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.


Sao Paulo: Caledonian Ball 2008

August 25, 2008
The St. Andrew Society of Sao Paulo cordially invites you to the Caledonian Ball. One of Sao Paulo's premiere events, the Caledonian Ball, is a wonderful Scottish evening with something for everyone. There will be the Scottish Link Pipe Band and Scottish Country Dancing to Iain MacPhail and his Scottish Dance Band, flown in especially from Scotland. Additional music for dancing will be provided by a DJ throughout the evening.
Where: Grand Hyatt - Sao Paulo. Avenida das Nações Unidas 13.301
When: Saturday, September 27th at 8pm
Dress: Kilts / Black Tie (dark suit & bow tie are acceptable)
Cost: R$225 per person (R$175 under 30 yrs & over 70 yrs) includes pre-ball canapés and drinks, sumptuous dinner, and first-class wine, whisky, & other beverages
Ticket Deadline: Tuesday September 23rd
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Around Brazil: Japí Mountains, When Nature Calls

By Marilyn Diggs
September 1, 2008
I´m a city girl, but there are times when my soul yearns for open spaces. Recently I found the perfect getaway fazenda (farm) only 45 km from São Paulo, in the Japí Mountain range. The Serra do Japí area, which begins in Jundiaí and ends in Cabreuva, was known for wine production and coffee plantations in the early 20th century. Since the 1970s the government has promoted the planting of eucalyptus trees which makes beautiful forests and homes for wildlife including monkeys, sloths, capivaras (capybaras) and a myriad of butterfly and bird species.
Fazenda Montanhas do Japí combines history and modern conveniences
Black and blue-winged, white breasted swallows dip and sway around us as they pause in their migration from Patagonia to Canada. The weather is crisp yet sunny, so we have breakfast with hot homemade bread on the terrace overlooking a lake. Soon the horses are saddled for exploring the lakes, paths and pastures. We listen attentively to the history of the place as the horses plod along the leaf-strewn way:
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Ask a Brazilian: Pedestrian Problems

September 1, 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.
Do those striped pedestrian lines at intersections have any meaningful significance in São Paulo or are they designed to better enable the drivers to line up their targets as they are desperately trying to get across the street?
-- Don
Hi, Don,
I will answer your question by parts:
"Do those striped pedestrian lines at intersections have any meaningful significance in São Paulo...".
Yes, it means "Run, Forest!".
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Coração - How Brazilian Soccer Should Be Played

By Craig Parker
September 1, 2008
With panache and determination, the Brazilian women's soccer team did all they could to bring home the gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
They clearly were the better team in the gold medal final against the United States. The only problem was: nobody told the Americans that they were supposed to give up.
I joined the contest with the score tied 0-0 at 50 minutes gone in the second half. What I watched over the next 70 minutes was almost-complete domination by the Brazilians-except for one player.
That player was Han Solo's daughter, Hope. Simply put, the United States owes its gold medal to their amazing goalkeeper. Hope Solo was on fire in this most critical game for the U.S. women's team. For one thing, the soccer ball was in the American forecourt longer than George Bush's approval ratings have been under 33% - and that's a long, long time. Solo made at least four major stops during this time, using - of all things - her forearm as if it were a lightsaber to knock away two would-be game-winning goals.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil Through Foreign Eyes

August 29, 2008
Meet Jeremy Clark from Canada who has visited Brazil several times. Read the following interview in which he tells us about some of his most memorable experiences 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 56 years old and am a telecommunications design engineer. My work interest is in HF radio for remote area communications and I teach engineering technology as well. I grew up in Montreal, Canada and later worked in Zambia and Indonesia. My hobbies are amateur radio, squash, cycling, reading and movies. I now live in Toronto, Canada.
2. When did you arrive in Brazil and what brought you here?
My first trip was an 8 night package deal to Rio de Janeiro in 2003. The next year I returned to Rio for 2 weeks. Then in 2005 I went to São Paulo for 3 weeks, 2006 I went to Salvador for 1 month, then this year 2008 I was in São Paulo during May & June.
My first trip to Rio was a gamble, I guess. I had never visited South America and I thought that Brazil seemed to be a good place to start. I noticed a special travel brochure in our local tourist agency and the package was just a perfect fit. After my first trip, I decided to return on my summer vacations to learn Portuguese and research whether there were possible applications for my radio system in Brazil.
…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 fortnight's poll was on that hard to escape topic of the Olympics. How do you feel Brazil did in the Oympics 2008? "Awful" got the top vote of 38%, followed by "Poor" with 32%, and average with 20%.
This fortnight's poll is on the topic of crime in Brazil. Do you feel the level of crime is high or low? 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 Coqueirinho taken by Peter Åhlén in Jacumá. 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.


