Daily Life in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

BIG DAY

My five month long fight with the federal police ordeal to get Canadoca's passport has come to an end!!!!!

New on the site?

Click here to start from the very beginning... Note that in the past year and a half in Rio I have 1) Relaxed about a lot of things 2) Changed my mind about a lot of others. I figure I'm allowed....

Recent Inquiries & Responses: 4

Question:

I am coming to Rio for a law school study abroad program for one month.  The program is putting is up in Copacabana in Post 5 somewhat close to the Cantagalo Subway station.  However, everything I read about copacabana says it is incredibly dangerous for foreigners and it is really not a question of if you get mugged but when.  Do you have any specific knowledge about the Post 5 area of copacabana and how safe it is?  I will of course take all precautions necesarry not to become a victim but I am quite worried.  Also, my girlfriend will be with me with me and she likes to run.  Is it safe for her to run alone in the mornings along the beach?  Will it be okay for her to wander around alone at all during the day?  Any specific advice on how to protect ourselves while in Rio?

My Response:

When I first arrived in Rio, I walked from Ipanema/Leblon to Copacabana and back four days per week (to school and back). Never once did I have an issue, but often times I was concerned for my safety/creeped out by certain people.  I suggest sticking to the beach street as much as possible.
I feel that if you take strides to blend in, you can easily live in this area without issue. However, I also hear stories about people being mugged in Copa within 3 hours of arriving from the airport, and so will you (hear of such things). Sometimes it is luck of the draw, but I have been fortunate to have good experiences, as have most of the expats I know here.

I feel it would be perfectly safe for your girlfriend to run along the beach path in the morning, this is a highly populated area and there are tourist police everywhere. It is actually very safe to walk around on the beach street at night as well (but don't go down to the water itself at night).  There is a market set up on the beach street every night and as a result, lots of people. Meaningm, safer. As I mentioned, I walked in this area almost every day, alone, when I first moved to Rio and did not have a problem and so I hope she will not, either.

To give you some specific advice:
1) Try to dress like a local. This means for your girlfriend - actually wearing jewellery (just not expensive jewellery).
2) I think body language is the biggest giveaway when it comes to identifying tourists. Try and look as though you know where you are going (even if you don't), and try to master the "blank stare" most people have on their faces at all times.  I think that many times people are targeted because they are gawking at everything - obvious tourists. To be fair, there is a lot to gawk at here...
3) Don't carry a lot of bags around at any times. This includes groceries. Locals do not do this, they have them delivered. Unless it is just a couple of bags, have them delivered as to not stand out.
4) Vary routines (especially her, with being alone during the day).
5) Always, always, always comply if you are robbed. Do not resist!! This is the only way to be safe.
6) VERY IMPORTANT: Familiarize yourselves IMMEDIATELY as to where the favelas are in your neighbourhood (there are a few) and steer clear of them).

I find the zona sul easy to navigate - being that there are so many landmarks, etc. which is good.

So, whaddya wanna know?

I seem to have a number of new readers lately- welcome!

A project I've been talking about doing for a long time and have finally started is a survey of Rio's expat community. The point? To help out those looking to move to Brazil or those interested in expat life here. The survey is almost ready but before I add the link/send it out to my contacts, last chance to let me know what you'd like me to ask the group, in case there's anything I am missing. Leave your questions as comments to this post or email me. I plan to get the survey out in the next week or so.

Recent Inquiries & Responses: 2

A new little series on Frequently Asked Questions from readers, featuring my responses.

Questions:

How long have you been in Rio?

I’m curious and more then a little afraid of our impending move to Rio for my husbands job.. We have 3 kids, and it frightens me a bit about how they will adjust. As for me, will I be more then lonely? I anticipate the adventure, but still I am worried.

Have you enjoyed all your time in Rio?

What sort of things would you think would be important for us to ask his work for in the moving package?

My Response:

I have been in Rio since March of 2008.
Coming to Rio is certainly an adventure.
I would definitely try to get your kids' schooling covered by the company. It is EXPENSIVE here and even private school education here is not up to par with public schooling we are accustomed to back home (Sad, I know!)

With kids you will probably also want a driver, large apartment and possibly some help around the house. Try to get this and your utilities all included in your package if possible. This is all quite standard for expats. Also either an allowance for household items or a shipment (although they take months to arrive/clear customs sometimes). Also most importantly of course - health insurance! Our plan was terrible when we first arrived - didn't even cover me having a baby (we quickly switched).

I doubt you will be lonely or bored here. There is a vibrant expat community, and SO MUCH to do.  You will definitely miss some of the comforts and I expect family/friends back home. Although the Canadians are eager to escape the cold and come visit, in my experience!

 I expected to make Brazilian friends as well, but that has not happened for me, but that said, people with kids seem to have more luck with this (parents of their kids' friends, etc.).

Recent Inquiries & Resposes: 1

I've been getting more and more emails from people coming to Rio. Which I figure is good because a lot of people have just LEFT US! We should be recruiting!

I figure if one person asks a question, the answer may be beneficial to others too. Since I am heading out on holidays I figured I would use some of these as easy blog posts over the next couple of weeks (sorry, I am getting worse with the upkeep of this blog by the day!

Question 1:

Now you are a mum, do you feel safe going about your daily business with your baby? We have an 18 month old, and that is my one concern. I’d be grateful if you could give me any insight into this.

My Response:

There is a baby & toddler group here in Rio that is organized through the INC (though you don't need to be a member!).

I feel pretty safe going about daily business with my baby, on foot, within Ipanema and Leblon. We get out everyday and so far have done so without incident. I do not like to travel with her in a car as carjackings are frequent, so I avoid this whenever possible. I do not drive with her alone under any circumstances, and someone is always in the back seat with her in case there is a need to get out of the car in a hurry. Enough said...

Something I think would be more challenging for you is that your child is mobile... traffic is crazy here and I already dread taking her out in the streets when one step (or slip) in the wrong direction could be very bad! You will sure have to be careful!

New Here?

I am a fortunate blogger in that I frequently hear from my readers. I love receiving your comments and emails. In fact, I have made many friends through this blog! I don't know that I would have had the motivation to keep it up if it weren't for the feedback I receive on a daily basis. Especially now that I am a mom, and not just an expat princess with unlimited time on my hands...

I do make a point of responding to all emails I receive, but these days it just takes a bit longer than usual, especially with the travel schedule I've had.

Lately I have received a number of inquiries from new readers requesting practical information on moving to Rio. If you fit into this category, please review my archives, which can be found on the bottom right hand side of the page, as there are hundreds of articles on topics such as househunting in Rio, sourcing furniture, cost of living, etc. which you will hopefully find helpful. The categories Finding a Home in Rio and Making the Move: What to Know Before You Come will probably help you most. When you scroll to the bottom of the list of posts on the topic, be sure to hit next, as the articles go all the way back to March of 2008, which is when I moved here.

ALSO - if you have specific questions on information you cannot find on my site that you think should be included, please let me know! I am planning a poll of Rio expats to help would-be Rio expats, and so your questions could help shape the survey, or inspire a future post. Chances are, if it is something you are wondering about, others are too!

Rub a Dub Dub

I read an article recently saying that people who have been expats score higher on creative problem solving tests (have you ever taken a creative problem solving test? I wonder what's involved...?).

