Cristo Redentor

Since Josh and I will be teaching workshops each day for the rest of the week, we decided to start the week off with a bang by visiting Rio's most well-known landmark: the Cristo Redentor statue that towers over the city atop the highest peak, o Morro do Corcovado (the Hunchback). Brazil's dual culture of ubiquitous Christianity combined with an attitude of "you can basically do whatever you want" has always fascinated me, and I think this statue in the middle of one of the world's largest party cities is quintessentially Brazilian. We haven't been able to do a whole lot since I got sick with Dengue Fever (a really fun tropical disease ... look it up), so it was great to get out of the house today and visit one of the seven wonders of the modern world.

Besides the beautiful statue, there's a fantastic view on top of o Concorvado. Thankfully today was clear and sunny, so we were able to see the entire city from up there. This picture isn't the best on of the view, but it's the only one that has Josh and me together.

Tomorrow we're heading to nearby Petropolis, a small city up in the mountains about an hour and fifteen minutes from Rio. We'll teach the first section of the workshop and then come back late tomorrow night or early the next morning to teach another workshop here in Rio. Thursday we'll head back to Petropolis, so looks like we'll be doing quite a bit of travelling this week. Should be fun! I hear Petropolis is kind of like a little European hamlet tucked away in the mountains. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures.