Things I've Learned...

By actually reading my google alerts.
See, I've got a bit of time on my hand right now and am catching up on reading my google alerts, and even a few blogs. Warning: this is about as random as it gets, but most of it is either informative or amusing, so here we go...

• Looking to get a new car next year? Starting in August, the Brazilian gov't plans to equip new cars with anti-theft & tracking devices. Apparently a car is stolen every 12 minutes here in Rio and every 3 minutes in Sao Paulo. Here in Rio most of them wind up in the Zona Norte... click here to read more.
• Great article from the telegraph about how amazing a city Rio is to visit. 
• Canada is changing its immigration rules on babies born and adopted abroad - which at first glance scared the you know what out of me but on further review of the article I don't think that we will be negatively affected... article in the National Post.
• Further validation - taking on an international assignment - Canada's Financial Post reports that Canada's CEOs need more international experience. To quote the article: "With globalization of markets and supply chains, the job description of Canadian CEOs has altered dramatically. Today, they must fend off international competitors, tend to international customers and manage international suppliers of labour, materials, information and capital. All this while navigating regulations, business and social customs, public expectations and political environments in each country involved. Canadian companies are clearly finding themselves on a larger and more complicated playing field. Moreover, the pace of globalization is widely expected to accelerate, especially with new competitors in Brazil, China, India and Russia pressing forward."   It continues to say: "All this suggests that Canadian companies (wherever they conduct business) would do well to make sure their leadership teams have global experience. In fact, international work experience has surfaced as a key indicator of the global orientation that many boards seek in senior leadership teams."     This is a good one to send to those working abroad when they have had a rough day...
• Does Canada suffer from Narcissistic Personality Disorder? Hehe
• Gotta love when the country you live in comes up as one of the first ones mentioned in an article about business traveller safety and where to exercise caution... 
• Interesting article on the police occupation of the Dona Marta favela, which I believe is near Botafogo...
• As it has been mentioned by a commenter on my blog, Brazil granted political asylum to an Italian man, ex-Communist militant Cesare Battisti, enraging many.
• Mr. DRL & I were considering taking a short cruise from Rio at some point before the baby comes, but after reading this article about 340 people getting violently ill on board a cruise ship off the coast of Brazil, I think we'll do something else instead.
• Ok now I will switch to the positive and talk about what is "Better in Brazil" - there have been several articles published lately naming Brazil as the "winner" of the downturn, meaning who capitalized on the boom time the most, however this one in the Globe & Mail went that extra step further and talks about what that means on a grassroots level: 
• • Paid off debts to International Monetory Fund & operated finances on a constant-surplus basis, accumulating reserves to help weather the storm now - social spending will not need to be cut and deep debt will not be required either.
  • Achieved an investment-grade bond rating.
  • Infant mortality cut in half
  • Created the developing world's first universal social program which gives financial assistance to poor families, which resulted in cutting the infant mortality rate in half since 10 years ago, and had a significant impact on malnutrition rates in children.

Blogs...

• Pretty funny post by Tiago in Colombia about his hatred for tourists. Entertaining. It's further inspiration for me towards a post that's been floating around my head for awhile about living in another country vs. visiting it. Because there is a BIG DIFFERENCE and those who are "well traveled" seem to get defensive about this point but I stand by it.  Anyhooo..
• A reminder that yeah, I've got it good - "ExpatWifeStyle" - a blog which needs no further introduction than: Expat Wifestyle is a state of mind. You don't have to be married to be one, you just have to have the right attitude, spirit, and, and sense of adventure. Living overseas affords you the opportunity to lunch, spa, and mani/pedi everyday of the week. You can travel at a moments notice and being bored just isn't possible. Every year, thousands of women make the transition from teachers, editors, students, etc to living an Expat Wifestyle. C'mon...try it out and see how much fun we have!
• Funniest thing I read all day was definitely on Expat Experience, where the author of the blog had just finished watching a documentary on the Irish famine, "Fleeing the Famine" and commented that they could have perhaps delivered this key line a bit differently - the Irish famine victims had to make "an impossible choice: Death or Canada." bahahaha. I am making people read this post when they try to convince me that I MUST move back to Canada. No, I don't think that the famine is funny, rather than people would rather CONSIDER death vs. moving to Canada. It's not really that bad, guys. But yeah, it's cold. In fact, according to HSBC's latest data on expats and expat destinations, Canada is the most welcoming country in the world.
• I used to work with a few biotech companies, doing investor relations, and I can be a bit of a nerd about these things so I was excited to see that Brazil has a few interesting biotech companies, check out the Little Devices that Could blog...
• Found this blog because it had a posting about the best hotels in Leblon but it claims to be a complete listing of hotels and restaurants in Brazil. I will check out some places I've stayed and been and see if I agree. Here is the posting about the best hotels in Leblon.

Comments

[anderson]

what`s up?

so. i live here in rio de janeiro. where do you live? and i live in zona norte, im not used to see car`s steal here. maybe because here is calm.

by the way is funny to see my city with foreign`s eyes.

bye!

[G]

Hi there!
Thanks for coming by my blog today!! It really cheered me up (it's one of those days...) Couple of weeks back it looked like i have an opportunity to move to Rio... that's when i got scared and started to search the www for info, and that's when i found you. Your posts inspired and encouraged me so much that i decided to go!!!! BUT, Murphy's law that the day i said yes the day they canceled the project... :((( Anyhow, i am hooked, i'm your follower now :) Thanks for being so cool, so informative and entertaining... and i hope you keep on blogging when the baby comes!!! Best wishes! Your biggest fan

[Vanessa Lima]

This blog is absolutely wonderful. I have been folloing your blog for months now. My husband's whole family lives in Barra Da Tijuca and we travel quite often to Rio. It is nice to see all the positive things you write about Rio, because in the news it potrays a different image of all the negative things.

[Mrs S]

Thanks for sharing! It is definetely interesting to see all the different viewpoints on what is happening in brazil! I couldnt get the expat wifestyle link to work though! I'll try it again!

[Daily Rio Life]

As always thanks everyone for the comments.

Anderson - I live in Leblon in the Zona Sul. I agree it is funny to see your own city through another's eyes - I read similar blogs of foreigners living in the city I used to live in back in Canada!

G - no problem - I'm now a subscriber to your blog as well! You bet I will keep blogging once the baby comes, and try not to make it a baby blog. Hold me to that! You never know how things might work out, you just might end up here after all someday.

Vanessa - Thank you very much! Yes it is difficult to get a true sense of the city from news media alone, much like any other place though I would say.

Mrs. S. - I may have messed up the link it is http://expatwifestyle.blogspot.com/

[Kamara]

Thank you for mentioning my blog in yours!! By now you know that Brazil is place I'd love to go back to and explore!! I've only been to Rio and Sao Paulo. Keep up the good work and thanks again!!!

[Kamara]

Thank you for mentioning my blog in yours!! By now you know that Brazil is place I'd love to go back to and explore!! I've only been to Rio and Sao Paulo. Keep up the good work and thanks again!!!

[Daily Rio Life]

Kamara - You're welcome!