Rio de Janeiro Reports

[NRandom940]

It seems like the hotels that are nice enough to want to stay in don't allow girls. Only special "love hotels" for that purpose. What if I don't want to buy 2 hotels? Any options?

[Gringo Trooper]

The exchange rate has gone from 2.16 in 2006 to 5.62 today.

Does it stay at this level until. A vaccine? After the election?

The BRL will continue to weaken as the years go on for the foreseeable future. The country is extremely corrupt, and the rich get richer, while the poor get poorer.

I was in Brazil when the BRL to USD was 2 to 1, and I still thought Brazil was expensive.

I lived there when it was 4 to 1, and I still thought Brazil was expensive.

Today, even though the exchange rate is almost 6 to 1, the country is still expensive. Inflation over the last 2 decades makes it harder for Brazilians to have a decent quality of life.

Oddly enough, I do a search for hotels in São Paulo (the higher end ones) and they are super expensive in USD terms.

If we have some finance gurus or economists here, please chime in and help me understand what I'm missing.

[WyattEarp]

I'm a European Portuguese, born and living in Portugal, Europe. There are Brazilian prostitutes here since the 2000's.

I bet there have been Brazilian prostitutes in Portugal since the 1700's.

[Vagabundo1]

The exchange rate has gone from 2.16 in 2006 to 5.62 today.

Does it stay at this level until. A vaccine? After the election?

Are there any thoughts on the future direction of this exchange rate, over the next 14 days. Over the next 90 days. Next 120 days.

[Ptgbac]

I'm a European Portuguese, born and living in Portugal, Europe. There are Brazilian prostitutes here since the 2000's.

And the safety issue, or the danger of being robbed in an apartment, is something Difficult to picture. Because most Brazilians girls living in Europe, they become "European", in the good and bad way.

[Vagabundo1]

In the spirit of O'Brien's "The Things They Carried," here is what I carried today, on my bus ride to Duque de Caixis and back to Barra. Basically dress like a motorcycle cop, like those Colombian moto cops who aggressed that person in Colombia (not saying it was wrong or right), or like mad max, because when you step off the plane in Brazil, you enter the jungle. You can get attacked going into a session in an apartment of a girl off of a website, or anywhere else in Brazil. Be ready men.

Vagabundo's gearlist.

Crocs.

Half inch climbing strap.

SOG seal trident knife to cut replacement strap to repair crocs.

5-11 pants black.

5-11 belt.

And1 boxer briefs.

Local wallet in Brazilian camo.

Local currency less than 100 r.

3 used surf wallets decoys or real $ bank cards.

Carabiners (2).

Motorcycle gloves (ave Riachuelo at av mem de SA).

Lululemon metalvent polo.

Vasco mask.

5-11 Moab 10 pack with 50 m of half inch climbing strap as cross strap.

Brazil Flag Velcro patch.

American ".

Israeli ".

Usmc bn 3/7 ".

Two MacBook Air 11.

One chrome book.

One android phone.

One iPhone.

IWalk battery.

Cables.

5-11 rush72 pack.

Motorcycle helmet (70 r).

Triathlon shorts with cargo pockets.

Rash guard swim shirt.

Empty water bottles (so pack will float).

Lululemon shorts.

Vasco the gama futebol shirt genuine.

Ousada Brand Watch.

550 cord bracelet.

SOG seal strike knife.

Milwaukee duct knife.

Biker wallet chain.

(To get).

Red Boonie cover local lifeguard.

Red local lifeguard shirt.

Seirus brand balaclava.

Water bottles.

GoPro (2) on 550 cord pendants.

Aa battery medical grade massagers (3).

Lube.

Pill bottle with boot blousers wrapped around.

Rank insignia: company grade; flag grade.

SIM cards.

Memory cards.

Rei dakine waist pack.

Bluetooth speakers.

Bible app in local languages ready to play on Bluetooth speaker.