Makes sense to me as often improvisation is needed in these scenarios.

Here's Mr. DRL's "bathtub" he made for me. Which is what you do when you live in an apartment with four showers and no bathtub. Good thing the one in our ensuite is big enough to hold this baby pool!

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!

Update

So the Canadoca and I are still here in Brazil as she still does not have a Brazilian passport.

The latest?

After SIX weeks had gone by since the Federal Police launched the investigation into her birth, Mr. DRL demanded some answers as something had obviously gone wrong along the way. By the way, the hospital responded promptly and apparently satisfied the federal police's requirements. The second part of the process was for the Cartorio/Notary to provide her birth certificate. Which, apparently, they LOST.

It's okay, as we have several copies. However, if someone had simply NOTIFIED us of this when it was realized rather than waiting for us to inquire, we could have provided another copy of it weeks ago. And potentially gone home for the wedding, etc. 

Anyway. As soon as I get a passport, I'm going to Canada. Shouldn't be long now. Until then... I'm here!

Of course this is soooo frustrating at times, but it could be worse. 

I am not the only person who is having trouble getting kids out of Brazil - one of my American friends was briefly detained with her children as she tried to go home this summer (since her kids have RNE's, the officials were asking for their Brazilian passports. Which makes no sense - of course they don't have them, because they are not Brazilian.) Another acquaintance was also stopped when trying to leave with her child as she was travelling without her husband because she only had a notorized letter specifying that he was aware that she was doing this, rather than a court order....

And yet despite the many hoops we all have to jump through, the worst part is we all hear the horror stories in the news about cases such as David Goldman's, or worse this shocking case, a fellow in Austria whose child is now dead. Because apparently once a child is in Brazil, it's pretty hard to get them out, whether they belong here or not.

No passport

So the wedding is tomorrow but we are still in Rio as we do not have Canadoca's Brazilian passport... it ended up being the cartorio that delayed the process so much.

Canadoca's Brazilian Passport

She has her dress picked out:

but will she get to wear it? (Dress is from Fabula - a children's boutique here in Rio).

Canadoca's aunt is getting married two weeks from today somewhere in Canada. Will we and the Canadoca be there to show off her mad air guitar skills (aided by mom)? Not sure. Why? No Brazilian passport yet.

To be fair, this should have been a fairly easy process. IF we had already received our Residency Cards, which we applied for over a year ago.

I was told by other gringoes to make an appointment at Shopping Leblon at the passport office and that from there on it would be quite simple and we'd have the passport within days. Our appointment was in mid-June.

We arrived at the appointment accompanied by an agent from the company my husband's firm employs to take care of passport and visa issues. When our name was called, we were told that since we didn't have our Residence Cards yet, we could not be issued a passport at that office and rather we would have to go to the Federal Police at the International Airport. This was frustrating for two reasons: 1) Mr. DRL took the day off work for this appointment, but more importantly, 2) Our agent should have realized that this was the case since they were involved in applying for our residency cards.

The next day, we headed to the international airport. A different agent met us there and asked us what we were there for (!! I am not even going to go there.... I am just not...) and basically stood around. Mr. DRL dealt directly with the officials, who told us that our presence wasn't really required, we could have motoboyed in some forms, and that they would need to launch an investigation into our daughter's birth since we don't have our residence cards yet. We were told that this would take about 30 days. Around this time the agency also admits that there was some sort of error or mix-up on their part with our application for residency cards. Strike three.

We are now applying for permanent citizenship based on the fact that we have a Brazilian child. Which will apparently take about another year, but allows us to work here, for any company, rather than being tied to the company because it holds our visa. Nice to have flexibility for sure.

However, currently we are waiting to hear if the signatures from FOUR doctors present in the delivery room are enough to prove that Canadoca is ours. I have heard horror stories of people having to undergo DNA testing in this scenario so we are hopeful that their word will suffice (I guess I should have opted for the birth video at the hospital!). 

Clearly our agency dropped the ball. I just hope that it can be retrieved in time, so that we can attend Mr. DRL's sister's wedding, and so that he can be there when his family first sees Canadoca. (I'm going home once the passport is issued, regardless, but he is only going to go if he can attend the wedding).

Lessons learned:
1) If you are a foreigner having a child in Brazil, make EVERY effort to ensure you receive your residence card before the child is born. It will save you a lot of hassle.
2) Carefully check the reputation of any agency you entrust with these matters. This particular agency deals with many companies here and seems to do a great job with the actual workers' visas/passports, etc. but drops the ball when it comes to the dependants/families. I know another woman whose husband works for another company who was stuck in the US for WEEKS earlier this year because the same agency made mistakes with their family's visas.

English Speaking Private Schools in Rio

Sending kids to English private school in Rio is NOT CHEAP. Most expats I know who have children include school fees in their compensation packages. See below, it's quite the perk...

Here is the link for the American School http://www.earj.com.br/

Escola Americano Tuition schedule for the upcoming school year:

2009-10 Academic Year

Monthly tuition payments due the 5th  of each month, to be paid in 12 monthly installments:

3 day per week Toddler program:                      R$ 1.585,00
Pre-school half-day:                                            R$ 2.171,00
Pre-school   extended day:                                 R$ 3.193,00
Lower School (Kindergarten to 5th Grade):      R$ 3.942,00
Middle School Fees (Grades 6 – 8):                   R$ 4.281,00
Upper School Fees (Grades 9 – 12):                 R$ 4.873,00

Capital Fee: US$ 6,500.00

The Capital Fee, paid once for every child who is enrolled in 1st grade or above, is used to support investments in technology, facility renovations or other special projects.

Bus fees currently range from R$ 293,00 to R$ 408,00, depending on the route.

Lunch ticket: R$ 11,00 per day or R$10,00 for monthly contracts.

British School: http://www.britishschool.g12.br

2009 Monthly Fees
Pre-Nursery (Part-Time)     R$ 1.963,00
Pre-Nursery (full time) & Nursery     R$ 3.007,00
Reception to Class 4     R$ 2.759,00
Class 5 to Class 11     R$ 3.367.00

Entrance Fees

An Entrance Fee is charged at the time a child enters the school. Entrance Fees contribute to the school’s Development Fund which is maintained strictly for major development projects. Use of this fund is controlled by the Board of Governors. Entrance Fees are as follows:
Entrance Fees
(1st January – 31st December 2009)
First child     R$ 16.747,00
Second child     R$ 10.766,00
Third and subsequent children     R$ 8.374,00

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.

Emergency Vehicles

Something I don't think I've commented on but ALL of my visitors have commented on while here - the lack of regard on the roads for emergency vehicles. No one pulls over for ambulances, police, fire trucks. It certainly takes some getting used to!

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!

More Anniversaries

This week marked one year since we'd moved into our apartment. While I am pretty happy with our place, this anniversary also brings to mind exactly how long it can take for things to be accomplished here in Rio.

For example, here is a list of items that were not "taken care of" when we moved in and we were assured would be fixed/provided immediately. Note that these do not include all of the things that went wrong after we moved in.

