Sunday, February 28, 2010

Back in Sao Paulo... and soon, back in the US!

I'm in Sao Paulo again, this time with my friend Paul, and I'm soooo happy to be here. Things are finally improving. Man, I didn't realize how much I needed to be with friends. After Marisa and I split up when she went back to England and I went to Salvador, I was in such need to be around people. I met some really amazing people in Salvador and Morro in the hostels, but it just isn't the same as being with friends who really know you. I also had a hard time having to tell the story of my attack over and over again when people asked (my face was still really purple when I got there), and as much as I wanted to be funny and witty about it and make up cool stories, I just hadn't quite gotten to the point mentally where I could see the humor in things... I was mostly just miserable, self-conscious, and lonely. BUT, now my eyes are looking better every day, and I think within a couple days I'll be back to my old self. I'm even starting to find the attacked-by-an-angry-band-of-midgets version of my story hilarious!! I'm with Paul which makes me so happy, and I'm in his comfortable house, where I have my own room and can just relax. Oh, and let's not forget that he makes the BEST jumbo caipirinhas. Even better, my friend Marie, the French reporter I met in Rio, is here in SP, so it is like a big reunion!

Last night the 3 of us tried going out to a place called The Week, which is supposedly the "world's best gay bar." (No, really.) We had some caipirinhas and pizza in the house, got all dolled up, and met up with some of Paul's friends, who drove us out to the spot. Thousands of fashionable looking boys and the occasional girl were pouring in from all directions- the place seemed hip. But the fees, oh the fees! I forgot I'm in Sao Paulo, the world's most expensive city. Forget NYC, Tokyo, and London. It's seriously more expensive here! The fee to get in was R$40 for boys (US $25ish) and for girls it was... dun dun dun dun... R$65 (US $40)!! Finally, a place where the girls pay more! I thought it would never happen. Anyway, the cost comes with nothing but the pleasure of seeing and being seen. No free beer. Probably not even toilet paper. The three of us looked around, decided that mayyyybe if it was that much to go in, we might be even more unpleasantly surprised by the drink prices, and we happily skipped off to more mellow Vila Madalena, a hip part of town that's much more up my alley anyway. So sorry, kids. No pics of the world's best gay bar.

It's a lazy, rainy Sunday in SP, perfect for lounging, trip planning, and job hunting. I know my trip is ending soon, especially since I've made the executive decision to cut out a couple parts and end a couple weeks early. I'm out of money, my backpack is getting heavier, and something about knowing I'll be home soon makes me really eager to just get there! So I'm skipping Bolivia and northern Argentina, both areas I do really, really want to see, but will just have to do on another trip. I've been gone now for 13 months, which is quite a long time, so I feel like I've accomplished my goals and been successful here, and I have no shame in feeling ready to see my family and friends back home again after so much time. South America will still be here when I am ready to travel again-- which hopefully is soon!

So it's official-- I will be back in Buenos Aires by mid-March, and back in Philadelphia by the end of the month! Then I will be in Massachusetts around April 12th. So get ready. :-)

But enough about that. I'm still traveling and have plenty more amazing things to see before I am home. Tomorrow (or Tuesday?) I will head for the beautiful southern Brasilian beach town of Florianopolis for a few days. Then I plan to visit the world famous Iguazu Falls, located on the border of Brasil, Paraguay, and Argentina. Everyone I know who has been there says they are absolutely stunning, and some even say their visit to Iguazu was the best part of their trip! So I'm excited to see those. And then I plan to cross back into Argentina there, and head to Cordoba to visit my Machu Picchu friends (remember, I did the Inca Trail with 12 Argentines!! Seems like ages ago..), then a quick visit to Rosario (birthplace of Che Guevara and overall cool city), and then back to Buenos Aires. And you know, not only will it be great to see my friends back in BsAs, but it will also be fun to just enjoy the city and not have to work! Finally!

2 comments:

Treezy said...

hey,

Yay that you're going to go home soon.

I;m heading to the states in May-July, but unfortunately only to the West Coast. If you wanna come and have a road trip though...

Hi, I'm Erica. said...

I would love to! If only. I´m broke and need to go home and make some money before I can even dream of a road trip though... I know, boo. Come to Boston!