Audible.com books in local language.

Gloves: leather for blowtorch work; medical;.

Spare holders for helmet visor.

Chaplains insignia: Christian; Jewish.

Yarmukka small cloth head gear for hydro-Christian faith.

Aluminum foil (be prepared to hide electronic emissions).

Garbage bags (be prepared to waterproof all electronic gear and cloths).

Half inch bob Marley color nylon neck strap.

Pendant with amazon fish tooth as last ditch knife.

550 cord.

Engagement rings (4).

Jeweled buttplug.

Lidocaine.

Taser electro shock device.

Battery (bought at casa e video).

Hi quality Bluetooth earbuds.

Adapter from brazilian electrical outlet to american electrical outlet.

Macbook power charger with prongs for electrical outlets in Brazil.

Aux cabo (2).

USB and USB-see power conditioner.

Gopro data cabo (USB to USB-c).

Toe nail clipper.

Aux headset low quality (cost 30 r at RB156; always buy at RB156, the electronics on the street are usually defective discards near failure; or buy in casa e video and take pictures of and keep the receipt, especially for things like gopro memory cards).

Medicine like dorflex for a cold.

USB memory sticks for essential files like your favorite porn downloaded, because the internet sucks everywhere; the exception is a 5 G wi fi, the closest one here at transamerica is the borda e lenha wifi at av gastao senges 185.

Local lube for sex, like the one sold in the purple Kmed cylinder that the locals use as a emergency dildo.

Deodorant in spray can, rexona is preferred brand by local girls.

Baby oil, for the beach bunda national geographic photographer in all of us.

Flashlight.

Pen.

Paper.

Easy mobile brand battery cost 100 r at casa e video, with capacity of 1000 (units) (again, save the receipt which gives you 30 day exchange privilege).

[LoveLongTime]

Just wanted to give some updates. Staying at Pestana, ok so far have not brought girl back yet (2nd day). Went to Monte Carlo first due to location. Decent lineup. All in was 650 reais. 1 hour in suite drink for me and drink for lady. Went to Marrakesh club, no Bueno. Only 1 doable, had an old lady with fake ones tell me $100 is going rate, I told her I would not pay 100 reais and left. Today went to copa 583 club. Best lineup so far went with 24 yo Negra. She was hot asf but stopped half way through second go round and complained I would not DATY. I played it off but not my thing on high mileage girls. Was worth the 130 reais for sure. The price is nice experience. Will return Monday to try second choice. Sexy ass brunette, it was a hard choice. Probably should have taken both. Heading to centaurus now. I will do more detailed report once I get home. Staying in barra the tijuca next week. Thanks for info vagabondo. Interesting post below. Overall so far I have felt very safe, most have been courteous and friendly even. Biggest headache so far is cell phone. Paying $10 a day for roaming package is not as ideal as tourist plan you would get in SEA. So far I still prefer Thailand or Philippines but I will make that decision a while after I have time to process everything. You can feel the "lockdown" has been very very hard on people here as at home (US), it is nice to feel appreciated though. I have been tipping in occasions I normally wouldn't and tipping more than I usually would because tourism numbers are clearly not strong. I have only talked to one group of gringos so far. Masks are worn by most 90% at least in copa. I will keep those interested updated.

[Vagabundo1]

In the spirit of O'Brien's "The Things They Carried," here is what I carried today, on my bus ride to Duque de Caixis and back to Barra.

Vagabundo's gearlist.

Crocs.

Half inch climbing strap.

SOG seal trident knife to cut replacement strap to repair crocs.

5-11 pants black.

5-11 belt.

And1 boxer briefs.

Local wallet in Brazilian camo.

Local currency less than 100 r.

3 used surf wallets decoys or real $ bank cards.

Carabiners (2).

Motor cycle gloves (ave Riachuelo at av mem de SA).

Lululemon metalvent polo.

Vasco mask.

