ReBlog: Great Youtube Video

Traveling and staying busy has gotten the best of my blog these days, apologies. I am in the process of also figuring out what this blog is really all about as I begin to feel more and more like Sao Paulo is home and my everyday life just as ordinary as the next person. However, I still enjoy reading other Brazilian bloggers every once in a while and I really loved Ray's most recent post about what it really means to be Brazilian. I mentioned in his comment section how Sao Paulo's incredible diversity had quite an impact on how quickly I felt comfortable here. While the initial adaptation may have been tough at times, I never felt like I had to worry about standing out in regards to race and ethnicity (outside of my very american accent that is). Even if you don't watch the entire video, within the first few minutes you get an idea that the faces of Sao Paulo are very much like those of New York City. There are immigrants from around the world that call themselves Brazilian and their stories are beautiful. It has fostered immeasurable pride, that I too feel even after only a few years of calling these 18 million people my neighbors.

Rua Augusta after dark....

I thought people watching at the park was fun, Augusta takes it to another level. This is the melting pot. From kids clearly in over their heads to transvestites, punks, rockers, hello kitty subscribers, hookers, bums, beauties and uglies it contains every walk of life and stereotype. 

If you haven't been its worth a gander and if you have well welcome to Sao Paulo, this is really where it happens, the confluence. Where was my camera!! Cross Paulista heading away from Jardins down Augusta after 10 pm and you can find grunge bars, greek restaurants, dance clubs, comedy clubs, music clubs, sex clubs and just about ANYTHING else. The best part are the guys selling dollar beers (R3.00) on the sidewalk because you can drink while you walk in this city. Saturday night we decided against sitting down and missing the action from a bar and instead bought street beer and hung out with everyone else, intermingling with the parked cars and all the madness. It feels a little like home because its the only place I've seen late night pizza by the slice and evening flair similar to boystown in Chicago (both of which I love). 

Literally we just drank street beer and people watched. There was a food festival that started at midnight and lasted till 5am nearby which was the driving force for why we were there. Who has a food festival for 5 hours on a Sunday morning? Sao Paulo and thats one of many reasons why I love this city. So if it feels a little empty over there on the light side back in lush Jardins, now you know why. Check it out sometime and if it isn't your scene head a few blocks over to Bella Paulista Padaria on Haddock Lobo and grab a famous fancy ice cream. The New York Times has this bakery on their must list for 36 hours in Sao Paulo. 

A little digging and here is a New York times article about this crazy section of Augusta. And of course Inside Sao Paulo has it tagged as the 'entertainment' district. Its a shame you missed this birthday invite, apparently Maisa invited the entire city to an open bar party on Augusta last wednesday!! 

They say its bedlam, but "The good, São Paulo kind."

crazier things have happened...

I knew when I started this blog I would have lots of silly stories to tell about my adventures. They have seemed to lessen with time and understanding the language but yesterday I took a big step backwards. 

I needed to pick up a few things at the hardware store and while there I remembered my bathroom sink wasn't draining very well. Quickly I racked my brain trying to think of how to explain this so I could get something similar to draino. I thought I explained my situation and she came back with a sack of something and said what I thought was "mix this with water...." or something like that. I looked at the sack on the way home and it read, "massa para vidros." Hmmmm mass of glass? But then it appeared as though there was an ingredient list for various uses so I figured maybe it was what they call a "falso amigo," a word that doesn't mean what it says? 

Perhaps this isn't really glass then, but chemical crystals? Ill mix it with a little water and see what happens. Nothing. Well maybe it is glass, but since it is only tiny chards then it could have chemicals on it to break up whatever is clogging the sink? Ok lets pour some down the drain then. Ran the water, poured a little more, ran the water... nothing changed. So if that wasn't stupid already I poured more. Waited. Nothing. 

This morning Rose, my maid was here and I was having portuguese class. I asked my teacher, its strange they give chemical glass to break up a clogged drain eh? She looked a bit perplexed. I explained while her face changed from puzzled to straight up laughing. At the same time Rose walked in with a sack full of glass and hair. She had taken apart the entire drain because she noticed things sparkling below in the sink hole and water was at a stand still. She was completely confused. I don't blame her, who in their right mind would pour glass pieces down a drain when it was clogged? 

