Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Jewish Grandmother Discusses Circumcision

On my most recent visit to Sao Paulo I had an interesting conversation with an expat friend of mine and was surprised to find out that she had no idea circumcision was not practiced in Brazil, at all.
Yep, in case you didn't know, every Brazilian men you are looking at, is not circumcised.
Even baby boys born with a birth defect called phimosis, no longer need circumcision, Brazilians developed a treatment with steroid topic creams that stretches the foreskin and avoids the costly and dangerous procedure of circumcision.
Gilson's nephew is 5 years old and had to go thru the treatment with the topic steroid cream and was able to avoid circumcision, his sister was so happy to have been able to keep her little boy intact.
It made me realize, that despite being a fundamental difference between most American men and Brazilian men, the staggering majority of people are not aware of this fact on both sides.
After the eye opening conversation with my friend, I wanted to ask my sisters and other women friend in Brazil if they had any idea most American men are circumcised.
They had absolutely no idea and were horrified with the fact. WHY would they do that to perfectly healthy babies? was the common impression I got from asking Brazilian women if they were aware of the widespread practice in the US.
I think many American parents understand now that there is absolutely no reason to circumcise their infant baby boys in 2012, you know, now that we all have soap and indoor plumbing and we don't live in tents in the desert with no plumbing and no infra structure for normal hygiene.
I know many parents in the US who feel extremely guilty for having practiced infant male circumcision on their baby boys, but it's done and it's too late to reverse it, most usually say they were young and naive and listened to their doctors or nurses recommendations, you know, the same ones who got a couple thousand dollars for performing the 5 minutes long surgery for them.
It is frequent topic of discussion in the US nowadays, mainly because Insurance Companies no longer consider circumcision medically justified and do not cover the procedure.
Young parents now are faced with the costly decision of paying 3 to 5 thousand dollars out of pocket if they insist on performing a circumcision.
So, in the past 5 years alone, circumcision rates in the US have dropped from around 90% circumcised down to only 60% circumcised, and many are forecasting this number will drop well below 50% in the next few years.
We have seen 3 baby boys born on our street in the past 4 years, and none of them were circumcised, one couple from across the street even came knocking on our door and asked us what did we think about it, considering they knew we are from Brazil and they found out on the Internet that we don't practice circumcision. We told them, just don't do it, if you are concerned your son will feel bad because he looks different from other boys, let him do it when he grows up if he chooses to do it.
That way you give him the choice, over something so important on a man's life.
They did NOT circumcise their baby boy, and 2 other neighbors followed their example.
I saw this video today on Facebook and found this to be a very eye opening conversation.
Hope you learn something from it like I did.



Friday, November 30, 2012

Sidewalks in Brazil

Our dear fellow blogger Jessica, from FIQUE TRANQUILO wrote this cool post about Sidewalks in Brazil, more specifically in her town of Santos, Sao Paulo, which is located about 1 hour away driving from the city of Sao Paulo and South America's largest and most important harbor.
Awesome patterns and just so you all know, this is an art form imported into Brazil from Portugal. You can find this cool mosaic type sidewalk all over Lisbon.
If you ever watch them repairing one or setting up a new mosaic sidewalk, it's labor intensive and it does require skills, each stone is shaped in a certain way with small chisels and hammered into place carefully so they don't brake but fit together perfectly to form the desired design.
Here is her post:


One of the things I love here in Santos are the sidewalks.  This pattern is the most common, and I think it's called Rio, because they have this design all over Rio de Janeiro as well.

You can read more on Jessica's post HERE.




Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Extremely Scary Ghost Elevator Prank in Brazil

This Brazilian Prank on You Tube went completely viral in the US today, it even hit the nightly news.
So, in case you missed it, here we go!
Born Again Brazilian, the doll on the girl's arm reminded me of your fear/horror of Brazilian dolls!
Ha! LOL!!! :)


Monday, November 26, 2012

40 pounds Heavier in 7 hours

Ok, continuing on our European journey thru Belgium and Amsterdam.


This is the Thalys, not the train we took

The spacious Thalys, definitely our choice on the next European trip


Train station gentleman's answer:  




Amsterdam HERE WE COME!!!


To be continued shortly!!!!  :)


Saturday, November 24, 2012

Black Friday in the US 2012!

I know deep inside this offends my Brazilian values to the core!!
Scenes of an Alligator feeding frenzy attacking Zebras at a river crossing in Africa come to mind.
Ay ay ay!
Glad to say this Brazilian only went to a Black Friday madness once, never again.
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving season, and I will sure be back writing soon.

