RIO DE JANEIRO — Rio de Janeiro is hosting the 2016 Olympic Games, so let us talk about Rio.
Or try to talk about Rio, at least. Trying to sum up a place like Rio after a day or two is a foolish exercise — like anywhere on Earth, you need years, perhaps a lifetime, to get a grasp on the ever-shifting truth of a city. Rio can be whatever you want it to be, can appear however you want to see it.
It can be the swanky beachside city with the European feel, and just as easily, it can be the crime-ridden city ravaged by poverty you’ve read about in grim newspaper reports.