Daily Life in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

How to Justify Airfare Home: The Price of Kids' Stuff in Brazil

Because it would only take buying a few items back home rather than here to pay for your airfare. No wonder so many Brazilians hit Miami for shopping... meu deus! Mr. DRL will be in the US and already has a ton of stuff waiting for him at the hotel that he is bringing back with him (yes I warned him and sent empty suitcases).

Lately there have been a number of articles and studies put out about the exorbitant cost of living here in Rio, these examples highlight it as well. If you are moving to Rio, these are things you need to think about. 

These are just a few things that I saw while out and about this week that I felt the need to price-compare as examples for you. By the way I'm not searching for the lowest prices online, I'm just using Amazon, and xe to convert today's exchange rate. I would also like to mention that it is significant that some of these items are even AVAILABLE here now, as many of them weren't as recently as a few months ago. 

Anyway - here we go:

 
 

At a drugstore - the MAM Bite & Brush teether. R$24.90. Today that's $14.08 US.

The same product on Amazon:

Next up:

 
This is a Fisher price Rainforest play mat - the price tag is pretty clear though $R329.50. Which is US $185.69 today. Or you could buy it on Amazon and save yourself ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS.....

At this rate you might even be able to justify first class airfare...

Next up, the bumbo chair.

 
See for yourself, it's R$212 here, which is US $114. Only triple the price in the states.

Sling:

 
The same Munchkin Jelly Bean sling... here it's US $112.70 today, or on Amazon below for less than a quarter of the price.

So, this is why it is always always always worth the extra $100 or so for an extra piece of luggage. It quickly pays for itself.

From the Library of the Canadoca

When I was home in May I found this fantastic book by Marc Tetro. Why was it so essential to add this book to the Canadoca's library? Well, in over two years in Rio I am asked daily where I'm from. Before I get a chance to answer, generally people guess. And generally they guess wrong - exactly just once in the entire two years have I been asked if I am Canadian. Most commonly I am asked if I am American, then French, Italian, British or Argentinian. The little goose in the book encounters much of the same... I think this should be requisite reading for Canadian expat babies!

 

Stock up on... porn?

One of my friends told me that when they decided to move to Brazil, someone who was already living here told her husband to stock up on porn because it is so expensive here. She thought it was so funny that, well,  she decided to tell me! Not being any sort of expert on porn prices here or back home, I have to take their word for it. Anyone know?

I suspect that porn may be much like other items we bring in from home. Available here, but slightly different and not exactly to our taste, not exactly what we're used to. I'm guessing porn might be like comfort food that way? But again, I'm no expert. This chocolate bunny ad that has been running since before Easter makes me wonder if even folks back home who think they like big butts as much as Sir-Mix-A-Lot might be in over their heads coming here...

Why it's best not to buy imported items in Brazil

Was checking out a toy store awhile back and came across this:

 

Pretty basic, a pail of stacking blocks. R$125. Assuming an exchange rate of 1.76 as it was when this was written, a cool US$71. For ten plastic stacking blocks.

Went home and went onto Toys R Us online and found the same toy for less than US$20:

I sure feel lucky that we go home as frequently as we do and I can bring things back.

2009 Rio Expat Survey Results: How the Expats Shop

1) I asked where they most frequently buy food/groceries in Rio - they were allowed to list up to 3 options:

Zona Sul was most popular by far, followed by Hortifruti, Feiras (the open air markets), Sendas, Pao do Acucar, Extra, Carrefour and Wal-Mart.

2) I asked which creature comforts Rio expats bring back with them from home countries on a regular basis.

83% bring back beauty products and toiletries

73% bring food products

56% bring electronics

30% bring other household items (DRL note: I know of several people who bring in garbage bags and dish soap!)

Other items participants specifically listed with this question:

• Baking soda
• facial creams
• peanut butter
• coffee maker, dvd player, kids' cereal, candy
• oriental herbs and spices, dutch treats
• syrup, granola bars, peanut butter
• spicy food, spa treatments
• chips chips and more chips
• Perfume, Clinique, Mac, -makeup in general. Ipods, car stereo, telephone, answering maching, computers, printers, cameras, children's toys, strollers, bedding, and lots of clothes, adults and kids clothes/shoes/accessories...the list goes on!
• Walkers Salt and Vinager Crisps

3) Not what the folks at Shopping Leblon want to hear...  when asked where they buy their clothing, ex-pats in Rio responded that they buy most of their clothing back home:

What Canadoca's Stroller is Rocking These Days...

