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 Through Foreign Eyes

December 10, 2008
Meet Drew Glaser who first travelled to Brazil on an internship as a teenager and has continued to travel there since. 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'm from Boston, went to college in Atlanta, and I'm currently working in Chicago as an engineer for Siemens. However I'm trying to get to Brazil full time, so if you know of any opportunities let me know!
2. When did you arrive in Brazil and what brought you here?
In 2005, while I was a junior in college, I applied for an international engineering internship with an organization called IAESTE. I actually got a job in Denmark, but the offer was revoked last minute. IAESTE worked hard and found me an internship in Brazil for the summer.
I was expecting to be in a large city, living with many other international students in a dorm like atmosphere. Boy was I wrong. I landed in Sao Paulo and hopped on a bus that, for two hours, wound through hills and fields until I arrived in the small city of Piedade. When I arrived at my host family's house, the cab driver pointed at me with a puzzled look, as if saying "what is this gringo doing here?". My host mom assured him with a thumbs up that they were expecting me.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Ask a Brazilian: A Brazilian CV

December 5, 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 your own comments and experiences in order to add to our replies.
How are Brazilian resumes/CVs commonly written and formatted? What advice would you give a foreigner or expatriate who is applying for a job in Brazil? Is it important to have both English and Portuguese versions of a resume? Thanks.
-- Kathleen
Hi, Kathleen,
Do exactly as you commonly do. A Curriculum Vitae in Brazil should be like anywhere, make it the same format as in the type of business you are and you'll be all right (no pictures for financial, if you know what I mean).
Yes you should have a Portuguese version, if you're working with Brazilians.
My advise, thank God you asked, is that if you find it hard to make a Portuguese version of your resume you probably still need to learn some more Portuguese before applying for a job in Brazil.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Gringoes Poll

Last fortnight's poll is on Christmas. With only a few shopping days left, what do you make of Christmas in Brazil? Do you find it very different, or much the same as your home country? It seems by far the majority find it a markedly different experience with 48% voting "Yes, very". In second place with 27% is "Yes, a bit", with 12% voting "I'm Brazilian".
This fortnight's poll again repeats the festive theme; apologies to those that don't celebrate it! Given the choice where do you prefer to spend Christmas? Would you rather stay in the Brazilian summer, head home to your own country, or a Caribbean island somewhere? 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 Old Art taken by Raymond Smith of 5,000 year old drawings in Piaui. 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 14

By Joe Lopes
December 2, 2008
The Greatest Carnival Show on Earth!
Where the most recent reworking of Orfeu really came into its own - and where the earlier foreign-made film product left much to be desired - was in its authentic depiction of Rio de Janeiro at Carnival time. In his striving to overcome Black Orpheus' most glaring cinematic deficiency, i.e. its failure to "communicate the real organizational complexities and extended preparations of a samba school [on the move],.Diegues, aware of the problems with setting in Camus' original film, made a conscious effort to bring his film production and the participating [Viradouro] samba school together 'so that everything would happen where the story really exists'" - quite literally, in the teeming byways of Sin City itself.
The color, pageantry and design for the traditional pre-Lenten festivities at their hallucinatory height can be attributed, in large part, to the ingenuity and inventiveness of the intriguingly christened Joãozinho Trinta ("Johnny Thirty"), the new film's Carnival art director and unofficial traffic manager who, in the high-stakes game of Rio Carnival competitions, can be classified as the show's program coordinator, or carnavalesco in the country's native parlance - the most watched person in one of the most hotly contested aspects of Brazilian cultural life.
…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 again over the fortnight, from R$2.36 to R$2.43. The Euro has risen as well, from R$3.05 to R$3.17. The British Pound has also risen, from R$3.41 to R$3.61.