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.


Around Brazil: Floripa, South America's Best Kept Secret

By Michael Zurakhinsky
August 6, 2007
Florianopolis, or the locally named, Floripa, is the new Brazilian hotspot for Argentines in search of a paradise away from home.
Just a few years ago Floripa was merely a quiet island inhabited by locals and die-hard surfers. Today it is one of the trendiest resort towns in all of South America. In fact, Floripa gets more tourists in the summer than any other place in Brazil, aside from Rio. Yes, the place is gorgeous, with its sprawling 777 square kilometers of pristine white sand beaches, rain forest covered hills, and emerald lagoons, but why the sudden popularity craze?
Perhaps it had something to do with Veja Magazine naming it one of the best and safest places to live in Brazil. This sounded very appealing to wealthy urbanites and sophisticated Argentine vacationers who were tired of the increased crime rates in Rio and São Paulo. In the last few years, many people have been buying up beach homes, including Argentine ex-pats.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: Go East, Young Man

By Stephen Thompson
August 6, 2007
I love to get email from Gringoes.com readers, and it always spurs me on to write again for this site. This week, an English teacher asked me about opportunities teaching English in Rio. I have never tried teaching English in Rio, but I hear the rates are lower than in São Paulo. On the other hand, it's cheaper to get to the beach in Rio, so at least you can breath deeply while you watch your savings slowly disappear.
Apart from a few lucky teachers, teaching English in Brazil is a survival option. In Portuguese, "um quebra galho", something you do to get by for a while.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil Through Foreign Eyes

August 3, 2007
Meet Zachary Heilman, from the USA, who first travelled to Brazil in 2004 and now lives here. Zack enjoys travelling and eating out. Read the following interview where he tells us about some of his most memorable experiences from Brazil and gives some useful advice to newcomers.
1. Tell us a little about yourself, where are you from, what do you do etc.?
I am originally from Nashville, Tennessee, USA. I moved to New Orleans when I was 18 and lived there until I was thirty. I moved to New Orleans to study Civil Engineering at Tulane University. Afterwards I tried several different engineering jobs but decided I preferred working with computers and so I switched into the field of computer programming in my mid 20's.
I began traveling with my family as a child and since living on my own I have traveled and lived in Asia several times along with other trips around America and Europe.
My favorite by far is traveling. I love bicycle touring cross country. My other favorite hobby is eating out!
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Portuguese Tip: If Clauses Part 2

By Teacher Claudia
August 3, 2007
Dear readers, in April last year I began writing on the subjunctive mood, that is, Brazilian Portuguese if clauses. My tip then was the subjunctive future, and now it‘s finally time for the subjunctive present. Do pay attention, and should you have any doubt, contact me, as always. By the way, I‘d like to thank you for the suggestion of a new Scottish singer, Paolo Nutini, and his beautiful song Last Request. On the other side (mine, so to say), I recommend a new Brazilian movie, Saneamento Básico, a comedy on red-tape versus what really matters.
Activity 1 - Introductory text
Read a piece of the song "Pequenas Coisas", by 14 Bis:
Cada instante que ouço bater
Meu coração dentro de mim
Ouço as palavras do vento
Me confessar
Que desde o início dos tempos
Busca chegar
Onde possa se transformar
Numa brisa
Pra transportar e guardar
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: Weekly News Roundup

August 3, 2007
Air Crash Investigation Continues
Fresh leaks this week surround Brazil's worst air crash at Congonhas airport. The main news relates to supposed black box recorder findings, that a throttle on the Airbus A-320 was in the wrong position, causing the plane to turn left and not decelerate. Around 5,000 Brazilians, mostly friends or relatives of those who died in the crash, marched to the site this Sunday in protest to the government. The protest centred around government corruption and incompetence, believed to have been a factor in the crash. The airline TAM have stated that the building the plane crashed into will be converted into a memorial for those who died.
Brazil Upset With British IPCC Findings
The Brazilian government has expressed concerns over the findings of the Independent Police Complaints Commission report into the mistaken shooting of John Charles De Menezes in 2005. "The Brazilian government expresses its unhappiness with the tenor of the conclusions of the report which, instead of attributing responsibilities, focuses on the tragic chain of errors that led to the death" of Jean Charles de Menezes, the Ministry of External Relations said in a statement. The ministry also said: "In its ongoing concern about the case, the Brazilian government renews its support for and solidarity with the Menezes family, and repeats that it will keep insisting that the guilty be held responsible" for Menezes' death." Menezes' family has branded the report "a huge injustice and very shameful," adding that the British police "have been allowed to get away with murder."
…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 had an aviation theme: how ofter do you fly, is it just once a year, or more frequently? 38% of you voted "once or twice a year", 33% voted "more than four times a year", 21% "more than once a month", and 8% "as little as possible".
This week's poll also has an aviation theme, and relates to the recent terrible air crash at Congonhas airport. Following this crash, and that a few months ago over the Amazon, do you feel safe flying in Brazil? 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.

