International Club Rio- a Good Place to Start

Maybe it's because I'm not a local that I have a small advantage over my Carioca husband; I expect that everything I want to get done will probably take at least twice if not three times the time it would normally take. It's not news that traffic in Rio is more than insane and probably the most significant reason for "Brazilian time". Missing an exit means tacking on an extra half hour to return to the point where you first made a mistake, so it's no wonder that being fashionable late is inevitable here.

We drove into town to Jardim Botanico to meet members of the International Club Rio, a non-profit organization that aims to help expatriates from all over the world get settled in Rio and also to raise funds for various charities. The meeting was held in a private home overlooking the Botanical Gardens, one of my favorite places in Rio. The reception was wonderful; we met people from all over the world: England, Australia, Belgium, and Canada who had recently arrived and also the more "seasoned" folks, eager to meet us. The club hosts various monthly social events and hobby clubs, so I look forward to joining.
I was warned before I came here, not to join a expat group that was solely "north-american" because it would tend to quickly become a "whining and complaining" group about how things are better back home. The International Club Rio didn't give me that impression at all, no matter how long everyone had been living here, everyone was extremely positive and eager to share their knowledge. Very cool.

Here's an important tidbit I learned from the club; apparently there are over 650 members on the Rio Moms Facebook page and 250 on the Barra Da Tijuca page, so come to mama, Mamas!

I should add that maybe the only bonus of being stuck in traffic is that I had plenty of time to admire the scenery. Even though at ground level it's quite chaotic, most of the time, if I just looked up a bit, there were dramatic rocky mountains, lush green jungle or golden beaches to look at.

View from the parking lot- Jardim Botanico