5-11 Moab 10 pack with 50 m of half inch climbing strap as cross strap.

Brazil Flag Velcro patch.

American ".

Israeli ".

Usmc bn 3/7 ".

Two MacBook Air 11.

One chrome book.

One android phone.

One iPhone.

IWalk battery.

Cables.

5-11 rush72 pack.

Motorcycle helmet (70 r).

Triathlon shorts with cargo pockets.

Rash guard swim shirt.

Empty water bottles (so pack will float).

Lululemon shorts.

Vasco the gama futebol shirt genuine.

Ousada Brand Watch.

550 cord bracelet.

SOG seal strike knife.

Milwaukee duct knife.

Biker wallet chain.

(To get).

Red Boonie cover local lifeguard.

Red local lifeguard shirt.

Seirus brand balaclava.

Water bottles.

GoPro (2) on 550 cord pendants.

Aa battery medical grade massagers (3).

Lube.

Pill bottle with boot blousers wrapped around.

Rank insignia: company grade; flag grade.

SIM cards.

Memory cards.

Rei dakine waist pack.

(toy haha) Pistol.

(toy) Suppressor.

(toy) Ammo.

(toy) Gunsmith tools, drill, vice, light.

Bluetooth speakers.

Bible app in local languages ready to play on Bluetooth speaker.

Audible.com books in local language.

Gloves: leather for blowtorch work; medical;.

Spare holders for helmet visor.

Chaplains insignia: Christian; Jewish.

Yarmukka small cloth head gear for hydro-Christian faith.

Aluminum foil (be prepared to hide electronic emissions).

Garbage bags (be prepared to waterproof all electronic gear and cloths).

Half inch bob Marley color nylon neck strap.

Pendant with amazon fish tooth as last ditch knife.

550 cord.

Engagement rings (4).

Jeweled buttplug.

Lidocaine.

Taser electroshock device.

Battery (bought at casa e video).

Hi quality Bluetooth earbuds.

Adapter from brazilian electrical outlet to american electrical outlet.

Macbook power charger with prongs for electrical outlets in Brazil.

Aux cabo (2).

USB and USB-see power conditioner.

Gopro data cabo (USB to USB-c).

Toe nail clipper.

Aux headset low quality (cost 30 r at RB156; always buy at RB156, the electronics on the street are usually defective discards near failure; or buy in casa e video and take pictures of and keep the receipt, especially for things like gopro memory cards).

Medicine like dorflex for a cold.

USB memory sticks for essential files like your favorite porn downloaded, because the internet sucks everywhere; the exception is a 5 G wi fi, the closest one here at transamerica is the borda e lenha wifi at av gastao senges 185.

Local lube for sex, like the one sold in the purple Kmed cylinder that the locals use as a emergency dildo.

Deodorant in spray can, rexona is preferred brand by local girls.

Baby oil, for the beach bunda national geographic photographer in all of us.

Flashlight.

Pen.

Paper.

Easy mobile brand battery cost 100 r at casa e video, with capacity of 1000 (units) (again, save the receipt which gives you 30 day exchange privilege).

[Vagabundo1]

Are there any thoughts on the future direction of this exchange rate, over the next 14 days. Over the next 90 days. Next 120 days.

The spot exchange rate is 5.62 USD to BRL.

The international language of love is money, as the tag line for ISG says, money is the world's greatest aphrodisiac.

[Vagabundo1]

Yes, the landlord from earlier this year suggested it to me.

I discussed it with ISG colleagues like Fukamefdig.

The conclusion of we few, we happy few mongers who braved the pandemic to monger here was:

IT is better to be a renter, even to get a 30 month lease, and then just to tweek the contract.

Brazil is a Hi tax, Hi regulation cluster f* and I want as little to do with the BS as possible, unless it is through a trusted channel like a church.

Have anyhow considered of taking advantage of the real, and buy an apartment in Rio?

