My Best Christmas in Rio Ever!

Time goes by so slowly for those who wait, and so quickly for those who have too much to do! Madonna's remixed Abba song is playing nonstop here, along with a lot of Pearl Jam (they just did their first brazilian show ever last month and it was huge - 40,000 fans showed up).

It hit me today that our stay here in Brasil is more than halfway over and I haven't accomplished nearly half of what I set out to do here. Not that this trip hasn't been productive - it has been incredibly so - but the old to-do list just seems to get longer and longer. The more time I spend in the Casa Rosa, the more things I find that need taking care of...

But I have managed to do a whole lot in two weeks. I bought a victorian 8-place dining table with chairs stuffed in red velvet, a wooden desk for my office, two chests of drawers, a crystal chandelier, two red outdoor lanterns, and several old prints of landscapes in Rio. I also acquired from Ricardo and his mom a microwave, a sofa, a large glass table, 8 wooden chairs, 2 huge abstract paintings, a rug, and a ton of dishes and glasses. Now that the Casa Rosa is much better equiped and decorated, the big task at hand is to organize and install everything.

For the first time the Casa Rosa feels like a true CASA. Home. Somewhere I'm just dying to spend a good chunk of time, preferably together with Ricardo. He has been a tremendous help here, fixing the pump for the pool, carrying heavy furniture up the stairs, installing an electrical shower, and helping me hang pictures. Life is so much easier with a carioca boyfriend!

We've been having a great time here in Rio so far, even though both Rico and I have been super busy. I've met all of his relatives and had a chance to interact with all of them at some point so I feel they actually know me, which is nice. Christmas was the main excuse for family visits and dinners, and we ended up having quite the adventure on Christmas eve.

Brasilians traditionally celebrate the holiday at midnight on the 24th with a big dinner. Rico, his mom, his grandma, and I all went to his aunt's house for the Christmas meal. Rico's aunt is a very successful fashion designer here in Rio and has several botiques throughout the country. Her house is in a neighborhood called São Conrado and is a bonafide mansion, with a view overlooking the ocean and Rocinha, Brazil's largest favela. Talk about contrasts. While we ate cod, turkey, and ham with silver utensils and drank wine out of crystal goblets, we watched homemade fireworks and the occasional bala traçante (automatic machine gun bullets with red light trails) being shot off in Rocinha...

Contrasts apart, Christmas was really nice. Everyone in Rico's family got me gifts, which was totally unexpected, and we opened presents around the fake tree. I generally hate Christmas in the tropics, but this one was quite special.

After dinner and gifts, Ricardo and I were tired and were going to get a taxi back to the Casa Rosa (a 35 minute drive) when his aunt offered to lend us her Mercedes to use for the night, as well as for the rest of our stay in Rio! Of course we jumped at the opportunity not only to have a car to use, but a super luxe car at that. Rico's aunt gave us the key and gave us the rundown about the insurance and how to open the trunk, and we were on our way.

By this time it was about 2:30am and totally dark. As we pulled away from the house, Rico asked if I had ever been assaulted before. I said no, and he proceeded to give me instructions about what to do in case someone tried to carjack us. Keep calm, put your hands up, don't make eye contact, and give up whatever the assailants ask for. Rico said that most likely nothing would happen, but since we were in a Mercedes in Rio de Janerio, we had to be prepared for the worst.

Not 10 minutes later we pulled up to a traffic light and the car suddenly died. Rico tried to restart the engine and it just coughed and spluttered. He turned the key again and again to no avail. The car stubbornly refused to start. Panic started to set in, especially after the assault conversation, and I could see Ricardo getting nervous as well. We were basically sitting ducks, alone in a Mercedes in the middle of the night, with the car full of Christmas presents. I could feel my palms beginning to sweat profusely, and I started to imagine the worst.

After a dozen unsuccessful tries to get the engine going, Rico decided that the car might be out of gas, despite the fact that the pointer was at half full. We got out of the car - which was in the middle of the lane, mind you - and ran down the wrong way of the highway, trying to fit in the narrow shoulder, until we came to a gas station some 400 meters away.

Rico bought a can of gas and we went back to the car. By this time, Rico and called another aunt and uncle (not the ones that lent us the car - they conveniently had their cell phones off - but relatives that lived close by where the Mercedes had died) that came and met us in the middle of the road to try and fix the car. Ricardo poured in the extra gas and, to our dismay, the car still wouldn't turn over.

Then it started to pour rain. Just our luck...

We decided that we had to get the car out of the road and into a safe place, because waiting in the middle of the highway on the shoulder was just asking for an assault. The solution was to push the Mercedes backwards down the highway to the gas station, then wait in the protected area for a tow truck. The only problem was that Ricardo's uncle had just had an operation the day before for his varicose veins and couldn't walk. His cousin Juliana was too young to help out. So it ended up that Rico and his aunt Renata (wearing stiletto heels!) pushed the Mercedes down the wrong way of the road in the rain while I tried to steer the car in reverse to the gas station. What a scene - Ricardo sweating like a pig, his aunt slipping in her heels, and me unable to see a damn thing out the back window because the glass was tinted nearly an opaque black. Somehow, though, we managed to get the car into the Petrobras station, safe and sound. I am still in awe that we were actually able to pull it off!

So once the Mercedes was out of the road, we had to wait for the tow truck. What better thing to do to kill some time than exchange Christmas gifts, have some beers, and shoot the shit? Not much, especially if you are in a gas station in the middle of the night! I wish someone had thought to take a picture. We must have been quite the sight. Rico's uncle was laying down in the back of the Mercedes with his legs stretched out because of the varicose operation, his feet sticking out in the rain. His aunt, cousin, and I were all in high heels and formal wear, presents in hand, gossiping and shouting the way only a group of girls can manage. Rico was on the phone with his mom, who eventually showed up at the gas station along with his grandma (who was a little tipsy from having beer at the other aunt's holiday dinner). Basically, we had a family reunion in a gas station while waiting for the tow truck. Only it was Christmas. In Rio. In the rain. And it was the most fun I've had on a generally predictable holiday in years and years.

After about an hour and a half the tow truck finally showed up and hauled off the Mercedes to the mechanic's. The rest of us hugged and kissed and said our goodbyes, laughing out loud at what will likely go down in history for everyone as the strangest Christmas ever.

Whew. Finally I got a chance to write. It's midnight on the 29th - my Dad's birthday, by the way, he is 60 today. Happy Birthday, Dad! Love to you all.