Originally, I started this email/post on the 31st of January while waiting to go out, chronicling all the stupid things I had done on the first day, nay, first four hours in Manaus, Brazil. And I guess I should also say that as I'm writing this, Hot Mess by Cobra Starship, is on. Just kind of sets the mood. Also: I'm not going to enjoy going back home and to school and sitting in my bed to get stuff done. This little spot I've got next to my door on the Deck 3 PS nugget hallway is so comfy. There's a high possibility that as you walk down this hallway, I'll be out here emailing someone or pretending to get work done. There's this one guy, A, who is convinced I live out there.
But I digress. Here are 10 general rules that one should follow when traveling in Brazil and the Amazon. Look forward to more posts like this I will do when I, inevitably, do stupid things around the world. Will update with what happened in Manaus tomorrow after classes!
1) Don't forget to put on deodorant. I'm pretty sure that in my haste to get out of my room on the first day, I forgot deodorant. Seriously, we're south of the Equator. WHO DOES THAT. I honestly don't think I've been so hot in my entire life as when we were trekking around Manaus. P and I left
2) Don't walk around Manaus without a male friend. P and I thought it would be a great idea to brave Manaus alone. We made it through the terminal, across the street, through a few vendors and into a park next to a church where we tried to ask a woman where we were by pointing at a map. She then proceeded to show us how to get back to the ship. Not really helpful. Language barriers are tough, but even worse when you're alone.
3) Understand the exchange rate BEFORE you get off the ship. The amount of times that we went back and forth about the USD-Reales conversion was crazy. At first I thought US$2 was $R1 and I kept confusing myself every time I tried to buy something. Then I realized that 1 Real was about 2/3 of a USD. That made it easier, but I don't remember fractions. I just went with the 2-1 ratio like Dominica.
4) Read your instructions for a money belt. I thought this was like a fanny pack! I wore it around my waist and couldn't figure out for the life of me how to get money out without having to take off my shirt. I ran into my friend, J, and she had it as a belt around her hips and was taking money out where the buttons on a pair of pants were. So I tried that, and because of the weird zippers, I wound up having to unzip my pants to get my ship ID out to get OFF the ship. Casually unzipping and rezipping my pants in Tymitz Square, y'all wish you could have seen me.
5) Think long and hard about what to pack on an overnight. This is twofold. I thought I had packed everything I would have needed but, nope. The whole missing ONE flipflop from my ONE pair I brought with me made it difficult to wear anything other than gross sneakers that I've had for years. And I. HATE. SNEAKERS. Also, I was hiking in the Amazon. Did I think to bring pants? NO. Because I didn't have them sitting out, I didn't think to pack them. Guess who almost couldn't go hiking because of this? *this girl*
6) Make friends with other people because they'll help you out in times of need. This wonderful man on my trip, R, lent me probably the most comfortable pants ever. They were like linen resort pants with ties on the bottom. I also got terrified that a spider would fall on me so I wore long sleeves. Bad. Decision. Again, when people say the Amazon is hot, they mean it's hot. Also: Make friends with everyone. Our tour guide brought us to the mall (yes, I needed stuff that I could only find at a mall, but I didn't find it) to make sure we didn't get ripped off by cab drivers.
7) If you're going to walk home at night, make sure you're surrounded by men. I guess this goes with #2 so I'm technically doing 9 rules but I have never walked faster in my entire life than walking home on Thursday night. With a man to my right and left holding my hand. I don't like the dark and I don't like being scared. People should know this by now. The end.
8) Not everywhere has pizza or hamburgers. After all the Brazilian barbeque, all I wanted was a good hamburger. SO at the mall, I settled for the Golden Arches. Attempting to order a medium quarterpounder meal with an aqua didn't work out so well. I got a Big Mac with two waters and a medium coke.
9) Monkeys ARE cute close up. No, I did not get bitten by one and I didn't get close enough for it to even cross its mind thanks to the advice by my lovely advisor. But that didn't stop me from wanting to take one home with me. Oh, and a sloth.
And last but not least…
10) Be prepared for anything. After not finding the right restaurants, not getting to the interesting part of Manaus until an hour before P had to be back on the ship, smelling the funny smelling city, paying R$5 for 4 bracelets when they were R$1 per bracelet (purely my fault), and someone accidentally buying a deep-fried, hard-boiled egg: go with it. Your plans normally won't work out the way they're supposed to. You're in the country to learn and learn you will.
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