The Venice of Brazil

[benjio]

After arriving for the 5th time in the "Venice of Brazil," I told myself it would be a sin not to share this treasure with some folks that I know would appreciate it. Recife is located in Northeastern Brazil in the state of Pernambuco. The city gets its name from the petrified reefs that surround most of the coastline in this area of the country. When approaching Recife in a plane the city looks like the motherboard of a computer from the air, as almost every single apartment building (there are literally thousands) is built exactly the same. Being located only 8 degrees south of the equator, the weather here is like clockwork. Sunny, 85 degree..cool breeze blowing off the coast.The only variation is rain...and for some reason, there is NEVER, EVER thunder or lighting in Recife. I have yet to figure out why.
 
I've spent about 6 weeks of the last 6 months here in this beautiful city. It, and the state of Pernambuco as a whole is growing rapidly and exponentially. Before Madame President Rousseff took over, Silva was running the show for years in Brazil, and he was from Pernambuco, about 150 km outside of Recife. Silva was determined to help out the people and the economy in his home state, so while he was president there were quite a few incentives for opening a business here...especially for foreign corporations (which is why I'm here all the time). Some of the effects of his regional favoritism are still being realized today. Shopping Recife is probably one of the best and biggest malls I've been to in Brazil and it's under incessant construction to expand its size. You can find everything from the low end to the high end in the mall, and it is ALWAYS full.
 
Brazlians from all over the country come here to vacation and to visit Boa Viagem Beach...the shark attack capital of the world. During the day, the tide of Boa Viagem secedes to about 50 yards away from the seawall. At night, during high tide, the waves are crashing up against the wall so high people can't use the sidewalk on top of it. I have never seen such a huge difference between high and low tides anywhere else on Earth.
 
I've managed to gather a number of interesting tales for why Bull Sharks attacks are so common here. My limited Portuguese is definitely a handicap as it's not like Rio where every other person speaks Spanish or English. So to be honest, I'm not even sure I understand the most common explanation correctly. But supposedly there use to be a plethora or microscopic wildlife living in the reefs around Recife. Marine Microbes bring invertebrates and small crustaceans, those bring small fish, small fish bring big fish, and big fish bring sharks. A few years ago (with the support of Silva) there were a few ports built here along with some seawalls and a few other manmade structures that supported the maritime and tourist industries in the area. This killed the microbes, so the crustaceans went away. When the crustaceans left, so did the small fish. Subsequently the big fish took a hike soon afterwards. But the folks from Recife say the sharks didn't go anywhere. They just changed their diet...to human limbs. Gotta love the irony of the food chain.
 
As nice as the point break is on some parts of Boa Viagem it is illegal to surf there. Even though the beach is full on any given weekend, most people do not venture pass the pools made on the beach from seawater being trapped by natural reef structures. About every half a kilometer there is a sign posted on the beach reminding everyone of the risk of shark attack. It's not propoganda. It's not a joke. During the six weeks I've spent here, there have been three publicized attacks that I know of. I watched them pull a bloody bather from the water the last time I was here, but I don't think that attack was even reported. The locals tell me the shark problem is much worse than the local government will ever admit to. A lot of Recife's econmony depends on tourism, and that tourism depends on Boa Viagem Beach. So deaths related to shark attacks are often ruled as "unexplained drownings." Still the people come though...the locals and the visitors alike, the surfers and the fisherman, and they all get in the water. Personally, I like the view from the seawall.

[Jeff S]

Fascinating place, you're right. Never been, but am very familiar with the archeology of the area, it having major pre-Columbian Phonecian inscriptions and other evidence of visitations from the Middle East in Biblical times and Africa in the Middle Ages.

The reason there's no thunder and lightning is that all the fronts through are warm fronts - much slower and gentler than the cold fronts that sweep through the US great plains. Very similar to Southern California where lightning and thunder are very unusual (last night excepted for those who live here.)

You're also right about the Bull Sharks - very aggressive and tolerant of brackish water - part fresh and part salt. A perfect storm of habitat, temperature, salinity, food, and cover makes it the happy hunting grounds. Not so right about the tides, as anyone in the upper sea of Cortez or Bay of Fundy will attest, but it does have far more tidal ranges than most of the US.

[benjio]

The reason there's no thunder and lightning is that all the fronts through are warm fronts - much slower and gentler than the cold fronts that sweep through the US great plains. Very similar to Southern California where lightning and thunder are very unusual (last night excepted for those who live here.)

