Daily Life in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Better in Brazil...

VACATION time.

Most Brazilians in the corporate world take like 3-4 weeks vacation every year. I should adjust that statement to say "in a row" - which is more accurate. I don't think that most expats do, however. But to the Brazilians, it's normal. Most of Mr. DRL's coworkers here in Brazil were shocked to hear that he'd never taken three weeks off in a row before. Most of our friends and family back home were shocked to hear that Mr. DRL managed to take over three weeks off in a row. 

I think this phenomenon explains a few things, namely:

• Why things move slowly here in many cases
• Why families are closer here
• Why people are happier here (hey they took a survey - apparently Cariocas are like the happiest people on the planet).

Either way - I LIKE IT. My husband was SO relaxed on our trip, the time away did him so much good and I think helped him gain perspective - in both personal life and career. Mr. DRL and Canadoca are as tight as can be after three weeks of non-stop time together. Daddy's girl! Last night when he came home from work after his first day back she started giggling like a maniac when she saw him, it was adorable...

Travel Notes

A few random thoughts after about half of my 24 day trip in Southwestern South America:

• Finally, it's not just in Brazil that everyone insists on standing pretty much TOUCHING the luggage carousel. I think that I might have to make an instructional video on how to behave at the luggage carousel and sell it to airports here. It will start with obvious things like don't climb on it and finish with what you'd think would be obvious things like if everyone stands 2 feet away from it and simply steps forward to pick up a piece of their luggage when it is actually coming down the carousel, it would make a lot more sense and be a lot more courteous... until then I loudly yell com licensa and then brute in between the people and yank out my luggage...
• It seems to me that in Rio we really have the short end of the stick when it comes to grocery shopping. It was shocking to me that PERU has FAR SUPERIOR grocery stores to Rio. Not at all what I expected.
• Traveling with Canadoca ROCKS. Not only do we have constant entertainment, but people are so much nicer to us, especially the airlines. We get put in special lineups everywhere - wonderful service.
• I have yet to be on any flight in South America where I haven't been fed. Even if it's just cookies. It's a good thing.
• The variety of consumer products and vehicles available in different countries in South America is really something... what dictates this exactly? Relationships with other countries? Import taxes?
• The more cities I see in South America, the more wild I think Rio is...

Eating out with Children

... is totally different in Canada vs. Brazil. Actually, eating out in general is a totally different experience. Back home, the service SUCKS!

Here in Rio, Mr. DRL and I think nothing of bringing Canadoca along to nice restaurants. She has been to Sushi Leblon, Guiseppe, Aprizavel, The Copacabana Palace, the dining room at the Sofitel, Quadrucci, Zuka, Gero, Sawasdee, Esplanada, Fasano (where they brought me a pillow to make breastfeeding more comfortable, and when I went to change Canadoca in the washroom was offered access to a hotel room in order to change her more comfortably...) you name it. Never once have we been treated as though bringing her was inconveniencing anyone, in fact often the waiters make a fuss over her and even rock her stroller (see below, at La Cigale recently.... by the way I LOVE that place!)

So I knew the royal treatment was something special to South America, but I wasn't quite prepared for it when I was home.  Servers back home irritated me from the get-go ("I will be right with you, I was just sat three times..." I need that information why, exactly? "It's not that we don't allow children or don't like them, but we just have a policy where we do not allow strollers in the dining room" So what do you do when a baby comes in? This was the case at MULTIPLE places).

I also missed the cushy mom's rooms at the mall, and liberal (yet at times too-friendly, like when my nursing cover is lifted by someone curious to see the baby) attitude towards breastfeeding.  

Back home, I also saw a number of kids losing it in restaurants. Not going to lie - it scared me!!!! Though I frequently see kids in nice restaurants here, I don't often see them pitching a fit. Perhaps it's because here, they are comfortable in that environment because they know they are welcome...

Fraldario

The malls here in Brazil have little diaper change rooms complete with staff, supplies, chairs to breastfeed in, microwaves, high chairs... it's nice! A staff member puts down a fresh cover for the change area between each baby and offers any additional help you might need. It's nice!

Here are some photos from Sao Conrado Fashion Mall:

Above: supplies provided

Below: Canadoca ready for a change

 

Things you see on Ipanema Beach

A guy tightrope walking between two trees. Random! Love it.

 

Up the Hill - Aprizavel in Santa Teresa

As I've mentioned several times, we love to go to Aprizavel in Santa Teresa. It's truly fantastic.

Here are some photos of the food & decor...

After many times at Aprizavel, we finally got to eat in a tree house!

The food is Brazilian fusion, the views are divine... go!

Perfect day in the Peapod Pop Tent!

The Canadoca has earned the "oca" (from Carioca) in her name... she offically loves the beach. Even if it IS "winter"...  Last Friday we took her and our guests out to Recreio to the beach for a little sun, frescoball and R&R. Mr. DRL even took the day off!

We bought the Canadoca a little Peapod Pop Tent/Travel Bed thing that folds up super small and protects her from some elements (sun, wind, insects, etc.) while engaging in outdoor pursuits. Almost like a pack & play but much lighter and smaller (less than 5 lbs, and measures 14x14x5 - easily put in a suitcase)! Friday was the first time we used it so we weren't sure how it would go but she seemed mesmerized by the red interior and with the exception of coming out for feedings, she spent the better part of 5 hours of the afternoon in there!

Therapy for Frustrating, Homesick Days

It's sad that people get spoiled. I'm one of them. You know it's bad when you realize what a great place you live in when you look at your guest's vacation photos from when they came to visit:

 

 

Walking to Arpoador is good for the soul.

Twitter Traffic

Twitter is now the way to check for instant, up to the minute traffic reports in Rio - once on twitter find: cetrio_online

Mr. DRL may not be a facebooker but he might start twittering just for this!

My Guestbook - Part 9 - What Did You Learn?

Part 9 of a series I am doing based on a survey I asked my guests to respond to after visiting Brazil.

Question 9: What, if anything, did you learn from your trip?

My Mom: Too many things to mention!

