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>>


Canada‘s Brazilian Ball

By Paul Kia‘i Modde
January 28, 2008
The ‘who‘s who‘ of Toronto‘s High Society come together every year to help raise awareness and money for worthy causes. The Brazilian Ball has raised nearly $47 million dollars to date. There have been numerous causes that have benefited including health care, research, education and culture in Canada and Brazil.
This spectacular event gives the guests a taste of Brazilian Carnival with a parade of colourful costumes and gyrating dancers who entertain and spur the crowd to embrace the spirit of Rio‘s Carnival and to samba the night away.
From its beginnings as a small event in a church basement in Toronto, this event has evolved into a highly anticipated and well supported charitable fundraiser in Canada.
Seven people got together in 1966 and decided to bring all the magic, beauty and traditions of the world famous Brazilian Carnival to Toronto. This introduced the hot blooded music, a new rhythm to Toronto, which packed the dance floor all night long.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Around Brazil: Santarem & Alter do Chao

By Ricky Skelton
January 28, 2008
Santarem is probably the second biggest port on the Brazilian section of the Amazon. After seeing all the tiny towns along the way, a proper city came as a bit of a shock. The huge grain tankers aren‘t, as they regularly pass silently downriver as they head for the Atlantic. The structure that fills the containers shouldn‘t be a shock but it does stand out a little from the trees.
The construction of this structure is claimed to be an environmental disaster and not just because it was built without proper planning permission by one of the largest agri-businesses on the planet. It is closed at present and Cargill may have to remove the structure at some point but don‘t hold your breath.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


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 places you've yet to visit in Brazil, but that are next on your list. Are you set to visit the northeast, the Amazon, Rio, the Pantanal, Sao Paulo, or somewhere else? So far the clear favourite is the "northeast" with 31% of the vote, followed in second place by "Sao Paulo" with 19%, and third place by the "Pantanal" with 14%. 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 Congada Flag taken by Roderick Steel in Sao 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.


Brazil Through Foreign Eyes

January 25, 2008
Meet Linda Halverstadt, from the USA, who first stayed in Brazil as a student 35 years ago, and has recently revisited. Read the following interview where she tells us about some of her 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 from the United States. Ohio specifically. I have been a stay at home mom for many many years and have recently returned to college majoring in Nursing.
2. When did you arrive in Brazil and what brought you here?
I went to Brazil as an exchange student in 1972. I had never flown on an airplane before. It was quite an experience. No email or Internet. No one spoke English. I, of course, spoke no Portuguese.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Ask a Brazilian: Hotels and Bank Transfers

January 24, 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.
Hey Vanessa,
I'm an avid reader of your column as I live about 4 months a year in Brazil and am married to a Brazilian. Your column certainly helps explain the unexplainable! But here's one for you: I notice that it is very common for Brasilians to do a bank transfer to pay for goods and services, esp. hotels. In the States, this can cost up for $30 or more, so we don't do this very often at all. In fact, I've never done it once in the States. So, I'm curious, especially in the case of hotel reservations, how Brazilian hotels can only accept reservations if you make an advance deposit via bank transfer to their bank? First of all, that costs R$8 - why should the consumer eat that cost? And, how can they get away with that and not accept credit cards as is common in many cases? As a foreigner, I don't have a Brazilian bank account, so is it fair that I cannot make a hotel reservation at any hotel that doesn't accept credit cards, which is common in many charming pousadas in tourist towns like Ouro Preto, Jericoacora, etc.
…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 during the week, from R$1.80 to R$1.76. The Euro has risen slightly, from R$2.61 to R$2.62. The British Pound is unchanged over the week, at R$3.50.