• Walls under AC units repaired - moisture damage (we ended up contracting this ourselves a few months ago).
• Keys provided for closet doors - they do not close properly without the keys. (We finally found purchased some replacements last month). 
• Island and additional cupboards/storage installed in the kitchen (ummm... yeah don't even get me started. I am not holding my breath). 
• Touch up painting throughout the apartment (we ended up contracting this ourselves a few months ago).

I'm sure that there were more things but I have probably surpressed the memories over the past year in order to survive. The moral of the story? If possible, do not take possession of your apartment until all of these little things are taken care of. OR, be prepared to take matters into your own hands. In our case, we finally just contracted the work out that had to be done, and took it off our rent.

Canada Complaints

I came across an article for expats moving to Canada the other day and it inspired me to do a bit of research about what frustrates expats about living in Canada, to put myself in their shoes.   Which in this case means switching from Havaiana's to Sorels...

 

This is the time of year when everyone in Canada seems to be complaining, because they are ready for winter to be over! (It's one facebook status whining about the weather after another).

I wanted to see if I would get as defensive about Canada's shortfalls as some Brazilians have about frustrations or just experiences that I have commented on. I started reading the blog So, Are You New Here, which is about an American girl living in Calgary. I like her observations and certainly can't say I've been offended.

It's true that I have not finished my research - I still need to read my Will Ferguson books that I brought back this summer to get the full picture...

I also purchased his hits How to Be a Canadian and Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw ...

But the real dirt was found on the boards...  On the British Expat Boards under the topic "What's Wrong With Canada?": (My comments are italicized in brackets).

1. They wear their trousers too short. (LMAO & Hadn't noticed this myself!)
2. Public bathrooms have big open spaces between the wall panels. (Hadn't noticed this myself, but find it funny because everyone finds Canadians to be such prudes!)
3. People will not tell you what they really think of you - they are way too polite.
4. Too many immigrants. (This on a board for potential expats!)
5. Its got a right wing Prime Minister who has George W Bush as his political hero. (sic)
6. Fast food servers who couldn't get your order right if their life depended on it. (Totally agree)
7. Horrendous cell / mobile phone costs. I mean come on, who pays to receive a call. (Multiple mentions of this and all are justified, totally true).
8. Too much deadly fast food. (True, but also a choice to eat it...)
9. Cinnamon with everything. (Really? I am HOPING this is true, maybe then I can find that cinnamon ice cream that I love so much here in Rio!)
10. If I may state the obvious, it's ****ing cold here. (True! But a person hopefully would know this before moving there!)
11. They don't have proper bacon here. Just the streaky stuff. (There were a NUMBER of mentions of this - now I want to know what UK Bacon is like!)
12. Orange cheese....Whats that all about?
13. The radio. I now live in a place where they play Heart and other eighties soft rock on the radio. And not on golden oldie shows - as a normal part of the playlist. (Uh oh I am totally that demographic they are serving... I love Heart!)
14. All pizza features meat in some form. (Ok I am pretty sure this is just simply not true. All pizza joints I've ever been to have had a vegetarian or just plain cheese option).
15. There's still snow on the ground in April. (True story! But again... see #10.)
    
16. Tim Hortons coffee is pretty bad. (Agreed! Ok, not that I drink coffee, but everything there is awful besides a bagel.  I am Canadian and do not understand the Tim Horton's thing. The person who wrote #6 must have been talking about Timmy's...)
17. The standard of driving is dreadful, canadians may be polite to your face, but become rude arrogant &%#%# when in a car! (Agreed! Holy road rage. Don't even get me started on the tailgating truckers on mountain roads).
    
18. Poutine is truly gross. (I have actually never had poutine).
19. Inappropriate use of the "awesome" (Haha I believe it.)
20. Shops that dont open til noon on sundays.
21. eh! (No comment... )
22. The incessant droning of community helpers, unions, quangos, not-for-profit NGOs and special interest groups trying to get you to do something a particular way. (I've said many times that in my opinion, Canada is too socialist...)
23. Phone charges, homeless people, bank charges, crap driving, gangland violence, everywhere shutting early, interventionist government, institutional racism, jobsworth attitude, RCMP corruption, more homeless people.
24. Maple syrup in baked beans (I have not experienced this myself, but I am not big on the baked bean thing).
25. The KFC isn't as good.  (Ok I believe you.)
26. Cream cheese icing on cinnamon buns. (Now that you mention it, I miss this. Love cream cheese icing, but like cheesecake, not to mention baked beans and poutine, it's not for everyone.)
27. There's humour but it's different. Corner Gas, Little Mosque on the Prairie, etc. (Personally I don't watch these shows so can't comment).
28. Banks are the biggest rip of merchants out, all 5 big CDN banks I beleive are in the top 7 most profitable in the world. (True story!)
29. As much as it says you must be fluent in English or French to get in here its amazing how many people can get a job in the GTA with a complete crap grasp of the English language to the point you cant understand them, if your going to move to a country learn the lingo! (So true!)
30. I wish Canadians were more supportive of their own culture. (Another legitimate point!)
31. Canadians are obsessed with community events, helping their neighbours, and going overseas to contribute to/help less-fortunate people.

Interesting, for sure.

From the very tongue-in-cheek blog "Stuff White People Like" - #75 Threatening to Move to Canada

So, what was the verdict? Well honestly the complaints were pretty boring, except for the short pants one.  The rest of them - things I complained about myself when I lived there!

Dengue Fever in Brazil

Just as a sidenote, most of my guests who have visited travel doctors back home were advised to get Yellow Fever vaccinations to visit Rio, something that is NOT actually required!

It's Dengue season again - Expat American Living in Brazil has a travel alert/update on the situation - check it out here.

Luckily Rio is not yet affected.  Thank goodness for me because pregnant women's oxygen-rich blood is apparently a magnet for mosquitoes!

heartbreaking!

I urge you to go visit Polyana's blog and read her post entitled "Access Denied" - as a soon-to-be-expat-parent it kind of hits home.  Polyana is Brazilian-born but spent much of her life (19 years of it) in the US (her parents moved there for work and are apparently about to receive a green card). However, once she graduated from college she had to return to Brazil, as she is not an American citizen. Click here to read the background on her full story. She did things by the book, and now it's coming back to bite her - she recently applied for a visa to return to the US to VISIT, to be in her best friend's wedding, and see her family, and was not only denied but told that she could not reapply for almost TEN YEARS.  Please, visit her site!

Passports and Babies...

At the event we attended on Thursday night, we spoke at length with a woman from the Canadian Consulate. It turns out she will be the one we need to speak with once our baby is born, about getting our baby its Canadian citizenship and passport.

We had been planning to take the little one on a vacation to Canada once it turned 3 months old (the most widely-recommended youngest-safe-to-fly-a-newborn-14-hours age I can seem to find) to meet our families. 

We assumed (why oh why would we? I know, I know) that we could initially just get our baby a Brazilian passport and a visa to enter Canada. We were wrong. We will need for the baby to already at that point carry both Brazilian and Canadian passports.  Apparently Brazil will not let the baby out without a Brazilian, and Canada will not let the baby in without a Canadian. I specifically asked about the "visa" to visit Canada with option on a Brazilian passport but was assured we'd be denied.

