Uncivilized Rio

It's cool to see people visiting Rio de Janeiro and talking about the city, I mean, talking about the good things the city has to show, specially considering that we are in a tight schedule to host two big events, the World Cup in 2014, and the Olympiads in 2016.

Some time ago, when I was visiting Germany, I was asked by a fellow traveler if Brazil was prepared to receive the amount of tourists that this kind of event might bring. By then my greatest concern was the public transportation. My opinion remains unchanged. 

However, ever since I found out a study has shown that only 5% of the Brazilian people can speak English, I tried to imagine the kind of difficulties a tourist could have in a place where there's no infrastructure in public transportation, no trained staff to deal with large crowds, no people willing to help or, maybe worse, lots of greedy people. From my point of view, that's the problem wherever we go. Only criminals are worse than greedy people.

Among others, The New York Times has published an article by Jodi Kantor (http://travel.nytimes.com/2013/02/17/travel/rio-with-eyes-open.html?hpw&_r=0) about tourism in Rio. Not bad, but I don't think that every tourist will have access to the places that are mentioned. Too exclusive. When you walk around the street in Copacabana and Downtown, you see a lot of tourists. There are many hostels in Copacabana and I believe that it is very practical to stay in that neighborhood (even though Kantor calls it "seedy"), because from there you can go to the beach, there are subway stations, buses, shops, supermarkets, etc. 

Yes, you will be near the "favelas" or "communities", as they are called, but that is a given in Rio. However, this is not the biggest problem in Rio. Violence? A concern, but I have a friend whose brother was killed in a nightclub in Washington. If you are a seasoned traveler or a newbie, you will learn to take care.

What I really hate in Rio is its "fake friendly face".

That's where I would say: be careful. Politeness is not a strong quality of ours, I'm very sorry to say. Men, in particular, are very rude to women. They are very sexist in their insults. Possibly (probably?) it's a consequence of a Latin culture. Am I being prejudiced? I've been insulted too many times, so if I am, I think I'm entitled to be.

Don't be fooled by the cheapest prices. They come with the biggest disappointments. Of course, don't trust easily. There will be those who will try to make an easy profit out of you. It doesn't happen only in Rio, you know. 

Don't give up. Traveling is one of the best things in life.