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The best part of the deal

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Now that we are in Rio, the spouses/partners get the best part of the deal. We get to sit by the pool, go to the beach, the gym, and go shopping. So, we've been so-o-o-o busy that I haven't written. We've walked Ipanema Beach and Copacabana and explored some of the nightlife here. There is so much to see. I've made some really good friends in a short time so it will be hard to leave in a few weeks. Everyone is feeling a bit of that stress. But at night we fall asleep to the sound of the waves which is enough to relieve the stress for a short while. Okay well, there have been a couple of parties to go to. You wouldn't expect this group to just go back to the hotel every night. We had a premiere party which wasn't much of one and that was disappointing since I never attended a real Cirque du Soleil party. The Halloween party a few days later made up for it a bit. Getting dressed up is really fun for this group!
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Barbatuques Pizza Party and Workshop

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One of the most interesting things I've done so far in Brazil is hang out with the Barbatuques . This is a famous Brazilian body percussion group. Our Artistic director, Matthew Jessner, set up an exchange with the group which included some "getting to know each other time." On Monday night, we had a pizza party with them at their director Fernando Barbaros' house in an area of Sao Paulo called Vila Madalena. I tried to talk to the people there and worked on my Portuguese a bit while they practiced their English. We had pizza made in a dome shaped brick oven in the back yard. Later we hung out in the house and participated in a jam session. Everyone clapped and sang or grabbed an instrument and played along. The next day we all gathered to learn body percussion. It was really amazing. Here's a video of the group.
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A September 11th story

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I am so far away from the US but I'm often reminded that "there's no place like home." First if all there is a lot of poverty in Brazil and it's right in your face. We can see one favela (slum) from our hotel window in the midst of a nice part of town. (The picture is a favela from Rio so you get the idea). Also, being one of only a handful of Americans here on the tour, it can be difficult to hear the regular jabs against Americans that I hear from non-Americans and some Americans who choose not to see the positive in our country. Americans are often characterized as materialistic, loud, obnoxious and narcissistic towards the rest of the world. It's strange to me how often I've seen the non-Americans on this tour lose their cool over something. But no matter what anyone says, I really believe that there is so much good we do in the world that often goes unrecognized. And when I received this email, I was reminded of that and felt a little closer to home. ...
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