Once the time comes I will of course keep you all posted on how long this in fact will actually take. I am keeping my fingers crossed that our child gets to meet its family before its first birthday ;)

Feedback: I am very interested in any of your comments as always, but specifically would find comments on experiences with first long-haul travel with babies helpful, as well as any experiences anyone might have with how long this passport issue has taken in the past if you've had to do it.

The LIST

So I've put up a first edition of "The LIST" - the good, the bad & the ugly - what is expensive in Rio, what is hard to find, what is impossible to find? Brought to you by a group of Rio's expat wives - thanks for the collaboration, ladies! If anyone has items to add, please drop me a line!

Acquisitions

My husband and I spent the weekend getting reacquainted after almost 4 months straight of visitors.  It was nice.  On Sunday we went out to Barra to pick up a few things and have lunch.  We hit a couple of new stores we hadn't been to before, including Etna (located across from Via Parque) and Casa e Construcao (located @ Via Parque).

Anyway, this is a bit of a follow up to some previous posts... especially the SCREEN post - yes indeed I did find little screen kits. At Casa e Construcao...  I'm not saying they're pretty, but in the event of a dengue outbreak, I'll be glad we have them! Our visitors have been giving me a hard time since September about getting a stepladder for our kitchen. We have very very tall cupboards and I've been standing on rickety stools to reach the top shelves. I know, I know....

We also looked for a dehumidifier but had no luck! I'll check out the allergy shop in Leblon and see what they have...

Something I'm Working On

Is a section of the blog that will be dedicated to household items that are either:
1) Impossible to find in Rio.
2) Difficult to find in Rio.
3) Very expensive in Rio.

I've started my own list and am compiling it with a bunch of submissions from expat friends I know in Rio. If you live here and would like to add to the list, comment here or send me an email: dailyriolife@gmail.com

I get a lot of traffic from people planning to move to Rio and looking for tips on what to bring, so let's help them out!

Some Price Comparisons... Baby Buyer Beware!

We were incredibly fortunate that my husband had to go to the US & Canada last month on a business trip. Why fortunate, you ask? If you read this blog regularly you know that I HARDLY want to get rid of my husband, even for a few days! It also was not "fortunate" weather - he was snowed in in Houston, and had to tolerate blizzards and -40 temperatures in Calgary. Fortunate because now we are expecting, not planning more trips back to North America before the baby, and frankly, we needed a lot of stuff!

Everyone with kids here had warned me I'd want to buy as much as possible back home and either have it shipped or brought down with other people. I soon realized why.... the prices are out of control. And that's when you can actually find this stuff here. I have yet to see my stroller here.

Just SOME examples:
1) Dr. Brown's bottles (supposedly the best for newborns as the internal vent technology prevents too much air from getting into baby's system).  My husband bought an entire starter pack (10 bottles, cleaning brush, various nipples, lids, etc.) for US$49.99 at Toys R Us in Houston. So to break that down it's less than $4.99 US per bottle considering all the extras they throw in.  I have seen Dr. Brown's products in one store here in Rio, in Barra at Via Parque. One 4 oz bottle was R$37.99 or US $16.90.  So roughly 4 times the price (and frankly, that's being generous as the 4 oz bottles are more inexpensive and I am not allotting anything for the extras thrown in with the starter pack...)

Admittedly these are imported products so the sticker price should be no shocker and yes there are Brazilian alternatives but with all the "plastic" scares out there I do want to make sure these bottles are up to snuff. Potential TMI alert - yes, I am hoping to breastfeed but want the baby to take a bottle per day as well! (Bonding time for dad, freedom opportunities for mom!)

2) Peg Perego Car Seat - I have located one in a store in Shopping Rio Sul, R$1300 when you include the base. Toys R Us in the US - $249.
So it's more than double the price to get it here.
Again, there are Brazilian alternatives but considering how well any Brazilian-made appliances I've bought have survived the test of time (like coffee makers that fall apart after 6 uses), and that this is a device that could potentially save our child's life, I want the one with the North American safety rating, please.

3) Grooming Kit - I spotted this Safety First grooming kit yesterday in a toy/children's store for $R120. We purchased exactly the same one in the US for US$9.99. A savings of over US$40, it is literally 5 times the price here.

All is not lost, however, in moving to Brazil and having a baby. Especially if you have a lot of people coming and going from North America bringing stuff for you!
I have found a number of beautiful shops for baby clothes and as my girlfriend with two kids pointed out to me the other day, I could decorate a gorgeous kids room just shopping at the hippie fair alone! Besides the bedding that I am getting from Restoration Hardware of course!

There is a baby fair at the end of the month at the Convention Centre in Barra as well, so I will be checking that out.

Something cool I did not realize that "Red" is the color of choice for luck for babies in Brazil. I love it! My Portuguese instructor bought us some red booties, so adorable. There is way too much sage green and yellow unisex stuff out there, why not red? I have also been buying anything grey I find as it's pretty unisex as well and who doesn't look good in grey... haha.

Here is a photo of our "stash" so far - a lot of it has been coming in handy with two little munchkins running around our place the past week. 

Not the most fun topic but...

I believe I've mentioned before how terrible the dishsoap is here. Many expats I know bring it in from the US when they go back for visits! I finally found a brand that is not too bad - Lava-Loucas Gel Care -  and even provided you with a photo, so look for it at your local mercado :)

Tipping/Gratuity/Gorjeta for Christmas

I have heard a bunch of different information on this topic from different people so I thought I'd throw it out there for discussion, help & advice... What is customary in Brazil when it comes to Christmas tipping or gifts?

For example for...

• Your hairdresser (assuming you had one in Brazil. I don't.)
• Your maid or empregada or fauxineira
• Your doorman or porteira
• Your nanny or baba
• Your Portuguese teacher or professora portuguese
• Your yoga instructor
• Your kid's Capoiera instructor...
• Your secretary (clearly this is more of a bonus or gift situation than "tip" but you get the idea)

What I've heard:

• Brazilians don't tip these people
• Brazilians provide these people with a "13th salary" (or extra month's wages) this time of year

See why I am confused?

I look forward to your comments and I will post again soon letting you know what we did with ours, just for interest's sake.

Air Conditioning

I think my in-laws had trouble believing us when we told them how difficult it can be to get even the simplest things accomplished here in Brazil. Luckily for me, I think they gained a bit of appreciation for the situation after this week!

About a month ago I purchased a new air conditioner unit for the master bedroom. The A/C we had in the bedroom was turbo powered and missing the switches which allowed it to be set anywhere in between off and full wind ahead. This led to many sleepless nights where we were either roasting, freezing, or getting up every half hour to turn the unit off or on.  Also led to me waking up with windswept hair on more than one occasion...

The plan was to move this turbo unit into one of our guestrooms which did not have a/c, and put the new one in our room.

After several calls and attempts to get someone in to install the new unit and re-install the old one, and time after time having no one show up (!!!AUGHHHH!!! Will I EVER get used to this?) again on Tuesday, when my housekeeper's son, a plumber, was here doing some odd jobs, I figured, what the heck why not ask if he wants to install the a/c's?

Of course he wanted to.

