Daily Life in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Are you an expat in Rio? It's Survey time!

New posts can be found below, as this will live at the top of the blog until I take down the survey. Expats in Rio - have your say - please take a few minutes to fill out my survey, it will help new expats transition to life in Rio. If you left Rio in the past year, I want your opinion, too.  Click here to access the questions. Thank you!

Luggage Repair

You've gotta love the specialty shop here. They have them for almost everything. I once saw a luggage repair shop here in Leblon or maybe Ipanema, now I could use it and I can't think of where it is - can anyone help me out with that one???

Busy News Week in Brazil

Brazil has sure had its share of press coverage this week with the BLACKOUT, a visit from Madonna, and a spread in the Economist. 

I find it a bit suspect that Brazil had its first big blackout in a long time just days after 60 minutes reported on hackers causing the ones in 2005 and 2007... but anyway.

The blackout was definitely interesting. Mr. DRL has been working horrendous hours so Canadoca and I were at home on our own when the lights went out. At first I figured it was just my place  (and fault, as I was running MAD AC! It's been sooooo hot here the past couple weeks) but then I looked out the window and quickly realized it was not. Mr. DRL called me from the office and said he was leaving (about 10:40 or so). I was a bit nervous about this, being that you never know what kind of ruckus might be kicked up in the streets with the power out and all but he told me to relax, it would probably take him no time, and not to worry about it because at night no one pays attention to the traffic lights anyway. Touché. 

He was home in record time (minus having to climb the stairs as the elevators didn't work) full of reports of which hotels in town had generators and therefore lights.

Where were YOU when the lights went out? I am personally just glad that I was not one of the many people who were IN AN ELEVATOR!!!

Celebrating Sacred Femininity

On Saturday November 14th, one of my readers is hosting a workshop in Copacabana, celebrating Sacred Femininity, featuring yoga and creative writing.

14/11/2009
9:00 `as 17:00
R$95,00
Coparampa. Rua Sá Ferreira, 202.
Contact: kajyoga@yahoo.com  Frida 21 9974 5946

Click here for more details

Air France Flight 447

Recently, on the birthday of my friend who passed away in the Air France crash, I thought I'd find out what the latest is on the investigation. There wasn't much news, other than that Air France does intend to continue looking for the black box, and that the families have filed suits.

Then, this weekend, there was a memorial held for the victims, here in Leblon. Apparently several people at the event wore black armbands to protest the lack of transparency of the French authorities in the investigation. Article here.

A glass plaque was also erected in memory of the passengers on board. 228 birds, one for each passenger. Canadoca and I will go for a walk there this week to see it.

Like Family

I think that Rio and I are now like family. In the sense that it's okay for me to say how it is, and reveal its negatives, but I sure don't like it when other people do...

On the Oprah episode.

I will preface my comment by saying that I think that Oprah has gotten awfully used to getting what she wants. Can't blame her, really. But it sure seems as though she has sour grapes over this lost Olympic bid. I was also watching SNL the other day and there was a sketch where "Obama" wishes the Olympic committee good luck with Rio with a bit of an eye roll. I'm not sure if that sketch was based on an actual event or not but it indicated he was a bit bitter as well.

Anyway! On the episode of Oprah about women around the world, I have the following comments to share:

1. It seems a bit absurd to even attempt to "show how people live" in 5 different countries in a span of an hour. Lofty goal at best. I've been here almost 2 years and every day I feel as though I have it LESS figured out.
2. I felt that Oprah was unnecessarily negative about Brazil, compared to how she was about other countries. Given the fact that she gushed on and on about the bread in Denmark (who cares?) and then basically only asked questions about Rio that referred to the negative aspects such as favelas and plastic surgery. I liked the woman they chose to "represent" Brazilian women, and thought it very interesting that they also went in to the favela.
3. I watched the "after the show" extra footage on Oprah's web site and was disappointed to see that her negativity continued towards Rio. The subject at hand was how long children remain living at home, and the woman's children were still living at home in their early 20's, which she said she loved. Oprah's comment was that in her country that would be considered to be mooching off of the parents. I think if you look at statistics, this is actually becoming more the norm in North America as well, while young adults are still going to University, etc.
4. It wasn't just the Rio portion that irritated me about this episode. Oprah did not seem to be paying attention in the least. For example, she asked questions that had already been answered five minutes earlier in the pretaped segments, and then had a very difficult time wrapping her head around a simple concept of cost of living and pay/taxation being different in Denmark and Dubai. This may not seem like a big deal, but when you are trying to portray what "life is like" in another country in such a short period of time, repeating questions is a total disservice to the viewer.
5. The reason her attitude towards Brazil is so disappointing is because most people who watch her show will never make it here themselves, rather this is just one glimpse for them which will likely form their opinion, and hers is based on having lost a competition, not even her own experiences here as she hasn't even been here. 

