Day 9 in Rio

Our final day in Rio, was not what we had expected. It was raining steadily. Originally, we had plans to go to the Christ statue. However, with the rain and wind blowing, the statue would be closed. Even if we could get up there, there's no guarantee that would be able to see anything.

At the beginning of the week, Raja gave everyone an elastic bracelet, known as our flexibility bracelet. It was to serve as a reminder to be flexible in all situations. Things would come up and we would need a reminder. This was one such occassion.

We ended up taking a bus tour of Rio instead. Our guide, Gus, did a great job of sharing the history of Rio. It was interesting to hear the heritage of the people that we spent all week serving.

Rio is much bigger than New York City. Even this picture, doesn't take in the width and breadth of how large the city is.

The closest I ever got to the statue.

One of the places our tour guide took us was the Grand Stands. They have these huge Carnival parades each year. They look similar to something you would see in the opening ceremonies at the Olympics.

These stands line either side of the street for a half a mile. Different schools will parade down the middle, performing, and competting against each other.

Cassie, trying on one of the headpiece costumes.

In each team meeting, Raja would hand out awards for that day. Kelly and Cassie realized that Raja had never received an award because she was always the one giving them away. So, they gave her the Dancing Lady award. She really has been an excellent leader, preparing us well.

All the sidewalks throughout Rio have this mosaic! It's hard to believe that someone laid all these! The patterns change based on what part of town you're in.

This is one of the Catholic churches we visited.

One of the places we visited where people will go for high tea.

They had all kinds of pastries there.

This was another Catholic church that we visited. The outside is built like a pyramid, taking inspiration from the Mayas and Aztecs. They said that 20,000 people could fit inside!

They had stained glass going down four sides of the walls.

We stopped at a Brazilian steakhouse. This was nothing like what I pictured in my mind.

Men would come around, asking if we wanted a particular cut of meat. Then, he would start cutting and then we would use our tongs to grab the meat of the skewer. -- This is Kara with chicken hearts.

We got to the airport at 5:30pm for our 10:00pm flight. The flight home felt longer. I think it was because I knew what to expect and I was ready to get home. We all were.