Ask a Brazilian: Trash

August 28, 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.
This has bothered me as long as I have been in Brazil. It is something I have seen in other countries, and was even given as an example of a "damaged culture" in an article about the Philippines years ago: throwing trash on the street. I don't mean just where there is no trash can available. I have seen people of all classes casually throw litter from their cars, and as they walk, in almost every location imagineable. When I noticed a well-dressed middle-aged woman throw some paper on the ground outside an upscale shopping mall, I said "Vergonha" and she looked at me like I was nuts. Yet Brazil has a reputation as environmentally conscious. It's a matter of public health, not just ashetics, I would think.
- Steve
Steve,
I couldn't agree more with you.
I see people throwing trash on the street all the time. I even saw a McDonald's bag flying out of a very nice car last week!
It's hard to believe, isn't it? When you think this might be a problem of education, some wealthy and very well educated people hit ignorance when it comes to environment.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: "Tristeza Não Tem Fim" ("Sadness Has No End") Part 11

By Joe Lopes
August 26, 2008
Careful What You Wish For
Like it or not, there was a downside to Diegues' long-simmering predilection for putting a more contemporary face to Camus' idyllic vision of Rio, in that every time a beloved screen classic is redone in another moviemaker's image - Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes and Peter Jackson's King Kong are two examples that come to mind - it stands to be compared (unfavorably, it would seem) with the unassailable original. In that regard, Orfeu was no exception.
To put it bluntly, the Orpheus legend happened to be one of those recurring motifs that have managed, in both theory and practice, to adapt themselves almost too easily to other media - most egregiously to the operatic, cinematic, and theatrical art forms.
For starters, such foreign-born dramatists as Oskar Kokoschka, Jean Anouilh and Jean Cocteau, along with their American counterpart, playwright Tennessee Williams, all drew inspiration from his mythological fable, with varying degrees of success.
Until Black Orpheus made its initial worldwide impact, French poet and filmmaker Cocteau's classic pairing of Orphée (1949) with his later The Testament of Orpheus (1960) had previously blazed the movie trail, with Sidney Lumet's The Fugitive Kind (1959), starring Marlon Brando, in turn taking up the slack; it was supposed to have been the film adaptation of Williams' stage play Orpheus Descending (and a not very good one, at that).
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil Becomes Middle Class but Not Bourgeois

By John Fitzpatrick
August 25, 2008
Foreigners who still see Brazil as a nation in which a tiny elite sits astride the toiling masses struggling to earn a living amid grinding poverty should think again. Believe it or not, Brazil is now a country in which just over half the population - around 100 million people - is officially categorized as being middle class. Statistics published by the FGV business school show that almost 52% of households now earn between R$1,064 and R$4,591 a month and are in the "C" class. (These figures amount roughly to US$625 and US$2,700, respectively.) Although this means that statistically speaking these Brazilians are as middle class as any bowler-hatted, brolly-twirling Englishman, Brazil is still far from being a bourgeois nation in the European sense. Moreover, these results certainly do not mean that the poor are no longer with us.
The economist in charge of the study, Marcelo Néri, said the main reasons for this breakthrough were the rise in the formal workforce and the growing economy. Although President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is the least middle class person who has ever held or is ever likely to hold the Presidency, he can boast that his policies have lifted millions into the middle class. The survey shows that an estimated 20 million Brazilians have moved up the social scale over the last six years. Lula will be hoping that these new upwardly socially mobile Brazilians will show their gratitude by backing his candidate for the next presidential election - Dilma Rousseff is the current favorite - and his own candidacy if he chooses to seek office again in 2014.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil Through Foreign Eyes

August 25, 2008
Meet Don Fredrick from the USA who retired to Brazil last year. Read the following interview in which he tells us about some of his most memorable experiences and gives some useful advice to newcomers.
1. Tell us a little about yourself, where are you from, what do you do, etc.?
Aside from an early 1970s stint in the Army, I lived in the Chicago area all my life - until retiring to Brazil in December of 2007. To earn a living I spent more than 30 years with a large, multi-employer pension fund. In my spare time I enjoy genealogical research, oil painting, reading and writing. I am the author of two books (Colony 14 and What You Don't Know About Economics Can Hurt You, at http://www.colony14.net), and I am currently trying to sell a screenplay.
2. When did you arrive in Brazil and what brought you here?
My wife is from Sao Paulo, but she has lived many years both in Europe and in the Chicago area. We married in late 2003 and went on a delayed honeymoon to Brazil in 2004, where I met her family in Sao Paulo, and then visited Rio de Janeiro, Paraty, the Amazon, Iguassu Falls, Blumenau, and Florianopolis. I visited Brazil twice more before deciding to return for good. We now live in Peruibe, on the coast, about two hours drive south of Sao Paulo.
…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 risen over the fortnight, from R$1.62 to R$1.67. The Euro has also risen, from R$2.38 to R$2.42. The British Pound has dropped, from R$3.01 to R$2.96.