Introduction

Welcome to the Gringoes.com email newsletter!
This newsletter pulls together some of the articles, photos, polls and other information that has been published on the Gringoes.com web site over the last week or so. Don't forget to visit the Gringoes.com site to checkout our article archive, useful information pages, classified adverts, services, forum and other pages. So read on and we hope you enjoy the newsletter. As always if you have any comments, such as what you'd like to see more or less of on the site or newsletter, don't hesitate to contact us at gringoes@gringoes.com.
Please note that although we are based in São Paulo, the site and newsletter are for the whole of Brazil. We are particularly interested in hearing from people outside of São Paulo city, specifically Rio de Janeiro and the Northeast, so if you would like to write about your experiences or any topic related to Brazil see our request for "Article Writers" below.
If you're interested to know the origin behind the site name, then read the "Dear Gringo" article here by Dr. G.


Ask a Brazilian

We will be starting a new column in the next few weeks called "Ask a Brazilian". Are there any burning questions you have about São Paulo or Brazil in general, or other issues that you're curious about, such as Brazilian culture? If so, send your questions to mark@gringoes.com with "Ask a Brazilian" in the subject. We will then forward to our Brazilian experts, and publish the best questions (and replies) on the site and in the newslettter.


Brazil: Stolen Computer

By Stephen Thompson
July 17, 2007
When my laptop computer was stolen at Shenzhen railway station last week it took me a while to count my losses; I couldn't get to sleep the first night thinking about the photos, stories and contacts I had lost. Among these stories were three which I was planning to publish on Gringoes.com soon. It will take me a while to rewrite these stories and I don't know whether I will have time now. As time goes on, there are new stories to write and rewriting a story is like seeing the same movie twice; never as much fun the second time. So maybe other gringos can help out by providing some inspiration to rewrite them.
First was a story called "That Sandwich Feeling" about Brazilian English. I was inspired to write after hearing my wife tell our local sandwich shop guy, who happened to be out of bread, that she just wanted "that sandwich feeling" when what she meant was "that sandwich filling". I confess I have had years of laughs from hearing my wife try to speak English, and should have kept notes of these mistakes in the early years when they were often hilarious. These days she makes fewer mistakes, and I can't remember the last time she called her hat a rat, for example. She still can't be bothered to use the impersonal pronoun, so after finding some cold dinner in the fridge the other day, she told her friend, that her I would heat up, which was kind of amusing. If you have any nice funny English mistakes, please mail me.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: I Beg to Differ

By Hal Sutcliffe
July 17, 2007
I read with distaste, the occasional Gringoes piece in which 'unfair' real estate inflation is blamed on Brazilian entrepreneurs. They are an extension of the predilection of many incomers to Brasil who complain, I almost said whine, because Brasil compares unfavorably with the standards they were conditioned to in their birth countries.
I do not understand where these folk are coming from. Or, better, where they have been. Mars? This is the 21st century. The greed-driven economies of the United States and Western Europe are way ahead of the rest of the world in rip-off pricing. Brasil lags behind in the greed cycle.
I wonder who they think is active in the greed parade in Brasil? I know of an American who's hustling condos and apartments like mad; claims that one can make a fortune in real estate in Brasil. I note that some Western Europeans are doing the same thing in Natal.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: The "Italian" Composer from Campinas Part 1

By Joe Lopes
June 28, 2007
With the upcoming anniversary, on July 11, of the birth of Brazilian-born composer Antonio Carlos Gomes fast approaching, here is a chapter from Joe‘s soon-to-be-concluded book, ‘Brazil‘s Fat Lady Can‘t Sing‘, covering the life and career of the country‘s own uniquely Brazilian version of Verdi and Puccini.
Musical & Imperial Precedents
There were several false starts at presenting staged opera in Brazil during the late eighteenth to early nineteenth centuries, mostly with the building of a few ad hoc theaters in fairly impermanent locales, with some even taking on the rather apt name of Teatro Provisório, or Temporary Theater (later called the Teatro Lírico).
It was not until the establishment of the Portuguese court in Rio de Janeiro, circa 1840, where the "enlightened despot" Dom Pedro II was formally crowned as emperor of Brazil, that opera began to make any serious inroads with like-minded audiences.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Article Writers