My Mother-in-law: Always an appreciation for Canada after seeing the poverty in other countries.

Engaged Couple Friends: We learned about another culture and way of life, both for the rich and poor. And, we learned about the struggles of being a foreigner trying to make a life in a new country and learn a new language. It certainly gives you a new respect and understanding for anyone who has moved to a new country, including Canada. Mr. DRL and DRL are doing a great job and have accomplished an amazing amount in a short time.

My Dad: How great we have it in Canada, although Brazil is a beautiful country.  Be careful while in Brazil.  Safety in numbers and don't drink too much if you're out as you may need your wit's in event of trouble. Have a game plan as it's too late if you get into a situation and haven't. "Muito policias" lots of police  around, but not sure if they do anything and didn't want to find out given the rumors of corruption....................

My Guestbook - Part 8 - What has changed about Mr. DRL & I since Moving to Brazil

Part 8 of a series of questions I asked my guests after their Brazilian vacations.

Question 8: What, if anything, has changed the most about Mr. DRL & DRL since leaving Canada?

My Mom: They are more relaxed, even though I am sure Mr. DRL's work can be quite a challenge, they are enjoying the experience and will never be the same again!!! Also, a bit of a change with preparing for baby's arrival.

My Bridesmaid & Her Boyfriend: Um, well aside from them both speaking another language and learning how to live in a completely opposite society they are still the same people we all know and love!

My Mother-in-law: We love the self-confidence they have attained by having to deal with Latin energy and language issues.  Such an interesting life they lead, when a breakfast meeting with a politician is just another day at the office.  Again, DRL's Portuguese is amazing.

Engaged Couple Friends: About 3 kilos!   :-) We were so excited to hear the news!  (DRL Note: at the point of their visit, 3 kilos was the extent of the baby weight gain!)

My Dad: Hard to see in two weeks but hopefully they've realized how fortunate they are to be from a country like Canada.

My Guestbook - Part 7 - Would You Come Back?

Part 7 of a series of questions I asked my guests after they left Brazil.
Question 7: Do you plan to return? And if so, what would you like to do in Brazil next time?

My Mom: I am booking for June, (DRL comment: mom has already been back since the survey was made!) will spend lots of time holding the baby, will go to Sugarloaf.

My Bridesmaid & her Boyfriend: We would like to return, but it all depends on timing and the thousand other vacations we would like to take in the next couple of years!

If we came back, we'd like to see Paraty, Iguazu Falls in Argentina and MORE SUN!!  Haha, we just had bad luck.  Apparently it was nice before and after we were there!

My Mother-in-law: Would be nice... We would love to see the heritage buildings in Salvadore, the Amazon River, there are semi-plans to meet at Machu Picu in Peru....who of your readers will grant us an unlimited supply of funds, please?

Engaged Couple Friends: There are lots of amazing-sounding places we'd love to see in Brazil, and the rest of South America . . . I'm sure by the time we hear about the rest of the DRLS' visitors' trips, we'll be wanting to go back to do everything they did!

My Dad: Would love to go back and take (my partner) this time, otherwise I'm sure Uncle will be game again....

Nice for Moms in Rio

It sure is nice to have a new baby here - in a culture where people really put energy and effort into putting the little ones first. An example from today that I'm pretty sure would NEVER happen back home...

So I went to the Ipanema 444 mall (the one with all the great kids' stores) to make a quick exchange (sidenote: this was also NO PROBLEM at all despite no receipt, etc.) when Canadoca had a bit of a meltdown. See, she has entered the stage of not liking having a dirty diaper at ALL. Quite the progress considering two weeks ago she couldn't stand having it changed, my how we've evolved! Okay back to the story!

So there I was with my screaming child in the mall, frantically looking for a bathroom/place to change her. Couldn't find one. Decided to put some protection down on my stroller and bite the bullet and change her in there. Just then, a woman poked her head out of one of the stores (I wish I knew the name of it, it is the one that only has boy things in it!) and invited me to come into the store to change the diaper. On the display case.  Yes, we put things down, but still! Can't imagine that happening back home! She also entertained Canadoca and helped me calm her down. So awesome. I will definitey return and buy something for my nephew there soon.

Second - if you are in the neighbourhood and looking for a place to quickly nurse your baby without having to go into a restaurant or something, there is a lounge in the back of the main floor of Shopping Rio Design. Comfy leathery chairs. A bit of privacy, not much. I will soon cover the baby station in Shopping Leblon which is quite fantastic...

My Guestbook - Part 5 - The FOOD!

Part 5 of a series of how my many visitors answered questions to a little "survey" I gave them after their trips to Brazil.

Question 5:

Did you enjoy the food in Brazil?

My Mom: The food was amazing, heavier, and more rich, great desserts.

My Bridesmaid & Her Boyfriend: Um YES.  We absolutely loved it.  Porcao was sooo good and both Thai restaurants were awesome.  Fresh fruit smoothies were to be found on every corner too...so tasty.  We also really liked the place in Leblon or Ipanema that DRL took us to for lunch on our second day (when we went shopping - DRL's note: Via Sete). And Koni (a place that just sells sushi cones... so good)!

My Mother-in-law: What's not to enjoy.  Even the buffets at the hotel in Argentina were good.

Engaged Couple Friends: Yes!!!! The fresh fruit was such a treat, and there was tons of seafood and fish. The Brazilian BBQ was very good and really fun. And, I would kill for an agua de coco in Calgary!!

My Dad: Enjoyed the beef, seafood and sushi.  Believe it or not had a great feed of spaghetti, too, but don't tell my Italian wife.

Dia Dos Namorados

Yesterday was Dia Dos Namorados here in Brazil (much like Valentine's Day). I figure if Mr. DRL gets two Father's Days (one on Sunday, then Brazilian Father's Day which is in August), two Valentine's Days is fair game.

Although Mr. DRL did a great job getting some lovely treats for both Canadoca and I, I received the best gift he ever could have gotten me was the night before...