Brazil in the News

As I haven't done one of these posts in ages, some of these news items are a bit old but have been in the back of my mind to share for awhile... I'll start with newer items and end with older ones.

• Perhaps the craziest news I've heard out of Brazil in awhile; Futebol on the praia (beach soccer) is being BANNED as of December 1! Article here. Apparently hundreds of police will be enforcing this law. Don't get me started on that use of resources... this is part of our new mayor's mandate to clean up Rio. I wonder when he plans to get started on the public urination problem? This is right up there with stopping people's household good shipments because of a lone jar of peanut butter but then letting a container of automatic weapons go through. Which is by the way something that happens like every day...  Maybe I should write him a letter. And for those who think it is not a problem in Rio any more than anywhere else, I have to tell you that my husband's auditors were in Rio last week and it was one of the only things that they commented on about Rio! (the xixi).
• Brazil is expected to publish a list of trade sanctions against the US tomorrow, in retaliation for Washington's cotton subsidies. Article here. 
• Curious about what the view is like from the Penthouse in the Copacabana Palace? Click here to see, part of an article on luxury resorts in RIo. 
• Madonna is expected to come back to Rio tomorrow, and is rumoured to be staying at Fasano. Portuguese article only, here. 
• 60 Minutes reported that a series of power outages in Brazil in 2005 and 2007 were caused by cyber attacks. Article here.
• Lula has an impersonator on the radio...
• There have been a number of large-scale international investments in Brazil's real estate sector lately, click here for more details. 
• The BBC reports on walls going up around a number of Rio's favelas here.
• It looks like Woody Allen's 2011 project will be shot and set in Rio. Should be interesting! Article here.

Day in Barra part 3

Ok to make up for the scary dolls I had to take a photo of something cute.

Also at Via Parque, the cutest kids shoes EVER. Just gorgeous... Being that Canadoca still hates shoes, I was able to resist. Not sure I would be able to resist twice though...

The detail of the little flowers wasn't captured well by my camera, but you get the idea.

After 3 weeks away,

the water in our apartment runs a little rusty, as Mr. DRL is demonstrating

Explains the fear of Halloween?

This article is crazy. Maybe this explains why Halloween is so disliked here - the dead walk in Brazil on a normal day, why would we need a special day for it. Click the link but the gist of the story is that there was a man falsely identified by family members as being killed in a car wreck. He later showed up at his own funeral.

The key question that comes to mind: I wonder how much "paperwork" will be required to clean this mess up?

Tonight, On Oprah...

If you are here in Rio, try and catch The Oprah Winfrey Show on GNT at 8 pm. It will feature a segment on Rio de Janeiro. As Oprah runs about 2 weeks behind here in Brazil, I've already heard different things about this episode from a number of people back home, and therefore have had to try not to form too many opinions about what was featured until I see it for myself...  it is an episode about women around the world, and apparently a woman from Ipanema and her maid were interviewed for the Rio portion. To view some "after the show" questions asked, click here.

Also on Oprah's site about Rio - a guide to traveling here (there is one for each of the Olympic 2016 Candidate cities) 

I'm hoping some of you come back and let me know what you thought of the episode and how Rio and its women were portrayed. Can't wait to watch!

BIG DAY

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

Mama's night out

Ever feel like things are just meant to be?

I went out on Halloween night, and left Canadoca at home with Mr. DRL (he hates Halloween, remember?) - the night was great, to the point that I really feel I was destined to go out that night. Why?

1. At 3 pm I had no costume, and was not convinced to go. By 4 pm my fairy godmother had outfitted me completely as a devil complete with red fishnets.
2. Canadoca isn't really known for her bottle taking skills. She was really good at it at first when we left her with my mom and sister a few times when she was a few weeks old, but simply has not had a lot of practice lately and therefore is not too interested when it is offered to her, we've been working on it so that I can have a break occasionally. But Halloween was her big night - Mr. DRL texted me a photo of her feeding herself a bottle! Sweet!
3. It was an almost-full-moon-spooky night out there, kids...
4. Finally, the real reason it felt like I was supposed to be there - there is another 20-something Canadian girl living here in Rio with whom I have several mutual friends. I knew she was going to be there, and one of my friends had previously said, "Oh you never know, you might know some of the same people back home." I thought mayyyyyybe... and thought of that old beer commercial, "Do you know Glen from Canada?" But it is a SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL, even in a city of many million people. This Canadian girl had guests in town, one of whom is a girl who I figure skated as a child, with in our little home town of 2,000 people. I was also in a play years ago with her older brother, and was in her cousin's class every year in Elementary school.... craziness. 
5. The Canuck coincidences didn't end there. I met another Canadian woman,who knows of my aunt and uncle and cousins who live in the same area of the lower mainland.