So he starts by ripping apart the ac spots in the walls in both rooms, during which process he broke a pretty little towel hook that perfectly matched everything in the guestroom.... (no big deal, I tell myself, thinking of the uninterrupted sleep that will soon be mine).  So we have two rooms without a/c installed, but the big square holes for the units exposed.  He then realized he did not have the tools to complete the job that day. I still do not understand this - how does one rip everything apart and then realize something like this.... anyway...at this point my house was a disaster with shreds of packing material, styrofoam packing, sawdust everywhere but he managed to try and tidy up his mess and get the holes covered for the night with a promise to return to finish the job the next day.

The next day he shows up (!!) and installs both units, seals them in, paints around them, I am thoroughly excited.  While he is doing some other little projects I found for him, I happen to go into my bedroom to test out the new a/c unit.  Plugged it in, and went to turn it on and nothing happens.  I assume that he must have been clever and flipped the breaker as to not electrocute himself, and ask him about this and tell him that the unit was not working.  He then comes in and spends at least an hour trying to figure it out, flipped the breakers, tinkered with the outlet, the whole bit.  He THEN informs me that he has of course done everything right, but the air conditioner unit is flawed and needs to be returned to the store.

I am flabbergasted. 

He shrugs, says that this happens all the time. 

Um, if this happens all the time, then why did you not test it before installing it and painting around it and sealing it in and everything???

I pay him and send him along his way.

ANYWAY.

I call my husband and say that I am FINISHED dealing with this A/C unit and it's now in his hands.  He tells me not to worry about it, is sympathetic for my two days just this week I'll never get back that I spent trying to fix this issue (not to mention several others when people didn't show up before!), comes home from work, flips the breaker, turns the A/C on, and finds that it works just fine.

More Cell Phone Drama...

I don't think I am meant to be provided with sustainable, reliable mobile telecommunications in this country. As I've posted about before, I basically did not have a cell phone (ok I had temporary one for like a month) until I'd been here for about 6 months. Because my husband wanted me to have a bb, and the tech people arranging for it at the office assured him it would be in "any day now" - we didn't bother getting a pay & talk phone from the get-go.

Then, the other day (the night we were at the hospital, actually...) the bb just stopped working properly. It displayed an incorrect time.  It refused connection to a network.  It did not ring when phoned.

Apparently it has some sort of terrible problem, and I will not receive it back for about a month.

ArggggggghhhHHHHHH!
Not.meant.to.have.a.cell.in.Brazil.

How am I, as a Woman, Treated in Brazil?

This is a topic I hate to generalize on because everyone's experiences are obviously different.  A person who has had a horrible experience in Brazil will generalize differently than I will.  So I will stick to my stories and would like to hear yours too.

First of all, I think I have been treated differently in Rio than I have in other parts of Brazil.  In Rio, in our neighbourhood, I think I have it pretty good.  I don't feel as "harrassed" on a regular basis as I have in other parts of the world (such as Mexico, etc.), and remember, I am the girl who wanders several kilometers on foot every day by herself (if ever there were an opportunity for harrassment). 

I am not saying that men do not show their approval for one's appearance here.  They are not shy.  They do make comments, stare (mostly at your butt rather than your chest, though, which is different than North America!) and some do this hissing thing that kind of freaks me out.  They hiss in the way that people sometimes do to get a neighbour's irritating cat out of their yard, and really put their whole body into it.  After 8 months here, it is still very foreign to me, I find it almost scary. But the hissers are not as common in this area (Leblon) - however whenever I go to Centro to the markets I seem to get hissed at a lot more.

Men on the street often compliment me in English - ie)  "beautiful" - in these cases I get the feeling this might be one of their only English words.  I have light colored hazel-green eyes which often are commented on in Brazil (much more than back home, where my eye color is more common).

I will note as well that the first day my friend J & I got our bikes, as we cruised down Ipanema beach on them we were catcalled more than we ever were walking, maybe men find women more approachable when they are on a bike and "far away" or just don't want to scare you when you are walking right by them?

I would like to mention that in all my time in Rio, I have only been groped by a stranger on the street once, walking along the sidewalk on the beach in Ipanema, he was a vendor.  Luckily I was not alone, I think it would have been much scarier! And really, since that is the worst thing that's really happened to me, I feel pretty lucky.  That could have happened anywhere!

I have read in guidebooks that women should not feel strange about eating out alone in Rio, that it would be treated as completely normal - I agree with this. I feel more comfortable doing this here than I do at home.

When shopping - particularly for big ticket items - I find it handy to throw on a ring on my ring finger.  (I do not normally wear a ring at all here, as I don't really have one I like to wear, mine are back home in Canada in safety deposit). I found that I was given much more attention and help at the stores when I was wearing it vs. not. This was certainly no scientific experiment but I found it to be pretty consistent.

Most of these examples apply to how I am treated when I am alone in Rio (which admittedly is most of the time!), however, when my husband is around and we are out & about, I do notice that he becomes the main focus of the attention of others.  When shopping for furniture with him (one store, after I had spent several weeks scouting things out alone!) the sales person refused to make eye contact with me, answer my questions or even address me.  Big mistake, buddy. Needless to say, we did not buy anything there.  I have also posted in the past about stories about people I know & their drivers, etc. (The husband rules the roost and is the big "chefe" as far as staff is concerned...)

A year and a half ago we were in Salvador at the Sofitel for a week while Mr. DRL was working.  I was on my own at the hotel during the day, and as it's not really in an area one can wander around in, I was kind of trapped there.  Although the two of us had great service anytime we went anywhere in the hotel together, once he was gone for the day it was as though I was invisible.  It would usually take 4 or 5 attempts to be served for lunch.  It was terrible.  I noticed in general while in Bahia, that women really seemed to take a backseat to the men compared to in Rio or Sao Paulo, when it came to service in restaurants (I was always poured wine last, when at a table of all men!).

Although Brazil is known as a macho society, and in many ways it is, happily I don't feel it really affects me on a daily basis. 

Misuse of Resources, Much?

One of the most interesting/frustrating/funny (cause it has to be or else you go insane) things about living in Brazil is what is in my opinion a misuse of resources. Especially government resources.  Which, admittedly, happens everywhere but in this case there's an extreme...

I'll give you an example.  We have some friends who have shipped a container of household goods including a few food items to Brazil, for personal consumption.  One of these people happens to be employed by a company which is affiliated with the food and beverage industry.  Somehow the name of the company was put on the shipping label with the names of our friends.  Now, because of the "food contents" (which is apparently like 2 jars of peanut butter), the shipment has been held up in customs for months, because customs figures that the company our friend works for is trying to get into the peanut butter import business.  Which they are not.  (2 jars? Come on).

Meanwhile, the illegal arms and drug trafficking trade is booming here in Brazil. Kids in favelas have access to AK-47's and grenade launchers, none of which are apparently manufactured here in Brazil. According to many sources it is easier for a child in Rio de Janeiro to get their hands on a gun than a meal. Scary.  And yet a couple cans of peanut butter are tying up precious resources in customs for months on end...

If you read my recent entry about my allergic reaction, you'd know that a couple cans of peanut butter are for me just as deadly as an AK-47, however, it's my understanding that for the majority of the population, this is not the case.

When the peanut butter is the priority, and customs officials are more concerned about a couple cans of skippy than drugs & guns, it really makes you wonder.

