Leavin on a Jet Plane

So this is my blog for the next few months while I'm in Brazil and Argentina. I leave Los Angeles on Sunday morning and arrive on Monday morning in Rio de Janeiro where I'll be until the end of March. From there I'll be traveling to Buenos Aires, the "Paris of South America". I figured this would be the most efficient way to communicate with everyone about the goings-on of my trip, and it will also give me a chance to work on writing a bit. Being an art major obviously doesn't require a heck of a lot of writing, so I'm somewhat out of practice. I hope to get better as I go along...

I'm really excited to finally go off on my own, but for this reason I'm also a bit nervous. Two-and-a-half months all by my lonesome is pretty heavy to take in right now, but I know I'll make some friends along the way. At this point my Spanish is rusty and my Portuguese is limited (I really only know how to order a shot of rum, which is "uma doce de hum" just in case you needed to know), but I'll be around a lot of native speakers where I'm staying so I'm sure I'll pick up some stuff. For the time I'm in Rio I'll be "couch surfing"; for those who don't know what this means, couchsurfing.com is a website that combines social networking similar to facebook and myspace and couches or places to stay while abroad. The hosts are generally natives looking to make friends and offer hospitality to travelers in exchange for learning more about other cultures and languages. From what I understand, it is a great way to travel not only for the friends and experiences, but also for the price (it's free), though this fact is definitely not the main reason to do it. It is actually stressed on the website that if someone is just looking for a cheap place to stay, then couch surfing is not the best option; the friendships and cultural exchange are what make it so special. So I'll be staying with about 5-6 different hosts, men and women, throughout the 6 weeks I'm in Rio. When I get to Buenos Aires I might stay in an apartment, but if I find my couch surfing experiences in Rio to be amazing, I might just do that in BA as well. On that note, I hope all is well for those who are reading and that this doesn't bore you too much...I'll try to keep the blog as entertaining as possible. Happy Valentine's Day to all, and for those of you who are single, do something that makes you happy. My best Valentine's to date was with my best friend Allison in Oregon when we got Chinese food, a bottle of red wine, and a chick flick. So simple yet so satisfying...adios y abracos.