A Tale of Two Cities

This always seems appropriate here. I went out to Leblon last night with a couple of entertaining ladies, one of whom is one year older than me (though looks about 25), and the happy recipient of a bout of liposuction. This explains, I thought, why so many women have such improbable bodies here. Her tiny waist and flat stomach belied her 34 years. The excuse usually given for such extreme vanity is that Cariocas have to spent most of the year on the beach. This doesn't really explain why generally, you're more likely to see morbidly obese people of both sexes flaunting their bodies in tight clothes than you would in the UK on a sunny day.

Other gems were "Dilma wants to take my money and give it to poor people," and "I'm a strong person. I don't feel pain when I go for a waxing."

It's hard not to take to someone with such a natural gift for humour, and the usual Carioca way of welcoming strangers into the fold that puts my countrymen to shame.

But if I wanted to get away from the spoilt behaviour of the young London middle class, it was a case of frying pan and fire when I came here. Many of the better off people I meet have never even travelled on the bus or Metro in their own city. I'm probably just making the same point over and over again, I do realise. The longer I'm here, the more I get used to it, but also the more I hear that makes me think things won't change. The tales of corrupt cops, politicians, etc, the engrained culture of violence, make it hard to imagine a different and more equal kind of city being possible. Thankfully there are people here who think bigger than I do.