It is exactly this: Yahoo or MSN messenger. I rather suggest MSN because I already have it installed on my PC. If you choose Yahoo, I´ll have to install it also. Installation is not a big deal, but as I don´t like Windows and my Linux is not configured to use internet, I preffer not overfull th HD with many softwares. To give you an idea, I don´t even have the Office package (Word, Excel, Power Point, etc) installed. Therefore, I recommend you install an MSN.
The second step: how? If you preffer in portuguese, go to http://imagine-msn.com/Messenger/default.aspx?locale=pt-br and click on "Instale já" (Install it now); to get it in English, go to http://imagine-msn.com/messenger/default2.aspx?locale=en-us and click on "Get it free" (obtenha-o grátis). When you order it, it instructs you on what to do, you just need to follow the instructions. To be able to use it you must have an e-mail account on Hotmail or on MSN. I think you can do it after install it. If you create your account before, it is able to reconize your address and to use it automatically.
Well, let us talk about a weakness I have: planning trips. I am not used to travell so that I have difficult to figure out where to go and what to do. But furtunatelly I have got good friends who are used to such a travels and already gave me good hints. Here they are. One is to go by plane to São Luís, the nother Northeast capital and then return to southern Northeast capital and other cities by bus until Recife, where we would take a plane again to return to Rio de Janeiro. Other options is go to Salvador, spend few days there and then go or to some distant beaches, like Imbassaí or Morro de São Paulo or go to the interior of Bahia state, to Chapada Diamantina and spend one week there. I should warn you that it will be winter here. The temperature will be the last problem you can possibly find, but In Salvador and Northeast reagion coast, winter is the rainy station and rain does not match with beach. So, we need to take the rain into account.
A third possibility, and this, due to its heterodoxidity (is it?), diserves a separated paragraph. Its a trip to the south region, where there is a strong european influence, people is much lighter and everybody has an italian or a german surname, very different from the rest of country. There are some cities on the hills who explores a "winter tourism". In this region, temperatures should really be taken into account because it reaches to 0 degrees and even lower ones. Of course it exists another good possibilities, but let us deal firstly with this. As you will buy a travell guide, perheps you find a good suggestion. Since you are used to trips - and what a long trips - you can analize more suitably and find some other good idea. Or, perhaps, some really good idea.
Now, to some more imediate practical procedures, but a small window to a minor digression: have I told that I am an industrial instrumentation technitian too? Wow, this message looks a manual! But, let us return to the manual. When you arrive, you may realize very quickly that mass transportation is a huge problem in our society. There is not a subway line to the airport. The air port is 20 km from Downtown, approximatelly the same from Copacabana (you spelled right). You can both take a taxi or take a bus to Copacabana. The bus does a longer way and, if there not be any traffic jam, you will spend from 40 to 50 minuts from the airport to Copacabana. If you take a taxi, you can choose a shortcut and, regarding the traffic, arrive in the hostel in 20 minutes. This is what I usually do. The regular price is around R$35,00 or U$ 14.00. There are special taxis wich are much more expensive. Even the regular taxi (the yellow with a blues range) sometimes want to charge more. What I usually do is going to the boarding terminal and take a regular taxi that is bringing somebody and adk the the drive to go by the "taximeter". Anyway, don´t pay more than 50 reals!!!
And if your immertion is by watching brazilian movies, just one thing: don´t try to watch portuguese ones, they have a very strong accent and different vocabulary: nothing against it, but it won´t help you very much, our speaking is very different. Or, maybe there is a good idea in this fashion: watching "Língua: vidas em português". I may have told you about this movie, which is actually a documentary about portuguese language. I though it beaultiful and it is possible to realize how different are brazilian and other countries accents. They are more similar amongst themselves.
And I just need to be sure which is the earliest date from which I can take vacation. I think is July, 1st. I´ll check it tomorrow.
And how are you? ;-)