Abracos a todos

Thursday, October 11, 2012

American Airlines fiasco & a True Love Story!

Getting there:


American Airlines fight their management for benefits and jobs





Understand more about American Airline's fiasco from this CHICAGO TRIBUNE report.



Georgie and Francois- The love story of a life time!



Georgie's Belgian Friends move to Petropolis- Rio de Janeiro


Love story- Continued




I wish and hope that we can change for the better.

Side track alert activated, see, I am terrible!

Ok, back to Georgie and Francois





Georgie was completely devastated, sad and became gravely depressed.

The little BMW was a powerful 8 cylinder beast.
The fastest car Francois ever had.



They arranged a meeting for the picture swap.











Saturday, September 22, 2012

Ray and Gil in the Netherlands and Belgium

We are SUPER excited with our coming trip, Gil and I are traveling to Belgium and the Netherlands next Wednesday, September the 27th and staying for 7 days.
The only bad news, is that we are flying American Airlines, UGH, well, life isn't perfect, but we sure know how to make the best of it, a Valium, ear plugs, a comfortable eye cover mask, and that part of the trip can just be erased from memory or prevented from ever entering our happy brains.
We fly into Brussels and take the "BULLET" train into Amsterdam.

Fast Train from Brussels to Amsterdam
Netherlands and Belgium

I have never been in one of these super fast trains and can't wait to try it.
I ride the Amtrak Acela all the time between Boston, Providence, New York, Newark, Philadelphia and Washington DC, but it's only called fast, because it doesn't stop in every little town along the way, but it's nothing like the bullet trains in Europe or Japan.
The train ride between Brussels and Amsterdam is about 1 hour and 30 minutes, not bad.
Gil and I will have no car for 4 days, which is making me a little paranoid, I know, I am bad. But I like to go wherever I want, whenever I want and I am not used to share my space.
How is that for an Americanized Brazilian brat? ;)
But all kidding aside, Gil and I will be in good hands. Let me explain WHY we are going to Europe next week.
See, when I was a Rotary Exchange Student back in 1989, I lived in the US for one full year, in Oklahoma, and in the middle of my one year living here, I went on a 45 day trip with 57 Rotary Foreign Exchange students from all over the world.

This is the route of our 1989 trip around the US, it included Toronto, Canada and Cidaud Juarez, Mexico

I made friends from Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Denmark, Finland, Turkey, France, Italy,  Argentina, South Africa, Sweden, Spain, Mexico and a TON of Brazilians, mostly from Sao Paulo state, 1 from Parana state and 1 from Minas Gerais state and I know I must have forgotten to mention a country or two.

Rotary Exchange Program Summer Bus Tour USA-Canada-Mexico 1989
I am the dude in the far right, skinny, with HAIR, wearing those God awful yellow sweat pants and my friend Miguel from Curitiba right next to me in the green polo shirt.

Me, Daniela, Miguel, Luciane, Ana Luiza,  and Marcio walking across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco
I know, PINK sweat shirt, you are thinking that was so gay of me, let me clarify something, I am gay, and hate PINK, HATE pink with the passion.
But have you ever been in San Francisco in the summer wearing nothing but jeans shorts and a T-shirt? No! I have! You would cry like a 3 year old little girl.
Then you try to cross the Golden Gate Bridge on foot and freeze half to death, IN JULY people!!! JULY!
Alex, you would freaking turn blue and die in under 30 seconds.
Well, I was skinny, very HOT I know, and had all my hair still on top on my HUGE HEAD.
We went to one of those touristy stores in Chinatown and I bought the CHEAPEST sweat shirt the dimes, nickels and quarters found in the bottom of my JEANS backpack could afford, and apparently PINK wasn't a popular color, it was the cheapest, on sale for U$5,00 bucks, so PINK sweat shirt it was.
I thought it was the right price to use it one afternoon going across the Golden Gate Bridge. :)

For the first time since 1989, our group has re-organized, and Facebook played a fundamental role as a tool to make that possible. We have our own Summer 89 Bus Tour Community, and we will meet in Amsterdam to see each other after our trip of a lifetime, for the first time in 23 years later.
How cool is that?