I totally lost any credibility I might have gained over the past 18 months. The adventure continues. 

Reblog, "Coming to Visit? Bring an Extra Suitcase."

I know everyone in the Brazil blogger circuit knows prices are crazy here but for my family and friends back home I just want to remind you every day how lucky you are to have inexpensive goods at your disposal. I love living in Brazil and feel very lucky for the experience but I am afraid sometimes we worry about being priced-out. My friends in more expat friendly neighborhoods are enduring the pain of landlords asking for double if they would like to stay and sign another lease. Renting an apartment that isn't falling apart or off in some area way outside the city for under $US1600/month is impossible. For the lucky ones that found deals early on and signed 30 month leases, we are literally scared waiting for the renewal ticking clock. Our good friends Suzanna and Jeff over at "Rooted Journeys," just wrote a great post after having lunch at a little sandwich spot in Jardins. No fru fru just a sandwich and a coke = us$26.00 Our neighborhood padaria (bakery) made new menus and you know what that means. Charging us$12.00 for a chicken sandwich with cheese and tomato (no free sides EVER) was way too cheap. Now its $18.


Rooted Journey's "Coming to Visit? Bring an Extra Suitcase."

I’ve officially been demoted from Rooted Journeys co-author to guest contributor. Not because Suzanna said so (she never did), but because it turns out I’m just not very good at motivating myself to actually sit down and write something. But here I am, so vamos-lá.

Generally speaking, it seems that many Americans view Brazil as a chaotic tropical wonderland – think Carnaval, string bikinis, palm trees, samba dancing, bossa nova, favelas, drug lords…you know, all the fun stuff.  In reality, one of the most defining features of Brazil as an expat in São Paulo is simply how ridiculously expensive it is. No matter how much you try to stop talking about it, and even more importantly, try to stop converting prices into dollars, it just won’t fade into the background as a simple fact of life. For those of us living it, it’s like a permanent fat lip – the moment you think it’s healing, you bite it again and want to take out your aggression on the old lady walking too slow on the street in front of you. That’s right, it makes you want to push an old lady. It’s that ridiculous.  Although, just for the record, I would never actually push an old lady.  And the prices here are worse than a fat lip.  Maybe that wasn’t quite the right metaphor, but there’s no turning back now.  Let’s keep moving.

A couple of recent articles have highlighted some of the effects of this charming Brazilian reality.  The cover story a few weeks ago for Veja (a popular weekly magazine in Brazil) was titled Pague Um, Leve Dois, Tres, Quatro…. English translation: Pay for One, Get Two, Three, Four.  The lead-off explains further (translated): “The favorable exchange rate alone does not explain the low prices that mesmerize Brazilians who shop in the United States.”  To drive home the title, the article cites the happy fact that the cost of an iPhone in Brazil is the highest in the world, leaving shelves for $1,650 (USD equivalent) in Brazil.  In the US, the same unlocked iPhone 4S (32GB) goes for $815.  That puts it at just over double the price for us lucky brasileiros.  But why stop there, it gets better!  Asics sneakers that go for around $200 in the US? A cool $457 in the equivalent Brazilian play money.  That’s 2.3 times the price.  A PlayStation 3 goes for 2.8 times the price.  Calvin Klein jeans are 3 times the price and a Guess handbag tops it off at 3.8 times the price.  Go Brazil!

These are just random examples, but they do give an indication of general price levels.  Not everything comes in at double the price, but it’s fair to say that São Paulo has justly earned its ranking as the 10^thmost expensive city in the world for expats and the most expensive in the Americas (Mercer Survey).  So, you may ask “why”, which we ask ourselves constantly. Of course there is no simple explanation, though the Veja article presents a pretty reasonable set of factors.  Here’s a summary:

• Exchange Rate – the Brazilian Real (currency) is about 25% stronger against the dollar than its long-term average making goods more expensive accordingly, especially imports.
• Demand – quite simply, growing demand is outstripping the country’s productive supply capacity. High demand + low supply = high prices.
• Tax Burden – the Brazilian tax burden is 36% on average versus around 25% in the US.  The difference is even greater when considering additional taxes on goods Brazil classifies as “superfluous.”  Plus, Brazilian import taxes are triple what they are in the US.
• Inflation – while the days of hyper-inflation have passed (hopefully for good), inflation is still significant and widens the price gap over time (6.5% inflation in Brazil last year versus 2% in the US)
• Competition – as a matter of policy, the US government prioritizes competition over protectionism and Brazil vice-versa.  For example, whereas the US government made cheap credit available to US auto-makers to help them become more competitive with cheaper Asian imports, Brazil has chosen to simply elevate import taxes to artificially raise prices of the foreign competition.
• Economies of Scale – US companies generally focus on selling more at a lower margin whereas Brazilian companies tend to focus on a small market at a high margin
• Productivity – it’s just not rising fast enough relative to labor costs (due to low unemployment, a lack of qualified labor, insufficient investment, etc.)

The result?  Prices that make your eyes pop and a growing class of Brazilian consumers that have become America’s big-spenders.  It’s no wonder so many Brazilians take annual shopping trips to Miami and New York – they easily recoup the cost of the trip in savings on their purchases.  Brazilians now spend more in the US than visitors from any other country – on average, $5,400 per person per trip in 2010 (article).  Japanese tourists came in far behind at number two with $4,300 in spending per person.  So next time you see people filling up suitcases with stuff in the mall, try a warm bem-vindo.  Good chance they’re our neighbors.

So, please have some patience when you hear us (constantly) complaining about the prices here and be generous with your suitcase space when you come to visit – we’ll be filling it up.

PS – I  had a coke and a nice sandwich for lunch today (filet, brie, arugula).  No fries or chips or any extras.  The tab was R$45.  That’s about $26.  For a sandwich.

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my first novela run

is over. Small tear.

(tatatosatt.blogspot.com)

Just finished the finale of "Finas Estampa," the 9pm Novela that began back in August and ended this weekend. There were moments (loooong moments) where I didn't miss an episode (watching at least 5 of the 6 nights a week it comes on) and then months where I forgot it was still going. I caused a ruckus at home when for 3 weeks I refused to go out to dinner so as not to miss a wandering eye or a sneaky in-law even though they have an online globo recap. Then Christmas rolled around and it was hard to keep up so the show and I took some time off. But like all breaks I missed the routine and there I was in January trying to refigure it all out again.

In the end, it was good to see it all wrap up and come full circle.  The good guys won and in true scary movie fashion, the evil Tereza Cristina just wouldn't die. We never did figure out who "Cro" the secretary's lover was but all the nasty splits patched their wounds and life in Barra returned to normal.  Not sure if I am going to start the next one, "Avenida Brasil" with the same momentum as before but I am certainly addicted to the concept. When you watch you are one with the maids and taxi drivers, the ladies at the nail salon and just about everybody you come in contact with. Its a cultural phenomenon and name dropping a novela star gets you an extra nod of approval.  I'll never forget coming back from Rio on a Saturday night and seeing Milena Toscano grabbing her bag off my flight. I acted like a total tween about it and couldn't wait to tell my novela watching friends. Every magazine mentions them, my old portuguese teacher would review lessons around the drama and I finally knew a guest every once in a while on Mais Voce. For the past 7 months I felt like a part of the cool club. And now my nine pm network family is finally off for a much needed vacation.  What a crazy thrill that was! 

sorry its stuck

in my head. over and over and over and over and... you get the point. when this happens there is nothing better than to share it and cause the same damage to others. ahh those catchy Brazilian songs...

welcome, a naked bike parade!

(folha) 

Lets face it. People drive like maniacs here. Recently there have been a few bike accidents and one in particular on Paulista Ave where a young biologist was run over and killed by a bus. It has caused an uproar among the cyclist community causing demonstrations with people laying down across major intersections around the city. The Pedalada Pelada, a group promoting alternative modes of transportation also organized a Saturday night naked cycle on Paulista Ave. Lucky for us we had just picked up my brother (his first time to South America) from the airport Saturday night and we were driving towards home and saw a bunch of the nude riders. I wasn't quick enough to snag a photo but lucky for you, Folha was. Click here I would love for Sao Paulo to become more biker friendly, but with buses that act like tonka trucks that wish they were high speed Chinese rail and cars that think they are buses well I just hope they find a way to remedy this mess of a situation.