Are you a "Gringo" (foreigner) living in or travelling around Brazil with experiences you would like to write about, or with advice to offer? Are you a Brazilian who would like to explain about Brazil to foreigners, and help give advice on what to do, and where to go? Perhaps you just write a frequent blog about Brazil, and would be interested in publishing some of this on our site. If you are interested in writing an article, or series of articles, or posting your blog content on Gringoes.com we are interested in hearing from you! Don't be shy! All we ask is that the articles are focused on Brazil, will be of interest to foreigners either travelling or living here, and are written in English.
We are particularly interested in hearing from people who want to write about areas other than São Paulo, specifically Rio de Janeiro and the Northeast, although other areas as well. If you are unsure about a topic then drop us an email or a draft article. Send your articles or any questions to gringoes@gringoes.com with "articles" in the subject.


Interviews

Thanks to those who responded to our request for interviews. We've almost run out though, so if you would like to be in our Brazil Through Foreign Eyes, or Foreigners Through Brazilian Eyes series please send us an email. As you can see it doesn't matter if you're a foreigner to Brazil, or Brazilian, we're still interested to hear from you. The interview series is a fascinating look at how real people are enjoying Brazil, and equally how Brazilians really see foreigners. They also give various tips on what to see in Brazil, and how to survive here.
The interview itself is a set of around 15 easy-to-answer questions, and ideally we like a digital photo of you as well we can place with the interview.
So if you're interested, don't be shy, send a blank email to mark@gringoes.com with "Interview" in the subject. We will then send you the questions, and instructions on how to complete. We'd love to hear from you!
A gentle reminder to those who have been sent questions. Please don't forget to complete and return them!


Gringoes Poll

Last week's poll was on medical insurance, a dull but necessary topic. Had you opted for a complete policy, or something no frills, or simply not bothered? Similar to last week's snapshot it seems the majority are risk takers with 43% of you not having a policy, 32% have opted for an expensive policy, and 25% a moderate one. This week's poll is on Brazilian dances. Are you a samba champion, a shuffler, or do you hide in the corner? If you haven't yet voted go to our homepage and look for the poll in the left-hand column.
If you can't stand our poll ideas and have better ones, or are curious about some aspect of the Gringoes.com readers, then send your ideas to us at mark@gringoes.com with "Poll Idea" in the subject. If we choose your poll you will get a credit in the newsletter, as well as the satisfaction of seeing what the answers are!

Please send this email to anyone you think might find it interesting. If you have not yet registered with gringoes.com and would like to receive future newsletters click here. If you have mistakenly received this message, or would no longer like to receive mail from us, then please reply to this email with the word 'take out' in the subject line. If you are unsubscribing because the newsletter doesn't meet your needs then please let us know how we can improve it.

Competition! Interview

There's another chance to win our regular fortnightly competition, with a prize of a R$150 voucher for the Tabu Restaurant located in the Sonesta Hotel, in São Paulo.
To win the prize this fortnight you need to submit a completed set of interview questions for either our Brazil Through Foreign Eyes or Foreigners Through Brazilian Eyes series by 1st August, from which we'll randomly select a prize winner. To get the question set send a blank email to mark@gringoes.com with "Interview" in the subject. We will then send you the questions, and instructions on how to complete. Send the completed set to mark@gringoes.com with "Competition" in the subject). Next fortnight we'll change the competition topic to something else.


Weekly Quiz

Last week's quiz question came from Bevin Power: according to Brazilians, which Saint decides if it will rain or not? Congratulations to Amber King who was first to reply correctly with São Pedro (St. Peter).
We've run out of quiz questions so a special request for more. Do you think you can stump the Gringoes.com readers? If so then please send your quiz questions to mark@gringoes.com with ‘Weekly Quiz Ideas’ in the subject line. Don't forget to send the answer to the question also! Remember it needs to be relatively difficult, and not something that can be found from a simple Internet search.


Photo of the Week

The photo of the week is titled Pedra Furada, taken by Chad Scott in Urubici. Click here to see the photo.
Thanks to all those who've sent in photos based on our request, but we can always do with more. So if you have a funny or unusual photo depicting life in Brazil please send it to gringoes@gringoes.com with ‘Photo of the Week’ in the subject line. Ideally we are after photos that are of something a little different, not traditional shots of beaches and sunsets. Please send relatively high resolution images (0.5 Megapixel / 640 x 480 or bigger), and let us know where you took the photo and if you have a title for it.