Folks are coming from all corners of the world, you can imagine my level of excitement.
So, our friends from Amsterdam and the UK are preparing canal tours, bus trips into the interior areas of Holland, Cheese tours, Clog Factory, Cycling Tours, Canal Tours, a picnic at Vondelpark, Heineken Tour, Ann Frank and Van Gogh Museums, you name it!
However, we would love to hear from any of you who might have any experience in Amsterdam and and principally BELGIUM, and might want to share some tips, and recommendations with us.
That would be great! Principally because we don't have any locals guiding us thru Belgium.
I love when you share tips, when I was in Houston, Ginger from Flowers and more shared an awesome Persian restaurant and Bakery in that city, it was probably one of my favorite places to eat in this country EVER!!!

Our dear fellow blogger Sara, from Our Crazy Happy Life also one of my favorite Oklahoma Cowboy fans ;) , gave me a great tip on the BEST MEXICAN FOOD I ever ate in my life, that was my last night in Houston. Thank you so much Sara, I will treasure that for life.
I still crave Mexican Food, living in Rhode Island you get no Mexican Food what so ever, you might as well be in Sao Paulo, there seems to be more Mexican options there, ok, Ray, here you go side tracking gain.
Ok, so, please don't be shy, and share any tips, restaurant, hotels, scenic routes, small charming little towns, anything you think we could visit and enjoy as much as you did.
Again, talking to Ginger on facebook, she told me about the awesome little town on the coast of Belgium, called Bruges, it's on the coast. Colin Farrel was in a movie called "In Bruges (2008)", a cool action thriller. HERE is the link to "In Bruges".
So, needless to say, Bruges is on our travel plans, thanks again Ginger.

I love History, so I will enjoy Bruges, and have been doing a lot of reading about it all.
We also included Ghent on our trip, because besides the fact that Ghent is an awesome historic little town, it is where the BELGIUM WAFFLE was invented! You think I would miss that! Not in a million years, Belgium Waffle making class included. MAX Restaurant in Ghent, Belgium is the place where Belgium Waffles were invented, a couple of centuries ago, the same family still runs the place, several generations down.
Reading the reviews is so entertaining, they go on to mention that the restaurant has a line up front every morning, mostly Americans, waiting to eat Belgium Waffles for breakfast.
The owners often get irritated and have to explain every single day, that Belgium Waffles are not eaten for Breakfast, they don't even have the Waffle Iron and oven turned on until about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, about the time they start serving the Belgium treats.
Belgium eat Waffles plain, with just a coat of powered sugar, with coffee, as a mid-afternoon pick me up snack. No whipped cream, no fruit, jams or syrup, but they keep all these items for American tourists, who insist in eating Belgium Waffles the American way.
The Americans describing the experience often mention how light the Waffles are and that only one won't suffice, you should order many of them if you are hungry. :)

One thing that made me literally sick to my stomach was to read about the recent History of both countries and discover that most towns near the border with Germany look modern, everything is pretty much new, because they were all completely destroyed by the Germans, during the Nazi invasion of WWII.
It makes me sick to remember I am part German, it makes me sick because I can't believe HUMANS allowed this to happen. It mostly makes me sick because I come to realize, it is very possible that this could happen again. You don't understand how Germans were brainwashed by the Nazis? I have one word for you: "Tea Party", ok, that is two words.
And I am not saying Tea Party folks are Nazis, but they have a similar level of stubbornness, ignorance and may I dare say, racism, that Germans had in the decades preceding that horrible war.
One more thing before I get carried away in "side tracking land", despite the fact that I am part German, my Paulista grandfather fought in Italy and helped defeat the Nazis in that country.
Yes, in case you didn't know, Brazil had a significant participation next to the United States and the Allied forces and played an important role in defeating Hitler in Europe, and that makes me feel a little better about the whole thing of being half German.

Back to our post's topic, I wanted to explore all of Belgium, but because of our short time, 4 days, we will concentrate in the towns that were better preserved from the Nazis destruction, and visit the regions closer to the sea, where our greatest and best friends forever, the British, helped defend from the BASTARDS Nazis, Tom, your people are awesome!!! Please thank your grandparents for me when you see them again!! :)

No, we didn't have enough time to learn Dutch, but I heard they all speak English very well over there, so I am not too worried about that.
Belgium mostly speaks French but most people also are fluent in English.
Gil knows a little French and he lived in Louvain-la-Neuve, a small town just outside of Brussels, Belgium, when he was 19 years old, we will definitely include this town in our trip.
So, please, please, share any tips you might have for us for Belgium or Holland.
We will most definitely post pictures and a post trip post.

