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.


São Paulo: 1st Coffee of the Year!!!

February 6, 2008
Join the The International Newcomers Club of São Paulo (INC) for their next monthly coffee on Wednesday, February 13th, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. Don't miss out on this great opportuity to meet up with old friends, and to help welcome new ones as well!
INC members Sarah Sprague and Sabrina Madsen have taken on the challenge of organizing the 2008 Coffees, which will all feature some of your favorite vendors, as well as an international theme each month.
You won‘t want to miss it!
Place: Business Hall
R. Engº Francisco Pitta Brito, 125
Edifício Birmann 9
Time: 9am to 1pm.
Theme: Brazilian Fruits - Learn from a chef about the fruits of Brazil and how to prepare them!
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


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>>


São Paulo: Midnight Metropolis

By Jason Bermingham
February 5, 2008
Here is another of Jason's articles in the form of an interactive story. Read the page below, then click on the links at the end of the page to choose what you do.
Your eyes snap open. My bag. Where's my bag? The hour glows red on the nightstand: 11:16. You jump out of bed and turn on the light. Where is it? Not in the closet. Not under the bed. Not in the bathroom, either.
You sit on the floor, the blood pounding in your ear. Think. Everything is in that bag - your cash, ID, credit cards. Everything. It must be at the restaurant. You throw on some clothes, pocket the bills and loose change on the nightstand, and leave.
A light rain is falling when you hit the streets. Buses roar up Avenida Ipiranga. You keep your head down, trying to look dangerous, and hurry past Praça da República. Edifício Itália, São Paulo‘s tallest building, stands on the opposite corner. You had dinner on the top floor earlier this evening.
At the stop light you watch as an enormous man in a silver suit leaves the building and opens the rear door of an illegally parked car. The bag he throws onto the back seat looks exactly like yours. There is a taxi across the avenue. The restaurant closes at midnight. It‘s 11:38.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
…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

Last week's poll was 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? The clear favourite was the "northeast" with 30% of the vote, followed in second place by "Sao Paulo" with 18%, and third place by "Rio de Janeiro" with 15%. If you haven't yet voted go to our homepage and look for the poll in the left-hand column.
This week's poll is on your preferred place to spend carnival. Would you rather be dressed up and in the throng of the desfile, watching from a concrete bench in the sambodromo, watching it on TV from a comfy sofa, or simply not watching at all! 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 Non-Carbon Footprint taken by John Damer at Muro Alto, Pernambuco. 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

February 1, 2008
Meet Jim Kirby from Paraguay and (in his own words) the USSA, who, though he does visit Brazil regularly, is almost unique in these interviews in that he has not yet married, divorced, or cross-bred with a Brazilian. Read the following interview in which 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.?
Born in Asunción, Paraguay, I grew up in Chicago and now live in Austin, TX, the so-called "live music capital of the world." Austin would be a perfect place to live if it weren‘t so full of the bleeding-heart liberals that are a vanishing species in the rest of Texas. In compensation, however, it does have fewer damn Baptists and Methodists than do the other cities of Texas, except perhaps for Houston.
Formally trained in Physics, Theology and Law, I have mainly worked in research and development of nuclear weapons, ICBMs, bombers, fighters and other aircraft and in design of integrated circuits, consumer electronics and medical devices. Apart from the USSA, I have lived and worked in Germany, Scotland, Mexico and Argentina.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Around Brazil: Manaus

By Ricky Skelton
February 4, 2008
Most Brazilian Amazon journeys start or end in Manaus.
Manaus happens to be 1500km upriver from the sea but it is still a port and has all the attributes that a port should have - water, land, goods that come in from all over the world, and that crazy air of edginess. The air of edginess had been present since some of our group had their bags slashed on the boat up from Santarem. Some couldn´t handle the idea of another boat ride and flew instead, but the rest of us were pleased that the boat was quite plush compared to our first one. We even got to steer the big wheel for a bit. The cameras and wallets had been stolen by someone small enough to crawl around in the small space under the hammocks, but the crew still searched the only black man on the boat as he´d been closest.
The river police searched the boat too, just as we arrived in Manaus, but not for our gear.
The British-made dock in Manaus floats to cope with the fluctuating river levels. Things are hectic, with bags, boxes and boats, people, gangplanks, sellers, touts, taxi-drivers and tourists to negotiate, with smells and sounds that belong to every port in the world. Rotting fish and fruit, diesel and petrol fumes - the kind of place to get away from as soon as possible.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil´s Politicians Set to Cash in on Oil and Gas Discoveries

By John Fitzpatrick
February 1, 2008
As if Brazil was not blessed with a bounty of natural resources it seems that God has decided to help his favorite nation once again by unveiling his latest gifts - massive reserves of oil and gas. The state-owned oil company Petrobras announced on January 21 that it had discovered huge offshore gas reserves, which could be as large as the oil resources it discovered in November at the nearby Tupi field, which are estimated at five to eight billion barrels. This means that Brazil is on its way to becoming one of the world´s leading oil and gas producers. Brazil is already self-reliant in oil and when the natural gas is flowing in 2014 it will no longer depend on Bolivia. Ironically, this good news comes amidst fears of energy rationing this year as the country´s current power resources cope to meet with the rising demand from a growing economy.
This latest announcement is excellent news for Brazil and shows once again how this country could become one of the most prosperous countries in the world if it could free itself from the shackles which are holding it back. These shortcomings include needless poverty, an inefficient educational system, endemic corruption, a tolerance for law-breaking and an ungainly political system. Brazilians are an optimistic people and they have every reason to be so. Just think of some of the benefits Brazil enjoys: it is one of the largest countries in the world yet has a relatively low population density; it has no areas which are uninhabitable for reasons of geography or climate; it has vast areas which have not been exploited; it has practically every agricultural and mineral resource you can imagine; it has a culture which is open to change and is tolerant of diversity.
…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 is unchanged over the week, at R$1.76. The Euro has dropped, from R$2.62 to R$2.57. The British Pound has also dropped, from R$3.50 to R$3.45.