Jeff, that is very interesting...I did not know that and apparently none of the locals do either. I'm sure you can only imagine the stories they come up with for why there's never lightning or thunder!
 
Now for the good stuff!
 
The women here in Recife are just absolutely breathtaking. There aren't words to describe how many or how attractive most of these women are...and they are everywhere!!! I eat lunch at the food court in Shopping Recife Mall everyday just to sit for a hour or two and enjoy the view. And GOT DAMNIT...what a view it is!!!

Although big business and the economy is growing here, there is a serious lack of specialized labor. There are no engineers here in Recife. No Systems Analyst, no Computer Programmers, no Tax Lawyers. Those that are here came from Rio or Sao Paulo to work, and they are VERY well compensated for their willingness to relocate. There is one girl that works for my company in Recife from this area...and she is a secretary. All the Brazilian guys I work with here grew up in Rio. They like the women here...and they agree with me on their beauty. But the standard of beauty in Rio is nothing less than perfection. It's not enough that a woman has a pretty face, flawless makeup, long healthy hair, a great body and is dressed nicely if her breast aren't Double DD's. From my experience, this is how young Brazilian guys that make decent money think. They all want flawless bikini models. Honestly, the only difference I've seen in terms of feminine beauty here is less plastic. Girls in Recife don't all dye their hair blonde (like sooooooo many girls in Rio). They don't all have fake breast. They don't inject steroids into their butts to make them big, bubbly and round (YES!...girls in Rio do that!!!!). They are what they are...Brazilian, Natural, beautiful...and I feel very fortunate to have the pleasure to be here observing that beauty in all its splendor!!!

In my opinion, the greatest thing about women in Latin America is the wide variety cultures their physical characteristics come from. On average, girls in Sao Paulo have a more European look. They are leaner, taller, lighter hair and eyes. Beautiful women...but not my type. As I've ventured further north in Brazil, there's a more eclectic mix of women. The fact that women have ancestors that were African Slaves, and Native South Americans is much more apparent. There are blue eyed blondes here, but they are few and far between. Most of the women have a natural sun kissed skin color. Almost like a honey or caramel. Their hair is usually a black or light brown and VERY curly, but it appears to be manageable. They have bigger butts and breast naturally. They aren't wearing the latest in fashion, with fragrant perfumes and perfect makeup like the girls in Rio, but they are gorgeous...even more so than most of the Colombianas I've seen...no matter what city in Colombia.

I would recommend anyone with the will and the wallet that's wife hunting in Latin America to explore North Eastern Brazil. I think a huge mistake with guys that come to Brazil is they go straight to Rio and Sao Paulo. Girls from the South are great, but they remind me more and more of American women each time I'm here working. In this region, they are more down to earth. Easy going, and not as materialistic. They would make better wives, not fashion models. If operating a business as a foreigner wasn't so impossibly difficult in Brazil, I'd open an agency here. I think the catalog of women interested in dating foreign men I could put together here would easily blow any other legitimate agency's selection of women out of the water. And I'm just talking about how attractive the women are...not their personalities. I just came from standing in front of the mall where I waited for 45 minutes for a damn taxi. I'm still rolling up my bottom jaw back into my mouth. 
 

[whitey]

Sounds like a great place, Benjio ... thanks for the write up ...

[V_Man]

Excellent write up thank you. I hope to go there one day, wife hunting or not.

You're also right about the Bull Sharks - very aggressive and tolerant of brackish water - part fresh and part salt.

mmmm ....almost. Bull sharks are one of the few sharks that attack people. Bull sharks are also one of the few sharks that consider humans to be part of their diet. Along with dogs and almost any land animal in the water. Therefore they are not being very agressive. You are their prey and their intention is to eat you.

They would rather that their prey was not confrontational so if you want to be eaten it is better to splash around on the surface at dusk close to schools of large fish. That way the bull shark can come at you from below and behind. If you are on the bottom of the sea facing them then it makes them nervous and they are a bit freaked out by people as it is so you'll ruin their appetite if you carry on like that.

Perhaps they would eat more people but humans have large bones and you know how awkward it can be to tear fleash off a big bone without hands.

Most importantly, they are not simply tolerant of brackish water. They swim up rivers to breed and to give birth. The young stay in the river until they are large enough to venture out to sea. They prefer brackish water but adults will swim for hundreds of kilometers up river and hang around for months. Ocationally they have been known to get traped in lakes. Provided they have enough food they will live in a lake for years.

