Daily Life in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

My Houston Recommendations

Flying through Houston on a regular basis, I have come up with a few recommendations to pass on:

1) The Hotel Granduca - located close to the Galleria Shopping Centre and is just generally a beautiful property. We stayed there in February, here are some photos of our room.

 

2) In the Houston airport there is this place called the Real Food Company - great stuff, wireless internet - loved it. Hard to find decent airport food usually....

Putting the the "Canad" in the Canadoca

Mr. DRL's aunt sent Canadoca a very cute little bit of Canadiana couture. I think it may have brought us luck!

If all went well, the Canadoca are currently somewhere over Brazil, flying back to Canada. And yes, she's probably about to actually be COLD for the first time in her life.

How did this turn of events come about?

No, we still do not have a Brazilian passport for her. However, there has been some sort of policy change with the Federal Police and a birth certificate and Canadian passport will suffice. Typing this is a bit tough being that my fingers are crossed that this works...

In order to see as many of the VIPs in our life, Canadoca and I are spending time in Calgary, the interior of BC, Vancouver and Vancouver Island.

I am obviously THRILLED to be going home but there are a million emotions running through my system about this trip, for many reasons.

• Firstly, it is my first time flying since the Air France crash. Losing two friends in this crash changed my outlook on flying, and really, life in general. I am also a bit nervous about flying over potential bad weather systems, given the recent incident Continental has. 
• It's Canadoca's first time on a plane and I will be alone with her! Mr. DRL is not joining us. Which means he will also not be there when his family sees Canadoca for the first time, which saddens me. I am also anticipating that almost 3 weeks without his baby girl is going to be very hard on Mr. DRL....
• I am sure that having her meet our friends and family will be soooo incredible but part of it is so sad for me too because I know how difficult the goodbyes are going to be. So I am trying to just focus on the hello's. :)
• Frustration is also an emotion I am feeling, as I am being pulled in a million different directions to satisfy everyone's need to have time with her. I hate feeling like I am hurting people, and am a pleaser, trying to accomodate people and make them happy. The way I see it, basically every moment I spend with everyone is a moment someone else does not get with her. I understand where everyone is coming from and want to give them the time they want, but some people are making this easier/more difficult on me than others. I have a lot of "expat guilt" about depriving people back home of time with my daughter since we live so far away.

Upon returning (assuming I got to leave), Mr. DRL and Canadoca and I are heading to Peru and Chile for our first family holiday. In the meantime, enjoy some regularly scheduled posts that I have been frantically pulling together while Canadoca "naps"...  and I'll be checking in from time to time to moderate comments. 

The FIRM

Just had to share this little story with you...

Many of my friends and acquaintances work for a company that I will only refer to as "The Firm".

In my opinion, The Firm controls a few too many details of their lives, mostly disguised as perks (mortgages, invasive medical exams, drivers who monitor and restrict their movements, safety training that scares the heck out of people, and rules rules rules). Don't get me wrong, some of these things are incredibly nice and convenient and I have certainly appreciated when I've benefited from my friends' situations, but the reality for them is that there are times when they come at a cost (mostly privacy).

The Firm has a policy for everything, and from what my friends tell me, there is very little deviation from the policies. Meaning, every situation is not handled individually, with a brain.

My example: a friend came to Rio to live in temporary housing (which is another story altogether... after living here much longer than a year she and her husband, daughter and large dog are still in cramped temporary furnished housing, simply because they were not initially intended to be here longer than a year... as per the Firm's policies, can't make an exception...) which meant she was not sending a shipment of furniture. Her family did, however, want to have bicycles in Rio. Shipments = expensive. Our friends suggested to the company that perhaps it would be more cost effective to just purchase them some bikes (which could then be company property, or whatever). Instead, the Firm shipped their three bikes in a container which cost $5,000.

I realize that to buy the family bikes could have set a precedent that could get out of control, but personally I think this is the kind of stuff that should make shareholders livid. I could give endless examples. Expats are NOT cheap.

Mr. DRL works for a small company and we are the only expats. There are benefits and drawbacks to this. The benefits are that the expat policy is basically nonexistant so we make it up as we go and as needs arise. The drawbacks are that there are very limited resources for us, but that has meant we've just had to get resourceful ourselves!

