Oh yes, I've jumped on the blogging Rio de Janeiro is in chaos bandwagon. All the cool kids are doing it.
Seriously though, it's all around us and is impossible not to think about. I live in Rio meaning I've never been super stoked to hear police sirens in my neighborhood. You always look to see what's going on, make sure it's something mellow. These days it makes a girl a little nervous. That oh I just peed a little in my pants nervous. Thank goodness it's warm and laundry is drying quickly.
So that foreigner part of me is like, 'Sweet, I'm leaving in a week for Christmas in the state, I just won't come back until it's done' Call it the survivor, Chicken Little, in me. Of course that won't work. I live here. For better or worse, this is our city.
It's unfair of us, including expats, to enjoy the beach, the beer, the good times, and then run when the going gets tough. I'm no fair weather friend! Just ask my friends. I'm just much more of a pesky little tick friend. The kind that when you think you burned it off, you realized the head is still stuck in your ass. Oh yeah, that's me.
We have a standoff happening in our city. Very classic Western movie type of standoff. And while the sheriff hasn't always been the obvious good guy in our movie, he's probably got a back story we wouldn't understand. And quite possibly, this is the climax of Rio's movie. This is the make it or break it, all nerds stand together against the bully kind of thing.
As difficult as that may be, if the good guys conquer all, this city will be an even better place. (note that I'm leaving out a bunch of other conditions that should change because I just don't have the time and no one wants to read a 300 page blog post).
I choose to believe what I tell my boys, the good guys will win. Why? Because good always conquers over evil. And you know what, I consider people who light full vans and buses on fire pretty damn evil.