Thank you


Friday, September 14, 2012

Brazilian Marshmallow - Maria Mole

Brazilian Marshmallow- Maria Mole- Invented by Antonio Bergamo from Sao Paulo, Brazil

Gil shared this information with me and I thought it would be could to let you all know about the Brazilian Marshmallow.

Maria Mole Bicolor - Strawberry flavored Maria Mole

In case you haven't tried yet, it is heavenly if made home and enjoyed fresh.
You probably have tried it at Festa Juninas, when they are served more often.
There are several versions, the most common being the one rolled in Coconut, not my favorite.
You can also find it strawberry flavored, which is pink. Also not my favorite.

Maria Mole with a layer of cherry Jello

My favorite is the one my grandma makes it, fresh, homemade heaven, no coconut, no strawberry flavors, just plain white.
It is a typical Brazilian treat, made with sugar, egg whites, colorless gelatin, and optional shredded coconut - (not my favorite version).

Diet Maria Mole, looks delicious if you ask me

When the dessert is ready, the consistency resembles that of Marshmallow, but it's not sticky, it is said to be the Brazilian version of Marshmallow, very popular at the Catholic festivals in June, called "Festas Juninas".

Maria Mole made with wood handle sticks for parties

Maria Mole was invented by Antonio Bergamo, in Sao Paulo, he was a Paulistano of Italian ancestry. Antonio Bergamo manufactured candy and he wanted to find a way to use all the "egg whites" left over from the making of other candy that only used egg yolks.

Creative version of Maria Mole imitating a chess game

So he ended up achieving a harder consistency from beating the egg whites and added colorless gelatin to the mix, he was afraid it would turn to hard, but to his surprise, when the mix cooled down, it didn't harden too much, it remained soft, hence the name "Maria Mole" or rufly translated to "Soft Mary".

Brazilian creativity at it's best

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Moma Duck knows best!!! :)

A heart stoping video! The Ducks make it across this Canadian Highway!
But I have to say I held my breath for 1 minute and 18 seconds.

Have a good weekend everyone  :)


Monday, August 27, 2012

Crime rate down in Sao Paulo

Violent crime is down in Sao Paulo, 13% lower than last year

This is great news, principally because we are thinking of moving back home to Sao Paulo and after living in the US for 15 years we are as scared of news regarding crime as your typical/garden variety American expat. :)
We had heard and read a few articles here and there about more crime in Sao Paulo and that freaked us to no end, even our BFF and fellow blogger Alex has writen us before asking about certain articles he was reading around about the increase in crime in Sao Paulo and we all searched about it together, called people and searched a little more.
I happen to have a very close family member who is a Police Chief in Sao Paulo and this person has kept me very well informed about what is going on with the news of crime being up and then being down.
First and foremost I read this article today HERE, that goes on to say that murder rates are down in Sao Paulo by 13% compared to the same time period last year. Which is great news.
Before you go lighting up fireworks to celebrate, let me share the insider's information on the situation.
What happened in Brazil recently is a shift in the balance of power among criminal organizations, they are loosing space and shifting Geography, they are going into new areas and trying to find their niche.
With the approaching "Soccer World Cup" in 2014 and the Rio "Olympics" in 2016, the state of Rio de Janeiro needed to help locate phisical space to built some of the venues where the Rio Olympics will take place, and some of the Soccer events for the World Cup.
If you are familiar with Rio de Janeiro, there isn't much space to go around, the Geography of the region is very peculiar, which in my opinion makes Rio on of the most spetaculars places on earth, principally where natural beauty is concerned, the beaches, lucious green mountains, giant bolders, water falls, lakes, just out of the world beautiful.
Space is limited, the city is squeezed between Ocean and Mountains on a thin strip of land.
The city has to find space, which is already mostly occupied by urban development. The only alternative for the government of Rio is to claim back some of it's stolen government land to built the new venues.
If you are from Brazil, you most likely HATE favelas, you are not proud of them, you don't think they are cute, you don't think they are decent and you don't think it's a matter of human rights to keep this people in favelas, there is no way we should improve life in the favelas.
We should move them to safe areas, period. If you think otherwise, you are most likely not familiar with the situation.
The obvious traditional defenders of the favelas "status quo", are religious leaders, who want to be popular and gather more pupils to their churches, opportunistic politicians who want the obvious extra vote in their districts, foreign human rights watch groups, who in my opinion don't really understand the situation and other groups that have various random reasons to think favela living is worth preserving.
First of all, Rio favelas are built on dangerous cliffs that are suceptable to mud slides, not to mention fires with no access to Fire Department services in case of emergencies.
Favelas dwellers cut down natural vegetation that holds the "MOUNTAIN" together, and build flimsy little wooden shacks on top of it, and eventually build some fragile concrete and block walls, without proper foundation and nothing with the supervision of an civil engineer or any infra structure to hold the building/house firmly on that cliff.

