Last night, I might have had a few too many gin tonics. I was taught how to make the perfect gin tonic, though. So, I really don’t think that it was a bad idea to overdo it, because it was all in the name of science! In the name of making sure I am testing each one of these products that are being told to me is the best gin tonic process. I had a few of them—at least like eight of them. I can conclude they did indeed live up to the hype, or maybe it was just a long day.
But yesterday, it was a very interesting day that I wanted to make sure I wrote in my journal because a lot of things happened yesterday. I really should have written it last night when it was fresher in my mind. But I spent most of the day just bumming around Rio and seeing and being, you know, just relaxing.
It was Sunday. So I didn’t want to do too much. But after I woke up, I saw the sun.
It hadn’t been so sunny in a long time. So I was like, well, this is my opportunity. So I got my sarong or my little beach towel cover thing that I bought. I said to myself: “I am going to go out here. I’m going to take a walk. I’m going to walk from LeBlanc, where I’m staying, to Copacabana and find my way to Copacabana Beach and get some more of those caipirinhas.” I probably shouldn’t have been thinking about caipirinhas so early in the morning. But listen, this is Rio.
When in Rio (Rome)…
In my walking, one thing I saw that was crazy, and I’ve never seen something like that happen in a space like this before. I’ve seen it happen in Jamaica. In my mind I dismiss it because hey, Jamaica is so poor, obviously it’s happening there.
But here on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, I’m witnessing someone getting held up by knife and getting her phone taken away. And this wasn’t like any, oh, it’s a dark alley somewhere. This is the middle of the street, the middle of the day.
He just walked up on her and said something like ~let me get that~. I don’t know if that’s what he said to her. I’m guessing, since my Portuguese is none existent.
But what she did was she gave it to him, and he politely put his knife back and walked away with her phone. I was a little shaken to see it so cordial, that’s how muggings happen here. That’s how muggings are in Rio.
You get walked up in the middle of the day. I see how you are, Brazil. I see it.
So that warning that I was given, I understand. But that didn’t stop me from walking around trying to have my best life today. I’m not trying to be held back because this was the first time the sun was out, and it was making me feel everything, my skin, my everything.
I felt the glow of the sun. And those caipirinhas, they were hitting. They were hitting, okay?
It was important that I did write about that incident here just to kind of illustrate while you’re traveling you also have to be very mindful of the society or the place that you are.
Listen to what people say about the place and definitely take caution and heed to what people are telling you about the place, especially if they live there or if they are telling you about something that you need to be mindful of as a person who does not live there or who is a stranger to that land. But I’m enjoying Brazil. I’m enjoying Rio.
And I’m enjoying those caipirinhas, number one. And I’m enjoying the gin and tonics, number two. We’ll see what today has for today, what today has for me.
-Tall Black Nomad