Shortly after landing, on your way to baggage claim, a young Brazilian girl hands you a tourist map of Rio de Janeiro. A couple months from now, thousands of tourists from all over the world will be coming here to witness the Summer Olympics. I am here ahead of the game, to give the people back home a sneak preview of what to expect if they travel to Rio this summer. Will you have fun? Will you get robbed?
Will you catch the Zika virus? Will you find yourself involved in a coup? Will you fall in love? Will you be lonely your whole miserable life, Colby? All these questions and more I'll try my best to answer. I shove the tourist map into my bag.
It will remind me of the places I will not go. I'm not here for any of that. This is my olympiad. It's not the worst favela in Rio, I am told, but it's up there. The mailman doesn't make deliveries here because it's just too dangerous. I'm not quite sure what street I'm on, but a local family is throwing a party for their son who just graduated from medical school.
He's young and smart and has that studious thing about him, as if he's always deep in thought. Everyone around him is extremely proud. The cake on the table is in the shape of a doctor's uniform and there are a dozen or so people hanging out all around me of all ages and skin colors. The girl who invited me to this party, Lauren, owns the bed-and-breakfast where I'm staying in Ipanema, called Casa Bromelia, which is located just a block from one of the most beautiful beaches on the planet.
She says where I'm staying is safe, but just two days before, a girl was stabbed to death on the beach right outside of some fancy hotel. Lauren is from the States, visited Rio years ago, loved it, moved here, and this family adopted her as one of their own when they found out she was here all alone with no family. Brazilians are very family-oriented, and the more people in the family the better, including total strangers.