Weekly Quiz

Last week's quiz question came from Jacques Allain: during the first half of the last century, a small pork fat factory in Sorocaba, founded by Italian immigrant count Francesco Matarazzo, was to become Brazil's largest industrial conglomerate, but which collapsed into decline after the 1960s. What is the trade name of the toilet soap produced by the single Matarazzo factory still in operation? Congratulations to Irene Garcia who was the first with the correct answer of "Francis".
This week's quiz question again comes from Jacques Allain (thanks Jacque!): on Sept. 2, 1893, the Santos businessmen Elias Chaves and his cousin Dr. Elias Fausto inaugurated the magnificent 'Grande Hotel Le Plage' in Guarujá, made entirely from imported Georgia pine (it later burnt down and was rebuilt with bricks and mortar). Which memorable event happened there on July 23, 1932? Send your answer to mark@gringoes.com with ‘Weekly Quiz’ in the subject line.

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 Fruits of Piaui, taken by Mike Stricklin. 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.


Portuguese Tip: Imperfect Indicative Tense Part 2

By Celisa Canto
August 2, 2007
This is the second in a series of online Portuguese classes for intermediate level students. Lessons will be written in Portuguese, as this makes more sense for the intermediate level. If you are a complete beginner you might want to look at our basic lessons, written in English, most of which can be found via the FAQ.
Na aula anterior, começamos a falar sobre o Pretérito Imperfeito, que é um tempo verbal muito usado em português.
Como eu já disse, sua conjugação é muito simples, pois quase todos os verbos se tornam REGULARES, somente 4 deles são IRREGULARES (ser, ter, pôr e vir).
Na aula anterior, fizemos a conjugação dos verbos terminados em AR. Hoje vamos conjugar os verbos terminados em ER e IR.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: Tamashin‘s Tales - The Driving Test

By Tamashin
August 2, 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 Driving Test
I didn‘t actually sit the driving test, though some wag suggested that I had to sit a psychological test. Whether that‘s because he had driven with me or it was a requirement of Brazilian law I wasn‘t able to discern. Suffice it to say that it appeared to be the correct thing to do according to the clerk at the delegacia.
I turned up at the testing centre and spent half an hour filling in a form aided and confused by two clerks. "That should have been the test" I thought as I was led into a doctors consulting room. After going through all the questions on the form, again, she gave me an eye test. So far so good.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: The "Italian" Composer from Campinas Part 4

By Joe Lopes
August 2, 2007
Here is the fourth and final part of of Joe‘s article linked with the recent anniversary, on July 11, of the birth of Brazilian-born composer Antonio Carlos Gomes. The article is from a chapter in 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.
For the Fourth Centennial Celebration of the Discovery of America, Gomes wrote Colombo, a "symphonic poem with chorus," which premiered with some success in Rio de Janeiro in 1892. It became one of his most ambitious and fully evolved large-scale pieces. He even traveled later that year to Chicago to oversee a performance of Guarany. However, when an expected subsidy from the Brazilian government failed to materialize, the put upon composer was forced to use his own exceedingly limited funds to give free public concerts of excerpts from his work instead. In a letter from that period, written in the U.S. to a friend in Italy, the exasperated Gomes complained:
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Ask a Brazilian: Lemon and Limes

August 2, 2007
This is the second edition of our new column called "Ask a Brazilian". It is meant as a bit of fun and answers should not be construed as expert opinion or the definitive reply on the matter. For that reason we ask you to please send comments and experiences in order to add to our replies.
This may be silly but it is something for which I have yet to receive a good answer. In the USA, we consider the color of a lemon as yellow and a lime as green. In Brazil, it is the opposite. What‘s up with that? Obrigado. Bob.
Olá, Bob,
I understand what you say, but remember lemons can be green and yellow, the same happens with limes.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Around Brazil: Natal - Sun, Sand Dunes and Solitude or Hassle, Hustlers and Hookers

By John Fitzpatrick
August 2, 2007
About 20 years ago I bought a Lonely Planet guide to Brazil and was particularly taken by a photo of Genipabu beach near Natal in Rio Grande do Norte. It showed a sand dune several hundred feet high, studded with clusters of palms trees swaying in the breeze. There was no-one in sight except for a local man walking along some rocks on the strand. I decided I would go there one day and experience it for myself. Well, I have just done so and instead of peace and quiet and solitude I found hustlers on all sides, dune buggies polluting the air and destroying the peace and quiet, hundreds of tourists clambering to the summit where some went on tacky camel rides, bars and restaurants on the beach and real estate development encroaching onto the dune. Looking at this confusion I found myself wondering once again why Brazilians are so careless with their natural treasures. Despite this, the location and view remain beautiful and there are still many other places in Natal where you can find peace and quiet and make it worth visiting.
…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.
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$1.89, despite both a drop and rise during the week it remains unchanged over the week. The Euro has risen slightly, up to R$2.60, versus R$2.58 a week ago. The British Pound has also risen slightly, from R$3.83 to R$3.84.