Flying to Brazil these days....

doesn't seem so fun. Maybe it is not such a bad thing that Canadoca and I are stuck here!

This week alone there have been three disconcerning incidents:

1) A 15 year old girl died in-flight from the US to Brazil, supposedly of gripe suine (swine flu).

2) A Delta flight from Rio to Atlanta encountered issues and turned back to Rio late last week.

3) Sunday night's Continental flight from Rio to Houston made an emergency landing in Miami after encountering severe turbulence (to the point where there were several injuries and people were taken to hospital).

I, Robot

My mom and sister just returned home to Canada after just over 2 weeks or so of Canadoca - hogging and cuddling. It was incredibly difficult to say goodbye, but a couple of things lightened the mood. Such as Canadoca making a rather large diaper deposit that was a total near-miss for my mom and sister (as their luggage was being loaded in our vehicle) seriously very near a wardrobe malfunction...

But the real load lightener was the creation of the ROBOT. My mom and sis each bought a couple of great paintings while here, and they decided to make a large crate box to take them home in on the airplane. It took on a life of its own and soon resembled a life size robot...

This puppy stood WELL over 5 feet tall. A couple of interesting facts about the ROBOT:

1) United Airlines did not charge them an oversize luggage fee
2) Although the rest of their luggage did get lost (they had a 4-flight trip home), ROBOT was waiting for them when they finally arrived at their final destination
3) It looks pretty funny when two women go through security after a 2.5 week vacation with nothing but a box
4) Even if the rest of your luggage gets lost, you still need a van to get the robot home from the airport...

Sad

As expats, we rely heavily on the airlines. They connect us with our families, and get us home. This morning, an Air France jet that left Rio last night went missing over the Atlantic on its way to Paris. While any air disaster involving a plane departing from or intended for Brazil would hit close to home, this one does especially so, being that two of our good friends were on board. Still in shock. Life is precious.  As I heard the news, I was waiting to hear if my mom & sister's plane had yet landed.  Today is certainly bittersweet - my mom and sister's first meeting with my little one, along with dealing with the news of lost loved ones. 

More Ways to Get Here!

Options are a good thing, methinks...

US Airways is poised to start service between Philadephia and Rio de Janeiro this fall.

Continental has tentative approval to resume its direct service between Rio and Houston, this time it would be daily and year-round. Link here. Potentially starting this summer.

Expired Passport but Valid Visa - What's A Canadian to Do?

My mom is returning this spring to see our new addition, booked her flight already in fact... and she has a fairly new visitor visa to Brazil, but a passport that's expiring soon... so we figured she'd probably need to go through the whole visa process again once she was issue a new passport - but we were wrong!  According to the Canadian consultate, her visa in her old passport will still be valid, she will just have to bring her old passport with her. 

So there - if you're in that situation, I just saved you a hundred bucks ;)

On Travelling to Brazil

Canadian site Canoe.com published a report on some of Brazil's hot spots such as Santa Catarina (...where I think we are now going on our "baby moon" after a stop in Buenos Aires), Salvador, etc. Check it out here!

In airlines news...
US Airways wants to start flying to Brazil - check it out here.  They currently do not fly to any South American destinations.  We like more options. Options are good.

No word on whether Continental has gotten the green flag to extend its direct Rio-Houston/Houston-Rio route it currently operates a couple of days per week.  It really does make a huge difference in my opinion, not having to stop in Sao Paulo.  They would like to extend it, beginning June 1.

Speaking of Continental, in December my husband was flying through Houston, when a snowstorm hit, then was sitting on a plane for more than 4 hours befire the flight was finally cancelled... lovely!  Here's some redemption - Continental now has a new policy that allows passengers to get off a plane that has been grounded for more than 3 hours...  Still not a great situation but then at least you have an alternative!

Anyway!
If you are looking for some smoking deals to get yourself down to Brazil, there are many to be had... check out Kayak.com.  My alert this morning gave me the following deals (flights to Rio):

Like from ...

