Good news... bad news...

Well this is official now. The process for our permanents visas is finally being processed following many delays.

In the end we have to go back to the UK to pick them up at the Brazil embassy. We were thinking to fly off soon… but then!

Last Saturday we took our adopted puppy to a vet to start his vaccinations. It’s only the 3^rd vet he sees in 3 weeks! Anyhow, now we have an explanation for his increasing spams: Distemper (Called cinomose here).  We wait for the full blood test for more on that. The blood analysis also revealed he had a secondary infection following ticks bites. He is a mess.

We started him on a severe treatment, which includes a full range of drugs and vitamins and daily injections. Every day I have to drag him across most of Copacabana to the closest vet stocking it for a jab!  The injections leave him crippled in pain for several hours. I wanted to stop these but further research and talks to the vet convinced me it is the right thing to do. Today he had a day off and tomorrow I will try another painkiller with the injection. Hope it will be better.

The outlook is not great but our Scruffy is in good shape (with the exception of the spams) and we keep hope that he may pull through, although the vet told us the odds are against us on that one. He’s got a truly nasty virus!

So, with all that we cannot leave him; and also even if he starts getting better, without vaccinations, we cannot leave him in a Dog Hotel. However we have to pick up the Visas soon….

We will see what happens in the next few days. On Saturday we should know if he is still having Distemper or if he had it and showing only neurological damage (via the spams).

In 3 more weeks he will be done with most of the treatment. So the last solution for us would be to hire a”Dog-nanny”! Basically find someone to stay in our flat with the dog for the 10 days we will be away!

Oh well we still have few weeks to see how things go! We remain optimistic that Scruffy can make it!

I have finished my advance Portuguese class (since last Friday) so I can spend all my time looking after him.

Friday is Alistair's birthday, but with all that I have not been able to find time to get him a present! Planning to do this tomorrow after I come back from the vet.  Maybe I will have a look around Uruguainas tube station. There are lots of shops and a market selling anything at decent prices, or so I was told! SO I want to investigate that! I have to find a good copy of a Botafogo football shirt for Alistair!

I would also like to explore more the centre during the week now I am off school. But I cannot leave the dog alone for long at the moment.  

Meanwhile, our container with all our stuff is still in the UK. Once we get the permanent visas, it will be released and we can hope for it to arrive about 6 to 8 weeks later. So if we get to the UK by end of October, it means the container may turn up in Rio about end of the year, the worst possible time.

I can’t see how we could get our stuff released by custom until after Carnaval. My most optimistic date is for early March.  If lucky! Customs here like to take their time to release stuff.

Few amusing anecdotes on that!

Last year a big (huge, massive!) public owned company imported a piece a machinery (small, could fit easily in a suitcase!). It has been stuck with custom for at least 7 or 8 months now! Why they did not smuggle it in a suitcase, I ask! ;) – especially as they are desperate for it!

Another big piece of machinery was also imported by (again!) a big public owned company, 2 years ago, worth over 2m pounds. Again, it has been retained in Customs for ever. The last they heard about it, someone was trying to sell it on eBay. There was no bidder!

It is impressive to see civil servants working so hard against PUBLIC owned companies! Oh well not my country but I hear many of those tales and although I find them amusing, it does not bid well for the future development of Brazil. Either severe reform has to be made across the entire civil servants system or the country, with the help of computers, will end up in a complete stand still through dreadful red tape. I say no more….

Tales from Rio

This is the stories I have been told by various cariocas, and it is so interesting to understand the favelas and how it all happened that I decided to write it down! I may be wrong so feel free to correct!

In the 60s & 70s, during the Generals dictatorship, those guys had the brilliant idea of putting common criminals mixed with political prisoners, in Ilha Grande, which used to be a big jail. They hoped that the political prisoners would be killed by the criminals…. Well, as usual the law of unintended consequences applied! What really happened was that these political criminals mixed with the local thieves and murderers and started spreading their communist/socialist ideas within the favela people.

When the dictatorship eventually came to an end, the political prisoners were released. Those guys then took refuge in the favelas where thieves and criminals were usually coming from, and  they started setting them as “socialist” states within the state. Then came the discovery that drug money would be a great source of funding.   As a result nowadays there are 2 big Traficant groups: one called the Comando Vermelho (red commando). I cannot remember the name of the other faction.  In any case favelas are controlled by one or the other.