Just before bed, I asked him in passing when Dia Dos Namorados was, as I wasn't sure of the date. I knew, however, that it was close, the displays in the stores are unavoidable of course. He ducked and grinned and avoided eye contact, cleared his throat, saying: "Uh, I think sometime in July..." I immediately knew something was up, and figured it must be close!

The next morning he woke me up with gifts. Which I completely appreciated, don't get me wrong! However, the best gift that my husband could ever give me, I had already received the previous night: proof/validation that he is a really bad liar.

Anyone do anything fun to celebrate?

Picnic

It's amazing how in Rio, a person can see so much just going to the lagoa for 45 minutes for a picnic. I doubt highly that there is a better place to people-watch than Rio de Janeiro.

The highlights:

A cute little CHUBBY boy rubbing his stomach, looking at the ice cream cart saying "Que delicio!" I wish I had it on video... so cute.

Brazilians playing baseball. There is no way to accurately describe it, you must see it for yourself.

A wide variety of smells. Sometimes they would change as often as every three steps ago.

Vehicles on the bike path - ranging from everything from roller blades to bikes to bikes for two to bikes for four to skateboards to skateboards with super-big wheels to every variety and brand of stroller on the market to wagons and mini-cars for kids to foot.

A parrot!

Great Lunch Spot!

The other day, after a long walk through Jardim Botanico, a group of us went for lunch here: Da Graca

Here, R$15 gets you a fantastic lunch - delicious grilled chicken, fish or filet mignon with salad, potatoes, rice and beans and it was fantastic. GO!

Babymoon part II

I had promised to write up my stay in Florianopolis/Santa Caterina awhile back, finally I am getting to it!

First of all, I would just like to say that if you have a week to do a sidetrip from Rio, I highly recommend this Buenos Aires/Florianopolis combo that we did. We felt as though we'd "travelled" ie) explored a new city, and "vacationed" - relaxing in Floripa, all in one week.  A full week of doing either would be "too much" in my opinion, so this was fantastic.

I was a bit confused when we started booking our trip - were we going to Florianopolis, Santa Caterina, or Floripa? All three... SC is the state, Florianopolis is the main city on the island, Floripa is the nickname. I had at some point made notes to visit all three - recommended by different people - so it was nice to kill three birds with one stone ;)

We flew into Florianopolis at night, and really did not experience any of the city as we immediately headed out to our Pousada. It was about a R$100 cab ride from the airport.  In hindsight, renting a car from the airport would have been a better option for us, but I will get to that later...

We stayed at the Pousada da Vigia on the north end of the island.  We were absolutely THRILLED with the service we received there, and with our accomodations. They were sooo great. Even let me order off the kids menu :)

In our room.

We enjoyed our resort SO MUCH. It was small, just 10 rooms, a governor's mansion converted into a hotel. Below is the view from our room.

The restaurant was overlooking the ocean and we enjoyed all of our dinners there listening to chill music (a lot of Sade) and the crash of the waves.   How could you help but relax?

We spent many afternoons on this patio (above) listening to the waves, reading, playing scrabble, enjoying lunch...

The water was so peaceful, clear and calm - great for floating.

Each day at 12:30, the peace and tranquility of Lagoinha beach, where we were staying, was temporarily disrupted by "the pirate boat" - which we figured was either inhabited by 

a) the severely, permanently intoxicated or 

b) actual pirates threatening passengers to "walk the plank" if they didn't keep up with their dance moves, or 

c) a hypnotist show. 

Either way, those pirates had everyone moving!

 On Saturday we decided to venture out and do a scuba/snorkel tour of Arvoredo Island,  a nature reserve located off the north coast of the island of Santa Caterina.  Obviously Mr. DRL did the diving, I stuck to snorkeling.  I was a bit nervous about him diving as it had been 2 years since his last dive but was very relieved when one of the dive masters spoke perfect English.  All he really needed was a 5 minute refresher but as we often say, there are certain things where you can't afford to have misunderstandings with language barriers! It was muito tranquilo.

The boat ride out to the island was about an hour.

After the scuba trip we spent some time "in town" at Canasvieiras beach, but quickly realized we were not missing much back at our isolated little spot... but enjoyed lunch there nevertheless.

It seemed we parked right in front of the beach's "geriatric" ward... looked around for the senior's center but couldn't see it:
  A storm seemed to be rolling in but it blew over quickly. Made for some great shots though!

After lunch, we embarked on another adventure that is deserving of another separate blog post. I am not yet sure how that story ends though as I am still dealing with some of the repurcussions today, so I will save it (nothing too bad just a company we were dealing with, etc.). I don't want to ruin the tranquility of this post so I will keep it separate.

We enjoyed every moment in Florianopolis, we realize we did not see much of what the island is all about, being up in our little isolated corner, but for our purposes we didn't mind. We read, spent time together, named our baby, walked the beach, swam, ate, and soaked up every moment. It was the most relaxing few days we'd had in quite a while!

Sunga Style

Although you can't see it nearly clearly enough in this photo, this fellow is sporting quite the combo of looks. Runners, a sunga, and a FANNY PACK. I wish you could see the fanny pack more clearly, really I do. But it felt awkward enough to be pretending to "check a text message" on my phone with it faced in his direction at this distance... 

Girls on the Beach

This is a shallow attempt to retain some male readership who are likely getting a bit sick of the "baby coverage"...

Survey says...

I would like to do an informal survey of expats here in Rio, to provide some info and insight and different perspective to the blog. Recently I made a page on the blog about things that were hard to find in Rio and it seemed to be a hit, the expats I knew were willing to share trade secrets which was great.

If you are an expat living in Rio and interested in participating, either send me your email address to dailyriolife at gmail dot com, or in the comments section of this post. If you are an expat in Rio I am already in touch with, I already plan to send the survey to you once I get it all figured out ;)

All others: what are you interested in learning about expats in Rio? What questions would you like answered? Leave your suggestions for survey content in the comments section.

Thanks!

Unexpected Gestures

Sometimes it is the little things that mean a lot. Although there are times when cultures clash a bit and I notice the lack of little niceties, many of the ways Brazilians show manners blow our North American PC-ness out of the water and show real, authentic concern for others rather than just "manners". Here is an example.