This stroller fan from DreamBaby. It features foam blades (she can safely stick her fingers in there!) and psychedelic lights that seem to mesmerize her. I'm not saying this thing is the most powerful fan but it certainly makes a difference in this 35 degree heat...

Bought mine on Ebay, and no I haven't spotted anything like it here in RIo (and I was looking!).

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!

Current Cravings

I think I'm getting fairy accustomed to the expat life. If I seem particularly weary lately, keep in mind that I have not been home in a year, (going home for 4 days for a funeral does not count, in my books. I didn't even get to see my parents!) and have a new baby I want to share with my friends and family. Most expats I know here go home MUCH more frequently (4-5 times a year in many cases, often spending 2-3 months of the year back home).

Having many visitors has helped with the homesickness. As it is the people we miss, not the things. Well, mostly.  There are a few exceptions, namely (this list can also be known as the "what DRL will be hitting up upon landing back home):

• Chinese food
• Good Salads. Mostly from places like The Cactus Club and Joey Tomato's.
• Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc (and I am not even a white wine drinker... but I want some)
• Silver Sage Raspberry Merlot, or any dessert wine from here. Seriously, if you are ever in the Okanagan, you MUST MUST MUST visit this winery it is incredible!
• Sephora (every time we ever go home on the next Visa statement Mr. DRL asks "What is this Sephora again? And why did you go eight times?")
• Blueberry Pancakes from Nellies in Calgary (I think we went every morning when we were in Calgary in Feb...)
• Magazines
• Bras that fit
• Power Bars sans nuts (I'm allergic). This ORSKI one is one of my faves.
• Cereal... mmmm Kashi GoLean. I admit I brought a costco box back with me last time.
• Finally, COSTCO. Going to Costco will just seem like such a treat...

Really, the list is not any longer.... that I can think of now, anyway... my, how I've evolved...

Don't forget your JAMMIES

I thought I had done a pretty good job of bringing everything I'd need for my baby's arrival that would be difficult to find here/expensive from North America. But I must have morphed into a mom from the second I got pregnant, as the baby has more sleepers than it will probably get the opportunity to wear, whereas I realized I was lacking in the "PJ's to bring to the hospital" department.  (i.e. camera-okay, good coverage, yet possible to nurse in).

So I went shopping. Brazilians must not be big on the pajama thing as the pickings are slim, and expensive. Being the fantastic deal finder that I am, I did finally manage to find a couple of semi-cute, reasonable things, but it was very time consuming. Most women's pajamas that I found in Rio were about R$150, which is about US$75.  Just not quite what I am used to paying, especially for something that I don't feel is good quality. 

I also have been unable to locate nursing tank tops. Oh the poor men who read this blog...

So don't forget to pack your jammies, kids! You don't want to buy any here!

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!

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: [email protected]

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. 

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.

What to Bring

From the traffic I've been receiving from the US and UK, and the types of searches leading those individuals here, I'd say my predictions might be coming true and more foreigners are headed this way to live and work in Brazil.  Welcome!

Many of the searches which lead you to me have to do with "what to bring" - so I thought I'd add some stuff.  I of course brought virtually nothing because my husband and I fantasized about renting a furnished apartment, buying nothing for the next two years and living the minimalist life.  Ha! We could not find a furnished apartment and thus all I do is shop for household things.  Did I mention I got married 7 months ago and have not even unpacked my wedding gifts, which are sitting in my basement back home?  Silly.

You can buy most things here but if you are accustomed to the following creature comforts, you might want to bring them from home (also see my previous numerous sections/posts on this topic).

• Goji Berries
• Cranberry juice (the real kind)
• Tea towels (here they are all like normal towels, which means you have "fluff" all over your dishes
• Specialty health products and teas you normally use
• English books & magazines, as they are expensive here.
• Kitchen gadgets/pots & pans, etc. are either expensive here or difficult to find good quality ones.
• Plastic tupperware-like containers.  I did see Ziploc disposable containers here for the first time the other day.  But much cheaper back home. Face it, not fun to spend money on.
• Linens.  I highly recommend buying linen elsewhere, high quality linens are very difficult to find and when you do, very expensive.  I'm talking $R1,000 for a bedspread and shams which I would not even consider to be good quality back home. If you do buy in Brazil, this is a beautiful store:

What to leave back home and buy new once you arrive in Brazil:

• We have really lucked out with some beautiful antique furniture in Petropolis. To die for.
• Art - so many talented artists here in Brazil, so much selection, a wonderful souvenir of your time in Brazil!
• Swim suits - as was advised to me, leave the gringo/a suit back home and buy something um, smaller, upon arrival.
• Fun decorative objects - lots of inspiration here.
• Patio furniture - can I just say Brazil has the best outdoor veranda/patio furniture ever?
• We were pleasantly surprised at the prices to buy a receiver/speaker/home theatre system here as electronics are notoriously expensive.  I guess it depends on what you buy!
• Anything not worth shipping (it can take FOREVER and is sooo expensive).
• Toiletries - I have a ton of allergies and so I am pretty picky about these things but there are a ton of options here and really beautiful products.  Although if you want solid deodorant, bring it with you!

