The Gods of Rio must have read my last blog because my work schedule changed and guess what? Magically it worked out that instead of handicaps and grumpy old men (no offense), now I have cute kids (who learn 100 times faster than adults) and young professionals who have a good sense of humor.

Random note: the other day I was missing my family to tears... tried calling Kelly but the internet wasnt working and I was in a hurry. I wrote a small note for each Hascall kid and decorated it all. Took it to the post office only to discover that the postal service is on strike right now, demanding an unrealistically large salary. "Is this for real?" I thought.

In other news, I experienced Rio´s public (aka free) health service system and learned why it´s so important to pay insurance and have a personal doctor (not much different than at home).

Backstory: For about 3 weeks now I have had unbearably itchy skin, mainly my scalp. Besides that I have gotten random little red bumps, sometimes like a small rash other times just one lonely one and they go away after a few days but it´s so annoying. Im constantly putting my tea tree oil (which is usually magic) and trying to put lotion on my scalp which is really difficult because I have so much hair I can barely find it. Finally, after 3 weeks of torture, when it started interrupting my sleep (I actually dreamt about scratching) I decided "no more." Ricardo has the best dermatologist in Rio but me, being frugal didnt want to pay for a private doctor (my insurance only covers emergencies abroad). So Ricardo offered me another option... the public service offered to any person in Rio for free.

Upon entering, I immediately had a flashback of the DMV: a poorly lit, low-budget, lenolium (how the hell do you spell that?!) floors, full of sketchy characters with questionnable smells and horrifying fashion. I heard coughing and sneezing all around me and instantly imagined that commercial with those slimy little greem germ characters. *Shiver* "This waiting room will probably make my skin issue the LEAST of my worries," I thought. I scratched my head... Just like the DMV, it became a day-long event. After about 3 and a half hours of waiting, we were losing our patience (we being my translator Ricardo and I). I was debating leaving, shaving my head and covering my scalp in bleach while Ricardo was debating turkey or ham sandwich at Subway. But just before we threw in the germy towel, my name appeared on the TV screen "Kristina Margaret Peltin, Consultorio 5." Like fireworks on 4th of July, it was mesmerizing.

The real adventure was in the room because I can barely order food in Portuguese, there´s no way in hell I am about to explain "itchy, burning, red bumps, anxiety attack, cant sleep, want to rip my hair out" in Portuguese. So me, Ricardo and the doctor (which quickly tripled, apparently I was an interesting case) worked together to describe the problem. Like monkeys, they basically dug around my big mass of hair and discussed what it could be. Me, practically helpless with my face covered in hair and not understanding a word. Not my best moment in Rio. They eventually concluded that my head seemed to be a case of psiriosis (precisely what Dr. Jazmin already diagnosed me with) but the other itchy bumps, "Probably the sun... the heat... you sweat...?" I actually heard the question mark. Well, at least I had half a diagnosis. They recommended a shampoo that I could use and we bolted for the door.

This is only one of the many examples of how Ricardo helps me. As I´ve mentioned in other blogs, I have good karma. I always manage to find amazing people who help me and families who make me feel welcome (which is convenient because lately I desperately miss my family). In this case, Im extra lucky because besides being nice and helpful, Ricardo is also nice to look at :-). Other examples are how he stays up late waiting for me while I go dancing then drives half hour to pick me up at 12:30am. Or how every night that I arrive from work in the evening (and its dark), he comes to the metro station to walk me home. And the best example that tops the rest, he found me delicious organic peanut butter (with honey)!!!!! Cant top that (well, maybe some corn tortillas but let´s be realistic). So at the end of the day, I can get frustrated and write funny blogs about all the quirks of Rio (Latin America in general), but I cant complain at all beacuse I still have it pretty good!