This weekend, I went to get my nails done at a hair and asthetics place near my apartment.  I had to wait between 5 and 10 minutes to do so. I stood by the door and waited, as the only two seats were occupied by a couple in their teens. I thought NOTHING of this. When they got up to go to their appointments, I then sat down in one of the chairs. A few seconds later, the male half of the couple, who could not possibly have been older than 17, came over to me and started apologizing profusely, saying he did not previously notice me there and felt terrible for not having offered me his chair to sit in before.  Call me crazy, but I can't think of many 17-ish year old boys back home who would make such a fuss about this.  It was very sweet.

I am constantly amazed by the treatment I have been getting here while pregnant - in fact Mr. DRL has joked that we need to get ahold of a prosthetic bump for me to wear after I've given birth, as the pregnancy gives us preferred service almost everywhere.  Front of the line for cabs at the airport, seating on planes, special lines at the bank, grocery store and post office. The real clincher was last weekend when we got into Sushi Leblon within 10 minutes of arriving without a reservation (others were being quoted an hour). Apparently there is some sort of law about giving the pregnant preferential treatment. I don't really need it but I'll take it! Especially at Sushi Leblon...

What Good Health is Worth

I have been meaning to do a post for some time now on what the costs of certain treatments for different ailments have been in our experience here in Rio. I find it to be unpredictable and often shocking. It's a good idea to keep cash in the country in case you need, well, as you'll see below - some bloodwork done!  (A "good to know" - most places do NOT take Visa. Sao Vicente Hospital in Gavea does however and they have a lab there as well.)

• For example, when I was taken to Emergency in Copa D'Or for an anaphylactic reaction and I feel my life was saved by the treatment I received, it cost a mere R$180.
• The above struck me as particularly odd being that treatment for a routine urinary tract infection cost R$650 (Doctor's appointment, tests and prescription).
• An overnight ER visit by Mr. DRL for severe vomiting and convulsions a few months ago cost R$2,700 (but included the visit, some antibiotics, tests including an ultrasound and a CT scan). 
• Prenatal visits are $R300 a pop, and ultrasounds vary between R$180 and R$350, depending on which tests are ordered. 
• Blood tests are very expensive. I have paid up to R$2,000 for a set of bloodwork (and I have had to do about 5 or 6 sets of it over the course of my pregnancy). Luckily my insurance now pays for this directly!
• Physiotherapy/massage appointments have ranged between R$100 and R$130 and generally last at least an hour.
• The projected cost for the birth of my baby is R$13,000 which includes 2 obstetricians in the room at all times, a personal anaesthesiologist, and pediatrician.  The cost would not change if it were to be C-section.
• Here's another funny one - over the counter pregnancy tests vary in price but I generally paid about R$30 for them. A pregnancy test - blood test - at the Sergio Franco clinic costs R$20.  Also note that some of my at-home pregnancy tests were WRONG thus the number of TESTS plural that I had to take.

I would like to note that our medical insurance does cover these costs but in a lot of cases we have had to pay up front and be reimbursed later. We started off down here insured with an international healthcare plan for expats but found the paperwork quite overwhelming - ALSO there was some fine print in our policy, specifically we were not covered for a pregnancy unless the baby was conceived at least one year after the insurance policy had been in place. Oops.

Now we are insured with Bradesco here in Brazil, and so in many cases we do not have to pay up front if the place handles it directly, however others do not and in these cases we have to pay up front and submit later. For example the lab takes our insurance but my doctor, ultrasound technician, hospital, massage/physio, etc. do not.

Another note: there may be more cost-effective healthcare available, admittedly we tend to go to places that are highly rated - in search of "pristine" healthcare as one of my commenters put it.

Just something for expats to think about...

 

More Wonders of Brazil than Anyone Ever Could Have Imagined...

Such as...

• A woman with no fingerprints - check it out on Eyes on Brazil.
• A town of twins, supposedly naturally-occurring (38 pairs of twins in a town of 80 families) - in a small German-speaking Brazilian area, see the story here.  Sidenote - pair or pairs?
• Back to tudobeleza at Eyes in Brazil to read about Recife, where there are 12 women to every man!?
• Double digit interest rates.

And finally, the Backstreet Boys eating chicken hearts at a churrascaria in Sao Paulo.  Wonders surely will never cease.

Expats + The Recession

So... how are expats affected by the recession?

Well, it depends on the expat. In our situation, we feel pretty well-positioned. For the time being my husband has job security in that he has a contract for at least the next year, yes our portfolio has taken a hit, but we're young, yes his company recently went through a bit of turmoil but it is weathering the storm.  He makes US dollars and so the weakening of the Canadian dollar is good for us (and good for exporters and most of Canada, too).  Our living costs are covered, so fluctuations are not an issue... we feel very lucky. That said, my husband has worked VERY hard and continues to do so. One item we may potentially be affected by in a big way is our home in Canada - we decided to keep it, and my sister and her boyfriend are currently living in it. We said right from the start that we probably would not move back into it once we repatriate, as we may even change cities.  We'd decide then what to do, it is in a very desirable area so renting it out could be a good option.  Now with the baby coming, moving back into it is looking even less likely.  We do like having our stuff stored there and cared for and it is certainly convenient to stay there when we are visiting Canada, also my sister has a great place to live at a significantly lower cost to her than she would find anywhere else.  However, being that it was probably worth at least $100,000 more when we left than it is today, we probably should have sold it!

This week there was an article in the Independent (UK) entitled "Move Abroad to Beat the Recession Blues" - encouraging Brits to move abroad. Interestingly enough, Brazil was the first destination mentioned in the article. Other recommended locales: New Zealand, China, Malaysia, Abu Dabi, Qatar. The article also features a "where not to go" - Spain, Australia & Dubai. I love how articles like this just make it sound so easy. I can see why this article came to be, though. It's tough to beat the expat lifestyle right now.

However, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Other expats are not as lucky.  Some projects are being shut down due to cost cutting, and people are being sent home. It is not surprising, as expats are very expensive for companies. I often joke that shareholders should be enraged, then I am reminded on a daily basis of why we are all here when I hear stories from the offices...

The International Herald Tribune recently published an article about expats in the banking industry losing their jobs and being forced to return home.  The article discusses the trickle effect of losing these expats, for example the impact on private schools, as this is a very common perk in expat packages - private schools for children. In many cases where an ex-pat loses employment, they cannot afford to stay in their city as the cost of living is simply too high once they are paying for their own costs. This would certainly be the case for us!

So expats, what do you have to say? How is the recession affecting you? Do you feel more affected or less affected than you would back home? How so? Are you like me and sorry you didn't sell your house back home???

They say it's the little things...

that count. It's true. 

Brazilians are really great at showing consideration when it comes to those little extras. Recent examples I've encountered that I'd like to share:

- At the very busy grocery store, a woman gestures to me (I'm quite clearly pregnant now at this point) to go to what I thought was the special line.  I realize that I didn't understand her properly a few minutes later when she comes over, taps me on the shoulder and gestures for me to come back to her line and go ahead of her.  So sweet.
- In my building, when I walk over to the bicycle storage to pull out my bike, the porteira leaps in front of me and gets it out then insists on washing down my seat and handle bars before I rode away (it had been awhile since I'd been on the bike...)
- At the gas station, I pull in to refill my bicycle tires with air, and a fellow who was doing the same just automatically does mine for me once he finishes with his own.  My little cover for the air insert hole (nice vocab, huh?) keeps falling off into this puddle of oil, mud and who knows what else, and he keeps fishing it out and trying to put it back on...
- Anywhere you go - purchases are beautifully gift wrapped for you, free of charge.
- Most restaurants in Rio - chairs are pulled out, doors opened, service is so good.

Others I've already written about - the car wash/gas station situation, etc.

Our one year ANNIVERSARY

Today marks one year since our arrival in Brazil.

Mr. DRL and I chatted briefly about this before he left for work this morning - and how quickly a year has gone. 

Things that surprised us in our first year:
- How long it takes to get settled! At first when we decided to come, we thought it would be for one year. Then it became two. I am starting to think the ultimate ex-pat assignment is three years as it really takes a full year to get adjusted/settled/comfortable, then if you move home after a total of two years, much of year 2 is spent preparing for the move back home.  The three year plan allows for a bit of breathing room and fun in between.
- How fast it went!
- How homesick we weren't. Seriously with all of our visitors not to mention an extra trip home, I have felt homesick about once.  And I am pretty sure it was pregnancy hormones.
- How few Brazilian friends we have made.  Although - we are seeing a bit of progress with this - I think having a baby helps...  This is actually a big deal as we have not much mixed with the locals and honestly have found that to be very tough!
- How much Rio really feels like home.
- How little we have gone to the beach.  We're working on that though, too.
- How amazing my headstand has gotten. Yes, even at this stage of pregnancy!
- How fast we adapted to the beachwear.
- How addicted we've become to acai... okay was not a surprise.
- How little trouble we've found ourselves in - one whole year in Rio without much of a safety incident and with all those visitors.  Yay! (A cautious yay).
- How many of our friends and family back home have come to see us!
- How difficult it is to get things done/secure vendors/make repairs... and how frequently everything breaks down.
- How NOT fluent our Portuguese is.  Yes, we certainly get by, but we both have a lot to improve on.
- How few pairs of shoes I've purchased! Seriously I have probably only purchased about 5 pairs of actual SHOES since I have been here (okay and a dozen or so pair of havaiana's) which is shocking considering that I bought 13 on my visit to Brazil.
- A surprise pregnancy! WoW... probably the biggest surprise of all...

Monday Night at the Sambodromo

We scored some pretty sweet tickets (in a box) for Monday night. Which was the ideal way to watch the show for this "gestante" (prego). The only drunk sweaty person I had to worry about rubbing up against me, well I'm married to him... haha!

The service was pretty good - we had a fridge fully stocked with beer, wine, champagne, agua de coco, water, carbonated water, various soft drinks, etc.  The food kept coming all night long - sushi, fruit platters, salgados, pizza... kept us going, that's for sure!

We also had our own private bartender who would make drinks, etc.  Mr. DRL enjoyed many a caipiabacaxi... (pinapple caipi).

My favorite performance on Monday night by far was Portela.  That said, we missed the first parade. Not only for this reason, but partially because the driver (who had been waiting outside our door for THREE hours before our scheduled pick-up time) had no idea how to get to the Sambodromo.  Is it just me or if a person had three hours to kill before their one task they needed to complete for the night, might it occur to them to take 5 minutes to ensure they would be able to execute that task correctly? Like, I don't know, glance at a map? Unreal!  haha....

Here are some photos from the shows. One of my girlfriends described it as a "feast for the senses" and I can't think of a better way to put it. I swear that my eyes were sore yesterday (more likely from sheer exhaustion but...) from looking at all the beautiful colors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is a photo to keep the men coming back to the blog - some good old Brazilian T&A for you. Hopefully this makes up for all the baby posts?

 

 

More eye candy... I hope I am scoring some good bonus points here for all of this Brazilian booty!

 

 

 

Loved the mermaids!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This wolf was a BIG HIT with our crowd

 

 

 

Loved these birds! They were very well-choreographed!

 

 

Shout out to Canada! Check out the maple leaves...

 

I don't know who this girl is (above) but she is a big deal, judging by how many paparazzi were on her while she was dancing!

Portela had a focus on technology  - as seen above & below

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed it!

Free ride, courtesy of NET?

They've been set up on Ipanema/Leblon beach lately. Haven't noticed any takers yet but with my swollen feet some days it's tempting!

Postos Ipiranga

It's pathetic but true - we first picked up our vehicle back in October (remember Mr. DRL's big drive from Sergipe?) but had not washed it once until about 2 weeks ago.  Every time we'd be driving somewhere on the weekend, Mr. DRL would be on the lookout for car washes but we were astonished by how frequently we were told the car wash was closed, not operational, whatever, when we'd finally find one. Suspect, actually... sometimes it is not a wonder why the economy has faced problems here... But hey if you don't want to wash cars....

