"Sou Carioca" a Rio de Janeiro Travel Page by ShannonRose

After graduating from the University of San Francisco, I was scouted out to work as a retail manager for Target. I liked it, but my body and spirit didn't! I learned at the tender age of 22 how well stress can physically and psychologically destroy you. So, I jumped ship when I decided i needed to destress and detox, and spend some time with my family....who happen to live in beautiful Rio de Janeiro. So now I am here...living here, studying Portuguese at PUC (don't rely on your highschool Spanish to get you through, lazybones, learn a few phrases...Pimsleur audio is great...or get a tutor...), going to the beach (I wish the sand and water were a little cleaner), drinking lots of fresh juice (everyother storefront and corner has a fresh juice place), drinking chopp (small glasses of icy beer), socializing (brazilians can talk for hours with each other), seeing lots of gorgeously fit and tanned young people, seeing lots of older people with sun damage spots and plastic surgery, enjoying the level of service from gyms to grocery stores, feeling sad about poor people in favelas and the housekeepers and maids that are paid to raise other children while they leave their children at home, seeing how blacks are mainly poor, the lack of support the government gives poor people either by not building homes or giving good education, exorbant prices for some items, filet mignon is cheaper than chicken or fish!