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.


Tico Johnny‘s Incomplete Guide to Surfing in Brazil

By Tico Johnny
October 16, 2007
Are you a flabby, pasty expat looking to get in shape and impress the gatinhas? A ripped jiu-jitsu knuckledragger in search of a new challenge? Or perhaps you‘re a Mr. Limpet type looking to commune with the aquatic world. Grab a board - surf‘s up!
Surfing has something to offer everyone: an oceanic spiritual awakening; a serious upper body workout (and lower, once you get good); the ultimate multi-tasking athletic endeavor; the freedom and beauty that can only come from harnessing the raw energy of planet earth. Did I mention the surfer babes yet?
And what better place to learn than Brazil? With thousands of miles of coastline - from the raging barrels of Maresias to the shark infested peaks of Pernambuco - it‘s no accident that Brazilians have embraced the sport and are even making a name for themselves in the top ranks of professional surfing. You may never compete with world champ Kelly Slater, but you‘re sure to find a wave that suits your style and ability.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: Rose and the Blind Man

By G Gilmore
October 16, 2007
Last Friday I was heading for a teacher‘s Workshop sponsored by the largest educational book publisher in Brazil, riding the train around the northwest corner of the city. The train which runs ‘up and down‘ along the west side is relatively new. Clean air conditioned cars, classical music on the intercom and, all in all, a pleasure to ride. The passengers on the westside train are mostly people heading to their yuppie jobs. Between 8:00 and 8:30am the cars are fairly crowded.
The trains which run from the across the north side of town are a different story - they are older, less well-maintained, no A/C, no Muzak and most of the passengers are definitely a different type of people.
On all the trains, by about 9am, the commuters have left the train cars relatively empty. There is space enough to walk up and down the center aisle; most of the seats are occupied. On the westside trains, it is rare to see anyone selling gum or chocolates or water, while on the northside trains, it is almost an every-car occurrence. By 10am, especially on the northside trains, the street vendors are heading for their street corners downtown or at one of the parks or a subway station, or wherever their outdoor store is today. About this time the ‘train vendors‘ come out of the woodwork. Walking the center aisle of the train car, they hawk their goods. "Chocolate! Tres para um!" they shout. "Agua gelada! Um Real!" There are blind and crippled folks panhandling, and children panhandling, also, though the beggars are encountered much less frequently than the train vendors.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: The Business of Climate Change Part 2

By Tim Cowman
October 16, 2007
Climate change is THE hot topic (please excuse the pun) of the moment. No more so than in the country commonly referred to as the lungs of the world, Brazil. Over the next four weeks Tim Cowman will bring us up to speed on the newly created business of the climate.
For those of you based in Brazil you‘ll be glad to know that you live a relatively low impact carbon life here (apart from those of you that can afford to fly to and from wherever you originate on a regular basis of course). The reason for this is that a vast percentage of this country's energy, above 90% in some states, comes from the renewable energy source of hydro power. In addition to this, on the back of the most advanced clean fuels system in the world based on a 30 year old ethanol research programme, 75% of all newly sold cars are of a flex fuel variety. Making this country truly world class in more activities than just football and carnival and in many respects being the envy of the world.
…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.
An extra addition this week, as we've had a couple of article suggestions that none of the Gringoes.com staff feel they are capable of writing. So the hope is that a reader out there would be interested. The two topic suggestions are:
1. Renting Cars in Brazil - covering say any license requirements, insurance (and any related peculiarities), and perhaps a summary guide on the oddities of driving in Brazil
2. Brazilian Swear Words and Slang - we're a bit wary of this topic in case we offend more sensitive readers, but it could also prove a useful guide to not saying the wrong thing (we're aware that Tamashin has already written a large slang guide).
If you are interested in writing then contact mark@gringoes.com.
Equally if you have any article ideas that you'd like to see written, then feel free to drop us a line.


