There is a new site in English about São Paulo. This is long over due since São Paulo is the most important city in Brazil and they haven’t had a site that equals the importance of the city. There are good São Paulo sites in Portuguese, but very few in English.
****
There is an Aussie/Kiwi couple living in São Paulo who have a good blog….. Greg and Cath’s Adventures. It’s been added to the Blog Roll
LINKS:
> http://www.cityofsaopaulo.com
**** Bovespa (stock market) 10 years ****
**** US$ vs Brazilian Real ****
Warren Buffet:
“If you had told me 10 years ago I would buy the Brazilian real, you would — I would have thought you were crazy.”
LINKS:
Tags: 10 years, bolsa, Bovespa, Brazil, chart, currency, economy, investments, moeda, Real, Stock Market, warren buffet
This article in the New York Times is what many people dream off when the discussion turns to living the good life in Rio. Well, for most of us, we can just keep on dreaming. Read the article and see why.
Tags: apartment, Brazil, buying, lagoa, living in Rio, rio de janeiro.
TAME Airlines of Ecuador will begin service from Guayaquil to Manaus twice weekly with connections via TAM to Rio, São Paulo, Salvador and Brasilia on 14 April 2008.
This will be TAME’S second international destination the other being Cali, Columbia.
LINKS:
Last night (22 April - Tuesday, 9:00 p.m. local time) an earthquake hit off the coast of São Paulo State. 5.2 on the Richter scale, which is kind of small time as earthquakes go, but for Brazil, this is an “attention getting”. It was felt in Rio, Santa Catarina and Paraná States. Some in São Paulo City even fed their apartments and stayed out on the streets.
This is unusual for Brazil. The strongest earthquake in Brazil occured in 1955 (6.2 on the Richter scale), the region of Portos Gaúchos, an isolate area in the State of Mato Grosso.
Prof. George Sand de França, of the Observatório Sismológico da UnB - Universidade de Brasília, says these events happen about every 10 years.
LINKS:
Tags: Brazil, earthquakes, Sao Paulo
I ran on to this site and thought it might be of interest to others. It appears to have just been set up last month (Mar 08). It is an interesting concept.
You can read more about it at BBC.
LINKS:
> BBC
Tags: bbc brazil, Brazil, crime, wikicrime
Karl, who lives way up North in Teresina, was in Rio recently and has a some great blog entries with tips and suggestions about what to do and see.
Take a look—>: click here
Tags: rio de janeiro.
Going down to Rio for a few months and teach English sounds “cool”, but you face many hurdles.
Working on a tourist visa is illegal. The major ESL language schools will not hire you, which means you will have to give private classes and if you don’t speak Portuguese then it is almost impossible to find clients, discuss schedules, fees etc, unless the student is already at an advanced level.
I don’t know what the going rate per hour is for private English classes in Rio these days. I would guess around R$30-35 for conversation classes. If the English is more specialized (English for the Oil Industry, Aviation, etc) you can charge more.
There are lots of young, native speakers of English in Rio, who are also trying to find students. Thus, if you have ESL credentials and experience you will be able to charge more and hopefully find more and better quality students.
You have to get your money up front. Students should pay in advance for X number of classes per month. You will need a minimum of three hours of classes per day to make enough to get by and getting by is about all you can hope for. You will find the your classes will be very early in the morning, late at night and on Saturdays. You will spend considerable time going from one part of the city to another, which is non-income earning time.
The above is mostly true for São Paulo, except it has a larger ESL market and less young, native speaking gringos.
There are many more opportunities in the hinterland where native speakers are rare. In these cities the cost of living is lower and the lifestyle more laid back…..but they ain’t Rio.
Go to Gringoes.com’s Forum, sign up, then do a search for “teaching English”. There have been many discussions in the past.
Also visit some of the other Blogs listed here.
LINKS: (major English language schools)
> CNA - Cultural Norte Americano
> Cultura Inglesa - school in 70 cities
> Fisk
> USA Binational Centers by city
> Wizard
> Yázigi
Tags: Brazil, EFL, English, English as a Foreign Language, English as a Second, ESL, teaching, Teaching ESL in Brazil, working, Working in Brazil
Cachaça is the drink of the poor in Brazil. Throughout the vast interior of the country and in the small bars of the favelas in the cities, cachaça - straight up - is “the drink”. This is mostly due to economics as cachaça is inexpensive compared to cerveja (beer).