Earplugs

To add to the list of 'what to bring' if you are looking to work abroad in Brazil - Earplugs!  It is so loud here (even at the best of times), tonight is exceptionally loud as it's the state finals futebol game... so fireworks and screaming galore!

Brazil's Nearly Non-Existant Middle Class

The fact that Brazil's middle class is nearly non-existent reveals itself when one goes shopping for an apartment or anything to put in said apartment.

When we were apartment hunting in Rio, we initially were looking for a 2 bedroom place. 

We soon realized that most two bedroom apartments were quite small, less than 1,000 square feet (or approximately 100 square meters)... "too small" even though we don't have any "stuff"... right.  (We do  want a lot of people to come visit us though which is why we do need a bit of space, to accomodate visitors.)

Aside: Exact metric conversions here, for more click here.

100 square meters = 1076 square feet
150 square meters = 1615 square feet
200 square meters = 2153 square feet

So, LOOSELY, multiply by ten is the rule...

Less than 1,000 square feet would be a bit squishy for us especially with guests and especially when we spend much more time at home here than we would at home being that we do not have the same "freedom of movement" as we enjoy in North America (especially after dark).  We required space to allow for the option work from home.  Generally a less-than-1,000-square-foot apartment here with two bedrooms does not allow for this.  So, we thought we'd get a 3 bedroom and turn the third bedroom into an office. The funny thing to me was that once we increased to 3 bedrooms there was not even the need to do this as suddently the apartments (with very few exceptions) jumped 1,000 square feet and there were many options for where to put a comfortable home workspace.  Just one example of one lack of ""happy medium" here.  Happy medium, by the way, is what we gringoes are used to.  Happy medium is almost everyone, back at home.

So now we are getting a 3 bedroom apartment which will have two guestrooms (because there is a long hallway area which will make a fantastic workspace for me), plus good sized quarters in case we had an empregada (live-in maid)... 200 square meters (it's bigger than the townhouse we have back home).  We were looking for simplicity!

Much like everything else in Rio, the city of extremes, it's all or nothing, baby!

Buying furniture is much the same...

And as a sidenote:

We came, planning to stay for two years, foreigners in Brazil with seven suitcases, not exactly a house full of furniture (with not so much as a can opener, my new favorite line...), embracing the idea of living a simple life in a rented furnished apartment, and not accumulating many more possessions during this period in our life with the exception of any art we fell in love with. Because stuff is evil and  then you have to maintain stuff and clean stuff and store stuff and move stuff and sell stuff. Stuff ties you down.  So we thought we'd have no "stuff"... Wrong.

Sad State of "Health Food Stores" in Rio

Brazilians, I need your help!
I know you read the blog...
I can't for the life of me find a decent health food store here in Rio.  I want to find the following items, among others I can't think of right now: pomegranate juice, cranberry juice (the gross, thick, no water or sugar added kind), goji berries.  This is apparently a very difficult task here in Rio.

There is a store, Mundo Verde which is ok as far as a health food store goes.  It has things like flax seed and oh, you know, cake and many types of cookies.  Not exactly a health food store in my opinion.  Although I am not sure if they really claim to be a health food store or not so I guess I shouldn't judge.

I plan to check out Universo Organico sometime soon, in Leblon.  So will let you know how that goes.  In the meantime if you have any suggestions, I would LOVE to hear from you.  Thanks.

Surprising Little Irony of Living in Brazil

The Coffee.

For the world's biggest exporters and producer of coffee, it is apparently tough to get a good cup of the stuff around these parts. Not that I've been trying, I don't touch it myself, but living here has caused my husband to nearly kicked his once-terrible coffee habit (and is much healthier only having a tiny dose of coffee every day, I might add...)

Anyway, I think it's strange...

So if you are a coffee-holic and coming to live in Brazil or to visit Brazil, bring your favorite with you.  Especially if you're staying with me as I don't have any in the house! And I have not seen a Starbucks or a Tim Horton's yet, folks...

 

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...