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

This week's poll, continued from last week, is on the English fluency of Brazilians you encounter in everyday life. Do you encounter English speakers all the time, infrequently, or never? 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 was from Karen: the Solar da Marquesa in S.Paulo is the former home of the Marquise of Santos, mistress of Emperor D.Pedro I, which was bought for her in 1843 and auctioned in a public sale 12 years after her death in 1867. WHO WAS THE NEXT OCCUPANT of the Solar? WHICH IS THE ONLY FURNITURE ITEM that belonged to the marquise and remains there to this day? No-one had the correct answer to the question, so here is Karen's answer: History likes little jokes: as the Solar becames the diocese of the bishop of S.Paulo. The furniture item was her bathtub!
This week's quiz question is from Teacher Claudia (thanks Claudia!): what was the Battle of Flowers in the History of Brazil? 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 Stray Puppy, taken by Jann La Pointe in Alto Paraiso airport, Goias. 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: Caicó Part 3

By Hal Sutcliffe
October 15, 2007
Saturday Afternoon
Edilma's cousin Erivan - very friendly and welcoming - drove me around Caicó for a couple of hours, describing what I was seeing into my halting ears. My eyes can take it in, my ears need more experience.
I liked Caicó immediately. How can a community feel relaxed? I don't know: perhaps because it's hot; it's Saturday afternoon. Whatever, Caicó seem tranqüillo.
The main and secondary roads here are paved and 4 plus cars wide. In the center city the buildings were mostly well maintained and there is an open-air community plaza with tables for food and beer that probably seats 400 to 500. You have your choice of some twenty food booths. The plaza is centuries old; a continuation of European patterns (think Brughel) and a precursor of shopping-mall food courts.
No high rises! Tallest building I saw was five stories. Some condos but all short by Natal (13 to 30 stories) edificios.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Ask a Brazilian: Liberal or Jealous?

October 12, 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 someone else. 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.
Hey, Vanessa
I've heard Brazilians are uttlerly possessive and jealous. Is it true?
I always thought Brazilians where so liberal.
Best,
Ben
Ben,
Forget the naked carnival pictures you've seen, Brazil is a 3 C's society: Conservative, Christian and Chauvinistic. In "general", of course, the answer for your question is: Yes, it is true.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: "Opera" in the Amazon - Werner Herzog‘s Fitzcarraldo, or The Madness of Foreign Men Part 3

By Joe Lopes
October 12, 2007
Here is the third part of Joe's article about Werner Herzog's film Fitzarraldo. To read the previous parts click the relevant link at the end of the article.
Whistle While You Work
This brings the main section of the story into play, wherein Fitzcarraldo‘s doggedly determined vision for making his impossible dream come true - the long and deliberately agonizing climb up the treacherous hill, with a thousand-and-one native extras pulling, tugging and coaxing the huge vessel along - takes on the truly quixotic proportions of an old Cecil B. DeMille spectacle.
"This is a film that challenges the most basic laws of nature," Herzog explained at the outset. "Boats are just not meant to fly over mountains."
No, they‘re not. Nor were they meant to be hurled down the raging Pongo das Mortes ("Rapids of Death"), either - which is exactly what happens next: loosening the ship from its moorings, the inscrutable tribesmen (called, disparagingly, the "bare-asses" in the script) offer the Molly Aida up as a symbolic gesture to their river god.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil Through Foreign Eyes

October 11, 2007
Meet Jan Sandberg, from Sweden, who recently visited Brazil. 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.?
My name is Jan Sandberg, I‘m am 54 years old, and I am living in a city, Örebro, in Sweden. I am working as a scanning operator on a local newspaper in the city.
2. When did you arrive in Brazil and what brought you here?
My first visit to Brazil was in June 2006. I came to São Paulo to visit my girlfriend Anédi. We had met on the Internet, and we had decided to meet in São Paulo where she was living and working.
3. What were you first impressions of Brazil?
Well the first thing I saw of Brazil was São Paulo in the middle of the night. When the plane was about to land, I saw a never-ending area of lights on the ground. I couldn't believe São Paulo was that big. And the first days in São Paulo I was almost paralyzed by the size of the city, and the number of people and cars.
…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 risen slightly this week, and is currently at R$1.82 versus R$1.80 a week ago. The Euro has also risen over the week, from R$2.55 to R$2.59. The British Pound has also risen slightly, from R$3.69 to R$3.71.