So the car went unwashed for a long time. We knew we could always have the porteira do it, but it is infrequent that he is working while the car is there, except on Saturdays. We figured we'd get around to it.

A couple of weeks ago we were cruising through Gavea on the way home and pulled into the Ipiranga service station and asked where the nearest carwash was. Right here, the guy said - we'll do it! We were initially like no, it's okay, but within seconds 15 or so guys were working away scrubbing the SUV off. They did an amazing job. Once finished, we asked how much, and they didn't even want to charge us.

Talk about interesting - tons of places with carwash facilities that don't want to wash your car, then these guys who are as eager as Canadian beavers... Brazil truly is the land of extremes.

We have them R$20 and were on our way, and pleased as punch.

Yesterday we went to Barra and stopped at the Ipiranga beside Barra Gardens, where there is a carwash.  To have our car completely cleaned and basically detailed inside and out, leaving it literally shining (again at least 8 guys working on it) was $R16.  My husband is still in shock...

Anyway so once you find a good car wash - keep it in mind as they are hard to come by but a steal of a deal once you do!

Catching Up

Ok so I have been pretty much the worst blogger ever lately. Sorry! I'm back, I promise.

Before I get into my trip, etc. I will catch up on a couple of posts I had "in the cache" before I left...

I normally blog even when travelling, or blog a lot ahead of time, but my computer was acting up, I was busy, and well, you know...

Anyway here is a unique way to advertise to a captive, moneyed audience on the Lagoa....

Porcao is the place for kids

Having visitors with two young children has opened my eyes in many ways to what life is like in Brazil with kids. More specifically, how kids are received here. It's much better than in North America, I'll tell you that!

For example, here, walking into a fine dining restaurant with two kids under three - no one flinches. My girlfriend who is visiting and I find this so funny because back home there is a chain called "Earl's" which fancies itself to be upscale but in reality it's just a place to grab a bite. At the location we would go to, they really don't cater to kids, it's impossible to get a booster seat even, and the official "line" of the restaurant is that it's not as though they don't like kids, they just don't do anything for them. O---kay.

Then there's Brazil....
We've taken the kids to Carlota and Sawasdee in Leblon and were treated exactly as we would have been without the kids.

We took them to Porcao and my goodness it is a parent's paradise...
The servers (all male) were all over the kids, lifting the 2 yr old in and out of the highchair, feeding the baby her bottle (see photo below). In fact at one point when the baby had less than oh, six or so, adoring (all male) admirers doting on her she pitched a fit. Pretty funny!

I like how men feel more comfortable to reach out to kids here. I think in North American society there is such concern about pedophiles that it has made men scared to even show that they like little kids in a lot of places. For example, men won't come up to strangers with babies to say hi to the baby, whereas here you can't go anywhere without it happening. Some people may find this creepy, I find it helpful even! It's help keeping the kids entertained!

Here are some photos of Porcao...

More notes on Porcao - the servers also cut up the meat for the two year old, and there is a supervised play area where people can drop their kids off... WOW.

Highlights of 2008

Wow what a way to bring in the new year... Copacabana was PACKED, and the energy there was soooo intense. But in a peaceful, very fun loving way. Our night could not have gone more smoothly, from the dinner to our driver (he got us WITHIN ONE BLOCK of our party which is damn near impossible I must say!) to the babysitting of our guest's kids... what a night!

Despite all the turmoil that 2008 brought to so many people and their bank accounts, I was a bit sad to see it go! It was truly a fantastic year for me... some highlights:

• The opportunity to live abroad, learn a language (and a lot about ourselves!) and meet many interesting people.
• A fantastic trip back home to Canada this summer where we were able to celebrate my mom’s 50th Birthday – even managing to surprise her! We took part in other milestones and celebrations with friends, and welcomed our beautiful new niece to the family.
• Opportunities to travel within South America (Argentina) and our new home of Brazil.  We traveled to Iguazu falls, Petropolis, Angra dos Reis, Paraty, Buzios (ok maybe a few times there...) and Vittoria.
• Many visitors to the Casa DRL in Rio! Family friends, my dad & uncle, good friends, my in-laws, more good friends, my mom & sister, and then some more good friends!  And my house is still VERY full!
• The biggest shocker of all – a baby, who we expect to make an appearance here in Rio in May!

Wow, what a year!

Here are some photos of Copacabana on New Year's Eve.
What a display!
I've read a few different news reports on how things went in Copacabana but it seemed so peaceful and safe. We went down to the water to throw roses in for luck in 2009, and I had no problem taking my mom down there, it felt very secure. According to some of the news reports there were 3 shootings but no fatalities, which I thought was pretty good! According to one news report... "steady rain failed to deter" the 2 million revellers... uh yeah I'd call that lazy journalism at it's finest. Definitely no steady rain, sweetie! It sprinkled a tad, but not when I was outside! The international forecasts for Rio are generally WRONG, and someone must have checked it rather than just asking someone who was actually there...

So in 2009, don't bother with the forecast! That is my new year's resolution!

Copacabana New Years!

I'll be on Copacabana tonight for the fireworks display and so on... it's one of the top destinations in the world for New Year's.... check this out and this and this...
I will post some photos!

Happy New Year Everyone!

A Very Zona Sul Christmas

One of my favorite memories with my nephew was about two years ago when he was two years old. He had slept over at our house just after Christmas (and Auntie gave him one too many mint flavored chocolates and he "gurfed" on the floor - his word, not mine... "Auntie I gurfed"... minty gurf... ok not the favorite memory I was talking about but I am getting there... ) and that year my father in law had given us this beautiful Father Christmas which stood just a bit taller than our nephew at the time.  He thought it was the greatest thing ever.

Fast forward to May, which happened to be the next time that a get-together happened at our house.  He walked in the door and exclaimed: "Where's SANTA?" He thought Santa lived at our house? Now it was my turn to think that it was the greatest thing ever.  Needless to say I didn't have the heart to tell him that Santa was in a box in the basement, rather just said he'd be back at Christmas time.