Miami: $673+     Feb 22 - Mar 25
Toronto: $833+   Mar 15 - 21
London: $724+   Feb 23 - Mar 16
Seattle: $838+   Mar 31 - Apr 14
NYC:     $755+    Apr 7 - 14
Houston $785     Deals to be had in March, April, May & June
LA:        $724+    Mar 14 - 28
Vancouver: $763+   Deals to be had in Feb, March & April
Calgary: $767+    Mar 7 - 18 - Deals in April as well!

Yay!

I was catching up on some very old news & google alerts over the weekend when I realized that Continental has already applied for year round direct service to Rio de Janeiro from Houston. Temporary service on this route starts in December, a couple days per week. I hope it gets approved as it would save a couple of precious travel hours (not having to do the layover in Sao Paulo!) ... :)

Better Canadian-Brazilian Connections?

TAM & Air Canada announced a deal yesterday to code share, which will offer customers more options for transfers to major cities in Brazil & Canada.  Also - sharing of travel reward benefits, etc. 

So what will this really mean? We'll know more in November but so far, simplified bookings, seamless connections on a single ticket and baggage check-through to final destination are promised... ok not exactly groundbreaking... and the codesharing will apply to the already existing TO- SP flight, and several flights within Brazil originating in SP.

I hate to say it but until they start offering Rio to TO at least, it will still be more convenient for us & our guests to travel via the US. Which is too bad b/c the service is great with Air Canada if you are travelling internationally, and the planes are all new or refurbished as I've mentioned in the past.  (As I have also mentioned in the past, my opinion does not extend to domestic travel within Canada, for which I avoid Air Canada like the plague...)

Anyway - hopefully more will come of this deal, and when it does I will keep you posted...

Bringing Baggage - My Beefs!!

A bit of a warning about checking luggage - the past two times I flew into GIG (Rio's International) there have been things missing from my bags.  The first time, I thought it was just a fluke but now that it's happened twice, I am not convinced... so lock those bags up! Another note on checking luggage when flying - maybe it is just me but it seems as though Brazilians have a bad habit of standing RIGHT in front of the luggage carousel and not letting anyone in to grab their bag.  I find this really irritating.  I mean, is it not possible to stand even one meter back and simply step forward when your bag comes so that others can access their luggage? This seems petty and ridiculous, I know, but it annoys me every time I fly here.  Finally - on a non-beef note... on domestic flights within Brazil it is possible to carry liquids and gels on the plane. Just FYI.

Direct Service from Houston To RIO!

Stop the presses! Continental will offer nonstop service from Houston to Rio thrice weekly starting December 17th.  No more stopping in Sao Paulo!

I have a feeling there might be a few more announcements like this in the months to come.

The schedule:
Flights will depart from Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 9:00 p.m. arriving at Galeao International Airport in Rio at 11:10 a.m. the following day. Return flights will depart from Rio de Janeiro on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 11:40 p.m. arriving in Houston at 6:00 a.m. the following day.

Now, if Continental could only stop serving NUTS on the plane...

Who to fly with... a follow up...

Wow I am realizing that certain topics really inspire passionate comments on the blog... like TV & Airlines! I guess we all have our favorites & bad experiences alike.

I found this article in Adweek about an exec who had quite the experience flying with Delta to Brazil. The article is the author's follow up to a post he made on his blog - quite interesting, and proof that customer service still matters in this day & age.  As much as I think this guy is a bit over the top with his response and demands to Delta, I can see why he is upset and am now having second thoughts over trying out the Delta flight to Brazil! Check it out and let me know what you think...

Best flights to Rio?

Supposedly many more routes to Brazil are expected to be announced in the coming months - American Airlines announced three more this week - and I hope very much that this will include some direct flights to Rio.  Currently most flights that I know of from the US first have "one stop service" to Rio, which means a stopover in Sao Paulo, which means that we fly further south that we need to then head north to Rio after... don't get me started on the many many many inefficiencies of the airline industry... so far I think Miami is the only city you can fly directly to Rio from in the US... and now you can also fly directly to Belo Horizonte and Salvador from there.

