Brazil
Parque Da Catacumba in Lagoa
August 31, 2010 by Kyle Rolnick
As I mentioned in my first post, Rio possesses a natural beauty that is should be immediately apparent to any traveler. I was taken aback by Rio’s distinctive landscape when I flew in over its mountains almost two years ago. From the air, you can see that Rio is nestled among large, gorgeous hills. On the ground, many of those hills look different, filled with small, closely-packed homes that make up the notorious favelas that are so often depicted in film and images of Rio. Coming from the U.S., it baffled me that some of the city’s poorest residents have what is, in my…
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The World Mangrove Atlas: Hope Amid Despair
August 20, 2010 by Danielle Nierenberg
By Daniel Kandy
The World Mangrove Atlas revealed some good news and some bad news. The good news is that the loss of mangroves has slowed to 0.7 percent annually. The bad news is that that rate is still three to four times higher than the loss rate of land-based forest and one fifth of all of the world’s mangroves are thought to have been lost in the past three decades. Of the world’s original mangrove forest area, estimated at 80 million acres, less than 37 million acres of mangroves now remain.
Mangrove forests are home to an abundant variety of tropical fish, birds, reptiles, crustaceans and insects, as well as thousands of species of flora, and human populations who depend on the mangroves for their livelihoods. (Photo: Flickr Commons)
Mangrove forests exist in tropical and sub-tropical regions, with Indonesia, Brazil, Australia, Nigeria, and Mexico having the largest total area of mangroves. 2010 is the United Nation’s International Year of Biodiversity and there have been some positive developments in mangrove conservation. There are 1,200 protected areas in places like the…
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Brazil: On Nooks and Niteroi
August 10, 2010 by Kyle Rolnick
Traveling throughout your neighborhood, city, or country, you quickly realize that you can always find more if you look a bit deeper. Whether you discover a great restaurant around the corner or find an interesting off-the-map town, the world can surprise you with its hidden nooks and crannies.
Living in Rio de Janeiro is no different. And to start off my blogging adventure here at We Blog the World, I thought it would be nice to take the spotlight off of Rio itself and focus for a moment on one of its neighbors—Niteroi.
Niteroi is to Rio what the East Bay is…
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Negotiating in Brazil, Japan, and the US
July 27, 2010 by CultureWizard
The chart above was used at an INSEAD conference on international management to demonstrate the different ways Americans, Brazilians and Japanese would negotiate by counting the incidence of various verbal and non-verbal actions. It is surprising to see how the subjects observed from the US and Japan are much closer to each other than they are to the Brazilians in terms of behavior.
We can see how the idea of personal space is very different in Brazil because of their inclination to physically touch their colleagues during the negotiating process, while silence was employed on a frequent basis by the Japanese and not at all by the Brazilians. Interruption, rather, resembles a sign of great interest and enthusiasm for the Brazilians, while silence has a similar affect within the Japanese context.
Can you add to this chart with your own experience? What have you found unique about these three cultures during the negotiation process?
Five Nights in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
July 21, 2010 by Ben Casnocha
The Rio airport is pretty dinky. First impression is not of a global city that’s hosting the Olympics in a few years.
Exiting the baggage area there’s a booth where you can secure a pre-paid, government authorized taxi. As we approached the desk, three different ladies from three different tables screamed at us and tried to get our attention. I stopped and asked them, “What’s the difference between you guys?” “No difference, just different companies” they said, and then kept on waving us to their desk. Of course, I thought, there had to be a difference — why else would there be competition stationed right next to each other?
In fact there was no difference. Three official companies, offering the exact same taxi service, for the exact same price, to the exact same locations — and each vigorously competing for your business. It was rather unnerving to encounter the sales theatrics. They would do better to at the least alternate / take turns in securing customers. Or, better, do as Chile does: have just one official taxi company or have multiple companies that offer different services.
After buying the
Niagara Falls vs Iguazu Falls: Two of the Best Waterfalls in the World
July 7, 2010 by Marcello Arrambide
Niagara Falls – Left: US side Right: Canada side (Horseshoe falls)
Both should definitely be placed on your to do list. Niagara resides on the border of Canada and the United States near Buffalo, New York. Many people don’t know about Iguazu Falls which resides at the border of Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina. Iguazu falls is larger than Niagara and even wider as it has a span of falls throughout the area. Let’s compare!
