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.


Gringoes.com Site Issues

September 18, 2007
Dear Readers,
Our apologies again for a variety of issues over the last couple of weeks. The first was the site being off the air around September 4th. When the site returned things were further compounded by another attack from a hacker, which corrupted our content database. Restoring the database caused problems with the content management system, and we were unable to post any articles or change site information until today when it was repaired.
We're currently aware of only two issues with the site, which are the polls here on the main page, and polls within the forum. If you spot any other issues then please let us know by sending an email to mark@gringoes.com.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: Caledonian Ball - São Paulo

September 18, 2007
Dear Society members and friends,
The 2007 Caledonian Ball will be held on Saturday 29th September, at the Hyatt Hotel in São Paulo city.
This gala ball is the highlight of the St Andrew Society calendar and we are pleased to announce that the Ian McPhail band will be flying out from Scotland to play for us, having very recently entertained the Queen at Balmoral. We will also have the full contingent of the São Paulo based Scottish Link Pipe Band on display, fresh from competing in the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow.
The Ball is always a glittering occasion, a chance to dress up and celebrate the best of Scottish culture. We will have fine wines, excellent whisky, good food and of course Scottish Country dancing and disco music, all in lovely surroundings.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Senate Spits in the Face of the Brazilian People

By John Fitzpatrick
September 19, 2007
Brazil´s Senators showed their contempt for the people who elected them by spitting in their faces when they absolved the chairman, Renan Calheiros, of unparliamentarily procedure on September 12. The entire 81-member Senate turned up and voted by 40 votes to 35, with six abstentions, not to accept the recommendation of its own ethics committee and force Calheiros to stand down over allegations that his personal expenses had been paid by a lobbyist for a construction company. This vote flew in the face of credible evidence that Calheiros had not only used the lobbyist but had secretly acquired control of two radio stations and had also intervened to help a brewer gain tax benefits. The 40 Senators who voted for Calheiros must be the only people in the whole country who accept his unconvincing explanations and condone the unscrupulous methods he has used to cling onto power. Parallels have been drawn with the 40 Senators and the 40 Thieves, with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the role of Ali Baba. This is a fair comparison, confirmed by the abstentions of PT Senators who saved Calheiros.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Advertising - Brazil: Investment Opportunity

Looking for a safe, hands-free, environmentally friendly investment in Brazil with limited risk and significant upside potential? If you also share a passion for trees, then this could be the investment for you.
Fazenda Vallas, a Brazilian tropical tree plantation located in western Bahia, is looking for a limited number of investment partners to join them in a project to plant tropical hardwood trees.
For as little as $84,900 you can buy a 25-acre plot of land, adjacent to a federal highway, with electricity access, and planted with up to 15,000 Guanandi trees.
Each parcel is expected to generate over US$3 million in revenue over 20 years (starting in year six) using today's hardwood prices. A detailed harvest plan outlining the annual projected cash flow is available upon request. Title insurance is offered and the land can be purchased through a self-directed IRA.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: São Paulo - The Forgotten City

By Mark Taylor
A couple of examples recently highlighted something that has been obvious to me a while now - many foreigners (media especially) think Brazil boils down to just two things: the Amazon and Rio de Janeiro. Heck, you‘d forgive people for thinking that Rio itself is a country in its own right, or at the very least the capital of Brazil (ignoring distant history of course).
The first recent example was CNN‘s international weather forecast that popped up while I was channel surfing. Of course being an international forecast it meant that South America got a brief mention, and what was the single city that popped up that represented Brazil... the capital?... the largest populated city... both? Nope, none of the above. It was just Rio. The second recent example was a web site, in this instance the BBC‘s very own country profile site for Brazil. The map, smack bang at the top, does admittedly show two cities at least, with the capital getting a look in, and inevitably Rio is there again. Other cities get a mention later on in the text, but there‘s no space for them on the map. The bottom line is that the media away from Brazil are perpetuating the above stereotype.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: What is a Typical Gringo?

By Stephen Thompson
September 4, 2007
What is a typical gringo? What is a typical Brazilian? and do they make a good match? (Can they ever get a long, in fact)
"You are a great roast", says my Brazilian wife, thanking my father for his hospitality. But is my father a typical "roast beef", as the French call the English? And what is a nickname for a typical Brazilian... rodizio? Is there any such thing as a typical Englishman, Brazilian, Irishman, Chinese, or Eskimo? My sister has just got married to a man who in many ways is a traditional Briton. He drinks lots of beer, loves fish and chips, refuses to eat fruit or vegetables, is very polite, believes in God and even goes to church when he is visiting his parents. But he is actually Irish, an Ulster protestant, from Northern Ireland, a place which is more British than Britain, with its church goers and Union-Jacks flying everywhere you look.
…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

We currently have problems with the poll, so unfortunately it's not accepting votes correctly.

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

This week's quiz question is from Matthew Ward (thanks Matthew!): In which Brazilian town was the first reinforced concrete building in Latin America constructed, and what kind of building is it? 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 Spot the Jacaré, taken by John Duhig in the Pantanal Lake. 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.