We've been doing the Continental flight to Rio via Houston, as are most of our guests.  I have heard good things about the Delta flight through Atlanta as well, in terms of service, etc. 

Anyone flown a variety of ways and have an opinion on service/frequent flier programs,etc.?  Of course there are horror stories from each flight but I must say that the Continental planes seem overall to be a bit old and the entertainment is not quite as "on demand" as on other planes... so.... readers?  Any tips or comments?

Cheap Flights to Brazil!

Coming to Rio?

From LA:

$859+	Sep 2008	27 Sep - 4 Oct	search
$986+	Oct 2008	7 - 21 Oct	search
$942+	Nov 2008	24 Nov - 5 Dec	search
$859+	Dec 2008	2 - 11 Dec	search
$859+	Jan 2009	22 Jan - 7 Feb	search
$859+	Feb 2009	17 - 25 Feb	search

From NYC:

$683+	Aug 2008	29 Aug - 7 Sep	search
$675+	Sep 2008	11 - 15 Sep	search
$667+	Oct 2008	26 Oct - 3 Nov	search
$675+	Nov 2008	28 Nov - 6 Dec	search

From Seattle:

$993+	Sep 2008	12 - 30 Sep	search
$944+	Oct 2008	6 - 21 Oct	search
$969+	Nov 2008	26 - 30 Nov	search
$961+	Dec 2008	3 - 10 Dec	search

From Atlanta:

$894+	Aug 2008	25 Aug - 11 Sep	search
$1068+	Sep 2008	29 Sep - 9 Oct	search
$854+	Oct 2008	28 Oct - 2 Dec	search
$1070+	Nov 2008	26 Nov - 2 Dec	search
$894+	Dec 2008	3 - 9 Dec	search

From Miami:

$675+	Aug 2008	21 - 27 Aug	search
$675+	Sep 2008	17 - 30 Sep	search
$675+	Oct 2008	15 - 26 Oct	search
$675+	Nov 2008	7 - 22 Nov	search

More on Multinationals and Working Abroad

An interesting article in the Huffington Post about the benefits of working abroad for Americans with the current slowdown in the US Economy...  some highlights:

• Can be beneficial in terms of financial renumeration, professional responsibility, fun
• The timing is right (yay for us!)
• International experience makes you more marketable
• Living abroad is rewarding

My comments:
Brazil is a great choice to work overseas, for me it is definitely the only one of the "BRIC countries" in which I would live... it has also been the slowest growing of the BRIC countries in recent years and a few things need to happen for this will change, for example Brazil's complex tax system, and the extreme amount of bureaucracy and red tape involved with getting anything done.   The stories my husband and some of our other foreigner friends come home from work with are truly unbelievable in terms of lack of efficiencies and expertise, etc. Another concern of mine - which affects attracting those crucial foreign investment dollars - the current state of communications and investor relations. Apparently high ranking, appointed (and not necessarily qualified) government officials like to make comments about publicly traded companies (such as Petrobras and some of its newest discoveries), out of turn.  Which leads to inaccurate information getting out, which piques the interest of foreign investors, who in turn after doing some due diligence realize they may have been misinformed by an over-excited politician... credibility is everything and events such as this erode Brazil's credibility as a global player.  This needs to change. There will be some growing pains, but I believe in the future of this country overall.

That said, it is an incredibly fun place to be, and the weather and beaches are amazing, and the next few years look bright for Brazil.

Today's Travel Deals

Flights to Rio for about $1,000 and under...

LA- Rio

$859+	6h	COPA Panama	May 9 (Fri)	May 23 (Fri)	14 days / 1
$916+	9h	Taca Intl Air	Aug 10 (Sun)	Aug 18 (Mon)	8 days / 2
$916+	24h	Taca Intl Air	Aug 14 (Thu)	Aug 23 (Sat)	9 days / 2
$916+	1h	Taca Intl Air	Jul 16 (Wed)	Aug 1 (Fri)	16 days / 2
$924+	8h	Taca Intl Air	Aug 20 (Wed)	Aug 25 (Mon)	5 days / 2
$929+	4h	Northwest	May 15 (Thu)	May 20 (Tue)	5 days / 1