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Iguazu Falls from Trail
The atmosphere at Niagara is of the city while in Iguazu more country. At Niagara you walk right along the road where in Iguazu there is a nature trail leading you throughout most of the park. Since Niagara is more commercialized (think of Orlando without all the rides), they have all the amenities available for a good old fashioned tourist trap: Starbucks, 360 degree revolving restaurant, and even casinos! Nothing like getting a little wet and losing money on the same day. All the restaurants and shops at Iguazu are cabin themed since you are literally walking through a national park.
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Rio – A Look Inside the Favela
July 6, 2010 by Beth Hynes
Favela (Brazilian Portuguese for slum) is the generally used term for a slum in Brazil according to Wikipedia. Slums exist throughout the world, but the ones in Rio de Janeiro have gathered the most attention in recent years. What makes the slums of Brazil different from slums elsewhere? And why do they attract so much attention?
On a recent trip to Rio de Janeiro, I decided to see for myself what goes on inside the slums of Rio de Janeiro. What I saw surprised me, enlightened and encouraged me. To gain access to the favelas, I erred on the side of caution and went with a small group and a local guide who had family members who had lived in the slums.
Coming from Boston where the downtown and vicinity contains a population of about 350 – 400 thousand people, less than a million people at any rate, cities in Brazil seem … overwhelming in scale. Most cities in Brazil tend to have about 16 or 17 million people. In Rio de Janeiro, we visited two favelas, Rocinha and Vila Canoas. Rocinha has a population close to a quarter million people!
What strikes me the most each time I…
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Who’s Having Sex at the World Cup?
June 23, 2010 by Ray Lewis
Who cares if nobody is scoring in the matches as long as there’s plenty of action elsewhere and so far this World Cup has delivered.
There is the controversy over the new ball, the vuvuzelas, the concern that the South African infrastructure was going to collapse and the fear that the citizenry would butcher and pillage their guests.
We have the quadrennial reminder that nobody in FIFA’s tower can be bothered about whether the matches are refereed properly and that if the players, coaches, media and fans want answers they can shove a Jabulani where even Beckham can’t bend it.
The French are having an epic farcical collapse, the Italians are one loss away from joining them, and don’t fly into Heathrow without a parachute if England falls to Slovenia tomorrow (What if the sodding Yanks get in??!!).
Which brings us to the universal language, the only hierarchical need that approaches soccer these 31 days. Who’s getting it from whom and who’s upset about it? Who’s deprived? Will the English dames arrive in time?
Will John Terry need a scorecard? How does a celebrity romance become an international incident? Enter here…
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Brazil Diary Conclusion – From Sao Paulo to Rio…
June 21, 2010 by Tom Foremski
View from Cesar Park hotel, Ipanema, Rio de Janiero.
(I’m back from Brazil and finishing up with some observations and conversations from my recent trip visiting with Brazilian IT companies.)
Brazil, like many developing countries, has a First World country attached to a poor country. Brazilian IT is very sophisticated and world class. We attended a very large trade show focused on banking technology services. It looked the same as any trade show in the US.
After Sao Paulo, we took the evening flight to Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilians in our group were perking up visibly as we took the coach from the airport to our hotel. The Brazilians love Rio, one of them explained that it’s the equivalent of Miami, a place where people work hard so that they can play hard.
We couldn’t see much of Rio because it was night but you could hear thump and the swoosh of the surf from the beach (Ipanema) across the street from our hotel.
I had a great conversation at diner with from John Dohm, VP with True Religion. It turns out he was an early collaborator with Ray Kurzweil on his first book about the Singularity (please…
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Brazil Diary Conclusion – From Sao Paulo To Rio…
June 18, 2010 by Tom Foremski
View from Cesar Park hotel, Ipanema, Rio de Janiero.
(I’m back from Brazil and finishing up with some observations and conversations from my recent trip visiting with Brazilian IT companies.)
Brazil, like many developing countries, has a First World country attached to a poor country. Brazilian IT is very sophisticated and world class. We attended a very large trade show focused on banking technology services. It looked the same as any trade show in the US.
After Sao Paulo, we took the evening flight to Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilians in our group were perking up visibly as we took the coach from the airport to our hotel. The Brazilians love Rio, one of them explained that it’s the equivalent of Miami, a place where people work hard so that they can play hard.
We couldn’t see much of Rio because it was night but you could hear thump and the swoosh of the surf from the beach (Ipanema) across the street from our hotel.
I had a great conversation at diner with from John Dohm, VP with True Religion. It turns out he was an early collaborator with Ray Kurzweil on his first book about the Singularity (please see:…
Read more…