Baseball in Brazil

By Mr. Trend
July 16, 2007
A great article down here in Brazil recently brought up the nascent growth of baseball in Brazil. As everybody, in and outside of Brazil knows, this country is famous for one sport: soccer (futebol). Everything revolves around soccer, and what little attention is given to other sports here tends to be given to volleyball (which is also rather big) and very mild attention to basketball. In all of this, of course, baseball is totally absent, and I can‘t tell you the number of times I‘ve had Brazilians ask me what the hell baseball is and what it‘s about, only to glaze over and be confused within the first five seconds of my explaining it.
However, it appears that baseball is making a tenuous start in some of the favelas. (The article starts off with a quotation that generally expresses Brazilian sentiment about baseball: "what the heck is this?). While right now only four teams are fielded (Latinos, Cariocas, Itaguaí, and Nikkei), they have enough people to play regularly, and their tournament is coming up (as they are poor areas of the city, the only reward is a trophy - no cash reward).
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazilians Let Politicians Treat Them as Doormats

By John Fitzpatrick
July 10, 2007
Brazil has been a full democracy for over 20 years now and there is no threat of any return to military rule. However, the blatant disdain for the law and contempt for the public shown by some leading politicians could pose a threat to democracy if it is not checked. Unfortunately, the Brazilian people and their political parties, trade unions, professional bodies and churches are standing by and allowing corrupt politicians to walk all over them. There are no signs that people are prepared to take to the streets to get rid of the worst culprits. These include the Senate chairman, Renan Calheiros, whose desperate attempts to cling to office are producing so many fresh scandals that you could be forgiven for thinking that there is no such creature as an honest politician in Brazil.
It is not often that I agree with the people who write letters to the Estado de S. Paulo newspaper. They are overwhelmingly middle-class whingers, constantly moaning about President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his government, the MST landless peasant movement, Greenpeace, the International Monetary Fund, George Bush, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Bolivia´s Evo Morales, amongst others.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: Tamashin‘s Tales - The Loo

By Tamashin
June 28, 2007
I have been asked by several contributors on the Forum to get together a few of my true experiences of living in Brasil and put them on the home page and/or newsletter.
The Loo
When I first came to Brazil in the early 90s, the disposing of toilet paper in a bin rather than down the pan was very new to me and took some getting used to, particularly the origami involved. But it was to prove more of a challenge to one of my friends who accompanied me one year. I had warned her it wasn‘t Butlins holiday camp, but she was very gung-ho about it so off we went. I had, by then, got used to the favela environment, would she?
We put her up in Dona Fatima‘s house, one of the church officials, simple but pleasant and clean (that‘s the house not Dona Fatima). A few days later, in church, I enquired of Dona Fatima as to how Jane (my friend) was getting on. "Fine" she replied, "but she doesn‘t use the toilet bin!". There now followed the delicate task of explaining to Jane that she couldn‘t put toilet paper down the pan, but would have to put it in the bin.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Discussion Forum

If you've not had a chance yet then pop over to our web forum, register, and start joining in the discussion about Brazil. There are many forum areas such as Living in Brazil, Teaching English, Visas and Documentation, and even a place to Vent Your Frustrations! There's also a forum which allows you to comment on Gringoes.com, either with your views about past articles, areas of the site, or to make suggestions for future articles and content.
Each week in the newsletter we will choose a Post of the Week to give you some idea of what's happening in the forum, and a good thread to visit and read. This week we recommend the post "Plane Crash" started by the user john.jane in our "Living in Brazil" forum. The post is discussing yesterday's plane crash at Congonhas airport.
If you have a recommendation for Post of the Week then send an email to mark@gringoes.com with "Post of the Week" in the subject.
Note that foul language and abusive posts in the forum will not be tolerated. The forum is intended to be a constructive and lighthearted place for discussion about Brazil.


Forex

The US Dollar is currently at R$1.86, having dropped from R$1.93 in the previous newsletter 3 weeks ago. The Euro has followed suit and is down at R$2.56, versus R$2.61. The British Pound has also dropped, from R$3.88 to R$3.82.