Police moves into Rio Favelas, thugs run away to other Brazilian cities

Long story short, in my opinion, no human being belong in favelas, these people deserve a decent, safe place to live, with sewer services, police, ambulances and fire department access, a place well built and firm ground and proper public transportation.
They deserve a place with legal electrical, water and internet/telephone connections that won't just burst into flames because they steal electricity and clump up 300 connections in one and cause explosions, fire and death.
And ultimately, with the end of FAVELAS in Brazil, crime will have a much harder time to find "hiding" places and easier to control.
I have no doubt in my mind we will see that in our lifetime.
So, back to our main topic of discussion here, crime in Sao Paulo is up and then crime in Sao Paulo is down and there is a good reason for that.
I will tie it all together with my previous favela rant in Rio and the removal of some Rio favelas along with the "pacification of some of Rio favelas", bare with me.
See, when government started bulldozing some favelas down to the ground in Rio, and claiming their land back, they also started to bring in highly organized and powerful police forces into the remaining favelas, with the goal in mind to make the entire city safer for the upcoming sports events.
Police goes in, organized crime comes out and where did they go?
If you answered "other" cities, you got it.
Organized drug crime moved to other large Brazilian cities, wherever they could hide and continue to do business.
By the way, in my opinion, if you smoke pot and think it's an inocent thing to do, you are a direct part of the crime problem, come on, where do you think that pot comes from? Not from Lojas Americanas or Pao de Acucar, that is for sure.
I am not anti pot, if you can/could get it from a legal source, and if you like/enjoy/need it, good for you, but please either get it from a legal source or stay the hell away from it.

Rio favelas remain occupied by Police and the Brazilian Army and see an instant reduction in crime

They moved to Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Salvador, you name it, and upon their arrival, gang wars errupted, increasing the crime rate in Sao Paulo for example.
Sao Paulo was caught off guard, until they noticed increase in murder rates in the outskirts of the metropolitan region.
Sao Paulo, different than Rio, has a lot of space, we are not limited and surrounded by mountains like Rio, so our favelas and poor areas where most of the crime takes place is far away from the Sao Paulo I grew up and know as my home town.
There has been a fight for power over the drug business between the newcomers, who are "just kicked from Rio criminals" and the long established Sao Paulo crime gangs.
It took the state of Sao Paulo and it's police force a little while to catch up with what was happening and built a strategy to tackle the new challenge and we are now finally seeing the results of their efficient and hard work.

Principles of crime reduction, Sao Paulo Police is using efficient methods to fight crime

Violent crime is down again and continue on it's lowering trend that started back in 1998, about the same time Gil and I left Brazil, when crime had reached it's peak in Sao Paulo.
I am glad to see that the reduction of crime rates in Sao Paulo continues on a down spiral trend, not that it ever bothered me too much, because truth be told, in Sao Paulo crime happens far away from the parts of the city my family and I always lived, so it realistically doesn't affect me or my family directly, but less crime is always good news and always good for the overall image of the city.


Tuesday, August 21, 2012

The price of a CAR in Brazil!

I found this video today on a series of YouTube videos called "O Canal do Otario", which translates to "The Sucker Channel".
This particular video uses the Volkswagen Gol as an example of how Brazilian consumers are swindled by excessive taxes and abusive profit margins by Car factories and Car dealers established in the country.
By the way, I just found out Brazil has the largest amount of car factories anywhere in the world, who knew? Interesting fact, and proof that high import tariffs are a by far one of the most successful strategies adopted by the Brazilian government. Even the Chinese are ticked off they can't just import their cars into Brazil and are being pressed to open their car factories in the country and employ locals.
Long story short, the video calls the Brazilian consumer, or actually any consumer in Brazil for that matter, so they might as well be talking to you if you live in Brazil and have bought a car in recent years, and it will make you feel even worse if you bought a Volkswagen Gol.
So, the video goes on to say that a brand new Gol in Brazil costs R$37,000 and change, while the same car considering all import tariffs and shipping goes for R$22,000 in Argentina and for R$18,500 in Mexico. For the same amount you could buy a brand new Chevrolet Camaro in the United States.
Also, it shows that a brand new Volkswagen Gol costs only R$8,5000 to be made, including materials and labor, before taxes, and dealer and factory profits.
So if you would add 100% for taxes, 100% of profit margin for the factory and 100% profit margin for the Volkswagen dealer, you are still at R$32,000, and R$5,000 short of the price of the car for the end consumer in Brazil.
The video announcer goes on to say that he is not picking on Volkswagen in particular, he just chose the Gol as an example because it has been the NUMBER 1 car sold in Brazil for the past 25 years and it is also exported to a large number of countries around the world.
However the example is similar to all car companies with established manufacturing plants in the Brazilian territory, and in case you are not aware (like I wasn't before watching this video), they are the following:

Volkswagen, Ford, General Motors, Fiat, Mitsubishi Motors, Citroen, Peugeot, Nissan, Hyundai, Honda, Mercedes Benz, Chevrolet, Toyota, IVECO, Renault, BMW, Audi, Chrysler, Dodge and the list goes on... *this list is just for Car factories, it doesn't apply for buses or trucks.

The video ends with a plea for consumers to avoid buying cars and walk, use a bicycle or public transportation instead, saying it is better for your health and your pocket.

I noticed the Portuguese in the video is very clear so I decided to post anyway, it might be a good training if you are a Portuguese beginner.




Monday, August 20, 2012

To Kiss or not to Kiss! Brazil edition!

We Brazilians love to kiss and we start early!! :)

After reading and making a comment on THIS POST on Rachel's blog, I decided to write this post (as per my dear friend Rachel's suggestion ;) )
This is one of the most talked about culture characteristic for new comers and expats moving to Brazil.
It is ever talked about among Brazilians, trust me.
First and foremost, let me be clear, crystal clear when I say this, we are talking about an "air kiss", it's a gesture, and symbolic form of greeting, you are not supposed to give or receive a juicy wet kiss on anybody's cheeks, PLEASE!!

Wrong way to kiss when greeting in Brazil!! Yes, you will get bitch slapped if you try this!! ;)

I think it's important to clarify that, when I see and hear about people behaving in such a senseless defensive way, as if they are avoiding being tongue French kissed by everyone they see, it's not that people, relax... it's a simple warmer than you are used to form of greeting.
So I decided to talk to Gil about it to help me remember what are the "rules" on the greeting kiss in Brazil. I also called my mother, an aunt and my grandmother in an effort to be as informative and helpful as possible.
Please read my answer to Rachel's post below, it's pretty complete and it should help you feel more confident with the so talked about "Brazilian greeting kiss"!!  :)


The cardinal rule of Brazilian good manners is to never ever turn your face away or block the other person by extending your arm, this would be the quickest way to offend Brazilians and show them you could care less for local customs or any possibility at friendship or a friendly existence. Such a rude sign would contribute to the wrong “stereotype” some people have that Americans overseas are rude and arrogant.
Having said that, there are some basic rules when greeting folks in Brazil, here we go:

-As a general rule, 1 Kiss in Sao Paulo, 2 Kisses in Rio, but don’t stress, people brake this rule all the time, just go with the flow on this one, it is even cool to make a little joke while going for the kiss, and ask, 1 or 2 kisses? it helps to brake the ice and puts the other person at ease, I always did that and sorted out the other person’s intentions and avoided awkward moments :)
-If a lady is sitting down, and someone arrives to greet, she can choose to remain siting while greeting or she can decide to stand up, women get to choose as they please.
-Gentlemen never get to choose, in Brazil, it is always polite and expected that a gentleman stands up to greet whoever is arriving at the scene.
-There is a very popular joke of the Brazilian “kissing game” that we say ( 3 pra casar ), usually people throw that in to brake the ice, make a joke, put people at ease, and it means, “3 kisses to marry”, as in wishing the person good luck to get married soon…and married people do it too and laugh about it.

Guys don't kiss while greeting in Brazil!! :)

-If you come into a room filled with strangers and a few friends, you kiss your friends and family, not every one in the party. Now if you are going to a family reunion, good luck, you will be kissing every one you see… and you don’t kiss anyone in a room filled with strangers…:)
-If you are being formally introduced to someone, 2 kisses is the custom, but if it’s a professional setting, a hand shake is enough and kisses not expected.

Relax people, it's an air kiss, like air guitar!! R E L A X!! :)

-You should never approach to greet and kiss, someone that is eating, this is a really big no-no in Brazil, we are very particular about meal times, and if you can’t avoid it, keep it short and don’t ever go for the kiss, EVER during a meal, a short wave and a smile are more than enough, even with family and close friends. :)

Absolutely NO KISSING while someone is eating! Brazilians are very peculiar about meal time!