Accomplishments

Living abroad has changed my view of what it means to accomplish, well, just about anything.  In my old life, I'd find a sense of accomplishment in being part of a team and accomplishing something like... keeping a company from going bankrupt, landing a stellar new client, hosting a fantastic event, landing a fantastic meeting for a client, or not getting an investment banker to slam the phone down in my ear...

Note: yeah I am pretty glad I no longer work in finance these days... just for the record.

On Friday, I picked our vehicle up from the car dealership where it had been getting a tune-up, drove it to sendas, parked in the parking lot, went in and found turkeys for my Thanksgiving dinner I hosted last night, and drove home - on a Friday night in Rio - in the dark - yes it was my first driving experience in Brazil and therefore why this seemingly mundane event is garnering a blog post of its own...

I felt VICTORIOUS after this event! In fact, I called some of my family in Canada, who were ALL together for Thanksgiving, and shared my accomplishment and joy with them. (And and and...! I found TURKEYS! TWO of them!! And... I saw someone I knew at the store!)

After that conversation, I imagine that much of the turkey dinner conversation may have been speculation about what kind of drugs we are on down in Brazil...  The excitement about seeing someone I knew at the store would have really thrown them for a loop as some of them live in a small town where it's impossible to go buy a litre of milk without having about 9 conversations with people you know who you've run into.

Moving to a foreign country is almost like being a baby again or a small child.  Confusing as hell, and every milestone feels as though it needs to be photographed and written down in the baby book blog. Like... learning to say hi, first full sentence spoken, first full conversation in Portuguese without having to scrunch face to convey confusion, where to buy meat that doesn't smell funny, where to find x,y,& z...

There are so many firsts, and each of them feels like a major accomplishment even though they are all small things we took for granted back home. Thank goodness there are others to share these events with because back home, they are like, yes, kind of like I've seen you do it 1,000 other times?

The Quest for Residency

This week, we were at the international airport twice in 12 hours.  Once to send off our guests, then again the following morning, "bright & early" to register ourselves with the federal police now that we have our proper visa's.  We foolishly thought this would be the final hurdle in obtaining temporary residency.  Despite the fact that we had every possible angle of our fingers fingerprinted, have our visa's, gainful employment in Brazil, yet another round of passport photos,  etc. etc... it will be up to another year and a half before we receive our residence cards, and in the meantime we must visit the federal police every six months for re-registration.  Here is a photo of the fingerprinting process...

Patience is a virtue practiced well in Brazil.

Iguazu: Visa's, Business & Dogs

The reason we went to Iguazu was to pick up our 5 year visa's so that we can legally be in Brazil and so that Mr. DRL can legally work here (yay!) and start paying taxes in Brazil (boo!).

Our agent picked us up at the airport and took us to the hotel in Argentina.  When crossing the border we did not need to get out of the car nor did anyone come to the car to ensure we were in fact the people on our passports... the agent then asked us to fill out some paperwork that looked suspiciously like preliminary paperwork for a visa application.  Despite the fact that our visa application has been in the works since last November and we have had to prove Mr. DRL's expertise and jump through various hoops already, we thought this could be worrisome yet we decided not to let it rattle us.  We filled out the paperwork the next morning at the consulate, where exactly no one spoke with us, then our agent told us we could leave and he would bring our passports to us at the hotel with the visas in them later that day.  Okay by us!

When it came time to cross the Brazilian-Argentinian border again the following day, again the agent went to the counter and left us in the car.  This time, a fellow came about three steps out of the office to ensure there were in fact two people sitting in the car, but certainly could not have proven our identities from the distance at which he stood.

After jumping through so many hoops and waiting for such a long time it seems laughable to me that we pretty much could have sent stand-ins to pick up our visa's for us.  But I will not complain about something in Brazil being "too easy!" I'll just take it.

I must also comment on the number of cars being waved through the border without even stopping to check in.  It was disturbing particularly when a person considers the amount of illegal arms trading that goes on between South American countries.

Many foreigners living in Rio brought their pets from home.  This process is I would argue more complicated than bringing a child.  It is expensive, time consuming and emotional especially considering people often have to wait to bring their pets down which means a separation from them for a time, or even just sedating the pet for the flight, and apparently not all flights will bring animals down. Watching a number of dogs run wild through the Argentinian - Brazilian border (right at the office!) made me think of these people and their struggles to bring their pets down...

All observations, hoop jumping and surprises aside, we are now legally in Brazil which is a good feeling!

This concludes my little series on Iguazu/Iguassu - if you have any questions feel free to email me or ask in the comment fields.

Mail

I frequently mention how many things in Brazil seem to be either black or white, without a "medium" setting, no middle of the road option.  Mail is no exception.

The other day, I went to mail a card to a friend back home and would like to send it quasi-express.  In Canada we have about 4 different express type options, ranging from overnighting to a 2-3 day option, with an accompanying price range.  Not in Brazil.  My options were regular mail for R$1.50 or about a week-ish for $R50.00.  That's it.   No R$15-ish option?  Nope.

I have found that there is not a lot of consistency in how long mail takes to reach North America either, we have had luck with postcards & letters reaching home in under 2 weeks and also experienced it taking more than a month... so who knows how well the "express" option would really work anyway.

Needless to say I did not express it, next time in that situation I think I'd just fedex, not sure what the rates are on that but I will look into it...

Expat Kids in Brazil

Disclaimer - no, I am not a mom.  I realize I don't fully understand what it's like to have kids of my own.  I promise to read this again someday if I do. I love kids, respect parents for doing a great job (and one hard job!). Ok? End of Disclaimer.

I get a lot of hits from people looking for info on moving to Brazil with kids.  While I can't say that I have done this myself, I do have a few observations which I will share.

• There seems to be a lot of support for expat moms - including quite the dynamic toddler group that meets at least once a week in a different locale for the moms to talk and the kids to play.
• Brazilians love kids and their reactions to kids are priceless.
• Kids seem to get sick a lot here. I realize this is the case everywhere having several friends with kids back home.  Especially toddlers, which makes sense as many of the kids I know were moved here when they were a year old or less, and kids immune systems generally aren't developed until age 2.  They are exposed to things here they and their parents were not necessarily exposed to where they lived before.  Just an observation, but most of the kids I know in the 2-3 year range here have incessant hacking coughs most of the time (and their parents worry because they have had them for months).  I wonder if it is the case as much with kids who are conceived/carried/nursed here in Brazil, if they have different antibodies... just a theory/question...
• There are wonderful places to take children such as the Jardim Botanico, Parque Lage, the zoo, the beach, out walking. Oh and of course all the little snack & juice shops, kids love those. Malls and public places cater to children in ways I am not accustomed to in North America.
• I have yet to see a "kid on a leash" in Brazil - which is refreshing because when I was in Banff, Alberta, Canada, just over a week ago, I saw a mother with a kid on a leash and the kid literally tripped on a curb and fell on his face because his mother pulled on the leash not really watching what he was doing.
• Kids pick up the language quickly and often end up teaching their parents.  It's also cute to see the little ones asking for agua. 
• What would scare me the most as a parent if I lived here would be kidnapping or carjacking.  Because it is pretty much impossible for a kid to get themselves out of a carseat in a carjacking scenario.  Not to scare people, but rather to inform, as this is a potential hazard of living in Rio with kids.
• Every parent whose children attends the American School in Gavea says their kids LOVE school here much more than ever before.  This applies to the littlies and teens alike.
• Expat moms seem to be much more involved than a lot of the Brazilian moms in my neighbourhood - most of the Brazilians with children have a "Baba" or nanny, easily spotted as they are dressed all in white.  Most of the expats seem to be relishing in the fact that they have a great excuse to stay home and have quality time with their children.