Houston - Rio

$1007+	17h	Continental	Jun 3 (Tue)	Jun 10 (Tue)	7 days / 1
$1022+	29h	Continental	Jun 21 (Sat)	Jun 25 (Wed)	4 days / 1
$1031+	49m	Delta	May 8 (Thu)	May 22 (Thu)	14 days / 1
$1036+	29h	American Airlines	May 22 (Thu)	May 29 (Thu)	7 days / 3
$1043+	16h	American Airlines	Jun 20 (Fri)	Jul 1 (Tue)	11 days / 3

NYC - Rio

$638+	31h	TAM Linhas Aereas	Feb 14 (Sat)	Feb 22 (Sun)	8 days / 1
$653+	31h	TAM Linhas Aereas	Oct 14 (Tue)	Oct 26 (Sun)	12 days / 1
$672+	30h	TAM Linhas Aereas	Feb 22 (Sun)	Mar 7 (Sat)	13 days / 1

Miami - Rio

$594+	9h	COPA Panama	May 17 (Sat)	May 26 (Mon)	9 days / 1
$602+	5h	COPA Panama	Jun 6 (Fri)	Jun 15 (Sun)	9 days / 1

London - Rio

$907+	33h	Multiple Airlines	May 10 (Sat)	May 18 (Sun)	8 days / 1
$937+	28h	Multiple Airlines	May 13 (Tue)	May 20 (Tue)	7 days / 2
$973+	8h	Multiple Airlines	May 14 (Wed)	May 21 (Wed)	7 days / 1
$973+	15h	Multiple Airlines	May 8 (Thu)	May 18 (Sun)	10 days / 1

Seattle - Rio

$932+	45h	Delta	Sep 24 (Wed)	Oct 24 (Fri)	30 days / 1
$940+	43h	Delta	Sep 12 (Fri)	Sep 21 (Sun)	9 days / 1
$940+	42h	Delta	Jun 6 (Fri)	Jun 19 (Thu)	13 days / 1
$952+	11h	Delta	Nov 18 (Tue)	Dec 2 (Tue)	14 days / 1
$953+	12h	American Airlines	Sep 2 (Tue)	Sep 9 (Tue)	7 days / 2
$953+	6h	United	Aug 13 (Wed)	Oct 15 (Wed)	63 days / 2

Vancouver - Rio

$989+	34h	Continental	Aug 10 (Sun)	Aug 18 (Mon)	8 days / 2
$1054+	20h	Continental	Sep 9 (Tue)	Sep 16 (Tue)	7 days / 2

News About Multinationals in Brazil

Many of you get here via searches directed towards finding employment in Brazil.  In an effort to provide more information about multinationals active in Brazil, I bring you the following headlines...

• General Motors Brazil is investing US$200 million to build a new engine and automotive components plant in Joinville City, in Santa Catarina State. It is scheduled to begin production in the fourth quarter of 2009, generating 1,300 jobs. Although auto sales are slumping in the US, they are alive & kicking here in Brazil.

• Although the US still dominates the Forbes list of the World’s 2000 Biggest Companies in 2008, China, India & Brazil are adding the most to the list. (There were 61 more US companies on the list in ’07 than ’08). The largest company on the list, HSBC, has quite a presence here in Brazil... The full report features a section called Big Companies That Are Hiring , if you are looking for an international posting, you might want to give it a try.  I will soon post  an entry on why it is good to come to a foreign country with a big company. Click here to see all of the companies on ther Forbes 2000 list, categorized by country.

• Not a multinational but still… Petrobras made a new discovery last week, which could prove to be the largest oil discovery in 30 yrs (up to 33 billion barrels) – if it is confirmed, this finding will put Brazil into the Top 10 countries for oil reserves, surpassing countries such as the US, Nigeria and Libya. Some of Petrobras’ partners in these projects include: British Gas PLC and Respol YPF SA.

A note to those looking to do an international work opportunity in Brazil…

As I noted in a recent comment to a reader - what seems to be the easiest way to become gainfully employed here in Brazil as a foreigner is to find a company that does business in both your home company and Brazil and is sending ex-pats down. Much has been written recently about the current and expected growth in the Brazilian economy and the amount of expertise the country will need to import from other countries in order to sustain and support this growth, so I would imagine there will be more and more opportunities of this sort available in the next few years.  Particularly since the insurance and oil and gas industries have just become opened to  competition with deprivatization.

