Inflation in Argentina

www.InflacionVerdadera.com.

As an Argentinian, I am trying to find information on the real state of Argentina in terms of inflation, etc. If you are interested and speak Spanish, this website offers some very reliable and interesting information on inflation in Argentina.

It was created by a group of economists who check the price of food in the same supermarkets every day and then display the information on very simple-to-read graphs.

This week (May 28th, 2012), some food items went up 8-10% and annual inflation of food and drink is 23,1%.

Lessons to Brazil – Customer Service

Customer services (Photo credit: gordon2208)

Yes, I know. Who the hell am I to give a country a lesson, right? This series of posts is for all foreigners who read my blog and are dying to teach Brazil something that could make things run more smoothly around here.

My first and most important lesson is Customer Service.

Paying for free samples:
When I lived in Spain I had a friend who was pregnant. When I visited her at the hospital after she gave birth, she showed me all the goodies companies had sent her. Companies that sell baby products send samples of their products to all new mothers. This is a little extravagant for developing countries because people have more babies and populations are huge, but there are alternatives.

Here is Brazil, they have just started trying out a system where consumers pay a small fee to go to a shop and take samples of products home to try. The only requirement is that they provide feedback on the product they have tried. This means they have to pay to go to the shop, take the stuff and then go back to the shop (or send an e-mail) and give feedback.
In most countries, consumers would laugh in your face if you asked them to pay to provide valuable feedback on their own products. So, my first lesson to Brazil is: give consumers free samples if you want them to try your products!!!

Employee Training, anyone?
I have been to too many restaurants where waiters and waitresses rush around nervously or simply disappear when a customer walks in the door. When you finally get their attention, they often make mistakes, bring the wrong order or forget the order altogether. Another problem is that waiters seem to think that smothering your customer is good service. They chat for hours, keep saying “fique à vontade” and snatching your glass as soon as you finish the last sip (a crime in most restaurant service courses because customers hate sitting in front of an empty table), but are never looking in your direction when you need something. This is not so common in large cities, where experienced workers are easier to find, but employees rarely train their workers to provide a good customer experience. I once stood at a counter in a shopping centre for 15 minutes with another 10 customers while 5 (yes 5) attendants struggled with a cake. Businesses are lucky that Brazilian consumers rarely complain.

Call Centre Bureaucracy:
Calls from call centres are hell anywhere in the world, but in Brazil it can be soooooo annoying. Even when its a good call, from your TV provider offering you a great deal, the amount of information you have to give to even start hearing the deal can ruin everything. The minute someone calls and asks for my CPF, my natural response is to just hang up. What happened to the “what´s your name and here´s the deal?” approach? Do you REALLY need to know my tax registration number? What the heck for? And God help you if you actually accept the deal! You have to face hours and hours of transfers, verification, more CPFs, RGs and dates of birth until the deal is confirmed.

How to complain:

There are some very efficient organizations that help you complain about bad service or the impossibility of getting what you ask for. For telecommunications, the best option is Anatel. Go to their website and register a request (solicitação). That´s how I got my cell phone unlocked. It really works. If you need help with that let me know. I know all the ropes and the information you have to provide.
For general service complains you have Procon, but you have to go their personally and yes, take piles of documents with you. But they do the job just for you. The service continues bad as always for the rest of us.
If you can´t be bothered to face Procon, you have websites like Reclame Aqui where you can register a complaint and sometimes get a reply from the company. This option worked well when my Epson printer croaked and Epson refused to help. They eventually called and solved the problem so I would put a “solved” happy face beside my complaint on the website.
Then you have legal action. I take YEARS, but it eventually works. If you have the time and nothing else works, go for it. Just send that warning letter beforehand to see if they react.
The most important thing is not to remain silent. You have to complain if you want Brazil to be a better place

O Brasil que só os gringos enxergam (03/2012). | Ricardo Amorim » economista, palestrante e consultor econômico-financeiro

O Brasil que só os gringos enxergam (03/2012). | Ricardo Amorim » economista, palestrante e consultor econômico-financeiro.

Brazil Travel

I just found this really great website (well, it´s a section of About.com) with information on traveling in Brazil. Most articles and videos are posted by the travelers themselves.

Brazil Travel Blog

A (very) short study on Capoeira

My husband is a contra-mestre of Capoeira, so I was naturally pulled into a world that I knew nothing about. Before meeting him, I always thought capoeira was a silly, odd-looking dance/martial art and that the one-stringed instrument they used was even sillier. That same old drum and twang actually irritated me and I would walk away from places where there were capoeira shows for tourists.

English: Negros fighting using Capoeira steps. Painting by Augustus Earle depicting the illegal capoeira game/dance/martial art in Rio de Janeiro Português do Brasil: Negros lutando. Pintura por Augustus Earle mostrando negros lutando com passos de Capoeira. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

After some research and chats with my husband´s fellow mestres and contra mestres, I actually started to enjoy the whole atmosphere and attended my first “batizado”. I was suprise that few mestres ever talk about the history of Capoeira with their students and that there is so much history behind this art form.

