vehicles and hung on to a complete Brazilian stranger for dear life. We took off racing up the crowded mountain, zigging and zagging between trucks and other bikes, all completely uphill with no helmet.
When we eventually screeched to a halt at the crest of the hill, Marcus said, “Now up here at the entrance, you will see young men who have guns and drugs. Do not be alarmed. These are my friends and I follow the rules. We will be fine,” Marcus calmly stated.
Sure enough, we passed men holding automatic weapons and getting rowdy in the local bars on Sunday morning. “They are harmless,” he explained as we walked by. “But absolutely no cameras in this area… We don’t want anyone to get shot.”
Our group proceeded into the labyrinth and stopped periodically for Marcus to explain certain aspects of the village. He showed us local artisans, introduced us to children who lived there and pointed out a local child care center that was run by volunteers.
“This is important for you to see,” he told us, “because there is hope that lives here too.”
Despite the weight of the place, he envisioned a better future for this place. He told us of ongoing municipal projects to better the space as well as other grassroots efforts to raise the standard of living.
As we walked out, our heads were spinning from witnessing that side of the city, but we were appreciative to have our eyes opened to reality. It is enlightening for tourists to see all sides of humanity that exist in a place like Rio to get a more holistic understanding of its culture.
Casey & Natalie
Tackling the Tango in Argentina
So… you think you can dance? Well try the Argentinian tango and let me know how that goes.
We took a quick bus ride with our group of fellow GAP Adventurers to our big Tango dance class. I have enjoyed dancing with my friends before (in more of a free-form, embarrassing way) so to go to an official class was a wholly new experience for me.
When Natalie and I arrived we were asked to be seated around the edge of the dance classroom. We shook hands with other fellow Tango classmates and waited for our teacher’s arrival.
After a few minutes, our confident, bilingual dance instructor strutted into the classroom. He simultaneously put me at ease and made me feel quite anxious.
“Tonight we will be learning the basic Tango dancing steps,” he told us. “Afterward, we will all watch a real Tango show so you can appreciate how incredible the dance truly is.”
We did a few warm up exercises (walking around the room, positioning our arms appropriately, awkwardly laughing at how foreign it felt to move so methodically) and got into the groove of things.
Men and women were split up as we were shown our gender specific steps and movements. From there we were mixed and prepped on how to do the full dance together. It was funny and embarrassing to attempt to move so gracefully with a complete stranger, but it made for a jovial atmosphere.
After about an hour of these movements, we dined on an incredible Argentinian meal and were then treated to a spectacular Tango performance. Lights. Colors. Singing. Incredibly coordinated dancing and fancy footwork. It was a real delight and a chance to truly appreciate how powerful and difficult the Tango can be.
This Is Where Rainbows Are Made
Have you ever wondered where the Lucky Charms leprechauns live?
Well Casey and I found them today. Right at the intersection of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil.
After seeing over 14 rainbows in one sighting of the massive Iguazú waterfalls, I am convinced that this is where those leprechauns call home. I wish someone had let me in on this secret when my eight-year-old self savored the rainbow marshmallow cereal, contemplating the whereabouts of these little men.
I can truly say that seeing Mother Nature shine in all her powerful splendor today through these roaring falls proved to be one of the most soul-shaking experiences I have had to date.
I first caught a glimpse of the beautiful expanse of water through a helicopter ride from the Argentinian side. I love heights and had never ridden in a chopper before, so I guess you could say this was a big moment for me. When I hopped in the co-pilot seat with my touristy HD cam in hand, I gave my pilot an excited pat on the shoulder “hello.” Apparently this enthusiasm did not go over too well because he sneered at me with disgust and did not speak the entire flight. Maybe the shoulder pat is more offensive in this country than America. Who knows.
So up, up, and away we went, and my eyes poured over the sea of lush greenery. About five minutes after take-off, I spotted the magnificent falls. If you’ve seen Avatar and remember those floating Hallelujah Mountains with the waterfalls, that’s about what this felt like… minus the floating part.
Then we took a high-speed boat ride up to the base of the Falls and we came face-to-face with the immense beauty. We were speechless. We had never seen anything like it. As we ended the day on a walking tour through the vistas, I could have sworn I saw a short green figure dart away into the forrest out of the corner of my eye. That’s when I knew that experiencing this natural wonder will forever be more valuable to me than 14 pots of gold at the end of rainbows.
Meeting My Meat
Today I met my meat. His name was Pablo Picasso.
Let me just say that my Peruvian alpaca friend, Pablo, tasted tender and delicious covered in a wild mushroom demi-glace.
After I enjoyed my unique lunch cuisine, Casey and I wandered 
through the colorful side streets of Cuzco for five minutes until we stumbled upon an Incan-clad alpaca.
When I looked into its kind eyes, Pablo stared back knowingly into my soul, and I am confident he sensed the twinges of remorse rising up inside me for eating his kin.
But as we maintained eye contact and he confidently batted his long eyelashes toward me, I offered up my gratitude to him for providing this earth with such delectable protein.
He then gave me a subtle nod, and while yes, it could have been a twitch from a fly that landed on his face, I like to think this gesture acknowledged my guilt and accepted my apology.
The alpacas of Peru will forever hold a special place in my heart… and in my stomach.
STA Head Office Visit
What do Casey and I have in common with Justin Bieber? We all 3 know what it’s like to be stalked by loyal fans. Although Justin may have a couple million more than we do, we both were overwhelmed by the standing ovation of the STA employees as we entered the office doors on our first day. 
The diverse staff welcomed us with a 45 person high-five line. Can you get a better greeting than that? I don’t think so.
After we ran down the the colorful hallway slapping hands with our new smiling coworkers, we turned the corner to behold the “Case Face” and “Webbmaster” wall. What is this you might ask? Yep, I was confused too. The wall boasted a dynamic display of large photos snagged from any amateur stalker’s favorite media outlet called Facebook. Casey and I were both flattered and mildly creeped out all at the same time.
Once we recovered from the shock of entering into the STA celebrity status, Patrick, our Marketing and Communications Manager, whirled us around the office to meet almost every staff member in every department. (We were quizzed later, and of course, both scored a 100% in name memorization. This may or may not be true.)
Throughout the past two days amidst the free meals, royal treatment at the Hilton Garden Inn, and conference calls with MTV and the Wall Street Journal, we kept whispering to each other in disbelief “is this seriously happening?” I think the family-style meal of fried everything we had last night in Dallas convinced both Casey and I that the cultural exploration had indeed begun!
Peace out until Peru.
~Natalie