Even in salt water they specialise in cruising into very shallow water where other large sharks would not go.

If their reef is sick then it is possible they could hang around a river estuary area much more than normal. This could sacre off fisherman which would mean there were more fish in the area for the sharks. Add in the occasional human limb and they have a nice balanced diet. It's quite plausable.

Hence all those stories you are hearing about Bull sharks there...... take them seriously.
Not only would I be careful in the water, but never go in at dawn or dusk and stay out of the river system as well.

Remember that the vast majority of sharks are no threat to people. Bull sharks just happen to be a wee exception. They do look nice though.

[Brazilophile]

Great trip report, V_Man! I enjoyed it a lot.

I have been to Recife many times and agree with what you wrote.  I am perhaps less enthusiastic as you.  Have you been to other cities in Northeast Brazil?  If you go to Salvador or Fortaleza, also coastal cities like Recife, you will find the same beautiful women that you saw in Recife.  The entire Northeast region is like that!  For me, once I am in a place where I know that anywhere I go and look at anytime I am likely to see many women whom I find gorgeous, it takes much more to make my jaw drop.

Your comments about the specialized trained labor are true, but not just for Recife.  Sao Paolo is the economic center where the vast majority of the highly skilled and highly educated work and live.  There are very few engineers, programmers, scientists, etc in Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Manaus, and Florianapolis, and even Brasilia.

[benjio]

Great trip report, V_Man! I enjoyed it a lot.

I have been to Recife many times and agree with what you wrote.  I am perhaps less enthusiastic as you.  Have you been to other cities in Northeast Brazil?  If you go to Salvador or Fortaleza, also coastal cities like Recife, you will find the same beautiful women that you saw in Recife.  The entire Northeast region is like that!  For me, once I am in a place where I know that anywhere I go and look at anytime I am likely to see many women whom I find gorgeous, it takes much more to make my jaw drop.

Your comments about the specialized trained labor are true, but not just for Recife.  Sao Paolo is the economic center where the vast majority of the highly skilled and highly educated work and live.  There are very few engineers, programmers, scientists, etc in Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Manaus, and Florianapolis, and even Brasilia.

I have plans to visit more cities in the Northeast of Brazil next year. The women here are amazing. I've never questioned why in the past, but now I can't help but ask myself why gringos focus so much on Colombia as a wife hunting location. Especially those that have been to Brazil. This area of the country has so many single, gorgeous women it's unbelievable. It's expensive to get to here, and it's a considerably longer trip from almost anywhere in the U.S. Staying here isn't cheap either, and there are no agencies so a guy would have to learn Portuguese fairly well and go at it on his own. But it's far from difficult if someone wanted to do it, and in my opinion well worth the effort. I'll try and post some pictures soon.

[Jeff S]

Don't you know you're posting on the "If it ain't Colombia, it ain't s#$t" board?

[benjio]

Great video about the city...truly an unknown treasure.
 
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf2gzhnqSHA&feature=fvst

[whitey]

I have plans to visit more cities in the Northeast of Brazil next year. The women here are amazing. I've never questioned why in the past, but now I can't help but ask myself why gringos focus so much on Colombia as a wife hunting location. Especially those that have been to Brazil. This area of the country has so many single, gorgeous women it's unbelievable. It's expensive to get to here, and it's a considerably longer trip from almost anywhere in the U.S. Staying here isn't cheap either, and there are no agencies so a guy would have to learn Portuguese fairly well and go at it on his own. But it's far from difficult if someone wanted to do it, and in my opinion well worth the effort. I'll try and post some pictures soon.

Haha ... I think you just answered your own question Benjio!

A few other potential reasons: Portuguese isn't a very useful language to know in North America compared to Spanish, it requires a costly visa (at least from Canada), not many Brazileans seem to leave the country or marry outside the country (or maybe I'm just not tuned into it enough to know).

I've always thought Brazil would be a cool place to visit, and your trip report and others I've read just confirm it.  The women look incredible too.  But, it's probably not in the cards for me now as I've married a colombiana ... "like bringing sand to the beach" as the expression goes.

One thing I'm curious about ... you mentioned that the guys like women with larger breasts and nice butts.  I always thought Brazil was all about the butt, and that smaller breasts were in fashion?  Is that just around Ipanema Beach, or am I totally mistaken? 

Man, re-reading this is making me feel pretty shallow ... no questions about the country or culture ... just about the women's breasts ....  Still, enquiring minds need to know ...

[Brazilophile]

Haha ... I think you just answered your own question Benjio!

