Some reflections after a week in beautiful Rio

Things I love about Rio:

-monkeys (they live in the tree in my guesthouse)
-the tree the monkeys climb in is an avocado tree, with avocados the size of my head
-new tropical fruits (and the paste-stuff made from them)
-living in portuguese (trying to figure out the brazilian accent)
-beautiful majestic old buildings, many of them in a decrepit state that turns them even more romantic
-walking past cafés yesterday, with people sitting and playing music
-cute stray cats and capybaras (I believe) in a park
-rice and beans
-cooking in my pousada, in a kitchen on a terrace
-cute kids at my program asking how to say things in english
-watching the professional program's end-of-semester circus show
-áqua de coco (stick a straw in a coconut and drink)
-the beach at Ipanema
-caipirinhas (in moderation)
-warm sun, even in winter
-kiosks and carts on the street selling anything you might need (nail clippers and mittens, anyone?)
-wandering around Rio, sipping an açaí smoothie
-o bonde (tram that comes up to Santa Teresa, the neighborhood where I live)
-The Praça Floriana, where I catch the metro to the circus. It is bordered by the beautiful national library, national theater, city hall, and Odeon cinema.
-women-only metro cars during rush hour (that's just kind of funny)
-buffet à quilo (mentioned before—fill your plate at a buffet, pay by weight—in the business district near my metro stop, it's really cheap)

Yesterday, to celebrate my stay of a week in Rio, I was a film star! Ok, kidding, but I was in a short film. My circus program usually has practice on Saturday mornings, but yesterday practice was cancelled so a small crew could come in and film a clown performing a routine. The kids from my program were dressed in colorful clothing, hats, and jewelry, and were given popcorn to chew (or devour), and then we were filmed as the "audience" watching the clown act. We were filmed separately, so the clown told us when to laugh or clap. I hope my debut in brazilian film turned out ok! (I didn't learn what the point of the film was, or what it was to be used for).

Afterwards, I sat in on a coaches meeting, where they discussed how to deal with the chaos mentioned before. It's definitely a different environment from Smirkus camp, and difficult for me, since I was always a student and never a teacher. But I'm trying to think of activities that I enjoyed while a circus student that could be applied with my noticeably crazier brazilian kids. It'll be a challenge, but a good one.

Today I'm off to a football (futebol) game! I promise not to get trampled; I hear they get pretty rowdy.