 

 

Today's Travel Deals

Vancouver to Rio (not the best prices - I've seen better lately)

$1230+	Apr 2008	13 - 27 Apr	search
$1395+	Jun 2008	13 - 26 Jun	search
$1344+	Dec 2008	12 - 26 Dec	search

Calgary to Rio

$989+

Feb 2009

19 - 28 Feb

Houston to Rio

$901+	May 2008	1 - 6 May	search
$901+	Jun 2008	3 - 10 Jun	search
$955+	Nov 2008	7 - 22 Nov	search

LAX to Rio

$966+	Upcoming Weekends	15 - 19 May	search
$888+	Apr 2008	28 Apr - 4 May	search
$830+	May 2008	18 May - 4 Jun	search
$932+	Jun 2008	8 - 19 Jun	search
$916+	Jul 2008	20 Jul - 1 Aug	search
$916+	Aug 2008	6 - 13 Aug	search
$973+	Sep 2008	4 - 7 Sep	search
$960+	Oct 2008	26 Oct - 6 Nov	search
$830+	Nov 2008	21 - 29 Nov	search
$991+	Dec 2008	22 - 30 Dec	search
$944+	Jan 2009	13 Jan - 12 Feb	search
$944+	Feb 2009	8 - 23 Feb	search

Happy to have Visitors coming to Rio...

We received confirmation today that a very special couple, very good friends of ours (she was in our wedding party), have booked - they are coming to Brazil this fall to visit us! They got an amazing deal flying from Canada through NYC - (Canada's low cost airline, WestJet just started service to NY so now rates are better than ever with a new competitor in the market) where they will spend two days then on to Rio via American Airlines. All in, their flights all in were $1340 per person (Canadian Dollars), an amazing deal!

We can't wait to play host down here and show them the best of what Brazil has to offer.  Our apartment, which we hopefully move into in a couple of weeks, luckily has a lot of room for guests as we love to entertain (back home we host a lot of dinners, etc... )

Today as I was walking home I could not help but think about how lucky I am to be here in Rio at this point in my life.  There is so much energy here.

Swimming - shopping - snorkeling - beach - diving - hiking - hang gliding -heli tours - restaurants (known as gastronomia!) - star gazing - people watching - you won't be sorry you came.   

There is a Brazilian expression which translates to: 
God created the world in seven days, two of which were needed just for Rio de Janeiro.

Packing

"What are you taking to Brazil with you?"

We must have been asked this question 1,000 times. The answer is: not a lot.  Although we did bring a whopping 7 large suitcases, we did not ship anything to Brazil as most people intending to be away for years at a time.

We brought:

Many books
Clothing
Toiletries (a lot of them)
Food (Protein shakes, specialty items and two huge bottles of Frank's Red Hot Sauce).
Sporting Goods/Equipment (tennis & squash rackets, roller blades, multiple pairs of trainers each...etc.)
Electronics (cameras, laptops, iPods, gaming -RockBand! Ok, that game is HUGE to pack...)
Household Goods (sheets, magic bullet, ziplock bags)

And of course we brought our new friend, Hak2, who we made with our nephew at Build-A-Bear right before we left.  He is a monkey and has our nephew's voice encapsulated inside. Could not leave him behind! BTW there is a Brazilian Build-A-Bear thing... actually quite efficient. More on that later...

March 8 - Our Arrival

We made it to Rio without major incident (and with mega luggage).  The seven large suitcases plus multiple carry-on's were enough to dissuade customs & immigration from tackling the task of searching our luggage "Just go!" (as 80% of the lineup was redirected to have their luggage scanned and potentially searched).... SWEET! 

We had half hoped our luggage would get temporarily lost in transit as then the airline would have to deliver it for us.  With our luggage, we had no choice but to hire a 15 passenger bus (see empty bus in photo) to transport just us and our bags to our new temporary digs.  Pretty funny.