Am I Still Alive? #Carnival

March, 2014

It is safe to say that I am alive (well barely) and have survived my first and probably last Carnival adventure. Carnival is a four-day Catholic based holiday that takes place just before Lent every year. It is basically an annual celebration of life that is found in many countries around the world, but fortunately for me, the Carnival in Brazil is one of the most famous. This country goes all out and really does it big, as a result, I am currently curled up in my bed where I have been trying to recuperated for the past 18 hours (water is my new best friend). The customs, celebrations and costumes of Carnival vary by region but every city adds its own spice and craziness to the 5 day festival. Basically 5 days later and my feet are swollen, my liver is slightly damaged and I have gone a little deaf in my left ear but yoco, you only carnival once!

Now let me try to paint you the basic picture of what I have witnessed over these past few days. Carnival is a serious event here, it is Mardi Gras on steroids with the mindset of "go big or go home". That being said, due to the fact that I am thousands of miles away from home, I felt that my only option was to really go BIG. During Carnival, many of the stores are closed and people swarm the streets for huge block parties, pride parades, dance events, masquerade balls, fashion shows etc. At home I have experienced festivals like this but for just one day, Carnival however is a massive event that goes on day after day...IT NEVER ENDS. Just when you think your night is going to end, it just doesn't (time literally escapes you and than it is morning and time to start all over again). It was kind of like watching thousands of energizer bunnies running around, but instead of a bunny, imagine a large man in heals, a hot pink wig and lipstick bopping about. We went to a block party downtown where the boys all had to dress up as girls, fake-boobs, fishnets, eye-liner, hoochi mama dresses; it was plastic surgery city up in there. I have never seen so many fake body parts (side note: it is kind of interesting to see that butt implants are an actual thing ).

People were dancing on buses, rooftops, tables..basically any surface other than the actual ground (because the ground is just too standard for an event like Carnival), it was an incredibly entertaining night and I met so many interesting people.

One night my friends joined one of the Samba dance schools and actually danced in one of the parades. The Samba schools practice for months before Carnival and that being said, the dancer are INCREDIBLE. My friends had to wear humongous sparkling outfits with feathers coming out of places that I have never seen feathers been put before- they all looked so beautiful and were really able to partake in this incredible cultural event.

All in all, each day of Carnival was a serious adventure as you never knew what kind of craziness you would run into. Turns out, I may be more of a weakling than I thought I was because around day 4, I was showing clear signs of deterioration. I went from killing it in the streets to practically sleeping in the streets but what I liked most about Carnival was how so many different people from all over the world came to celebrate together. The classy, the trashy, the rich, the poor, the foreigner, the cat lover, the hobo, the elderly, even Paris Hilton (who apparently came to Floripa for Carnival) gathered together to celebrate life. That to me is something amazing.

Now, its time for me to curl back into fetal position and lay low for the next three months.