#083: RIO DE JANEIRO DIARY / NEW YEARS 2024 RECAP

Original publication date: January 8, 2024

Happy New Year everyone! I spent the holiday dressed in all-white on  Copacabana Beach, attempting a Portuguese countdown to midnight, and watching the fireworks.

I was “on retreat” with a small group—as you probably saw me advertising  relentlessly on social media.

The retreat model is something I learned from my friend Beth, a yoga instructor (retreats are big in their community). I’ve got more of an “attack” travel mentality, so it’s good to learn to chill. In Brazil, like in Greece, I lead informal writing workshops, in which I taught important lessons like “Glamour as Literary Device”.

Collaborating with a pro like Beth is good; you learn your partners' skills. Now I can do writing-exclusive and/or art-driven retreats on my own (or with someone like Rachel Rabbit White) in the future. I know what I'm doing.

I really liked this retreat. It was small; everyone got along, and only a few of the clients went on a bender and were robbed. Here, my first “listicle” of the year: all the things I enjoyed about New Year’s in Rio, 2023-24.