Mom's? Anything you can add to help inform people with children who are trying to make the decision of whether or not to come and live in Rio? What is easy, what's hard?

Most FAQ's

While back home... in order of popularity.

1) How is Brazil?
Um, what?  It's... good?  We quickly started getting cheeky:  Well it's the fifth largest country on earth in terms of both landmass and population, tropical climate.  Portuguese speaking.  Boasts nearly 7,500 km of coastline, and some of the world's most beautiful beaches.  Politically, it is starting to experience some stability, the world's tenth largest economy and blah blah blah investment grade... Oh you mean how are WE doing in Brazil, well why didn't you just say so?  Anything else maybe a bit more specific you'd like to know?

2) How do you like Brazil?
A complicated question to answer so we detailed all the things we like and what we find challenging.  Read enough of the blog and you will get the picture as to what some of these things in each category are!

3) What do you do all day?
Please see various earlier blog entries on this subject ;) 
And yes, that is also what I told some of the people who asked!

4) What is the cost of living like in Brazil?
It depends... food is incredibly cheap, rent is incredibly high.  Which is immediately followed up by the question, well, ballpark number, how much is your rent? Which we soon discovered is not a good question to respond to because people will immediately assume the wrong thing/think we are crazy/think we are millionaires - just uncomfortable all around - so we quickly revised our answer to be: "Well, it's the fourth most expensive city in all of the America's in terms of cost of living, and they take everything into consideration when calculating that number, like food and availability of goods, many of which are really cheap." If they pressed further we would say, "Think... London."

5) Do you feel safe there?
I feel pretty safe most of the time in Rio but that is probably because I do things much differently than I do in Canada - I seldom carry a purse, often drive in armoured cars, and am very aware of my surroundings everywhere I go and stick to fairly safe areas.  We also live in the neighbourhood with the highest quality of life index in all of South America.

6) So, do you think you'll have kids while you are still down there?
No, my motto is if I can't wear my wedding ring then it's not safe enough for me to have a baby there.  It's one thing for us to be there, another to consider children.  Besides we want to live closer to family at that point in our life!

7) What do you miss most about home?
Family & Friends.  Cheddar.  Mexican Food.  Sephora and favorite clothing stores.

   

Stats

The Bored Finance blog featured an interesting post on Brazil... some highlights:

• It's the biggest BRIC country
• It has the fifth largest landmass and the fifth largest population in the world
• The Brazilian central bank has set the interest rate at 13%, although inflation is only expected to run at about 5%. This has kept Brazil's currency strong.
• Starting a business in Brazil takes 152 days, more than three times the world average. Obtaining a business license is difficult. Just going bankrupt takes four years.
• More than 30% of the population live below the poverty line and identify with the socialist and communist political parties.
• Brazil discourages imports through a wide range of nontariff barriers.

Cost of living: Real prices

I have been meaning to do this post for awhile and will likely follow it up from time to time, but it seemed especially timely now given the amount of attention in the media recently given to the cost of living in Brazil (Rio is the fourth most expensive city in all of the America's... people find this very difficult to believe!)

Obviously there are some extremely cheap accommodations available as well, given that the average Brazilian makes less than R$600 per month.  So to average things out.... this means that the high end accommodations are, well, excessive in price.

Here are some current real estate rental listings in a few neighbourhoods in Rio...

I must say there are some much better deals out there right now than there were in March....

Botafogo: $R1,550 per month (with taxes & condo fees, etc.) - apartamento - 1 bedroom. 
zap.com.br

Barra de Tijuca: $R5,000 per month (with taxes & condo fees, etc.) - house - 327 square meters - 3 bedrooms + 1 suite.
www.jtavares.com.br

Copacabana: $R4,100 per month (with taxes & condo fees, etc.) - apartamento - 150 square meters - 3 bedrooms. 
www.jtavares.com.br

Ipanema: $R3200 per month (with taxes & condo fees, etc.) - apartamento - 140 square meters - 4 bedrooms.
zap.com.br

Leblon: $R6,300 per month (with taxes & condo fees, etc.) - apartamento - 172 square meters - 3 bedrooms.
www.jtavares.com.br

The CPF in Brazil

The CPF (or say pay effie) is a must-have if you are going to spend much time in Rio or make any major purchases.  From what I can tell, it's like a Social Insurance Number in Canada (or "Social Security" number in the US).  I have one.  I was told when I got it that I would never need it.  In reality, I need it all the time.

It's interesting to me that in a country where you are told explicitly never to give any information over the phone to anyone, (even so much as your name!) that we are asked for our CPF number constantly - in fact the other day when I was getting a manicure done, they asked me for it so they could put me in the computer system.

I guess the idea behind this is that the government can track the spending of its people because merchants are "required" to get the CPF of the customer whenever there a note fiscal or receipt is given.  Obviously this does not happen every single time, but there have been many instances where I have been refused when I have been trying to buy things because I didn't give my CPF. (Things meaning big ticket items like furniture. At first I didn't always have it with me!)

I find this bureaucracy to be ridiculous, considering that I have yet to get an "accurate" head count for how many people live in Rio, let alone Brazil, and so on and so forth.  This CPF tracking is an enormous waste of time and resources.  A major frustration for foreigners (and I would imagine locals alike).

So if you are moving to Rio, make sure that you get a CPF... and don't be shocked that you might have to give some guy's brother $R50 to get it...

Unaffordable is Right!

It is very expensive to live in Rio (I may have mentioned this a time or two before...) I am still shocked by how expensive our rent is. 

Forbes just published an article on this topic, as Mercer's Worldwide Cost of Living survey was released for 2008.  Brazil's growing economy and the real gaining value has created a high demand for housing, particularly high end housing, which has driven up prices, and as you have read previously, decreased selection!

Apparently Rio is still more affordable than New York city but is #4 in terms of the rate at which affordability is declining.

The Mercer survey takes more into consideration than just housing however- including food costs, items, etc.  As food is very cheap in Rio, I suspect that it this probably "makes up for" the exorbitant real estate costs a bit in the rankings.  The survey considers 143 cities across 6 continents and measures the comparative costs of over 200 items (housing, food, transportation, clothing, household goods, entertainment, etc.)

The Top 5 most expensive cities in the "America's?"

• New York City, US (22nd overall)
• Sao Paulo, Brazil
• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (31st overall)
• Los Angeles, US
• Vancouver, Canada

The Top 5 most expensive cities in the world:

• Moscow
• Tokyo
• London
• Oslo
• Seoul

The Testament & The Despachante

Most of "The Testament" by John Grisham takes place in Brazil.  One of the little gems in the book is the description of the "despachante" - which I now realize we have used several times - here is the description from the book:

"a personal dispatcher, expediter, buyer, or runner. No official document is obtained in Brazil without waiting in long lines. A despachante knows the city clerks, the courthouse crowd, the politicians, and the customs agents. He knows the system and how to grease it to get things done. The job requires a quick tongue, patience, and a lot of brass. For a small fee, a despachante will obtain permits and passports or do your voting, banking, and mailing - the list has no end. No bureaucratic obstacle is too intimidating. A ‘despachante de aduana’ will assist you with imports, exports, and transportation involving customs houses. Some of the services of an honest despachante may seem fraudulent by U.S. standards, but acceptable by Brazilian standards. The services of an unscrupulous despachante may seem fraudulent even by Brazilian standards.”