It is made from sugarcane and is very strong. Throw some on the bar floor and set a match to it and you will see a nice blue, flame. Only the hardcore, machco types drink it straight. Most folks will have their cachaça in Caipirinhas (see link below).
However, over the last few years, quality cachaça has been coming on the market and is now being exported.
LINKS:
> Caipirinha - The National Drink
> Caipirinha - Maria Brazil: good site for many things Brazilian
Tags: academia da cachaca, Brazil, cachaca, drink, Food, Living in Brazil, maria brazil, sugarcane
Beer is the primary drink of most Brazilians. They drink about 50 liters a year. This is not an impressive number when compared to the Czechs who drink 158 liters per year. But, the Czechs live in a cold climate, no tropical beaches and for sure no sexy beer commercials that can compete with Brazil. As the purchasing power of Brazilians increase, so will beer consumption. Brazil, I expect, will dominate beer drinking worldwide in a few decades. 
From the little hooches along the jungle rivers in the Amazon to the big, fancy nightclubs in São Paulo and Rio, beer is always available. However, one of the drawbacks is that the beer distribution system is controled by the beer companies, who lock in the bar to serve only their brand. Thus, the reason you see botecos with only “Brahama, Schin, or Skol plastic chairs and tables”. If you are a brand-loyal beer drinker, you are forced to drink only where that brand is offered.
Brazilians like their beer cold. They give the waiters hell if they are served anything less. Botecos (bars) won’t be in business long if they don’t serve beer “estupidamente gelada”, which in English means “stupidly ice cold”.
The Brands:
You are asked if you are 18 or over. click “Sim”.
Skol (32,6) Part of the Inbev Group
LINKS:
> AmBev - Brazilian beer company - in Portuguese
> Brazilian Beer - Wikipedia - list of all beers produced or sold in Brazil
> Must Read: American’s Comments on Drinking Beer in Brazil
Photo by Alison McGowan of Hidden Pousadas
The beaches South of the City of Salvador in the State of Bahia (see map) are considered by many Brazilians and Gringos as the best in Brazil. There are thousands of miles of beaches in Brazil, so it is really hard to say, but for sure, this is one of the top beach regions.
If you have the time and money, an idea trip would be by bus from Rio de Janeiro going North along the coast. First through the State of Espírito Santo, followed by Bahia, Sergipe, Alagoas, Pernambuco, Paraíba, Rio Grande de Norte and Ceará.
LINKS:
Tags: Blog, Brazil, rio de janeiro.
Learn about living in the middle of the Amazon in the city of Manaus. Lots of photos on the blog. Manaus is not noted as one of the best places to live in Brazil due to the heat and humidity one has to suffer. But for some, it is Paradise.
LINKS:
By Todd Benson
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - JetBlue Airways (JBLU.O: Quote, Profile, Research) founder David Neeleman unveiled plans on Thursday for a new low-cost airline in Brazil’s fast-growing aviation market, saying he had already raised $150 million for the venture.
The carrier, still unnamed, will start with a fleet of three jets made by the Brazilian manufacturer Embraer (EMBR3.SA: Quote, Profile, Research)(ERJ.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and should take to the skies in early 2009. In five years, it expects to have a fleet of 76 planes.
“Brazil is a country that needs more competitors, and in particular a different type of competitor,” Neeleman said in Portuguese at a news conference in Sao Paulo.
—————————–
LINKS:
I have been pondering adding a “Food” category.
Pizza is one of the most popular items in this category; especially when eating out or delivering for small parties at home. Well, Daniel up in Pernambuco State has a interesting entry about Pizza on his Blog so to get started I’ll link you over to his Blog if you are interested in Brazilian pizza.
Up Daniel’s way, it’s “thick pizza”, down here in Goiania (near Brasilia) it’s “thin pizza”. I didn’t realize there were these regional differences. Makes sense, but never thought about it.
Pizza Hut opened here in Goiânia several years back. Very upscale; not like your worn out and rundown ones you see so often in the States. They had a tough time in the beginning because their pizzas were “thick”. They expanded their menu to include thin pizzas and have been doing will ever since. The place is packed on the weekends during the evenings.
There is more to Daniel’s entry than just Pizza. He has interesting comments about his Cuban Father’s struggle buying a Pepperoni pizza in Miami.
LINKS:
Tags: Brazil, Pernambuco, pizza, pizzaria