If you live in a favela you will never be victim of crime. Petty crime, theft etc  is dealt by the drug lords… it usually involves a bullet on someone’s head… hence  a big incentive, you don’t rob your neighbour! Also the commando controlling a favela would provide lots of freebies for the locals: cable TV,  if you need money for medical treatment you would go to your local drug lord who would give you the money for treatment, etc… 

During the pacification of the Complexo El Alemao (circa 400,000 people live there) the police found about 4000 stolen motorcycles, left in streets of the complex (which include various favelas) for the locals to use.

The other side of the coin is that if one of the Traficant asks you to do something for them, you comply, you don’t argue with a guy who carries a gun!  This puts people, who live in favelas and have honest jobs, into an odd situation.  

Many cops live in favelas too, because their salary is so poor that they cannot afford to live elsewhere. This is very dangerous for them as if the local drug lords find out, they would be killed. As a result they would not even dare to wash and dry they uniform at home. Obviously, outside family members no one knows what job they do. It’s insane!

One of our teachers told us this story which happened few years ago.  She lives near to a favela, in the north of the city. Actually the favela starts at the end of her street. One Friday night, one Traficant faction invaded the favela which was controlled by the opposite group. They wanted to take control of the favela and the income from drug traffic that comes with it. The war started at midnight and continued until 8am. My friend was staying well away from windows as she could see bullets throughout the night. People from the favela, who had been going out on  Friday evening, just slept on her street and waited, as they could not enter the favela and go home!  The police was just waiting, very happy that the drug lords were killing each other. Eventually at 8am the BOPE arrived. These are the Special Forces. Within 2 minutes the war was over. Mainly because the BOPE just shoot to kill and ask questions after!  That is the reputation anyway.

Now this is just stories I hear and I find interesting.  However nowadays I don’t think that Rio is more dangerous than many other big towns. The big shoot outs occurs between drug Traficants  as it does in London and many other big towns. Unless you get involved with that sort of crowd,  this is just the sort of thing you read in the newspapers.

My friend, the one who live next to a favela, tells me that it is actually very safe for her to walk around even at night, because crime is not tolerated within and next to the favela! I know of one French girl who takes Capoeira lessons in a favela which apparently is not pacified yet. She goes there in the evening and tells me it’s very quiet.   

Locals have mixed feeling about the pacification because they lose all the help that the traficants provided and this is not replaced by the government social programs. Also the pacification itself can be very heavy handed. Apparently the BOPE was shooting at traficants from helicopters or even from the streets during the pacification of the Complexo de Alemao. Mind you the traficants have so much weaponry that even the police don’t have the sophisticated stuff that the drug lords can afford, including rocket launchers!  I was told that many mothers in Complexo Alemao, were so worried during the pacification that they took their teenage sons (involved with the drug lords I presume) to the police to be arrested because they were so afraid that the boys would be shot down instead!

On a slightly lighter note, when Amy Winehouse came to Rio, she stayed in a Hotel in the favela Santa Teresa. Apparently, just in front of that hotel is another favela where you can buy the best cocaine in town! You can draw your own conclusions… I said nothing!

That’s all for now! My Portuguese lessons and the puppy are keeping me rather busy! I leave you with few pictures:

Churrasco (=BBQ)at Thiago's house in Niteroi with his wonderful family!

BBQs in Brazil are AMAZING!

And of course more pictures of Scruffy:

We adopted a dog...

We went to Suipa yesterday as we were thinking to adopt a dog and wanted to have a look at the process of adoption. Since our cat died last year (she was over 20 year old) we missed her so much and wanted a pet.
So we went to the local Animal Shelter located in Benfica ... and came out with a puppy! Unexpected but hard not to.

Suipa compound is a grim place but they do a tremendous job. They have over 3000 dogs and many cats too.

We were given sort of VIP treatment and given the dog, getting the Vet coming out of his clinic to check out the dog so we would not wait. Really kind people working there. If you can spare few reais I would encourage anyone to make a donation. Or even better, get there and adopt one of their abandoned pets, if you can!