Big day today, kids, Big day!

The last piece of furniture on my list is arriving today!!! Which means I don't have to sit at home anymore waiting for furniture deliveries! (And I can post some before & after photos of my apartment for you too...)

I will however still have to sit at home once more for the locksmith - last time he was here for 7 hours to install 3 locks... and that is another blog post yet to come...

Looking for a room in Leblon?

Just came across this blog post/room for rent in an apartment in a nice area of Leblon - $R1200/month. Click here to check it out.

Echoing Sentiments...

On Brazil's corrupt police force...obviously I am not out to lunch for my moment of terror yesterday... here are these current articles on the topic:

From the India Times, titled "Brazil's elite police: Heroes or a Death Squad?" about a woman whose brother (according to her not a drug dealer but a van driver) was killed in the April 3rd raid in Vila Alianca.

Many articles are also available on the kidnapping and torture - by a militia of these troops - of some journalists who were working undercover in a favela.

Reuters posted a similar article about the same woman, but added that the BOPE unit has a reputation for violence. Last year the number of people killed by the police in Rio grew by 25%. And get this:  Amnesty International, says troops often fire randomly from inside armoured trucks. Wonderful.

For information from Amnesty International on how to get involved in the movement protesting the Rio de Janeiro police killing indiscriminately, intimidating whole communities and conducting violent policing operations involving excessive use of force, click here.

Rio's Ranking

It's not only the investors who are seeing "blue skies" in Rio these days... Who knew Rio had the world's bluest skies? Scientifically proven folks, you heard it here...

Rio is also moving up in the world as far as quality of life goes.... regularly Mercer releases reports on quality of city living - measuring "quality" in 39 key areas such as political & social environment, health & sanitation, schools & education, etc.  The survey is used by HR departments in multinational companies when deciding on compensation for executives abroad (i.e. how big the "hardship" premium will be).

350 cities are in the "database" 215 of which are ranked. I don't know how they decide which 215 are  to be on the list, but anyway... Currently, as far as quality of life goes in major centers in Brazil as compared to the rest of the world:

• Sao Paulo is ranked 119th
• Rio 114th
• Brasilia 105th.

  To contrast this to Canadian cities:

• Vancouver is 4th
• Toronto 15th
• Ottawa 19th
• Montreal 22nd.

In the US, Honolulu is ranked 28th, followed by San Francisco 29th, Boston 37th and Chicago 44th. Washington, DC, ranks 44, above New York 49th.

In last place? #215 = Baghdad.

Safety
The report also addresses personal safety.  All of the Canadian cities included in the survey: Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal - tied for 18th safest.

On the list, Rio is 167th.  I was surprised to see that Rio scored lower than cities such as Mexico City - 125th...

There is always a lot of debate over where is safer to live - Rio or Sao Paulo.  According to the survey, overall quality of life is better in Rio than Sao Paulo, but it is less safe overall.  But I find this to be flawed - even though there may be more murders, etc. here it is possible to walk around/feel safe, whereas when I have been in SP I have not been able to enjoy that or feel safe walking. Statistically I guess it is safer.

But Rio still has the bluest skies...

 

Expat Compensation Packages

Recently I've had a lot of hits from people making searches on expat compensation packages in Brazil.  I'm no expert expat as I've said but I'll give you a rundown of what seems to be standard (at least with bigger companies):

- Increased salary
- Mobilization & Completion bonuses
- "Hardship" bonus of 30% of salary
- Apartment/living expenses/driver taken care of (fyi: most companies down here seem to have a budget for apartments in the $10 - 20,000 R per month range...insanity). Some include armoured cars.
- Language training
- Flights back home
- Shipping of household items (to and from Brazil)
- Intermittent shipments throughout the year (in case you really want more peanut butter, etc.)

This is in addition to regular benefits these jobs seem to have such as 401k/stock options/health insurance, etc.

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...

VISAS!

Our Visas are ready!!

Hooray we can be legal!

Wahoo! 

And this means we get to go to the Foz de Iguasu sometime in the next 90 days to pick them up - so excited.

We're Dreamers...

Before we moved to Rio we fantasized about the things we would do when living here, especially those things we do not get to do back home. 

Of course, moving abroad is so different than vacationing abroad.  Reality follows you! Here are some things we thought we would do regularly/would happen to us/we would experience in our first few months in Rio... the good bad and ugly, this list goes to show you just can't plan, well, in our case, much at all.

This is a good exercise for me to remember firstly how incredibly naive/ambitious I was coming into this experience, secondly to get our butts in gear to accomplish some of these things we want.

We thought we would...

1) Go to the beach.  Reality: Although we did do this three times in the past 4 days, on average we've been going about once every two weeks.  Pitiful if you ask me, considering how beautiful and calming it is, and the fact that it is right on our doorstep.

2) Likely get robbed. Not that we were particlarly looking forward to it or "counting on it" but the thought crossed our minds.  Reality: No, thankfully it hasn't happened.

3) Take the opportunity to actually use our SCUBA certification and do some wicked diving. Reality: Hasn't happened once yet.

4) Be at one with nature by going snorkelling regularly.  Reality: Well, we went once in Angra.

5) Be Gym Rats and therefore achieve rock hard Brazilian bods.  Reality: We haven't managed to get to the gym more than three times in a week. Not bad and we are both working out much more than at home but still, gym rats we are not. I did not count on eating as much sugar here, not to mention...

6) Live dairy-free.  Reality: Despite not buying milk once since arriving, cheese, yogurt and ice cream are each practically their own food group in our current "diet"... 

7) Be minimalists and not accumulate much of anything other than clothing and art (insert hysterical maniacal laughter here). Reality: Ummm.... yeah.  Unless you are BRANDNEW to the blog, you already know that basically all I've done since arriving in Rio is shop. And not for anything interesting really, mostly all for stuff I already have at home... like can openers and couches.

8) Become amazing samba dancers.  Reality: This is almost as laughable as mylast point.  It hasn't exactly happened yet.

9)  Do a bunch of surfing. Reality: Haven't been yet.

10) Meet a bunch of wild Brazilian friends. Reality: We've met some great friends but they are not Brazilian.

11) Be fluent in Portuguese in no time. Reality:Every day is a struggle. But we've come a long way!

12) Bank and Invest Mad Cash. Reality: First of all we were dealing with a banking issue which did not allow my husband to be paid for several weeks.   Secondly, see point #7.  My point: moving abroad is very expensive, much more so than we ever would have anticipated.  Unless you have the full financial support of a company, are independently wealthy, it's nearly impossible.  Moving abroad is not for the weak of credit! Let's just say those credit limits we thought we'd never need on our Visa's were used to the brim MOST times over the past three months!