A few other potential reasons: Portuguese isn't a very useful language to know in North America compared to Spanish, it requires a costly visa (at least from Canada), not many Brazileans seem to leave the country or marry outside the country (or maybe I'm just not tuned into it enough to know).

I've always thought Brazil would be a cool place to visit, and your trip report and others I've read just confirm it.  The women look incredible too.  But, it's probably not in the cards for me now as I've married a colombiana ... "like bringing sand to the beach" as the expression goes.

One thing I'm curious about ... you mentioned that the guys like women with larger breasts and nice butts.  I always thought Brazil was all about the butt, and that smaller breasts were in fashion? Is that just around Ipanema Beach, or am I totally mistaken? 

Man, re-reading this is making me feel pretty shallow ... no questions about the country or culture ... just about the women's breasts ....  Still, enquiring minds need to know ...

Not many Brasilieras come to the US or marry Americans because not many American men come to Brazil looking for wives compared to Colombia.  Part of the reason is the US visa requirements.  MANY Brasilieras marry Europeans and move to Europe.  The EU has no visa requirements for Brazilians; they can just get on a plane and go  to Europe.  Before the Brazilian economy improved and the European one tanked, lots of Brazilian women would go to Portugal to work.  It was fairly common for Brazilian women to visit Europe, overstay the tourist time limit, and work or marry a European.

Another reason is that many European men emigrate to Brazil and marry Brasilieras.  On my trips I have met men from England, France, Italy, Spain, and especially Germany.  Salvador is a favorite destination for German men who are attracted to mulattas.  I even met a guy from Nigeria who had married a local.  Almost all of them had started businesses in Brazil.  The Germans mostly owned hotels and youth hostels.  One Briton was a photographer and taught at a local photo school.  Another Briton owned an Internet cafe, as well as the Italian I met.  The French guy owned a restaurant that his Brazilian wife managed. 

The Spanish guy said it best:  "In Brazil, you can work to live.  You don't need to live to work."

As for the breasts and butts, Brazil has every racial group and combinations thereof that exist on the planet.  You can find women of every breast size, butt size, hip size, skin color, hair color, eye color, height, weight, and whatever else that you can imagine.  And there are men who are attracted to all of it!   Brazil is the largest country in SA. I think it is the fifth largest by area (Russia, Canada, China, USA, ?), and the fourth largest by population after China, India, and USA, with about 190 million.  There is far too much variety to generalize.  I can only suggest that the small breasts thing may be due a diet that has/had less fat compared to the US so women did stayed slimmer than American women, and to many women not being able to afford breast implants.  That said, there are more than enough women with average-sized and larger breasts to satisfy the breast-men.

[whitey]

Interesting Brazilophile ... thanks for expanding ... I guess it's no surprise that if people were going to emigrate from Brazil, it would more likely be to Europe.

[benjio]

Not many Brasilieras come to the US or marry Americans because not many American men come to Brazil looking for wives compared to Colombia. 

EXACTLY!! THAT'S THE POINT I'M TRYING TO CONVEY HERE!!! From the little time I've spent here, I can tell you Brazilian Girls ARE MOST DEFINITELY INTERESTED IN GRINGOS!!!!! But the few Americans that do come here are usually mongers and are not seriously wife hunting. From what I've seen some American and European guys spend on multiple trips to Colombia, they can most definitely afford Brazil. I don't think the reason is financial Whitey. There are little to no agencies, but there are guys that don't use agencies...still they just ignore this part of Latin America for some reason.
 
Also, as the oil industry here grows, Portuguese is becoming a much more valuable language to know in North America. I've probably had half a dozen guys on this board ask me what I do because I get to travel to Latin America so much. LET ME TELL YOU, A BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN ANYTHING, AND THE ABILITY TO SPEAK PORTUGUESE FLUENTLY WILL PRETTY MUCH GUARANTEE YOU A JOB IN THE OIL INDUSTRY THESE DAYS!!!! Also, learning Portuguese is no more difficult than learning Spanish for a native English Speaker. Although Portuguese speakers use alphabets that may not be initially recognized by those that aren't native speakers, the pronounciation of words is actually closer to English than Spanish. For example, "J" has the same sound in Portuguese as it does in English, not the sound of the letter "H" I've found a female "friend" here and with my prior Spanish knowledge I'm picking up on Portuguese faster than ever.
 