For now, just a couple of photos of our new family member. This is Scruffy, about 3 or 4 months old, of unknown origin:

Weird facts about Brazil

If you have a runny nose, under no circumstances should use a tissue and blow your nose in public. Apparently it is considered a disgusting thing to do and people will stare at you in disgust. My Portuguese teacher knows of one occurence when one of her students was marched out of a restaurant because of this!
So if you need to blow your nose you should go to the bathroom! That explains why when people have colds here they just keep sniffing in the most dreadful manner! But when in Rome...

Same thing about tooth picks. Never use one in public, it's disgusting apparently.

If you have Brazilian guests at your home, when they are about to leave, they will wait for you to open the door. They should not open it themselves as it means you did not enjoy their visit and do not want to see them again! It is offending!

Bikini wear is actually a minefield for foreigners. There are the right bikinis to wear and there are bikinis that makes you look like a "puta" ( a whore) and people will stare at you! Our teacher explained the difference but I am not sure I get it. All bikinis here as so tiny! I am now tempted to bring to school ALL my bikinis (for my teacher to inspect!)  to ensure they are all fine! And showing almost all your bottom is NOT considered slutty... I'm confused...

If your neighbour brings a pot with some delicious stuff cooked in, don't just return it washed and empty. Your poor neighbour will be wondering why you hate her/him! You are expected to do the same a cook something nice back to them!

Don't ever describe someone as "open" (aberto) as it has a negative meaning and imply someone who has sex with anyone. It is offending!

Dont ever describe someone as "relaxed" (relaxado") as it means someone dirty. Brazilian are obsessive about cleanliness. They are usually impecably clean and their homes totally spotless so telling to someone that he is "relaxado" is very insulting!

That's all for now! :)

How to get a CPF number if you're foreigner? 2 Easy steps!

In Brazil, without a CPF number you are nothing, you do not exist. You will be asked for it for anything!
Anyhow, now I have one I will tell you how to get one too. it's actually very easy! Only 2 steps!

Step one: Get your passport and some bill that hold your current address. This bill  DOES NOT need to have your name on it! Without a CPF number you probably won't have any bills at your name anyway! So it does not matter that this proof of address carry "Mickey Mouse" name!

Anyhow, with those 2 things go to the post office. Tell them you come to pay the CPF tax. They may ask you if you live at the address of the said Bill! Say yes.

Pay the tax (about 5.60 reais) and get the piece of paper that the Post Office Girl will give you and go home.

Wait for a couple of days!

Step 2: Go to the Receita Federal building. Post Office Girl would have told you the nearest address. If not ask her or Google it!  Bring your passport and the piece of paper given by Post Office Girl.

Get there early morning as not to queue for hours!

Tell the security bloke at the entrance you come for the CPF number. He will point you to a desk where you pick up a number. Wait for your number to be called. Hand over your passport, the CPF document given to you by Post Office Girl when asked and smile. After 10 minutes of imputing stuff in the computer, the personne there will give you a print. Keep it. Congratulation, you now have some sort of official existance in Brazil and can even join a Gym! Lucky you! :)

Rio Cooking etc...

I did an afternoon cookery class at this place:

http://www.cookinrio.com/blog/

It was brilliant.  Simone is a great chef and great gal! I love her!

We learnt about the traditional Feijoada.  I have been experimenting since on how to cook the  rice Brazilian style, cooking aipim (manioc),  couve etc.. and will do the beans tomorrow (they are in a water tonight!)….

I can’t wait to do the Moqueta class!

Also learnt how to make great drinks:

Recipes on request ! but best do the day class! Great fun! And you will stuff your face with food! How cool is that?!

For now I am back at school for another run of intensive Portuguese lessons!

Bike Porn and what you have to know before you come to Brazil!

If you come to live in Brazil you may have done your research and realise that everything is horribly expensive in this country (or at least Rio and Sao Paolo) ! White goods are wildly overpriced if you want modern technology, or just insanely expensive if you want type 1950s tech!

