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.


Brazil: Arriving in São Paulo

By Simon Tarmo
September 25, 2007
I have arrived. I have packed up my life and now I‘m in one of the biggest, craziest cities in the world - São Paulo.
Actually, this is just a temporary stay, for a couple of days, before I move on to my new home for a few years or so - Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil.
But I'll speak of São Paulo for now.
To begin somewhat poetically, the sheer size of the city alone makes the mind shift to different places, places where my former safe, secure and controlled existence (in Sydney, Australia) are overcome by semi-subconscious feelings of possibility, excitement and the unknown.
I touch down at about midnight on a Friday and quickly clear the tired and bored looking federal police and customs officers, before picking up my 92kg of luggage (yes, we paid handsomely for the extra kilos but it's hard to leave your previous world behind) and greeting my good friend Augusto (Guto for short), who had just arrived to pick me up. Despite various warnings from folk supposedly in the know back in Australia, I had absolutely no problem with my trip, especially the final hurdle getting out of São Paulo airport, and actually rolled through the exit gates before my scheduled landing time - lucky my friend is prompt.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


China is Quite Popular in Brazil These Days

By Stephen Thompson
September 25, 2007
China is quite popular in Brazil these days, and there are lots of opportunities for business and employment in this bilateral trade, which has been booming for the last few years. Chinese head of state Hu Jintao visited Brazil in 2004 after Lula's visit to China. The Brazilian media then and now have been bombarding us with news from China. With the Olympics in Beijing next year, prepare for even more reporting. There is a demand professionals who know about China or can assist Brazilian companies wanting to do business with China.
For example, Chinese-Portuguese interpreters are needed. I worked as interpreter for several Brazilian companies, interpreting at meetings and training courses, and guiding tours of Chinese around steel works, tractor factories, ethanol plants. I even interpreted at trade talks at the Ministry of Agriculture.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: Finding the Money to Find a Job Part 1

By Matthew Ward
September 24, 2007
One of the hardest lessons many of us foreigners learn here in Brazil is that there is always a disorderly queue of individuals happy to relieve us of some of our hard earned cash, by fair means or, more often than not, foul. I suspect the account I‘m about to relate may be familiar to some readers, who in a state of unemployed desolation like me, fell for the idle promises of hungry sharks poised to devour novice surfers dipping their toes into the Brazilian job market for the first time.
After hiring a marching band and a fly-past to celebrate finally receiving my RNE in September 2003 (I‘d almost forgotten that I‘d applied for it way back in June 2002, shortly after arriving in Brazil), I embarked upon the challenging endeavour of finding work. My background is in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL to the uninitiated), but I was keen to make my move to Brazil from Britain a clean break career-wise. Having dabbled a little in web design, I fancifully imagined it would be possible to work in that field, so I started scouring the local press for opportunities. Unfortunately, as I live in a small town in the interior of São Paulo state, the jobs advertised were nearly all related to manual, semi-skilled professions - if I‘d wanted to be a butcher, for instance, I could have chosen from a veritable smorgasbord of openings. As the months passed without opportunities forthcoming that didn‘t involve the chopping of meat, my self-esteem and associated love of Brazil both entered a worrying tailspin.
…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

Last week's quiz question was from Matthew Ward: in which Brazilian town was the first reinforced concrete building in Latin America constructed, and what kind of building is it? Jacques Allain replied with: in São Paulo, on the Rua Direita, in 1913, with 7 floors (a skyscraper by the standard of those times). It was built to house the offices of the Guinle family from Rio, who became Brazil's richest by winning the project to build Santos port at the end of the 19th century. This is in contrast to Matthew's answer though, without the year, which is: Mairinque, São Paulo state - the railway station. Anyone know the correct answer?
This week's quiz question is from Gail Rogers (thanks Gail!): what was the name of the most famous casino in Rio during the 1930s? 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 The Kiss, taken by by Andrea Molnar Szego near São Paulo. 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.


Around Brazil: The Amazon

By Ricky Skelton
September 24, 2007
It's just one of those names, isn't it. You hear the word 'Amazon' and immediately think of all kinds of dramatic scenery, exotic people and odd occurrences. As far as I'm concerned it definitely lived up to the hype. I had such an amazing time travelling up the River Amazon and I will never forget it and will recommend that everyone takes a journey up the world's mightiest river.
Perhaps it wasn't quite how you may have been led to expect - no indigenous warriors lining the banks with blowpipes and poison darts, not many caimans or anacondas following us around, and no sign of the piranhas that aren't anywhere near as dangerous as legend has it. All of this is a shame but never detracted from the experience. The absence of the candirú was an obvious bonus, but you can´t be too careful. The reputation of this fish induces so much fear that even going to the toilet on a boat on the River Amazon is a nervous experience. Always move from side to side, just in case. It didn´t stop me swimming in the river though. To the layman, swimming amongst vegetation to escape mosquitoes that have savaged every passenger on a broken-down boat in the knowledge that they´re not likely to encounter humans again for many years in that part of the river might be difficult to romanticize, but it was easy for me. I was swimming in The Amazon!
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Portuguese Tip: Pretérito Imperfeito - Verbos Irregulares

By Celisa Canto
September 24, 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.
Agradeço a vocês que me mandaram e-mail sobre as nossas aulas.
Nas duas aulas anteriores conjugamos os verbos regulares terminados em AR, ER e IR e vimos 5 situações onde usamos o verbo no Pretérito Imperfeito.
Agora vamos conjugar os verbos irregulares, que são somente quatro: ser, ter, pôr e vir
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


The Brazilian Beat Goes On: My Own "Best-Of" List of Present-Day Bossa Nova Classics Part 5

By Joe Lopes
September 21, 2007
Here is the fifth and final part of Joe‘s article, covering his top ten favourite tracks that reflect the pervasive influence of the classic bossa nova sound in their makeup or design. To read the previous parts click the relevant link at the bottom of the article.
8. "Believe in Life" (Eric Clapton). From the cream of the crop to the bottom of the barrel, that's what we get with Eric Clapton's "Believe in Life," his one (and hopefully only) attempt at a bossa-nova connection. But the only connection purchasers need make after having acquired this nonentity is with the Returns Department on eBay.
The song is found on his ponderously named Reptile (Reprise, 2001) - and yes, friends, the party's definitely over with this bargain basement, pseudo-Brazilian atrocity, as faux a piece of work as any I've heard from the blues-man from Ripley. I'm still scratching my head over its banality and blandness next to the topnotch quality of Clapton's previous output ("Wonderful Tonight," "Tears in Heaven").
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Ask a Brazilian: Tolerance

September 21, 2007
This is our regular column called "Ask a Brazilian", the idea being that you can quite literally ask a question of a Brazilian for those issues you aren't sure about but perhaps dare not ask. 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.
Hi,
Why are Brazilians particularly tolerant of problems, such as neighbours playing loud music, and long queues at the bank? Is it just Paulistanos that are like this, or the same across Brazil?
Marcus
Olá Marcus,
I like your question, but I ask you: Are Brazilians tolerant or did Brazilians learned how to deal with so many unfavorable conditions?
…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 slightly in the last week, and is currently R$1.85 versus R$1.86 a week ago. The Euro has risen slightly over the week, from R$2.60 to R$2.62. The British Pound has also risen slightly, from R$3.73 to R$3.74 over the week.