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: João Pessoa Meet Up

January 8, 2008
After the huge success of the last meeting where over 40 people turned up, a new meet up has been arranged for Saturday 23rd February 2008, at 12.00 NOON/MIDDAY. It will be at CASA GRANDE, Rua Professora Maria Sales no 705, Tambau. (83) 3247-1101. domgustavog@hotmail.com
For a restaurant review see here at the Gringoes.com forum. The menu is excellent and includes Salmão na Brasa, Picanha Argentina amongst other things. The portions are very generous and cost, reasonable. Plenty of parking is available in front of the restaurant.
The new restaurant is only a short walk to the famous Tambau seafront. This time, the restaurant has been booked for 100 people including children. There will be monitors on hand for the play area.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: Lula Learns the Lesson of Not Planning Ahead

By John Fitzpatrick
January 15, 2008
Towards the end of 2007 one of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva´s senior advisers said the government had no Plan B to fall back on should Congress fail to prolong the CPMF tax on financial transactions. This was an understandable position to take since very few people at that time thought that would happen. However, it became gradually clearer as the deadline approached that the government was in danger but since it had no Plan B it was swept away by the vote. The result is that Lula now finds himself facing more problems than he could have imagined only a couple of months ago when life looked rosy thanks to a dynamic economy.
Now he has to contend with running the country with R$40 billion (around US$18 billion) less than he budgeted for. To do so, he said the government would have to cut expenditure to the bone by R$20 billion and raise taxes in other areas. Not surprisingly this message has not been well received by the politicians and employees in the public sector nor by individuals and companies in the private sector.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: Portuguese is a Delightful Language

By Kermit Le Vlog
January 15, 2008
When I close my eyes, slip my sandals off and hoist my ears to the conversations going on around me I imagine being in a comfy barrel surrounded by drunk mosquitoes. It's all jjjjj and zzzz and waves rolling into each other of vowels that couldn't care less where one word stops and another begins, a melty-cheese of a language that belongs in a cartoon world of languorous ducks swimming backstroke while blowing kisses. I don't understand a word, but it soothes.
Speaking Spanish does not help. Or at least that's what I've come to believe from my not-so-unique vantage point of not really speaking Spanish. Sure, you can muddle your way through a page of text while remembering those Berlitz tape conjugations used for a trip to that Mexican Club Med sometime in the late 1990s. But literate functionality is of little help when you need to order a drink, get cable TV installed - or insinuate to a pushy driver that it would be redeemable on his part if he took his self-regarding ways to a parthonegenic state impossible for all animals except earthworms and, it appears, sharks. You simply cannot ask a Brazilian to wait while the conversation is scribbled out on whatever parchment is at hand. Even preparing yourself - Pillow Book-style - won't cover all eventualities.
…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 New Year. Did you get in the Brazilian spirit and dress in the appropriate colour of underwear/clothes, ignore the supersititon, or were you not aware of it? So far most of you have voted for "White - Harmony & Peace" with 33% of the vote, followed in joint second with 20% by "I don't believe in it!" and "I didn't know!". 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.

Photo of the Week

The photo of the week is titled Clown Takes a Break taken by Maree Newick in Ilha Bela. 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´s Human Scavengers Finally Get a Break

By John Fitzpatrick
January 14, 2008
For the fifth successive Christmas, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visited an association of rubbish collectors, many of whom live in the streets. If you walk or drive around Brazil´s larger cities you will be familiar with these "catadores", as they are known, filling plastic bags or pulling rickety wooden carts packed with rubbish, mainly paper and scrap metal. There are reckoned to be around 300,000 of these human scavengers nationwide. There is nothing new about poor people combing through rubbish in search of something they can salvage but, as society is starting to realize the importance of recycling, they are now beginning to gain a higher status. In recognition of this, parts of the private sector in Brazil are now joining the public authorities to help bring the catadores into the formal economy. This is laudable not only because it will encourage recycling in Brazil, which is scandalously behind other countries in this area, but also create a sustainable income for these people. A signs of progress is the fact that catadores are now being offered loans, an idea which would have been unthinkable only a few years ago.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: The Importance of a Title Search When Buying Real Estate