[Ptgbac]

Have anyhow considered of taking advantage of the real, and buy an apartment in Rio?

[Vagabundo1]

The spot exchange rate is 5.62 USD to BRL.

The international language of love is money, as the tag line for ISG says, money is the world's greatest aphrodisiac.

[Vagabundo1]

So, Nina has been asking for money. She has been trying to set up a dupla with Kira Noir, who I'm really interested in. Nina says she will come over, and as I said, she has been taking the bus, walking her ass from the bus stop on av das Americas to my hotel, Transamerica, and then calling up from the front desk. I like this. So she gets the request last night at 2:30 PM, and. Typical of Brazilians. Waits, and waits. Finally she starts texting at 11 PM, with bullshit like "I lost my bus money, so can you uber me?" My answer was a flat no. Not only no, NFW. No friggin way.

It brings to mind Mark Manson's bit about Brazilians which I posted here. They are the most vain people in the world. Totally selfish, always. Don't care as long as they get the picture.

I must be turning Brazilian, ha.

https://markmanson.net/brazil

Carnaval is over. The "real" new year is finally beginning. And tomorrow, I will be leaving, returning to my country.

Like most gringos, I originally came to Brazil for the parties, the beaches, and the girls. Little did I know that I would spend the majority of the next four years within your borders. I would learn a lot about your culture, your language, your customs, and by the end of this year, I will marry one of your girls.

It's no secret that there are big problems in Brazil. There's a political crisis, an economic crisis, constant safety concerns, huge income inequality, and now with the outbreak of Zika, apparently a health crisis.

Over the years, I have met many Brazilians who have asked me, "Why?" Why is Brazil so screwed up? Why are countries in Europe and North America so prosperous and safe while Brazil continues to go through the same cycles of growth and collapse over and over again?

In the past, I've had theoretical conversations about systems of government, colonial histories, economic policies, and so on. These are clearly some valid explanations for the problems. But lately, I've come to another conclusion. A conclusion that many people would probably find offensive, but upon mentioning it to a few of my Brazilian friends, they urged me to write about it and share it.

So here it is: it's you.

You are the problem.

Yes, you reading this, you are the problem. I'm sure you don't mean to be, but you are actively participating in the problem and perpetuating it. Every day.

Because it's not just about Dilma or PT. It's not the banks or the construction companies or Petrobras or even the crappy Real.

It is the culture. It is the beliefs and mindsets that form the foundation of how the Brazilian people choose to think about their lives and their country.

The problem is what you and everyone around you has decided to accept as OK, even when nothing about it is OK.

Imagine you are riding in the car with your friend late one night. Your friend is driving down a dark street with nobody on it. He has been drinking and he's not paying attention when suddenly he crashes into an expensive parked car. Before anybody can see what happened, he drives off.

The next day, the police knock on your door mentioning that a car was damaged on a street nearby and they're wondering if you know anything about it.

What would you do? Would you: A) lie and say you don't know anything and protect your friend? Or B) tell the officer what happened and force your friend to take responsibility for his mistake.

I believe most Brazilians would choose A. I believe most gringos would choose be. And this is essentially why gringo countries are rich and functional and Brazil is not. In gringo countries, there is a sense that justice and responsibility are more important than any specific individual. It is a social consciousness. It is the bedrock of a highly functional society and to ignore it is a form of selfishness.

Most Brazilians have sacrificed a great deal for their family and their closest friends and because of this, they don't believe they are selfish.

But I believe that Brazilian culture is inherently selfish. Only caring about your family and close friends is still a form of selfishness.

You know all of those corrupt politicians and businessmen and police and workers unions? You know why they're corrupt? I guarantee you that almost every corrupt Brazilian official justifies the lying and stealing to themselves by saying, "I'm doing this for my family. " They want to give their family a better life, send their kid to a better school, move and live in a safer neighborhood.