Kids HERE, in Rio, must think that Santa resides at our neighbourhood supermarket, Zona Sul... here are some photos of how far the Christmas decorating has gone. I'm particularly a fan of the little carts with reindeer on them...

Santa sure rolls a little differently in Rio!

Plataforma

Every group of my visitors luckily does something slightly different. It keeps me sane! One group and I went to the show at Plataforma one night...

The guidebooks I've seen all feature Plataforma in them, don't really recommend it and call it a tourist trap, but fail to recommend an alternate place where you can see the same variety of Brazilian dancing.

I agree with the guidebooks on the point that it is a bit pricey -$130 per ticket- and also admittedly a bit cheesy, but being that I don't personally know of another show where one can take in an evening of samba, capoeira, fantastic carnival costumes and bahian dancing, I would still recommend it to someone who is looking for an evening of Brazilian entertainment.  But maybe suggesting alternatives is something my readers can help me out with?

I did not eat there (they have a churrascaria) but have been told by Brazilians that it is very good.

The costumes...
Our male guest commented that he had paid more to see a lot less in Vegas!  (In the T&A department). In fact, one of the costumes the girls wore featured a bra sort of thing that only really covered the nipples (with little, pink round sparkly pieces)...

The best part of the show in my opinion was the Capoeira (below). The demo was very impressive.

This pic is pretty blurry but shows one of the many amazing carnival costumes which are part of the grand finale. 

The funniest part of the night? A toss-up between this guy who did an act with a whip sort of thing that was so macho and needed his ego fed so badly that he really spurred on the crowd (in a funny, fantastic, amusing, entertaining way!), and the part where they try to get some audience interaction by surveying the crowd on which country they were from, then invited each well-represented country to come up and do a little song and dance.  The night we were there the people from France and Puerto Rico were especially entertaining.  A big group of French people got up and did sort of a big congo/can-can number while the representative from Puerto Rico was an older gentleman who was obviously quite intoxicated and got up, grabbed the mic and sang a long song.  Oh and by the way, we were not totally sure he was actually from Puerto Rico because we had already noticed him earlier when he kept putting his hand up for pretty much every single surveyed question (of which country we were all from)...  It was great. I loved the audience interaction part because it reminded us how many different countries were all being represented in the same room rather than just being "the audience"... pretty cool.

Plataforma is in Leblon, Rua Adalberto Ferreira, 32  Tel: 2274.4022

Lagoa Lighting

Last night we and our guests from Canada were fortunate to be invited to two lovely parties celebrating the lighting of the Christmas tree on the lagoa.  We had a front row seat to all of the action, a gorgeous view, and waiters in tails at both places catering to our every whim. Even better for us - both parties were in the same building - how convenient is that? It was fantastic!

The lighting was accompanied by two fantastic fireworks displays and ironically it was the first time our guests caught a glimpse of the Corcovado in the background, despite being in Rio for the better part of a week. (A big moment! We sat at Parque Lage yesterday for about half an hour, watching the clouds and hoping for them to lift... but I guess they were meant to see it for the first time amidst the excitement of last night).

So a night of dancing (one of the parties had a singer who was fantastic), drinking (both bars served up every kind of caiprhina known to man), great food, fantastic company and the cutest little parting gifts I have ever seen - wrapped up chocolate heart cakes for all.  I may have eaten mine for breakfast this morning...

A girl could really get used to this expat life in Rio if this is how everyone rolls...

The Christmas tree will now be lit every night and there will be fireworks & music every Saturday.

Why Don't We Have This Back Home?

Or, if we do, why haven't I found it? And more importantly, where can I find it?
What on earth IS "it", might you ask?

Canela sorvete or cinnamon ice cream. I hadn't ever experienced this little treat prior to coming to Brazil but now thanks to Via Sete among other hot spots, I am now familiar.  Try it, it's delicious, and cinnamon is known to help steady blood sugar levels (important for hypoglycemics like me!)

The Shoe of the Day

Ok, so I am not going to start a regular daily "shoe of the day" entry but just the same here is today's cute shoe. I get a lot of hits stemming from inquiries about Brazilian shoes so I must satisfy the curiousity of some of my readers with the odd hot Brazilian shoe pic.

 I saw these last week in Ipanema at Foot Feet and thought they were fantastic. Probably not all that comfortable, but fantastic all the same.

Timing is Everything

Most of our experiences in life are all about timing. Our experience in finding a new doctor the other day was no exception.

We do have the names of a few doctors, recommendations from friends and my husband's office.  However, none of them had any openings anytime soon, and Mr. DRL had been quite sick for almost a week, so I decided it was time to go to see a doctor, appointment or not.

My one idea of where to start this process was the "CoTrauma" office on Autalfa de Paiva, I figured if they didn't have a walk-in clinic of sorts, they would be able to at least point us in the right direction.  Which they did, to a huge building about a block away with the names of about 100 doctors on the directory, but we couldn't discern which one might be a) a general practitioner and b) available.  In strolls a fellow who speaks English, asks us if he can help, and says yes I know just the person! Oh! There he is now, cutting through the lobby.  The man went up to the doctor and explained our situation, and within 15 minutes my husband was being treated by a Harvard educated doctor who spoke perfect English.  We are more than willing to do most things in Portuguese (or at least try) but when it comes to health matters, it is really nice if there are no misunderstandings.  Understanding 80% of a conversation is just not enough when it is about your health!

It was a good thing we went to see this doctor because Mr. DRL had such severe bronchitis by this point that the Dr. was concerned it might develop into pneumonia! Now, almost a week later, he is as good as new.  Plus now he has a favorite new doctor with a convenient location who is seemingly easy to get an appointment with!

