Goodbye Brazil.

By the end of our three-week long adventure all over South America (you know, after the FIVE MONTHS we spent living in South America!), Lara and I were POOPED. We had done so much flying, bussing, and walking around that we could not bear to do anything else. On our last day in Rio, we decided to just relax in the small town that Daniel lived.

Although, as couchsurfers, Lara and I expected to prepare our own food, Daniel's mother and grandma refused to let us eat our 3-minute noodles hahaha. They insisted on cooking for us all the time and the food was seriously too good to turn down. This dish they made for us was some sort of cheesy pasta with soft-boiled eggs on the top. I know that sounds like nothing you've ever eaten but wowwww it was so good! P.S. Yes, that Tapatio was ours.



We took a little walk around town and stumbled upon a small farmer's market. Lots of home-cured meats and artisan salsas.



The city kind of reminded me of San Gabriel, or even some parts of Pasadena. So suburban, so leafy.



That is all. We awaited the hour of our departure by napping on our cute little makeshift beds. It was a looonnnnnngggg trip back home. To quote one of my facebook statuses, "OFFICIALLYYYYY on my way home! Saturday: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to São Paulo, Brazil. Sunday: São Paulo, Brazil to Montevideo, Uruguay and then Montevideo, Uruguay to Santiago, Chile. Monday: Santiago, Chile to Miami, FL. Tuesday: Miami, FL to Los Angeles, CA. Woooooooo ♥". Crazy huh?



All in all, my time in South America was incredible, unforgettable, life-changing. Although I felt very homesick at times, I would recommend it to anyone. You would think that six months in a foreign country, away from all that is familiar to you, would teach you so much about the world and life and other cultures... but if I could say it without sounding horribly cheesy, the truth is that it teaches you so much about yourself.

Can't wait for my next adventure.

♥ ♥ ♥

P.S. Because I lagged it so terribly in posting all of my South America pictures, I thought I would treat you with a few pictures of us enjoying the nightlife during our backpacking trip. For obvious reasons I didn't take my camera out at night so these photos are courtesy of mi amiga Lara's digital cam.

As they say in South America, fin.

When in Brazil

Let's get back to Brazil!! Is it annoying that I keep bouncing back between Brazil and NYC posts? It keeps my life exciting. Anyway. Remember how I told you that both of our couchsurfing hosts in Rio were being filmed by a local news channel? I snagged some photos of the action as we moved out of Dario's house (host #1) and into Daniel's (host #2).



Upon our arrival at Daniel's house, Lara and I immediately fell in love with his grandma. She reminds me of Sugar Mama from the Proud Family haha.



We decided to spend the afternoon at the Ipanema Beach even though it was kind of an overcast day (remember, July is winter for Brazil!) These pictures probably make it look really cold, but I think it was 68 degrees.



I literally have no idea what I am eating in the following picture!



Okay the next photo deserves an explanation LOL. The entire time we were in Brazil, I kept seeing carts that were selling "churros rellenos," or stuffed churros!!!! You could choose caramel or chocolate. Since I love churros and am irrevocably addicted to chocolate, this sounded like a dream come true. When Lara FINALLYYYY (haha!) allowed me to buy one, I, naturally, asked her to take a picture of me. Right when she is about to photographically memorialize my gluttony, these Brazilian surfer dudes jump in and totally photo bomb me! I could have died, it was so embarrassing.



We forgot how to get back to Daniel's house (the trip was about 1.5 hours on two separate city busses) so we borrowed somebody's cell phone to call him and ask him to come get us haha. Wow, we are really annoying! Daniel was so awesome and helpful the entire time. Lara and I sat on the beach, drank beer, and watched volleyball until our knight in shining armor arrived.



To show gratitude to our hosts, Lara and I cooked dinner! Chicken fajitas, mexican rice, and guacamole. Mexican flavors are so foreign in South America and Daniel's family had literally NEVER tried guacamole!!!!! The concept of using that "strange fruit" as a savory condiment/snack was so ridiculous to them that we actually had to coerce Daniel to taste it. They ended up loving it (his dad requested it again the next day and Daniel recently told me that his mom still makes it regularly!).



The next day we decided it was finally time to enjoy the infamous Copacobana Beach!



The sunset was so beautiful! Lara and I sat on the beach all evening, basking in its beauty and striking up conversation with others doing the same. We met a musician who was in Rio to watch his little brother's soccer tournament with his family and a couple who fell in love at first sight last year in Paris and decided to vacation in Rio that week for their second meeting. So amazing.



After the beach, Lara and I wandered around the touristy streets looking for something to eat for dinner. We ended up deciding on a pizza place, not really understanding the signs on the windows or the waiters (we were still working on deciphering Portuguese). It was relatively cheap and the waiters were begging us to come in (which is common for bars/restaurants in South America), so we said, why not?!! As it turns out, it was an all-you-can eat pizza/crepe restaurant!!! We sat at our table as servers walked around with new, exciting flavors, both savory and sweet. I ate until the very thought of pizza disgusted me hahahah. Probably the best meal we had in Brazil.



With that, I bid you adieu. I hope you have lovely pizza-filled dreams.