A Brazilian will regularly screw over strangers in order to benefit their family and then call it altruism. This is not altruism. Altruism is giving up your own interests for strangers and for the greater good of society at large.

But there's also a vanity involved. I was surprised when I first learned that calling somebody "vain" in Portuguese is not seen as insulting as it is in English. Now I believe this is another key distinction between the two cultures.

A few weeks ago, my fiancée and I traveled to a famous beach in Brazil. We were disappointed. The water was dirty. The beach was ugly. The famous rock nearby was half the size we expected.

When we returned to São Paulo and told some friends this, their first response was, "Well, you still took pictures in front of it, right?

It seems like such a small and innocent statement, but to me, it illustrates the core of another problem with Brazilian culture: people care way more about how they appear than how they actually are.

Now, Brazil isn't the only country with this problem, but I find it more extreme here than almost anywhere else I've ever been.

It's why rich Brazilians will gladly spend two or three times more for a shirt or piece of jewelry than they should or hire nannies and housekeepers when they could easily raise their own kids and clean the house themselves: because it makes them look and feel more rich. It's why Brazilians buy everything in 12 or 24 installments: because they want to look like they can afford a television when they actually can't. It's why some poor Brazilians are willing to shoot somebody for a motorbike or kidnap a person for a few thousand reais: because they want to appear successful without contributing to society to earn it.

A lot of gringos believe that Brazilians are lazy. I don't think Brazilians are lazy. On the contrary, Brazilians have more energy than most other people I've seen in the world (see: Carnaval).

The problem is that Brazilians focus all of their energy on vanity instead of productivity, on appearing popular and glamorous rather than actually doing something to make them popular or glamorous, on making others think they are successful rather than actually being successful.

Vanity is not happiness. Vanity is a bullshit Photoshopped version of happiness. It looks nice but it isn't real and it definitely does not last.

Vanity is self-defeating. If you need to buy something that's way more expensive than it should be to feel special, then you are not special. If you need to pay someone to make you feel special, then you are not special. If you need to hurt somebody or lie to somebody or cheat somebody to feel successful, then you are not successful. In this case, shortcuts do not work.

Instead, what vanity does is causes you to tolerate shitty behavior from those around you. When you're so concerned about what others think about you, that others will see you as glamorous or fun or popular, you are willing to tolerate bad relationships where your partner constantly cheats on you, bad friendships where your friends are disrespectful towards you, or bad family relationships where you are left unappreciated and unheard.

In Brazil, if someone is an hour late, everybody else stops and waits for them. If someone wants to leave and go on their own, then they are an asshole. If somebody in a family fucks up and wastes all of their money, other members of the family are supposed to give money to them. If somebody in the family gets a great job and makes a lot of money, they're supposed to give money to everybody else. If someone in a group of friends doesn't want to do something, everyone else is expected to not do it. If someone in a group of friends wants to do something on their own, they're seen as ant****ial and selfish.

As a gringo who generally doesn't care what people think about me, I find it very hard to not see these situations as disrespectful and self-sabotaging. In circumstance after circumstance, I watch Brazilians reward the victim and socially punish the person who independently succeeds.

When you reward a person for failing or losing or doing something wrong, you give them no incentive to ever improve or get better. In fact, you make them completely reliant on those around them rather than teaching them how to support themselves and how to create something out of themselves.

When you punish somebody for being more successful than others, you discourage the most talented and ambitious from creating the progress and innovation that the country needs. You hold back the very people that are going to pull you out of this mess in the first place and you make room for the manipulative and mediocre leaders to take their place.

Don't you see? When you socially punish people for their successes, then the only way to be successful is to be a lying, deceitful asshole. That is, you get Brazil.

Sometimes the best thing you can do to a friend who is always late is to leave without them. Because this forces them to learn how to manage their time and respect other people's time.

Sometimes the best thing you can do to a person who wasted all their money is let them struggle and be desperate for a while. Because that's the only way they will learn to be responsible in the future.