-As a general rule it’s not really a class thing, but it is a thing of your inner circle. You kiss people that belong to your inner circle, mainly family and close friends. If someone at work is close enough, you kiss them, but as a general rule, people don’t kiss each other at work environments, and again, keep in mind, some people will always brake this rule for different reasons, and if they do, it’s ok, don’t panic, and NEVER extend your arm or turn your face away, again, this is the ultimate insult in Brazilian culture, just go with the flow, and you will survive another awkward moment ;)
Answering your specific questions, first your observations are all correct, the teacher will kiss a parent if they have become close enough and consider each other friends.
If you saw someone in the morning, you kissed and greeted them in the morning, no need to repeat it when you see them again, once a day is fine.
The surprise hug moments, I always ask 1 or 2 kisses and I avoid that issue for myself, like I said, it’s both a way to brake the ice and know what the person intends to do. :)
I hope I was able to clarify the kissing etiquette rules in Brazil… :)

E um beijo ( Paulista ) no seu rosto… :)


I hope you guys will find this useful, and just like any culture, there are exceptions to the rule, and parts of Brazil that might have different customs, this is more in the Rio-Sao Paulo-Minas and South of Brazil areas. I am not too familiar with the North and Northeast parts of Brazil but I would be surprised if the culture rules change too much.

Forte abraco a todos


Thursday, August 16, 2012

Somos São Paulo / We Are Sao Paulo. 7 bilhões de Outros / 7 billion Othe...

I just found the video above on "Eyes on Brazil" and I thought it was very interesting to share them with you.
These are interviews from "Expats" or "Immigrants" to Sao Paulo, from people who immigrated in the beginning of the last century, people who came during or after WWII and all the way to recent arrivals.
I would like to point out to M, from Born Again Brazilian that at the 20 minutes mark a grandson of Japanese immigrants shares the story of his grandparents "hating" mortadela and throwing it away while preferring to eat plain bread  ;)
I also thought it was interesting to hear the Chinese/Brazilian girl saying her Chinese parents called her a "Banana" because she is "yellow" looking on the outside, and "White" in the inside, because for the Chinese, Brazilians are white, as in "Western Cultured".
We usually hear people talking about Brazilians as if they have an impression that we are all darker, and have a darker complexion, which might be true for some parts of Brazil but definitely not for Sao Paulo and the south of Brazil. I will never forget when I was 17 years old in Oklahoma and a man told me I couldn't be Brazilian, because I wasn't "dark enough"!!! His exact words were "How come you are white? If you are from Brazil...and my reply was... because my parents are white... and I left at that... :)
Ok, so when you have a whole hour available to immerse yourself a little deeper in what it means to be in Brazil, to live in Brazil and to become a Brazilian, take the take to watch this amazing collection of interviews from Sao Paulo immigrants.



Thursday, August 2, 2012

Brazil more equal than the US?

I decided to share this great blog post that I read today.

Sao Paulo, my hometown

I was very surprised when I read this post at Bill Maher's.
Brazil is indeed on a roll.
Take a look at what he wrote:

Brazilians believe that God is indeed Brasileiro

  Rio de Dinero

By Bill Maher

The greatest thing about America was that you could come here with nothing and, purely by hard work, become fabulously wealthy.
But this isn’t happening anymore. More and more money is concentrated in the super-rich while wages for the middle-class are stagnant and the poor are, well, if they’re lucky they might get some cheese and a flu shot. 
The worst part is, while America is turning into a banana republic, actual banana republics are starting to turn into what America used to be. 
I don’t know much about Brazil, other than that they do amazing things with wax. And have you seen the carioca? It’s not a foxtrot or a polka. There I go quoting 1930's show tunes again.


Monday, July 23, 2012

Saturday Night Live - Zeca Chuteira - 22/07/2012

So, the biggest gossip to hit the Brazilian celebrity scene is the recent revelation that UBBER HOT Brazilian Soccer player and celebrity RAI, left his wife 2 years ago and has been dating the also HOT and HIP Zeca Camargo, who is a Globo TV/Fantastico host.
They are so hot it hurts, and that bothers a lot of people!!!!

