The Instagram Review

I am often asked by family and friends, "What is it like living in Brazil?"  Well, it's a lot like living in the U.S.  I've mentioned this before, but we are staying in Barra da Tijuca, which is a very nice area of Rio.  We live near a large mall which is very modern.  Everything is expensive, but everything is so nice.  Our neighborhood is clean, I feel safe walking around alone, people are generally friendly.  The folks at the padaria are extremely friendly and enjoy practicing English while I struggle with Portuguese.  The folks at Starbucks have been less friendly and get a little annoyed when I don't understand carioca.  

Our apartment has a pool, playground, basketball court, outdoor snack bar and party area, game room with pool table, and a sauna.  We have 24 hour security guards at the gate to monitor cars/pedestrians and additional porteiros in the lobby.  The porteiros also moniter the security cameras that are found around the building and in each elevator.  By now they know us pretty well, know which apartment we are in, keep large packages at the front desk for us, and patiently answer our never-ending questions about this or that.

Overall, I really like Rio and I really like Barra.  We haven't had time, yet, to venture further into Rio, but I think I'll try to go sometime this week.

How they spell my name at Starbucks...

View from the tallest peak in Rio

I searched high and low for a teapot and Peter found one just in time for my birthday! :)

The "happy day after my birthday brunch" in the mall

We got a phone plan 2 weeks ago, but it took me a week to figure out that I actually had a data plan!  I was so happy to start using Instagram again!  You can follow me at www.Instagram.com/julie_s_arthur

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