A brief study of Capoeira

Capoeira (Photo credit: PanARMENIAN_Photo)

There are two schools of Capoeira, Angola and Regional. The colours of the Angola school are black and yellow and the colours of the Regional school are red and white. Angola is slow and “played” close to the ground, while Regional is quick and the most widespread for of “jogo”.

The founder of Angola was Mestre Pastinha and the founder of Regional is Mestre Bimba. There is a lovely story about Mestre Bimba when he challenged fighter of several martial arts to show that Capoeira was worthy of attention and just as good as any other martial art. He fought with four fighters and won every fight. He also earned the state board of education certificate.

Both mestres were great teachers and based their teachings on solid foundations of respect, ethics and firm standards they established. For more information on the history of Capoeira, visit this website.

Cordas

Schools of Capoeira use a system of “cordas” to show the level (or graduação) of each student. The colour of the cordas depends on the region, but usually the first corda is yellow or white and the last is white or grey (mestre).  To earn a corda, the student must learn a series of moves (movimentos) and berimbeu tunes (toques de berimbau). Once the student is ready, he/she attends a batizado/troca de cordões that is held among several Capoeira schools. During the batizado, the mestre of each school presents his/her students and the student that wants to earn a new cord (gradução) must be tested against students of other schools. A student is usually tested against another student that is one level above his/hers or the level of the cord or graduação he or she wants to obtain. If the student passes, his cord is removed and replaced with a new, higher cord.

During most batizados, there are also “torneios” where all the students can participate and show their “game” without switching cordas. These torneios are divided into skills (acrobacy, jogo, etc.) and the prize is usually a cup or medal.

Each mestre has his own students, but the main aim of the mestre is to teach the berimbau toques (each school has a different series of toques), the moves (movimentos) according to the corda the student wants to achieve, and the “sequencias” (a series of moves that creates a “jogo”), and graduate students to become mestres of their own schools or academies.

Example of a batizado/troca de cordões

The philosophy
Most Capoeira schools follow the teachings of Mestre Bimba or Mestre Pastinha, but some are influenced by the personal philosophy of the mestre of the school. This leads to a mixing of techniques (capoeira and jujitsu, for example) that sometimes results in violence. Both Pastinha and Bimba believed that Capoeira could not be violent or used for violent purposes.

Film on Capoeira

The Favela Dance (Dança/Passinho da Favela)

Just wanted to post these videos to show the new dance the kids in the favelas have invented that I find fascinating. You rarely see new dances here that do not have heavy sexual undertones, so this one is a pleasant surprise. Of course, someone had to ruin it and call it “dança foda” but that´s another story.

My favourite (and sometimes intranslatable) Brazilian expressions

This is a list of the Brazilian words and expression I personally love and that you will most probably not learn at that Portuguese for Foreigners course:

 - Chato: this word can mean anything from boring to unpleasant or fussy. You can use it in almost all unpleasant situations. Nossa, que cara chato! Qué filme chato.

- Sem graça: this expression is used to describe anything that is “boring” or lifeless. It also means awkward. If someone says something embarrassing, you can say everyone was “sem graça” (that awkward, uncomfortable feeling or silence).

- Gostosa/o: be careful with this one as it has different meanings in different regions. In the south, it can mean cute, chubby, or anything that is considered “tasty” (a baby, a pet, even an adult). In the rest of Brazil, it usually means sexy or sexually attractive. Funnily enough, all Brazilian women like to be called or consider themselves gostosas and they get offended when you say it can be offensive to women of your native country. They insist it can be used for anything, but I always tell men never to call their friend´s teenage daughter gostosa!

É mesmo?: the same as saying “really?”

Tá falando sério?: the same as saying, “are you serious?”

Descascar um abacaxi: this expression is used to describe any type of problem that no one wants to solve, and that is sometimes left for you to solve. It´s that unwanted burden or an almost unsolvable problem (the abacaxi, or pineapple) that has to be dealt with.

Chupa essa manga!: this expression is used to describe something that you have to face or accept. It´s usually used with unexpected and unpleasant gossip or news especially when you thought otherwise, or when you are forced to “engulir” something (accept it). The person who says it is usually pleased to see you in this situation and it has a vengeful tone.

Botar o pé na jaca: used when you make a mistake.

Cai fora!: same as “get out”, “get lost”.

Tou nem aí: (eu não estou nem aí): the same as, “I don´t care”.

E daí?: the same as “so what?”

Vamos embora (or simply, “bora” in some parts of Brazil): similar to “let´s go” or “let´s leave”.

Tou nessa (“eu estou nessa”): similar to “include me in”. My personal favourite is the opposite: Tó/tou fora! (count me out).

Nossa (from Nossa Senhora, or Our Lady): similar to “Jeez” (Jesus) as an expression of frustration or shock.

Putz (usually accompanied with head scratching): used to express disbelief (in a bad situation). Putz, ele morreu?

Pifou: used to describe something that has broken. Minha impressora pifou.

Doida/o: same as crazy or insane. In SP, louco (the translation to mad or insane you find in the dictionary) usually means high on drugs. “Ele estava muito louco” is very different to “Ele é doido”.