Today I went to horse eventing. It was not very eventful, though. I certainly thought I was in for a bit more excitement than simply changes gaits, leads, and directions. Beautiful animals in any case. Most of the riders were from the US, Canada, Argentina, and Brazil. The Chile entry I would have seen rode into the ring and withdrew from the competition; Uruguay was up right before I left; and I think Jamaica was coming toward the ring. Oh, and the only female riders I noticed were from the US. It is interesting to sit back and compare countries from such a perspective.
Anyway, about the amazing people in this country - they are so freakin´ helpful!! I didn´t know where I was going (I had a map and would have gotten there eventually) and I don´t speak the language, but they take such good care of me - they even hand me off to the police and they make sure I get the right train stop. They track me down if I am headed in the wrong direction (I was wandering around to familiarize myself because I had time). They also make a point to find English speaking PanAm volunteers, even though I don´t need any further assistance at that point.
It was a bit un-nerving to have so many locals so surprised that I was traveling alone in Rio. They told me to be very very careful. And I certainly realize that the places I was traveling were almost places that I wouldn´t want to go alone even in a place I was familiar with. Guardian angels have certainly been with me this week. Every place I have gone the past few days I ran into wonderful people of this country who went out of their way to make sure I was safe and where I needed to be.
My final PanAm event was the US women´s basketball team stomping Columbia. I think the final score was 95 to 41. And the crowd actually cheered for the US instead of boo-ing.
Tomorrow is it. It feels strange to be leaving this amazing place. Time has flown by, and many many special memories are in my heart from these past two months. I recommend such an adventure to you all. Visit several places. Travel alone a little bit. Use public transportation.