Brazil: Crabtree Moments

By Zoe Fitzgerald
September 3, 2007
Fans of the British comedy, "Allo, Allo", will remember secret agent, Officer Crabtree, who attempted to pose as a local policeman. However his "French" was hilariously bad with mispronunciations resulting in confusion and comic statements such as, "God Moaning. The resist-once have accqo-aired a bum. They are going to ex-plod the whaleway brodge". I like to call these comic mispronunciations, Crabtree Moments - of which I have had my fair share during my first year here in Brazil.
In my first month it was presidential election time, and feeling quite brave after several caipirinhas one evening, I attempted to converse with the taxi driver about the local political situation. I wanted to ask him, "No brasil, é obrigatório votar?" (In Brazil, is it compulsory to vote?). However the words that came from my mouth were, "No brasil, é obrigatório foder?" (In Brazil, it is compulsory to f**k?). The taxi driver chuckled, and replied calmly, "Sempre, sempre" (Yes, always, always). I quickly realized my mistake and embarrassed, tried to clarify the situation. Luckily I was sitting in the back of the taxi and not far from home!
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil Through Foreign Eyes

August 31, 2007
Meet Edward Gowing, from Australia, who has travelled to Brazil and is currently trying to spend as much time there as possible. 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 was a helicopter pilot in the Australian Army for about 11 years. I have worked in The United States and Canada and travelled a bit in Europe but had never set foot in South America until a couple of years ago.
2. When did you arrive in Brazil and what brought you here?
The first time I came to Brazil was in December 2005. A few years back, a mate of mine met a Brazilian woman in San Diego - USA. They got engaged in Sydney, Australia, moved to live in Lyon, France and decided to marry in Florianopolis, Brazil (they now live with their 5 month old daughter in Basel, Switzerland). I took a 42 hr flight from Sydney via Auckland, LA, Lima, Santiago and São Paulo to celebrate the occasion. The 4 weeks I spent around Floripa (with a sojourn in Costa Verde and Rio) was enough to convince me to return to experience more of Brazil (OK... there might have been a woman!). So, 4 weeks later, when I returned to work, I informed my boss I was quitting to go and live in Brazil. Since than, I have been living in Brazil on and off, as dictated by the stamps in my passport.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: Press Release

September 3, 2007
Brazil is in a "comfortable" position in relation to the financial crisis but is still vulnerable, says Itaú´s Malaga
Brazil has ridden out the storm of the current crisis and is in a comfortable position because it has taken important steps to improve the quality and structure of its debt, says Tomas Malaga, the chief economist of Banco Itaú. However, he warns that if the crisis gets worse then foreign investors will reduce their exposure and Brazil will start losing some of its large foreign reserves. Malaga makes his comments in an interview with Brazil Political Comment in which he urges the government to aim for a fiscal surplus and explains why he thinks GDP could grow by as much as 5% this year. He also explains why he thinks Brazil´s macroeconomic policies are here to stay. Here is an extract: "I do not think any political party - the PT or the opposition - will try and alter the macroeconomic policies. All the parties realize the importance of economic stability. The opposition will try and exploit the discontent over taxation and the destination of these taxes, particularly among middle and higher income groups. However, I don´t see this leading to the kind of polarization that has happened in Venezuela."
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Portuguese Tip: Sounds Part 3 - Vowels

By Teacher Claudia
August 31, 2007
Dear reader, please read out loud the following words: vovó and vovô. If you pronounced them correctly, there was a sound difference in their endings, as the first word means grandmother and the second grandfather. That means pronunciation alters content. I can sincerely say that all of my foreign students have a hard time learning vowels in Brazilian Portuguese. Breathe, dear reader, and remember we have two ears and just one mouth. If we listen carefully, we shall speak well.
Activity 1 - Text
Read the poem "Sobre a ambição", by Guilherme de Almeida, out loud, please.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


The Lord Mayor Goes Zapping the NYSE in Brazil

By John Fitzpatrick
August 30, 2007
The Lord Mayor of the City of London, Sir John Stuttard, has been visiting Brazil, touting London as the world´s leading financial center and trashing the New York Stock Exchange. He has been going for what he regards as New York´s jugular - the Sarbanes-Oxley Act - which he described as a "nightmare" and claimed was causing some companies to de-list and putting off others from listing. Sir Thomas says two Brazilian companies will list on London but refused to identify them. If this comes about, they would be the first Brazilian companies to list in London´s main market as opposed to New York where around 30 Brazilian companies trade. A handful of Brazilian companies are also traded on the Latibex exchange in Madrid. Sir John may be right to see this as a breakthrough but it will be a modest one since Brazil - and Latin America as a whole - is much more attuned to the United States than to London in terms of business practices and culture.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Ask a Brazilian: Screens

August 30, 2007
Hi there,
I visit friends in the Northeast of Brazil regularly, and have always wondered why I never see screens on windows or doors. Air-conditioned rooms are sealed off, but homes without A/C have unscreened windows and insects come and go as they please.
Where I live, screens on windows are practically universal even though the summer is only two months long and there is no malaria or dengue. I know tropical homes are designed to be more open to the outdoors, but wouldn‘t having screens on windows at least in bedrooms protect from insects while allowing air to blow?
I wonder if screens on windows are used in São Paulo or other parts of Brazil I haven‘t visited?
-David
…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 has dropped substantially in the time since our previous newsletter 3 weeks ago, and is currently at R$1.86 versus R$1.97. Similarly the Euro has also dropped in the past 3 weeks, down to R$2.60, versus R$2.69. The British Pound has also dropped over the 3 weeks, currently at at R$3.73 versus R$3.97.