So... the coincidences were so great that I figured I should maybe buy a lottery ticket or something, but rather I think I was just supposed to go out!

Let them have CAKE?

I would like to preface this post by saying that when the incident I am about to write about occurred, I had NO intention of writing about it. However, in the few days since it occurred, in talking with other people, it occurred to me that this is anything but an isolated incident, so I think it's worth mentioning!

Last week a well-meaning acquaintance fed Canadoca some cake when she was being held by another friend. She is not quite 6 months old now, and hadn't previously been given anything other than breastmilk. Put it this way - according to the books I'm reading (and my pediatrician) there are a few foods recommended for babies this age, and cake is not one of them. Not to mention that I am a bit anal about these things (food) despite being a pretty relaxed mom about other things, like, you know, traveling. For example, the night before, my mom and I were analyzing what would be the best foods to first introduce to Canadoca based on what her blood type is. Silly us, cake is the obvious choice.

Suffice it to say I didn't anticipate her first food being CAKE, and I had kind of looked forward to being around when she first tried solids, to see her reaction, you know... I figure I've earned that you know with all the late night feedings, giving birth, gear schlepping and gazillion loads of laundry I've done. These first are the fun parts, the mommy rewards if you will.  But no.  I also have severe (anaphylactic) allergies to nuts and shellfish, so I will be very careful when introducing certain foods to Canadoca because of the family history, baking is something I have to be extremely careful with. Anyway, the person did not mean to cause her any harm of course, as she did not see any issue with giving a five month old cake. Apparently it was par for the course for her. Got it.

I thought I was the only one who could possibly have such a bizarre incident occur, until I read Eric & Emily's post on another well-meaning South American trying to give their daughter cake, saying it couldn't hurt. Then a friend told me about how every time she goes for coffee, the barristas stuff her 14 month old full of chocolate when she turns her back to pay. You often see babies with bottles of chocolate milk, or perhaps it's milk and coffee, as in the story in Emily's post.

I get that nutrition is about personal choices and opinions and that South Americans have a different view on it than North Americans in many cases (do you really need fries, rice and pasta with your beans and meat? Not to mention no vegetables besides the beans...sugar in EVERYTHING) but I am really not okay with people feeding things to my kid without asking me first, especially when it could be putting her at risk. I also get that this is something we will have to contend with back home with people wanting to give her treats, but I didn't expect this to start before she'd even started eating. For now, cake will be officially listed as her first solid food in the baby book, no long term effects, and heck she even seemed to enjoy it. But I'll be more careful next time...  

Happy Halloween

Halloween e Satanismo. You see signs around Rio saying this, year-round. That said, the expat community keeps Halloween going in Rio, the American Society is having a party on Saturday, and there are several other small parties as well. The playgroup I took Canadoca to this week also had a Halloween party (she was a ballerina, my sobrinho back home's idea!)

So, Halloween is here if you want to find it. But some people don't. Like my husband. I think that Mr. DRL may have even sealed the deal to come to Brazil upon hearing that Brazil offered beaches, outdoor activities, a good salary and no Halloween. The guy hates Halloween, I blame his sisters (who by the way both love the holiday) for teasing him mercilessly as a child when he had to get up for a school play and dress and make noises like a flute. I think his exact lines were "flutey flute flute flutey flute..." yeah he is scarred for life. But that DID make him a pretty easy target, wouldn't you say?  The only time I can recall him ever dressing up for Halloween in the 8 years I've known him was the time that he got drunk with his buddies back in Calgary and at the last minute, they decided to paint their bodies blue and go to the bar as smurfs... I think they ended up being in some beer commercial over the whole thing... So if it was one last kick at the can, why not end on a high note, right?

Pretty Pretty Nuance

It's been awhile since I posted a Nuance photo

Day in Barra part 2

I found these two a bit frightening.

In Via Parque Shopping Centre:

These dolls beg the question - How long exactly have they been in this display case? They resemble senior citizens more than they do babies...

 

But, to be fair, not as scary as these ones with their shaved heads:

Keepsake of the fruit in Brazil?

In my survey of Rio expats, I ask what everyone's favorite Brazilian treat is but inadvertently forgot to include the fruit as an option. Luckily many of you reminded me by adding the option.

Although the fruit will never be as fresh tasting back home, there is a way to preserve its beauty in your memory. Jann La Pointe is one of Rio's most talented photographers (we had our maternity photos done with her and have had a couple of sets of portraits of Canadoca done with her as well), and she has put together a beautiful book of photos of Brazil's tropical fruit treats - check it out here. 

To schedule your own portrait session with Jann, or to see more of her work, access her site here.

Day in Barra part 1

Last week a few friends and Canadoca and I ventured to Barra to go to Burger King run a few errands. I brought my camera. I'm glad I did. This will be the first of about a four part series on funny things I saw in Barra that day...