So you may think “Let’s buy everything in Europe (or wherever) and put in a container". Well the problem with that is that you cannot get the container out of your country (or out of custom) until you have all the paper work sorted. That includes the permanent visas + a long list of documents and “random numbers” (that I have no idea what they are but will require yet more bureaucracy!). So in conclusion it could take 6, 7, 8 months or more before you get your stuff.

Aware of this we took about 120 kg of stuff with us on the plane in June (including a bicycle!). For the rest, you either buy it locally or do without for a long period of time.

So we had to bite the bullet and buy a washing machine, a fridge and a TV  that was required to get internet sorted in the flat! Don’t ask!. Everything else Techy is in the container: vacuum cleaner ( I can use a broom stick), steamer ( I can mop the floors) HiFi (we have our laptops), some books ( I brought a Kindle!)…

OF course the alternative is to live in an apart Hotel but this is not our cup of tea and finding a long term place to live was a priority. We were lucky to find our flat very quickly, the rent market in Rio is crazy at the moment. So we snapped the flat but as it is unfurnished….  At least last week we finally got delivered a sofa and on Monday we got chairs. We can sit at the dinner table now! J

Furniture, like everything else is horribly expensive again. Although we found a street in Lapa lined with lots of antiques furniture shops. They also make new stuff. Price is a bit more reasonable. We sourced our chairs and TV unit from there.

Most expats coming will not speak Portuguese. This is a priority. So you will go round trying to find where to learn the local linguo! Well, again, expats means lots of money for the locals so prices can be bonkers. I found a really good school, reasonably priced, in Ipanema. It’s a charity and the money from the school supports an orphanage. By the way if you want to have a flavour of Brazil the school is always taking on volunteers on a 6 months minimum basis. You do not get paid but I think they provide accommodation in Copacabana and maybe living expenses. Pretty good I think!

If you are interested here is their website address:

http://www.casadocaminho-languagecentre.org/

Now about motorbikes! :D

Is that ok to browse the internet for hours looking at bikes? And then write down the specs of various bikes to compare? And do it again just to look at the pictures?

Or is this like porn? Bike porn?

I remember a good repartee from one of my brother’s friends, who was asked by a teacher why he liked riding his bike: “ I like to feel the beast between my thighs!” . :D

Well I used to ride horses in my 20s. Well, I tried to learn, but it is hard when you start in your 20s. After almost 10 years of lessons, few close encounters with death and visits to emergency departments of various hospitals around Paris, I decided I would never be able to actually learn how to control those beasts!  I think a bike is MUCH safer. At least it won’t try to kick you out of the saddle when you least expect it!

So I miss my bikes. I miss taking the bikes out at the weekend for a long day excursion here or there… or going away full weekend. I miss the feeling of freedom it gives you.

I was never the cool kid. At school I was the invisible kid who makes her home work and get very good grades all the time, especially in maths. That did not make me popular. I was rather geeky, or even nerdy I suppose! Anyhow, my” coolest” moment at school was when I joined the “Dungeons and Dragon Club”. With all the other nerds at school! J I was even a “Master” at some point! And being geeky I was a very good one!

But now, when I get my helmet on, get my leg over the seat, start the engine, check my mirrors and pull out, I just feel like the coolest kid in town! Truly! And then, when I stop somewhere, remove my helmet, and get some bloke on the street make a double take; “Yes!The midget on the Versys is actually a woman!”. That is priceless!

So I have been looking at bikes. A lot. I have traced all the local dealers online. I have looked at all the prices. I found out yesterday that the Harley Davidson Sportster 883cc cost only 28,000 Reais. A bargain, even cheaper that the Yamaha XJ6! I told Alistair last night about this. Usually, Harleys are so bloody overpriced. But as he commented: “Yes it is very cheap (for local price!) and it is a very nice bike…. If you like to break down by the side of the road all the time!“.

 Well I’ve been there before with my BMW! SO it’s a no then.

I am down to the Yamaha XJ6 or the ER-N6 (Kawasaki – same engine than my Versys!).

Or the Honda CB Hornet.

Now I just need my bloody Container, my Visa and all my bike gear AND a bank account so I can transfer money and buy a bike! It is going to be a long wait. In the mean time I will continue lurking on line at the Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Honda website, looking at the bikes. Look at that exhaust! The shape of the tank, its curve…. Definitely bike porn! :D