The Ups and Downs of My Life in Brazil

My return to Floripa has been auspicious at best. Upon my arrival on Wednesday, the sun was shining brightly and I found myself hardly missing the beautiful summer in the U.S. I pondered the idea that the winter may have passed, and I was welcoming an early summer with open arms. Of course, I couldn't have been more wrong. I woke up to pouring rain on Thursday. Unfortunately, that was the least of my problems. My car stalled roughly six times including three times on the main highway. Needless to say, that was not fun. The definition of uncomfortable should include sitting in a stalled car in the fast lane on a highway in Brazil without having any idea of what to do (does AAA exist here? - I have no idea). Normally, I would have just laughed it off as just another part of living in Brazil. Unfortunately, I had just returned from the incredible functionality of the U.S. and, therefore, I was pretty bummed out. I contemplated taking the car to the mechanic ASAP but it was getting late. I was able to restart my car after about 10 minutes each time, and luckily I made it back home although I felt about as safe as Rodney King at an LAPD convention. On top of that, while I was away, I received several speeding tickets in the mail. I was certainly expecting some of them. The problem was that these tickets were for March and I didn't buy my car until May. Now I need to go down to the DMV and fight the ticktes. It was basically the total opposite of the feeling when you move into a new apartment and you're suddenly receiving the old tenant's Playboy subscription.

Even though I was pretty bummed about the car debacle, we decided to go out. This turned my fortunes around immediately. Once I arrived at El Divino, I realized why I liked Brazil so much. Sometimes when I get down I just need a kick in the ass to make me understand how lucky I am to live here. This was exactly what I needed. To make a long story short, we had a total blast, and I couldn't have been any happier. The drive home, however, was not nearly as much fun. Although my car had no problems on the way there, it finally kicked the bucket just a few minutes from my house. This time, though, it wouldn't restart and I had to walk the rest of the way home. It was an incredible night with a not so great ending.

On Friday the swell that we had all been waiting for finally arrived. My friends had scoped the island and told me where we would score the best waves. I ran to my car because I was excited to meet them (they were already at the beach where they wanted to surf), but unfortunately my car wouldn't start. I gave up at this point and called a tow truck. After a lengthy wait time, I found out that fixing my car would cost about 1,000 reais and I wouldn't get it back until Monday. I missed one of the best surf days of the year, I was out 1,000 reais, and I was going to have a car for my first weekend back home. What a bummer.

I woke up Saturday with high hopes. Everyone has car problems (or at least I keep telling myself that). This was just part of the deal. Luckily, the swell was still cranking and we decided to wait until the afternoon. And by "we" I mean my friends. The have been living on the island their whole lives and they predict the swell, the wind, and all other atmospheric conditions like God's personal weatherman. The crazy thing is that they are almost always right. We hit the afternoon session, and everyone was super stoked. The conditions were great, and everyone was having a blast. As a big set wave came in, I found myself a little inside. I paddled hard but knew I was going to get buried. I tried my hardest to for a deep duck dive but had no luck. The wave was just too powerful. The force of the wave flung the board down my body, and I felt something hit my foot pretty hard. At first, it didn't seem like much (isn't that always the case?) but after looking down, I knew it wasn't good. I had just gashed my foot pretty deeply. I stayed out for a little while longer because I didn't want to ruin everyone else's session, but finally I had to paddle in. It was only worse when I got arrive onshore. The stream of blood was not a pretty sight. My friends convinced me that I should go to the clinic to get stitches, and that's exactly what I did. The ocean is off limits for one week as is running, working out, etc. Killer news.

As I was laying on the couch nursing my wound following a pain killer and my dinner special (frozen lasagna), I received a call. The call went something like this:

Friend: "How quickly get can you get to this house."
Me: "Why?"
Friend: "Ummmm, I'm pretty sure you would like it here." (This is man code for "there are a LOT of girls here")
Me: "About 10 seconds."

And I was off. I arrived at the house party which was a 22nd birthday celebration for Brazilian twin girls. There were about 15 girls and 4 guys. Suddenly, all of my problems were gone, and Brazil was once again the greatest place on earth....