FIrst up: the tooth store in Via Parque.

I don't think I could drink out of this mug with a straight face. Nor can I imagine burning essential oils in the tooth shaped burner...

A Less Painful Airport Experience

When Canadoca and I left Canada, we flew out of Vancouver. Wow, that airport tax sure is paying off, the place looks like a museum - beautiful display cases everywhere. It's all brand new, shiny, nice, you almost want your flight to be delayed. I must wonder how good old GIG will look by the time 2016 rolls around (although hardcore reno's are already underway).

Anyway the Vanouver airport has a spa in the area I was in, which I think is a fantastic idea. People with money and time on their hands, typically wanting to arrive at their destination looking good. It's a great time to get nails done, assuming you have enough time for nails to dry before handling luggage of course. Didn't have time for a wax before your trip? No problem. A massage on a layover would be nice. Another service offered - SLEEP SUITE! So smart...

Now if only more airports would offer this concept, plus healthy fresh food options, traveling would be less painful.

Salitre

I thought it was gone forever but Salitre has reappeared, on Barao da Torre in Ipanema...

Not sure if it will be the same though, I loved the old location and its proximity to our place. We would always sit outside on the terrace above the street... ahhh... memories...

Christmas in October

Back home, stores tend to wait until Halloween is over to start going crazy over Christmas, and decorating for it. Being that Halloween is not really celebated here (gotta love all the "Halloween e satanismo" graffiti/signs that you see from time to time, year round), the season starts early. As in, now. Check out this store window:

 

Lots to do...

My to do list is long these days, as is the list of things to do in and around Rio this weekend. Two high profile picks:

• Oi Fashion Rocks Rio. The event features a performance by Mariah Carey, and a show by Calvin Klein, who apparently spends a lot of time here in RIo. At the Jockey Club.
• If you want to then escape the city, the Buzios food festival is on this weekend as well. So many great spots in Buzios to eat, so this is sure to be stellar.

Shoulda Coulda Woulda

Would have posted yesterday, except I really really couldn't....

Though the title of my blog is daily rio life, I don't often chronicle my daily life in Rio. Yesterday provided a few good examples of what you can expect, though, around the house in Rio at least, so I'll provide some details.

I got up and got Canadoca ready to take out to a playdate. I planned to walk, and take her in her stroller. Upon trying to leave my building, I realized that neither elevator was functional. I am on the 7th floor. I decided we'd take a cab, and took her in her carseat down the 7 flights of stairs.

When I returned home, my zelador/porteira informed me that the power was off. But only selected outlets/breakers. The elevators were included in that selection. He happily carried Canadoca in her carseat up the 7 flights of stairs to my apartment.  (And that kid is not exactly light these days).

I feel the need to add that if I had left my apartment even 10 minutes earlier, when the power was still on, the lack of power would have caused me to be locked out of my apartment until the lights eventually came back on, as I normally keep my stairwell locked, and it is the type of lock for which there is not a key to unlock it from the outside...  just sayin'...

I returned to the apartment to find lights working in about half of the rooms. However, I did not have use of my internal phone line to downstairs, my Brazilian landline, my vonage line, internet or skype, my washing machine, or lights in any of the bedrooms. Being that I did not really want to have to carry my child/stroller up or down 7 flights of stairs or have my porteiro do it again, I didn't particularly want to leave the house, either.  So Canadoca and I enjoyed some QT together! But who has ever heard of a partial power outage? Only in Rio...

Making Headlines

Despite the fact that I have tried to move this blog away from the direction of reporting on scary news items, I can't NOT mention this weekend's gang war here in Rio, particularly because it was yesterday's top story internationally. Can you say: "All because of the Olympics?"

Although a police helicopter being shot down does make this story a bit more interesting, 12 people dying in a gun battle in Rio is not normally international-headline-grabbing news. It is not exactly a slow day in Rio, either, but, well, you get my drift.

Now the headlines scream: Rio, host city of the 2016 Olympic games, is home to a gang war. Um, yeah. Did anyone really think that a 7 year halt had been called on that situation the minute that Brazil won the Olympic bid?

The Guardian published a decent article on the situation, click here to read it.

Survey says....!

Well, we'll soon find out, won't we?

Introducing the first annual Rio Expat Survey!!

I've put together a survey for Rio expats in hopes of broadening the perspectives to share with people making the move to Rio. So please, Rio Expats, help me out! The more of you who participate the more it will accurately reflect Daily Rio Life...

Also - if you no longer live in Rio but lived here in the past year, I am interested in your input too.

The questions are all optional so feel free to skip any you don't feel comfortable answering. It is all of course anonymous so please be candid. I will keep the survey open until the end of November and begin sharing the data in December. 

Click Here to take survey

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....