FINALLY today it was sunny again. So even though we went to bed at 7 this morning, Sally, Danielle and I dragged our butts up to go to Ipanema at 11 and work on our taaaans. It was a really lovely day at the beach (I listened to that mix CD I made last year with t.A.t.U. and that cover of Sigur Ros) and we got quilo lunch/dinner after from this place called New Natural. Walking around Ipanema, we decided to stop by the H. Stern museum. This may have been the most surreal museum visit of my life. We were ushered in, asked our names and nationalities, and given fancy nametags. They showed us a table with free caipirinhas (com alcool!), juices, fancy crackers, or chocolate. A man then escorted us to the elevator and took us up to a floor where we got individual headphones and a narrated tour of the gem process. When we returned the headphones, a well-groomed woman named Huckadee (something like this, it was really strange and ended in -dee) took us down a different set of stairs to a private table and brought out this huge selection of expensive emerald, topaz, amethyst, and diamond rings. Even after we said we weren't interested in purchasing anything, she still insisted that we try them on. When we were finished, she disappeared again and returned with lush black boxes that when opened revealed three different gemstones, our gifts for visiting the museum. Huckadee or whatever then escorted us to the showroom, where we were offered another drink and shown the "classic" and "contemporary" collections. Meanwhile, we were still wearing bikini tops under our dirty t-shirts, covered in sand, and sporting R$2 street jewelry. Danielle still had unblended sunscreen on her arm.
I guess they had to give the benefit of the doubt as potential buyers, but it was pretty obvious that none of us would drop 6,400 on an emerald necklace. At the very end of the tour, we were ushered into a waiting room with glass doors facing the street outside and told to wait for four minutes while they prepared the shuttle back to our hotel. So for absolutely no price whatsoever, we got a museum tour, alcohol, authentic gemstones, and a free ride home. It was a long ride, though: while a cab can drive from Ipanema to Catete (our street) in about 10 minutes, this van decided to travel through Copacabana, past the Botanical Gardens, around Corcovado, and through the neighborhoods of Gavea, Botafogo, and Flamengo before dropping us at Largo do Machado. (That sentence was mostly to show off how well I know the 'hoods of the city by the way. You don't really care how far the van drove.) Also at one point the driver stopped and hopped out for 10 minutes to meet someone in a dark street. At Largo do Machado we got waxes at the salon and churros on the street. GOOD DAY.
One of the dumbest/best things about this country is the forward men. I was told I was beautiful on the street seven different times today. My self confidence is going to plummet when I get back to the U.S. When I lose the last of the tan, I don't know what I'm gonna do. By then, though, I should be so heavily buried in schoolwork that I won't give a care. SPEAKING OF, everyone, I'll be back at Carleton at or around the 27th. You know what that means. I'll be in America with phone access again beginning the 22nd. That's nine days away. Good heavens.
I guess they had to give the benefit of the doubt as potential buyers, but it was pretty obvious that none of us would drop 6,400 on an emerald necklace. At the very end of the tour, we were ushered into a waiting room with glass doors facing the street outside and told to wait for four minutes while they prepared the shuttle back to our hotel. So for absolutely no price whatsoever, we got a museum tour, alcohol, authentic gemstones, and a free ride home. It was a long ride, though: while a cab can drive from Ipanema to Catete (our street) in about 10 minutes, this van decided to travel through Copacabana, past the Botanical Gardens, around Corcovado, and through the neighborhoods of Gavea, Botafogo, and Flamengo before dropping us at Largo do Machado. (That sentence was mostly to show off how well I know the 'hoods of the city by the way. You don't really care how far the van drove.) Also at one point the driver stopped and hopped out for 10 minutes to meet someone in a dark street. At Largo do Machado we got waxes at the salon and churros on the street. GOOD DAY.One of the dumbest/best things about this country is the forward men. I was told I was beautiful on the street seven different times today. My self confidence is going to plummet when I get back to the U.S. When I lose the last of the tan, I don't know what I'm gonna do. By then, though, I should be so heavily buried in schoolwork that I won't give a care. SPEAKING OF, everyone, I'll be back at Carleton at or around the 27th. You know what that means. I'll be in America with phone access again beginning the 22nd. That's nine days away. Good heavens.
If I ever join a dating service this will be my photo.
These are those dudes that tan standing up all day. At first I thought they were so unnecessarily many lifeguards. Also it feels really good to see white people at the beach that I'm darker than (aka the couple on the right.)
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