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.


Gringoes.com Facebook Group

September 19, 2008
By request we have created a Facebook group.
If you would like to add it then point your browser here. Then feel free to comment on the wall and add photos.
Alternatively if you don't have a Facebook account then you can also discuss at our forum, which requires registration.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil Through Foreign Eyes

September 26, 2008
Meet David Drummond who recently moved to Brazil for work. 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.?
My name is David Drummond, and I'm from Vancouver, Canada. I'm 28 years old, and work in business development for a large oil tanker company.
2. When did you arrive in Brazil and what brought you here?
I arrived in Rio de Janeiro on August 22, 2008, to take a business development job in my company's recently opened Rio office. I was previously a part of the finance group, and had spent a few years working in investor relations, and wanted a career change after 5 years in finance. When the company offered me a 2 or 3 year stint in Rio, I jumped at the chance to live in a country with an "endless summer".
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: Back to School Part 1

By Sven Erik van ‘t Veer
September 22, 2008
I have a masters degree in Public International Law, obtained at the University of Amsterdam in 1995 and have been here ever since. Since foreign law degrees are of little use in Brazil since it is impossible to get admitted to the OAB (the Brazilian equivalent of the American Bar Association). In order to overcome this small defect and be able to make a good living I have been working the last 17 years as a Software Engineer, currently working on the implementation of the Brazilian version of "Interactive Television". After 17 years writing code and building a career I considered it time for a change so I decided to go back to school and get a Brazilian Law Degree. This story relates to everything that I needed to do to be accepted to a Private University.
The Choice
I decided on a private university for two reasons. First, here in Rio there are no night courses in Law at public universities, and secondly since they have easier acceptance policies for people with university degrees. Especially the last part sounded cool to me since I have all those papers, properly stamped by the University of Amsterdam, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, last but not least, by the Brazilian consulate in the Netherlands.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: Hostelling in Rio de Janeiro - Carnival Time!

By Alice Woolliams
September 22, 2008
Rio de Janeiro‘s famous statue of Christ the Redeemer may be one of the most iconic cultural symbols in South America but ask many travelers for their enduring memory of the city and the answer will often be the same: the endless, inimitable appetite for partying.
And whilst the city is incredibly vibrant throughout the year, there‘s no time quite like the annual carnival, when Rio‘s party spirit really comes to the surface...
Held in February every year over the four days that lead up to Mardi Gras, the carnival in the cidade maravilhosa (or ‘marvelous city‘) is a sumptuous mix of dance, music and color.
Although there‘s technically a main procession that parties its way raucously through the streets, much of the atmosphere is derived from mini impromptu festivals which spring up across the city, inciting even more revelry and hedonism throughout the days and nights!
There is one significant event, however, that is rather more organized and competitive than the vibrant, spontaneous atmosphere of the rest of the carnival would suggest.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Gringoes Poll

Last fortnight's poll was on the topic of crime in Brazil. Have you been directly affected by crime, know someone who has, or been completely unaffected? Thankfully it appears most of you are "Unaffected" with 43% of the vote, with "Friend(s) has been robbed" in second place with 20%, and "Robbed" in third place with 15%.
This fortnight's poll is on of racism in Brazil. There are varied opinions about whether people in Brazil suffer from racism or not. Is it something you've witnessed, directly experienced, or never seen? 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!


Interviews

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!

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 Parade Clown taken by Brent Gregory during the 7 de Setembro Parade in Castanhal, Pará. 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: "Tristeza Não Tem Fim" ("Sadness Has No End") Part 13

By Joe Lopes
September 22, 2008
It's All About the Music, Isn't It?
With his stirring defense of Carlos Diegues' Orfeu still resonating in the international press, Caetano Veloso inadvertently hit upon the chief catalyst for the film's poor showing with English-speaking audiences, but through a side argument: and that is, the music. Or rather, the lack of an easily identifiable musical theme or idea as a viable reference point for viewers.
What it all boils down to, quite simply, is this: where Camus' version had no trouble ingratiating itself to the musical mainstream of its day - i.e. the prevailing jazz-pop idiom, thanks largely to the pioneering efforts of Jobim, de Moraes, Bonfá, and the rest of the Brazilian bossa-nova crowd - Diegues' elaborate excursion into socially relevant cinema benefited from no such windfall.
A sampling of the later film's soundtrack bears this out. Charged with providing a musical backdrop for Cacá's contemporaneous view of Orfeu (shades of the young Antonio Carlos Jobim, hard at work preparing Vinicius' play in verse for the Rio stage), Caetano decided to spice the new movie up not just with old favorites from The Little Poet's pen ("all of them works of art"), but with some out-of-the-way innovations of his own.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: "Tristeza Não Tem Fim" ("Sadness Has No End") Part 13

By Joe Lopes
September 22, 2008
It's All About the Music, Isn't It?
With his stirring defense of Carlos Diegues' Orfeu still resonating in the international press, Caetano Veloso inadvertently hit upon the chief catalyst for the film's poor showing with English-speaking audiences, but through a side argument: and that is, the music. Or rather, the lack of an easily identifiable musical theme or idea as a viable reference point for viewers.
What it all boils down to, quite simply, is this: where Camus' version had no trouble ingratiating itself to the musical mainstream of its day - i.e. the prevailing jazz-pop idiom, thanks largely to the pioneering efforts of Jobim, de Moraes, Bonfá, and the rest of the Brazilian bossa-nova crowd - Diegues' elaborate excursion into socially relevant cinema benefited from no such windfall.
A sampling of the later film's soundtrack bears this out. Charged with providing a musical backdrop for Cacá's contemporaneous view of Orfeu (shades of the young Antonio Carlos Jobim, hard at work preparing Vinicius' play in verse for the Rio stage), Caetano decided to spice the new movie up not just with old favorites from The Little Poet's pen ("all of them works of art"), but with some out-of-the-way innovations of his own.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil Through Foreign Eyes

September 19, 2008
Meet Liam Porisse who currently spends his time shared between Paris and Brazil. 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.?
My name is Liam Porisse, I am 46 years old and father of three girls living in Paris nine months of the year and the rest in Sao Paulo. I am associated with my twin brother (Julien) in Irish Pubs in Paris, France, I also am an artist and paint figuratif style paintings. At present I am preparing an exposition of oil paintings on Brazil and its colourful favelas in the Caroussel du Louvre.
2. When did you arrive in Brazil and what brought you here?
I first went to Brazil in 1992 in January. I had met a Brazilian lady in Paris back in 1987, we split up in 1988. In 1992 she wrote me a letter and I was soon in Sao Paulo to meet her again!
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Ask a Brazilian: Answering a Question

September 19, 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.
Whenever I ask a question of any of my Brazilian family or friends in Brazil, I always get an answer. That may sound silly but my question is - why will Brazilians never answer a question with "I don't know"?
They always give me an answer even if they have no idea of the correct answer and what they have said is completely insane! Several times I've ended up in a bit of a mess or awkward situation because someone has given completely inaccurate information instead of telling me that they don't know the answer to my question.
I've been wanting an answer to this question for a long time and I was reminded when reading one of your past columns about police cars having lights on and being given the answer by his Brazilian friend - "so the criminals see them coming".
It is something so simple but sooo frustrating!
Thanks,
Chris
Chris,
I don't know.
You probably didn't come here to finally hear it from me but... I also don't have that impression as a common Brazilian behavior.
…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 sharply again over the fortnight, from R$1.82 to R$1.91. The Euro has also risen similarly, from R$2.57 to R$2.68. The British Pound has also risen sharply, from R$3.25 to R$3.38.