gossip girl

I have safely landed in Brasil and enjoyed my first 2 days. On my flight from Sao Paulo to Rio, I met a Brazilian girl who lives in DC; she paid for my cab to the Daniel's residence in Sao Conrado (the Daniel's are Eta's relatives, and Sao Conrado is a good 15-20 minutes from her place in Copacabana). I also briefly made Brazilian national television as a person walking through the airport (I guess Swine flu is good for my advertising).
Although Gossip Girl may sound nothing like Brasil at all, the stark dichotomy between favellas (shantytown slums) and upscale living in RIO makes the relative socioeconomic differences between the Upper East Side's elite and the rest of New York seem minimal. And unlike Mexico- where the tourists have money and the locals don't- and unlike Morocco- where no one has money- in Brasil, the people with money live side by side to those without. By that I mean that those in favellas work for those not in, and those favellas are mere blocks away from hotels like the Intercon and Sheraton.
So everything and everyone is gorgeous here, and I am just 2 blocks from the beach. Oh and for those who didn't know, Copacabana is where whores and old tourists go only.