Here is a picture of Rai:

Rai, Sao Paulo soccer player and a Sex symbol in Brazil

And here is a picture of Zeca Camargo:

Zeca Camargo, TV Globo Fantastico Show host

In Brazil we have a nick name for women/girls who are the equivalent of "groupies", but instead of rock stars they prey on soccer players, we call them "MARIA CHUTEIRA", a rough translation would be snickers Mary, but chuteiras are special soccer player shoes with the spikes.
So, now, the ever so conservative Brazilian public has started the jokes, saying that now, we have a new trend "ZECA CHUTEIRAS", making a joke with the Globo TV host Zeca Camargo that has been dating the Brazilian sex symbol soccer player Rai.
So, if you catch yourself wondering what all this talk about Rai and Zeca Camargo is all about, you will now know, that this is what is all about.
Brazilians are very conservative and backwards when it comes to gay rights, and when any progress towards acceptance shocks with the good ol'MACHO, MACHISMO culture, you have the clash that we are seeing right now.
This is really hard for most IGNORANT Brazilians to understand when they were raised in a culture, not very different from Americans or Europeans by the way, where SEXUAL PREFERENCE, (notice that I will never use the word "choice", because to say choice is WRONG, we have no choice, we were born this way), is often confused with gender.
We are men who like men, some are effeminate, some are not, I know some straight men who are a little effeminate, but they like women, so there is a distinctive difference between gender identity and sexual preference.

Back to the clash in the minds of those raised in a MACHISMO culture.
Something that also drives me crazy in the Brazilian (and American) Machismo culture, is the fact that many women nourish such practice in society.
I heard from a very close friend today "RAI, nao acredito, JESUS, mas ele e tao masculino, nao acredito!!!!" UGH!!!! 
This is how it goes, and again, it's the exact same in the US, I am not sure about Europe, but I hope some of our dear readers might be able to contribute with their European perspective. Tom, any comments? ;)
If you drink BEER, you are a MAN, MACHO, macho man, if you drink wine, oh, oh, you might be gay. I remember when back in high school, girls drank wine coolers and guys drank beers, and yes, I went to high school in the US.
And in Brazil is no different, BEER is associated with masculinity, please people, let's move away from such "cliche" stereotypes.
If you play soccer, (Football in the US) you are a MACHO, MACHO man, if you join the chess club (Brazil) or the Band (US), not so much.
Not to mention, the idiots uninformed people who live in machismo cultures, think that masculine men CANNOT under any circumstance be gay, that would be the end of the world, their little pea brains would burst into flames and they would be confused, saying they understand but have a hard time accepting it, yes, I have heard someone saying that, to MY FACE, yes, they understand that GIL and I are gay, considering we are the BUTCH kind of guys, we LOVE beer, are you kidding me, our neighbors make beer in their cellar and we are their main tasters, drinking pals... :)
So, back to my mini gay hater rant, people (including people in my own family) have a real hard time understanding the fact that GIL and I are masculine guys who like beer and enjoy soccer, also are attracted by MEN.
Please forgive me, but I have grown less and less tolerant to people "Who are having a hard time understanding or accepting it"!!!
Another thing that disgusts me to no end is how backwards and ANTI GAY Rede Globo is in Brazil, to me they are the equivalent of FOX NEWS, with an evil twist, because they supported and protected the military dictatorship in Brazil between 1964 and 1986, and I won't forget or forgive them for that.
To add insult to injury, Globo is banning any news of the recent discovered love affair between one of their brightest stars and one of Brazil's most popular macho sex symbol of all times.

HERE is a news piece in Portuguese about TV Globo's cover up, and other reports HERE and HERE.

According to many different sources Zeca Camargo is livid with his network's decision to ban news about his romance with Rai.
I expected nothing different from a nasty TV network who supported the military in Brazil, with the support of the Catholic Church and the ubber conservative Brazilian elite.
Globo TV will block any attempt from any writer or novela director to show a gay kiss, which has been the subject of much controversy in the last few years.
So, again, to break the stupid mundane stereotype, a Brazilian stud MACHO sex symbol celebrity soccer player SUPER HOT if you ask me (which I am sure drive people mad) RAI loves MEN, left his wife two years ago, and has been dating equally MACHO HIP celebrity Zeca Camargo.
Having said all that, I have a HELL of a sense humor, which has been boosted 10 times fold after moving to New England and I did literally laughed out loud when I watched this video below making fun of the new term "ZECA CHUTEIRA", in other words, groupies male, after male soccer players.
Enjoy ;)

Please be nice to gay people every chance you get, principally the young ones.
It seems like we have made a lot of progress in recent years, but sadly enough we are still treated like crap very often, and the worse part, family members are usually the most cruel to gay people.