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: Luncheon & Activity

February 20, 2008
Join the International Newcomer's Society and explore Ibirapuera Park, weather permitting. The park is very large and has many different walkways and paths, all very pleasant.
Following the walk, we will take a 1-1/4 hour guided tour in English of one of the museums located in the park, the Afro Brazil Museum. The guide will emphasize Brazilian history, rather than the art section of this large museum.
After the museum visit, we can have lunch right at the park, at Prêt-no-MAM. This is a very good Brazilian buffet. The price right now is R$33 for the buffet. Drinks, dessert, and service are extra, but the price may increase in February (it was impossible to get a commitment from the manager). Even with a slight price increase, the bill should be around R$42 per person, approximately. Please note that the waiters do not present individual bills, so we will divide the bill among those present.
Date: Wednesday. Feb. 27
Time for Walk: 10:30 AM
Time for Museum Visit: 11:45 AM
Lunch Time: 1 PM
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Around Brazil: Crazy Town Ceremonies

By Ricky Skelton
February 18, 2008
It was only a week or two but the area left an impression on the four of us that will last a lifetime. We went to school, we went to church, we went driving, we went camping, and we went out on a boat. If it all sounds like a Surrey Sunday School outing, it was about as far removed from that as possible. We met the family of Uncle Mad, who bizarrely all seemed sane. He´d downsized from living with three women as his wives to just one, but children from these and other women kept appearing at the house. ("Meu filho" Another?)
After the oldest student by decades had taken us to his school to embarrass his English teacher, and for a night of heavy drinking, he drove us around Crazy Town in a friend´s Beetle - to the train station and Wood River, and on to a deserted mansion on the banks where Uncle Mad said a friend of his lived. Nobody answered the gate. We did some off-roading along the historic tracks and stopped to look at some of the rapids that made them necessary. We were joined by three women of various ages who lit candles, chanted a little in some strange language and threw offerings at the water. We stood quietly by and watched candomblé with interest, wondering which orixas were receiving the offers and which were listening. They left food and drink behind, possibly for Iemenjá, the goddess of the sea. Crazy Town is a whole long way from her home, but I guess people have to make do as best they can. Other foods, candles, gifts and incense marked it out as a spiritual spot but not for us. We left the booze behind though, which did show a certain level of respect I thought.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Learning Center For Babies

You‘ll wish you were a kid again after visiting Primetime, Brazil‘s first bilingual learning center for babies and infants.
The center, which opened at the end of last year, is the first Brazilian nursery to incorporate international standards and techniques to foster children‘s emotional, intellectual and physical development.
The school‘s Creative Curriculum is used by top tier British and American schools and learning centers and is specifically designed for infants and toddlers following the guidelines of the National Association for Young Children (NAYEC - USA)
But you‘ll need to visit the school to see all the cool stuff it has available to nurture and stimulate your little ones.
The architecture is impressive and extremely modern. Safety and comfort are combined in just the right doses. All indoor activity floors are heated while the ground is padded in outdoor areas. There are no stairs in the building, only ramps, and all furniture is ergonomically designed.
The Water Play area is one of many innovative spaces, linking children with various forms of waters, including sprinklers, fountains etc.
…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 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! It seems like the majority aren't carnival fans with 43% choosing to be "As far away from it as possible", although 33% want to be "In the throng of the desfile", with 14% "Sat comfortably in the sambodromo".
This week's poll is on our forum. Are you a regular poster, an infrequent poster, just a lurker, or never visited? 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 Spot the Gringoes taken by Liz Wiley during carnival in Paraty. 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 15, 2008
Meet Tony O'Sullivan from Ireland who moved to Brazil around 3 years ago and has lived here since. 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.?
I'm from Cork, Ireland and I'm living in Florianópolis. I'm a translator and certified tourist guide. I've been here about 3 years, married to a Brazilian and have two kids. We lived in Ireland a few years and Spain too but we've settled here, for now!
2. When did you arrive in Brazil and what brought you here?
The first time was in 1999 and I stayed here a year. The second time has been since 2005... we came here cause we preferred the climate, thought it would be better for the kids to live in a sunny seaside region rather than dreary Ireland or Barcelona speaking Catalan. Also, houses are too expensive in Ireland...
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: A Response to Let Brazilians Sort Out the Problems of the Amazon

By Charles Heck
February 14, 2008
I am writing this article in response to John Fitzpatrick‘s article Let Brazilians Sort Out the Problems of the Amazon.
First of all, I would like to say that I appreciate Fitzpatrick‘s column and I have learned quite a bit from it. He is very informed about Brazil and his financial perspective is very insightful. However, I disagree with him that the Amazon should be left to the political whims of those who run Brazil. He represents the Brazilian position as one of a threat to Brazil‘s sovereignty (a representation by a Scot which is pretty interesting considering his broadside of Johan Hari). He also implies that the destruction of the Amazon is inevitable, perhaps even necessary. Framing the issue in this manner is not constructive. It limits the discussion to a ‘Brazil versus the world‘ mentality, occluding any cooperative effort to conserve Brazil‘s resources.
Why conserve Brazil‘s resources? The Amazon has value beyond its instrumental use as paper or for house construction. Studies have shown that vegetation density increases rainfall. It is counterintuitive to consider that it is the forest that brings the rain, but when you consider that trees and plants produce water vapor it makes sense. In short, the forest makes the clouds, which then make the rainforest. Vegetation also shades the ground, preventing water from evaporating. Fitzpatrick should appreciate this, since he called attention to the effect that lower rainfall has on Brazil‘s ability to produce electricity. Higher rainfall and less evaporation mean more water in the rivers.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Ask a Brazilian: Overbearing Sogros

February 14, 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.
I am currently living in Brazil with my Brazilian boyfriend and his family. As I am a 24 year old gringa and have always been quite independent from an early age due to my culture I have the odd day where I have a few difficulties with my new family, for example: if I don‘t eat lots for dinner, or if I don‘t eat rice one day, or if I decide not to eat when everyone else is eating, or if I add water to my juice (because I find it ridiculously sweet) my mother and father in law think its the end of the world or constantly question "why I‘m not eating"!?, "why I‘m adding water"!?, "why I‘m not putting rice on my plate today"!?. and no matter how many times I answer with a very sound reason in my opinion, and because I thought I had choices, they keep asking or nagging in the same way the next time I don‘t put rice on my plate! sometimes this is quite full on for me and I get quite frustrated because I don‘t know how to deal with it, I‘ve never dealt with anyone constantly monitoring my eating habits or thinking its the end of the world if I skip a meal or am not eating a monstrous sized plate of food. Why are Brazilian parents like this and how do I tactfully deal with this without offending?
…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 over the week, from R$1.75 to R$1.74. The Euro has risen slightly, from R$2.55 to R$2.56. The British Pound has dropped, from R$3.43 to R$3.39.