I'm just trying to share the wealth. If guys want to keep flocking to Colombia, I don't blame them. HELL, I'm going back in January. I'm just saying though...I think we can all agree that it's getting a little gringo crowded on that end. If guys don't want to explore the Brazilian option it's more for me!!!!!!!!!!

[braziliangirl]

Don't you know you're posting on the "If it ain't Colombia, it ain't s#$t" board?

Shh, Jeff! You don't know how much I had to pay him to make those posts.

[Jeff S]

Yeah, but he threw Brazilianas under the bus when he started talking about small boobs.   


Though they always looked fine to me! 

[benjio]

Yeah, but he threw Brazilianas under the bus when he started talking about small boobs.   

Just to clarify...THAT WAS WHITEY!!!! I've seen all types while I was here. I'm not a breast man anywayz!!!! 

[Jeff S]

Oops - yeah you're right! See what I mean about "If it ain't...

[benjio]

Oops - yeah you're right! See what I mean about "If it ain't...

   LOL!!!! 

[A_Thomas]

 I know this thread is old but I enjoyed it and thought I would add to why Gringos don't go to Brasil for wife shopping.


 The Visa is a big deal, because its almost completely shutdown Americans going Russia since Ukraine dropped that in an effort to join the EU eventually.

 This is why the bride market in Ukraine has exploded and the scams came with it. They were largely uncommon until the mid 2000's, now despite some successful agencies focusing on Ukraine, those men brave enough to venture to Russia on their own are rewarded.


 The White Knight types (Capt Save A Hoes) have forgotten about Russia not just because of the Visa requirement which has been relaxed actually somewhat, its Russia's improving economy that scares them away.


 I think the same fears come up around Brazil.


 For Expats who are business minded, its much easier and cheaper to start a business in Colombia or Central America. Plus your cost of living is lower in those areas, meaning you can live off a very small amount of money.


 Brazil has become expensive by South American standards, with an only 2:1 exchange rate with the US dollar but this is the US' fault for weakening the dollar to make exports cheaper, its added to Brazil's inflation woes.


 That has also effected tourism from the US along with the general downturn in the US economy. Its just not on anybody radar other than Sex Tourism playground.


  Also most of the men stay in the areas you mention, Sampa, Rio and Bahia. Bahia has become the bargain to Rio, while newbies to mongers/sex tourism go to Rio to get their feet wet. Sampa is seen as business friendly, not tourist friendly.


 Information is limited because not many people inside the US even know a word of Portuguese and the Backpack/Lonely Planet crowd is only interested in cheap transportation and cheap accommodation.


 With so many other options in South America, why even bother are many bride hunters attitude.


 Mark Davis who is part owner of Dream Connections mentioned in his book that is first almost bride was from Brazil but she was a business owner in Brazil and didn't want to relocate and Mark didn't want to uproot his youngest son who he had custody of. So looking at his options, he discovered AFA and the rest is history, married a Ukrainian woman.


 I also think crime in the larger cities also concern Americans who think their hides are more precious than others. This has lead to a fall of about 30% in tourism from America to Latin America.


 I also think men are shortchanging Brazil. As you mentioned every ethnic ground is represented there, if you can't find something that makes your jaw drop and excite your lower regions you got issues.


 My buddy makes every excuse to make sure he catches his case. Everything revolves around him getting an upgrade in benefits from the VA and back payments from when he filed his appeal. He keeps bouncing around America, moving his case around to see if it will speed up the process. He had started talking to an attractive Afro-Brazil woman (Sampa resident) that speaks English. He kept bullsh*tting and lost her to some other brother who actually got his ass on a plane to claim his prize.


 He rather shack up with over the hill American women, hmmm.


 I will not make that mistake, many business/economy minded people have written off Brazil because its booming economy means higher wages, higher taxes, higher living standards and more regulation. They rather chase around provincial women in Central America (The Expat Files/Johnny Muller) or build Libertarian paradises in Argentina (Doug Casey).


 I finally would make one difference to the reference that big city Brazilian women are becoming more like American women. I would heartily disagree. In America the birth rate is actually down by all women but Hispanics. Like most women in Latin America, Brazilian women would very much like a loving, loyal husband and children. The problem is most men are short term visitors to Brazil and many are jaded on long term relationships. The last thing they are interested in is hooking up with a woman from a different culture than his own, especially Americans.


 I find Europeans don't have this hang up and like was said no Visa requirements and much of the economy boom in Brasil has come from Europeans investing in Brasil long term.


 That's fine by me because I don't have to worry about bumping into dumb ass Americans while in Brasil, especially way off the tourist trail like Recife...