So as much as I write about the occasions in Brazil when things don't work out, I thought that I should dedicate some space to showing how it often does work out.  No, it's not as interesting or as funny or entertaining but it is also nice to know there are people who are willing to drop everything to help us in a moment's notice and in some ways living here can be more convenient than back home (we particularly are enjoying the medical system here...)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian readers (all, about 8 of you... the stats on readers from Canada are kinda hurting and starting to make me wonder if my own mother even reads my blog.... haha! Let's see if she comments, shall we... )  For the much bigger group of American readers, yes, in case you were wondering, Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving in October on the same weekend you celebrate Columbus Day.  Not totally sure why we celebrate it earlier but I think it might have to do with it being much colder there and therefore crops being pulled in earlier? Just a guess!

This year we have so much to be thankful for, such as:

• Living in beautiful RIO which was actually sunny and gorgeous this weekend
• Having great friends to celebrate with! Including some who contributed to our feast without even being able to attend.  We are spoiled!
• Health, happiness and senses of humour...
• Quite possibly the best turkey dinner I've ever made (Yes I found turkeys at Sendas - in the frozen food section NOT the meat section, fantastic turkey!)...
• Our many friends & family who are making the long trek to Brazil to visit in the coming weeks.

Thanksgiving in Rio was fantastic! I highly recommend it.

Things I missed

I was home in Canada for several weeks this summer.  While there, I missed many things about our life in Brazil and looked forward to returning to:

• Eating acai (the only place I've ever seen it in Canada is at Jugo & Booster Juice shops and it is definitely not the same...)
• Spending time walking around the city alone (I don't think I was alone & awake for longer than an hour at any given time when I was home)
• Time alone with my husband (it was scarce when I was home - also we were apart for a few weeks.  Plus we had 3 people staying with us for the three weeks before I left...)
• Getting set up for all of our visitors (have you seen my vacation calendar of scheduled visitors???)
• The beautiful views and beach
• Walking on the beach (why oh why don't I do that more often?)
• The JUICE (full of fibre as they use the whole fruit, preservative free so you gotta drink the whole thing and not feel guilty otherwise tomorrow it's no good at all!)
• My workout & yoga routine (we go to the gym at least twice a week with friends and I am now practicing yoga three times a week as well)
• Cooking for myself and eating vegetables (I may have eaten a giant slab of my mother's to-die-for carrot cake with cream cheese icing while home... and a lot of late night pizza as well)
• Seeing our Rio friends
• Warmth (it SNOWED in Canada in August... nice.)
• Walking everywhere - oh how I love this in Rio.

Art

One of the best things to buy in Rio is ART! There are sooo many amazing artists here.  It is extremely reasonably priced. Our favorite easy-peasy places to browse art are the Hippie Fair in Ipanema on Sunday's, and the Copacabana art market on Avenida Atlantica on Saturday evenings. Santa Teresa is full of beautiful galleries as well.

Here are the pieces we've acquired so far since arriving in Rio.  We need desperately to buy more to hide our ugly white walls!

South American Sara and I have almost the same painting - (below) I saw it on her blog recently... too funny.

Rio is like a box of chocolates...

And as this blog post proves... you never quite know what you're going to get!

Build A Bear: The Brazilian Version

Build- A - Bear in North America is a great little company - kids go in and choose their own bear and get to build him or her, insert a heart, insert a voice box with a special message or multiple voice boxes, give them a bath, choose an outfit, create a birth certificate, and more!  So cute, and a great way to spend a memorable afternoon.  Before we moved, we went with our nephew and made one for him and one for us, such a fun morning.

Brazil has its own version of Build-A-Bear, it's called Animaland or Animalandia, and I would argue its business model is much more efficient than its North American counterpart, particularly from an "overhead" perspective.  Build-A-Bear is situated in shopping malls where it generally has large stores, Animaland is set up as kiosks in the mall where patrons move around the kiosks to the different stations (stuffing, accessories, etc.)

Here, Animaland also features a scent station for the stuffies. 

Iguazu: The Views from the Argentinian Side

Without further adieu, the views of Iguazu.

From the Argentinian side:

 

 

What I forgot to mention about my summer vacation..

...is that we experienced every weather system imaginable.
Yes, it SNOWED.  On the last Sunday we were there (the day we had a wedding to attend. An outdoor wedding without a backup plan I might add! Which still was just the most amazing wedding ever but I digress).

When this happens at an unseasonable time in Canada, the radio announcers think that it is hysterical to play Christmas music.

It also rained the entire time I was at the lake :) haha.

So again, to reiterate, yes it is muito friio in Canada.  Don't I know it now...

Humidity

Is something we need to create for ourselves rather than deal with...

Mr. DRL generally does not enjoy humidity and claims he can even feel the water building up in his lungs which surely must lead to some sort of deadly pneumonia or jungle virus.  So I almost fell over when he asked me if I might be able to locate the humidifier for him last night and run it (his first night back in our home in Canada - his trip getting here is a blog post yet to come...)

Clearly this is one of the most minor changes we are realizing about ourselves, I guess you don't notice how you've changed until you go back home...

Brazil's Olympic Hero

I generally don't get too into the whole "Olympics" thing but this post is in honor of the beginning of the Olympics.  T his year I will be paying attention to this fellow, as I think he is the definition of underdog.  And I like to see the underdog win!

Diego Hypolito, 21, just recovered from arthroscopic surgery on his knee, and dengue fever.  He shares his training facilities in Flamengo with cats and kids, and trains for 12 hours per day (7 hours of training followed by 5 hours of physiotherapy)...

I think everyone should cheer this guy on, even if you have no connection whatsoever to Brazil!

Oi oi oy

Based on my personal experience with Oi and their service or lack thereof, I will go out on a limb and leap to the conclusion that they are getting in way over their head with this one but, hey just an opinion.  Other than that, news about yet another industry in Brazil going through deregulation. 

(Brazil's telecommunications regulator approved changes to allow telecom groups to hold two separate concessions).  This could then allow Oi to complete its planned takeover of Brasil Telecom.   

According to Reuter's, the combined new company would then control 70% percent of Brazil's land-line market, nearly 20% the wireless, and 40 percent of broadband Internet services.

Personally based on the lack of service I've received, I think Oi has already bitten off far more than it can chew, but...