Bom dia from Rio de Janeiro! Adriana and I took a bus from São Paulo last night and made it to our hostel by midnight. We were greeted warmly and just about everyone here is in our age group. They invited us to a "samba performance" and it was far from what I expected. As we entered the theater, I saw about a thousand people dancing with a drum line on stage. We were taught how to samba and had a marvelous time.

Our hostel is very quirky and we are already making great friends. Adriana and I are staying in a co-ed room with 9 beds. The beds are bunked and stacked 3 high. It is very spacious and so the climb up to the 3rd bunk is a long one. It is very clean here and the area that we are staying in is lively because we are downtown. Today, we plan on visiting Christ the Redeemer and Copacabana beach. The weather forecast showed rain all weekend but we got lucky because it's warm with sunny skies. In two weeks, we will go to Foz do Iguacu!

I was talking to my lab group yesterday about what foods Brazilians eat most. They said that it depends on economic status. Lower class citizens eat mostly rice, beans, some meat, and lettuce because it is very inexpensive. Only the wealthier people can afford to eat at restaurants like McDonalds.  I found this very interesting because it is seems somewhat opposite in the United States. Anyways, I'm off to the beach!

Tchau!