actually here!

Yes, we have really started our adventures! we are on our third or fourth day of travel, depending who you ask, and thus far the count of world versus us is in our favor. Being here is surreal-- because the travels have truly happened but also because Rio de Janeiro is like nothing we have collectively known before. It has the touches and tastes of Miami, Italy, Mexico, etc but it is a singularly unique place. The people could not be more friendly -- very willing to help and respond to our mix of Spanish, Italian, and hand gestures. The landscape is beautiful with great beaches and little islands and jutting hills covered in rain forests.
We spent our first two nights on the beach trying to create a bit more of a vision for our time in Brazil and also enjoying the quieter beach neighborhood of Ipanema/Leblon, but today we have haphazardly decided to jump in head-first to Brazilian night life. Our hostel tonight is in Lapa which is in this funny quasi-gentrified neighborhood with decrepit art nouveau buildings directly next to the most unique looking church ever (we spent hours looking for the cathedral and discovered that it was the funny coned shape building just a few blocks away from our hostel -- it is shaped like a ziggarut and is very tall and imposing but inside it is dark and very reflective with brilliantly colored stained glass windows that rose the length of the interior) and filled with people from all different walks of life. So the big event tonight is an outdoor party that may reach 15,000 people, certainly a legitimate form of cultural immersion! There will surely be much to report on. Until then, Laura et al

PS -- we found Jesus yesterday! He is made of reinforced concrete and sits atop the tallest point in Rio