By Jose Santiago
January 14, 2008
An opinion of title is one of the most important documents in a Brazilian real estate transaction. It is an attorney's professional opinion of the condition of title, based on examination of the recorded documents pertaining to the property. If the title to the subject property is later found defective, the buyer may find it difficult to be reimbursed for damages unless the attorney was negligent in the search and did not follow the standards. In Brazil, real estate agents lack knowledge and experience, thus their opinions are not binding and do not guarantee against any future legal issues. Today, attorneys acting as closing agents may order title insurance just as a title company does.
The reason title insurance has become the dominant method of protection for a buyer is that it will pay for losses sustained by the new owner. The two basic types of title insurance are owners' title insurance and lenders' title insurance, in this article we will refrain from elaborating on the lender‘s policy, not common in Brazil.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil Through Foreign Eyes

January 11, 2008
Meet Chris Mensah, from the UK, who first visited Brazil 7 years ago and is married to a Brazilian. 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 Chris Mensah, I‘m 38 years old, I live in London, England with my wife who is from Bahia and our two young sons. I work for a Swedish Telecoms Vendor as an Engineer. I enjoy most sports, music, travel and meeting new people from different cultures.
2. When did you arrive in Brazil and what brought you here?
I first visited Rio in February 2001 for a day as I was on my way to Salvador, Bahia for carnival. I stayed at a friends apartment in Lagoa in Rio for the night and was in awe of the view from the apartment as it took in the radiance of the Corcovado (Statue of Christ).
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: Raquel Taraborelli - Rain is Champagne in her Garden

By Sol Biderman
January 11, 2008
Raquel Taraborelli is a Brazilian Margaret Mee who does not have to wedge her way through the Amazon jungle to paint flowers. They are in her front yard, her backyard, her terrace, her house, her mind. Her house, built in the Provence style is in the rear of a garden spangled with thousands of multi-hued flowers, overseen by a mango tree ripe with fruit.
Flowers abound everywhere. When she travels abroad her destination is the same as in Brazil - gardens, fields with wild flowers. She especially enjoys the poppies of Italy and Provence and the gardens of Giverny. Inspired by Monet, she makes pilgrimages to his garden in France, as others would go to Lourdes, Rome or Jerusalem, even though all she has to do is look out of her window at her garden in the Voturantim suburb of Sorocaba, Sao Paulo, for all the inspiration she needs. On the wall of her home is a phrase from the French poet Constance Block: "Rain is champagne in the garden."
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Ask a Brazilian: Making Friends

January 10, 2008
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.
Is there any particular etiquette that you need to observe when trying to make friends with Brazilians?... is it just pot luck, like friendships generally, or are there some rules and regulations?
Niki
Dear Niki,
I kept wandering but i couldn‘t think about any rules or regulations for making friends in Brazil. And maybe there are some, specially for gringoes, if not rules tips.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: "Tristeza Não Tem Fim" ("Sadness Has No End") Part 6

By Joe Lopes
January 10, 2008
It's All Just a Myth-Understanding
For most hardworking individuals, success is not just a two-syllable word meaning a "favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors" - in this case, the sufficiently favorable run of not only Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes' fully-orchestrated musical concept, Orfeu da Conceição, from 1956; but also its much anticipated screen adaptation, Black Orpheus (known inside Brazil by its alternate title, Orfeu do Carnaval), which arrived on the scene a few years later.
No, success is more often a two-way street, implying that, with a good deal of time (and too little effort) between them, all enterprising new ventures begin to acquire a complex mythology all their own, what nowadays is described as "excess baggage" - usually one separate and distinct from their original purpose or intent.
This was evidently so of the all-Brazilian Orfeu and the French-made Black Orpheus.
…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! If you've got some burning question about Brazil, or just want to discuss a particular topic, then you're bound to get an answer there.
There's also a forum which allows you to comment and give us feedback 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, abusive posts and certain types of advertising in the forum will not be tolerated. Make sure to check the Read This First area first before posting. The forum is intended to be a constructive and lighthearted place for discussion about Brazil.


Forex

The US Dollar has dropped slightly since last week, from R$1.77 to R$1.76. The Euro has also dropped slightly, from R$2.59 from R$2.58. The British Pound remains unchanged over the week, at R$3.46.