Ugh, today was crappy; and I had such high hopes. It went down like this....I woke up early this morning with all intentions of being productive. I came downstairs to have breakfast and met up with a Canadian couple and a British girl. They were chatting excitedly about how beautiful it was going to be today--- hot, sunny, slightly breezy--- perfect for going to the beach! I checked the forecast on my laptop and the high was 80F with nothing but rain and clouds in sight for the next 5 days, at least. All I can say is, their joy was infectious and I got the bug. They somehow managed to convince me that I should ditch work for one day and go with them. I quickly, and may I add stupidly agreed. I added, however, that I would only stay for a little while and then would come back, change and head to the archive to work during the late afternoon until it closed. Awesome plan, right?
We all got our swimsuits on and hopped on the first bus that said "Ipanema". We sped along for about 10 minutes then came to a screeching halt--- traffic. We crawled along for a while then, I noticed we were taking a different route than I was used to. Ok, I thought, it'll be okay; we might even miss some traffic this way. Wrong! We looped all around God-knows-where until, finally, after 40 minutes, we saw beach. My companions immediately hit the signal and we got out. I didn't recognize the beach but, whatever, we were somewhere. The Canadians said they wanted to look at some shops first and would meet us a little while later on the beach. The Brit chick and I agreed and got ourselves situated on the beach.
The beach was virtually deserted which, normally, I would dig but then the wind picked up. The sea was REALLY rough so she couldn't swim. The sun passed behind a massive cloud that was quickly followed by several massive clouds. It got to the point that it was so cold and windy that we had goosebumps. But, the Canadian couple was nowhere in sight; it was then that we realized that, between us, no one had a watch either. Shiznit. After much discussion, we decided to ditch that beach for what looked like a much sunnier area around the bend.
They say, "the grass is always greener"; in this case, "the beach is always sunnier". We hopped on a passing van, got to our destination, placed all our stuff and basked in the glow of the Brazilian sun.....for about 15 mins until the clouds caught up with us. Double shiznit. Time for lunch! Food never fails to cheer me up. We went on a quest to find some. After a frustrating amount of trekking (my companion is an exceptionally picky eater), we finally found a suitable place.
Upon learning the time (after we had already ordered, of course!), I quickly realized I was cutting things close. I hustled the poor girl through our meal and we grabbed the first bus that said "Botafogo"--- this time, I knew it was a good one. Unfortunately, we were already hitting rush hour traffic. Another 45 minutes later, we arrived at the hostel. I flew upstairs, changed and ran out to grab the metro (WAY faster) to Downtown and try and salvage the day. As I descended into the station.....the platform was PACKED with people. I swear, I have NEVER seen it like that and I've been around quite a lot. I had to push, shove and throw elbows to get on the first train. I was squished on the side of an elderly gentlemen who apparently didn't believe in deodorant (despite having both arms up on the ceiling handrail) and was transporting something rotten in a plastic bag that was dripping on the floor. On my other side, there was a teenage couple engrossed in an exceptionally intense make-out session (I guess the subway is a turn-on??).
Several torturous stations later, I arrived at my destination. I ran out and up the stairs to the archive. I practically slid into the reception desk (they had apparently waxed the floors right before I got there) and threw my info at them. The tallest of three girls at the desk (why they need three is beyond me) smugly told me that I couldn't go in.
Me: Why?
Bitchy Girl(BG): It's closed.
Me: Closed?? But it said it was open until 5:45 on the website!
BG: Only if you're already inside.
Me: What? I don't understand.
BG: (long, huffy sigh) You can only enter up until 4:30; if you're already in you can stay until 5:45.
Me: But it's 4:30 now....
BG: No, it's 4:32.
Me: Oh, come on, please?? All I need to do is fill out one form so I can look at things on Wednesday. Really quick, I swear....
BG: No.
Me: There's no way?
BG: No; there's no one in there to help you.
Me: How can that be? They're open until 5:45....surely they must have SOMEONE in there. Like (start dropping names of people who I know)....
BG: No....come back tomorrow morning.
Me: (red in the face) Ok, fine.
As I power-walked back the metro to use up my totally-useless round-trip ticket, I fought back the urge to kick something. I mean, come one, this is BRAZIL! The people who invented "jeitinho" and all forms of official and unofficial short-cuts. Two minutes!!! I was probably there at 4:30 on the dot and chatted with BG for those two oh-so-important minutes. The other side of my brain went into guilt-mode. Well, you know, you chose to go to the beach instead of working. This is your fault. She is just doing her job and enforcing the rules-- you know that. Yes, damnit, I know. I grumbled to myself all the way back to the hostel.
Right before getting there I passed the mall; oh, I thought, I need to get some cash from the ATM and see if they have hair gel somewhere. So, I went inside.
I decided to head to Lojas Americanas (The American Store) first, which is basically like a catch-all Wal-Martesque kind of place. Previously, I had literally been on, what had turned into, a quest for hair gel. Who knew? Brazilians do not use gel--- of any kind-- in their hair. The day before, I had tried virtually every pharmacy and grocery store in the surrounding 10 blocks to no avail. My bottle of spray gel was running dangerously low and I needed some kind of substitute. As I entered the hair products aisle I heard someone calling out "hey girl!". I, of course, turned around--- stupid! Immediately two girls come at me, speaking REALLY fast at the same time. Now, I consider myself pretty fluent but I had no frickin' idea what they were saying. I said "what?" a few times until just one girl spoke. I quickly realized they were trying to get me to sign up for a store credit card. I explained that I was not Brazilian and, therefore, could not sign up for it. Fast Talker, unfazed, launched into her schpeal.....
Fast Talker: Oh, but it's got a really low APR and you get points....
Me: I'm not a citizen. I can't. I don't have a permanent address or an ID number.
FT: Well, how long are you going to be here? A few months, right?
Me: No, about 2 weeks.
FT: Oh, that's ok! You can at least fill out the paper work and then you get this magazine here and if you sign up you get 10% off your purchase...
Me: But I'm only buying hair gel. That's not really worth it.
FT: Sure it is! This magazine here has....(blah, blah, blah)...
Me: Yeah, thanks, but I'm not really interested.
FT: But...
Me: No thanks.
(FT proceeds to follow me down the hair products aisle asking me questions about my stay in Brazil and explaining how great this magazine would be for me). Eventually, I said "no" enough times that she left. By this time, I'm highly annoyed. I get my damn hair gel (men's, incidentally, with a lovely musky fragrance--that's all they had) and head to the check-out. Long line....more annoyed...finally get up to pay. The checkout boy asks me credit or debit when I pull out my bankcard. "Credit". Ok, slide please. Ok. Your security code? What? I say. Suddenly, my annoyance has gotten the best of me and I can't think or speak straight in another language. This, of course, makes me nervous and I turn bright red. This makes me more self-conscious as the guy behind the counter begins to look at me like I'm an idiot savant trying to steal this damn hair gel. I finally mutter my code and he types it into the machine. BEEP! No go. DAMNIT!!!! After a few more tries, it went through and I power-walked back to the hostel. Annoyed, frustrated and feeling ridiculous and very guilty that it was after 5pm and I hadn't accomplished anything really....except for the damn hair gel.
Got to the hostel with one thing on my mind--dinner....I cooked some delicious pasta for myself and put on some music to cheer me up. As I drained the pasta, the lid came off the drainer....dinner a la dirty sink. Double damnit!! Now I have to go to the grocery store for more food....DAMN, I forgot to get money at the mall ATM....f*%@.....I give up..... :/