 

[htown]

I just did a little research this morning and I found out the cities with the highest concentration of european demographics are Curitiba and Porto Alegre.  I'd started a thread about this a while back and nobody seemed to know the answer.  Anyway, this is good info for anybody like me who's searching for their tall blonde latina.

[benjio]

I just did a little research this morning and I found out the cities with the highest concentration of european demographics are Curitiba and Porto Alegre.  I'd started a thread about this a while back and nobody seemed to know the answer.  Anyway, this is good info for anybody like me who's searching for their tall blonde latina.

I remember that thread. I could have sworn I replied. Sao Paulo dude. I'm telling you.....Sao Paulo. The city is full of them. I know a couple of tall blonde Latinas in Rio and you'll see dozens on Copacabana Beach on the weekends. But in some parts of Sao Paulo it seemed like every other woman looked like that. They will not be impressed by the fact you're a foreigner though. They couldn't give a [snip] less. Most of the women in Sao Paulo don't give me the impression they would prefer to leave Brazil permanently either. I saw quite a few women in BA that looked like that as well, but they were beanpoles. No curves whatsoever....

[Brazilophile]

It was interesting to re-read this thread.  I see that I erred in who started the thread.  I thought it was V_Man.  But it was Benjio. 

My belated apologies to you, Benjio.

[htown]

I remember that thread. I could have sworn I replied. Sao Paulo dude. I'm telling you.....Sao Paulo. The city is full of them. I know a couple of tall blonde Latinas in Rio and you'll see dozens on Copacabana Beach on the weekends. But in some parts of Sao Paulo it seemed like every other woman looked like that. They will not be impressed by the fact you're a foreigner though. They couldn't give a [snip] less. Most of the women in Sao Paulo don't give me the impression they would prefer to leave Brazil permanently either. I saw quite a few women in BA that looked like that as well, but they were beanpoles. No curves whatsoever....

It turns me off when I see a woman who's all impressed by gringos so I'm glad my foreigner status won't impress them.  And I would have no problem living in brazil and staying close to her family, I'd actually prefer it.  I just need me a chick that's built like jessica biel or stacy keibler, all natural.  I hate plastic surgery.  I need to start studying portuguese asap.  As a matter of fact I know a blonde chick who's originally from sao paulo.  She lives in austin and is 100% americanized, no accent or anything but she knows fluent portuguese.  She's beautiful and as sweet as can be but she's only like 5 feet tall, too short for me.

[benjio]

I need to start studying portuguese asap...

I know you already speak Spanish H, so you're about 30-40% fluent in Portuguese already. Don't listen to anyone that tells you it's easy to learn if you already know Spanish though. That's complete BULL[snip]! The accent is a BITCH too! I remember getting to the point where I was truly fluent in Spanish...thinking in the language instead of quickly translating everything in my head. I could speak to and understand almost anyone (I still have trouble with native Cubans), but I hated the fact that after a couple of sentences people would always ask me if I was from The States. I wanted to sound like a native. I bought some CD's specifically for accent development and took some Spanish Speech workshops at a language institute in Houston where I use to do volunteer work. Mexicans tell me I sound Colombian. Colombians tell me I sound Mexican. Go figure.

Now that I'm getting close to fluency in Portuguese, I'm going to have to do the same thing again but put a lot more time into it. There are sounds in the Portuguese language you would never imagine yourself having to make until you're determined to learn how to speak it like a native. A lot of pronunciations require the use of your throat and your nose to be articulated correctly.....as supposed to Spanish; where almost every sound made that's not necessary in English has to do with your tongue and your lips. Another huge problem with Brazilian Portuguese are regional dialects. Cariocas and Paulitstas don't sound ANYTHING like Pernambucanos. The words are obviously the same, but the pronunciations, stresses and colloquialisms are completely different. For someone just starting to learn, constantly traveling between one place and the next, it can get very confusing.

It's a great language to pick up though. Especially for American business men looking for opportunities abroad. For some reason a lot of Colombianss think it's sexy too. In my opinion, it's not included on the "Language of Love" list for a reason. Sometimes I have to walk out of meetings because my ears will literally get fatigued listening to it for extended periods of time. Either way, if you decide to give Sao Paulo a shot and stick to the upper class places there, you have a really good chance of meeting women that already speak English, Spanish or both.

[Zon]

Thanks a ton Benijo for expanding the discussion with a good, descriptive report.


so many places and women ... so little time.