Sometimes the best thing you can say to a family member who is upset is simply to "get over it" because how else will they ever move on with their life?

I don't want this to sound like I'm the gringo who knows everything. I don't. And god knows my country is pretty fucked up too (I've already written a 15-page article about fucked up shit in the US).

But soon, Brazil, you will be a permanent part of my life. You will be part of my family. You will be my friend. You will be half of my child when I have one.

And it's because of this, I feel I must share all of this with you openly, honestly, and with the love in which one friend speaks frankly to another, even though it hurts.

And also, because it's not going to get better.

Maybe you already realize this. But if you don't, then I will be the one to tell you: it's not going to get better anytime soon. Your government will simply not be able to pay everything it owes soon unless you redo your entire constitution. The big businesses that drive your economy borrowed way too much cheap money back in 2008-2010 and they're probably not going to be able to pay it back. Many of them will go bankrupt in the coming years causing an even worse crisis. Commodities prices are at extreme lows and show no signs of going higher, meaning there's no more money coming into the country. You are a population of debtors and over-spenders in a shrinking job market and your taxes are so high that they are strangling productivity out of the population.

You are fucked. You can get rid of Dilma. You can get rid of PT. You can lower taxes and redo your constitution (and you should), but it doesn't matter. The mistakes were already made years ago and you are going to have to live through it.

You are looking at at least 5-10 years of lost opportunities. If you are a young Brazilian, much of what you grew up expecting to achieve will no longer be available. If you are an adult in your 30's or 40's, your best economic years are likely behind you. If you are over 50, well, you've seen this movie before, haven't you?

It's the same old story, just a different decade. Democracy did not fix the problem. A strong Real did not fix the problem. Bringing millions of people out of poverty did not fix the problem.

The problem remains. Because the problem is the mentality of the people. The problem is certain facets of what is an otherwise beautiful and exuberant culture.

O jeitinho must die. The toxic vanity must die. The lack of accountability in your relationships must die. And the only way to kill these things is through enough Brazilians consciously choosing to change them within themselves.

Unlike the external revolutions that have been so common throughout your history, your revolution needs to be internal, a coup that takes place inside your heart and inside your mind.

You must choose to see things in a new way. You must set new standards and expectations for yourself and for others. You must demand that your time be respected. You must expect the people around you to be accountable for their actions. You must prioritize a safe and strong society above your own interests or the interests of your family and friends. You must let those around you handle their own problems, just as you must not expect anyone else to handle yours.

These are the choices that must be made every day. And until this internal revolution takes place, I fear you are destined to repeat the same mistakes for many more generations to come.

There is a joy inside Brazil that is both rare and special. It's what attracted me to this country many years ago and it will keep me coming back. I just hope that one day that joy has the society it deserves.

[Exec Talent]

In Rio de Janeiro to gather first hand information about having sex with women.

There are many threads here including one on language.

[The Cane]

I ran into a Scottish couple in my travels years ago. They spoke "English" but I could barely understand a word they were saying.

A few years ago, I was in Havana. I was staying in the same Casa as a couple from Bogota. I mentioned to them that I didn't understand some of the taxistas very well. They replied that they couldn't understand them at all! They said they had a driver that they swore was speaking a different language! Note - from my Cuba experience, this varies a lot - some taxistas I actually understand perfectly.

The first time I went to London, I stopped in on this bar. Started talking to this guy and literally could not understand a single word he said. Not one. Reminds me of the joke about the USA and the UK being two great nations separated only by a common language! The first time I went to Argentina, it took me two days to understand people well because of the way they enunciate their words there. Colombians are known for speaking some of the best Spanish in the Americas. I've generally had no problems understanding them. That is, until I went to the coast and started speaking to "costenas". I had difficulty understanding because of the way they pronounced the words, and with them dropping letters and stuff. I have heard that Dominicans do that too. Dropping letters. Something to get used to.