Trip Report 3

[Brazilophile]

The last week of my trip was very enjoyable as I was feeling much better physically and she was able to get some time off of work.  One day was a holiday called Corpus Christi and a couple of other days she worked only in the morning.

We spent some of this together time visiting more of her family.  Most of her family live some distance from where she and her mother live.  They live very modestly and are very religious.  One of her sisters subjected me to quite rigorous questioning about my values and belief system.  Despite some disagreements, I passed her test.  I need to note that I was not, and still am not, very clear on what exactly I was being tested for.

Other time spent exercising together.  The morning of Corpus Christi, she also wanted to swim in the building's pool and I agreed.  It is on the roof.  In a prior discussion of sexual fantasies, having sex outside was mentioned and specific scenarios were in the ocean and on a roof.  She had responded to these by saying that if I wanted to have sex on a roof I would need to go by myself or with another woman, because there was no way she was doing that!  Well, lo and surprise!  When we were in the water by ourselves, she brought up the fantasy and flirted with me about it.  I had to point out the security cameras the building has to monitor the use of the pool, otherwise embarassing video footage might have found its way to the Internet. LOL!!!

We also went to more restaurants.  She suggested several times an all-you-can-eat fare called "rodizio".  Many restaurants offer rodizios of pizza, seafood, meats, deserts, drinks, etc. for fixed prices.  We went to a few and pigged out.  We had planned to go to another city my last week-end there, but the previous night we ate at a "rodizio de carne".  The meats were so good and so varied and we ate so much, that we made ourselves sick and could not travel the next day.  This restaurant had beef, pork, chicken, not veal/lamb, prepared in many different ways.  The pork and beef ribs were fair, but everything else was EXCELLENT!!!  I am not a vegetarian, but neither am I a big meat eater.  Mostly because I find many meats not well prepared or cooked (dry and tough), and the spices used not to my taste (too much or too little).  This place, Restaurant Lacerdo, had the most tender and tasty meats I have ever eaten!  Despite the amount of travel I have made to SA, I am always amazed at the quality of restaurant food for the bargain prices they offer.  NO US restaurants can compete!

We spent time watching movies.  We rented DVD's which we watched in Portuguese with English sub-titles.  One particular movie, "Olga", was very , very good.  It is a true story set in Brazil during the 1930's and 40's.  A communist rebel, family name Prestes, wanted to overthrow the Brazilian government in the 1930's.  The Soviet Union gave him support including a woman, first name Olga, to cover as his wife.  She was born in Germany and Jewish.  They fell in love and she became pregnant.  The movement was betrayed and rebels arrested.  The Vargas government of Brazil wanted to show solidarity with Hitler and eventually deported the pregnant Olga to Germany where she was sent to the concentration camps.  The movie shows the debates, international outrage at Brazil, the efforts of Prestes' family to save Olga and the baby, and the utter indifference of Olga's mother, herself also Jewish, to the plight of her daughter.  It is a very powerful movie.  I recommend it.  Prestes was released from prison in 1945 and became president of Brazil in 1954 after Vargas' death.  At the time the movie was made (2000 ?) the child, a daughter, was still alive and living with her paternal aunt in Mexico City.

At my request, was also saw Star Wars in the theater.  That is a good movie, not a good as it could have been, but still good.

Our next move is that she is going to come visit me, see how I live, and meet my family.  This should happen in about 8-10 weeks.

[Hoda]

... in response to Trip Report 3, posted by Brazilophile on Jun 2, 2005


I know, that you're putting on the finishing touches before your lady's arrival. Meeting the "family" will be one of the biggest things! Just like your lady's sister grilled you...it possible, that someone will do the same to her. Just be there by her side....y'all will be fine!

You gotta love the "I don't do that" response :-) Then BANG!!! The opportunity presents itself & they're willing to try new things, that'll make you happy!

[valleydude]

... in response to Trip Report 3, posted by Brazilophile on Jun 2, 2005

I saw that you didn't get much feedback to your post.  I just wanted to say, though I have been in lurking mode, I always enjoy your reports.

Thanks!

V-Dude

[utopiacowboy]

... in response to Re: Trip Report 3, posted by valleydude on Jun 4, 2005

I like to read the reports and I find them very interesting but often there is not much response. You shouldn't take the lack of response to mean that they are not being read.

[MarkNJ]

... in response to I agree with you, V-Dude, posted by utopiacowboy on Jun 4, 2005

Yeah!   Thanks Brazilophile for taking the time to post us on your journey and experiences with your special latina and your trip...
One of the important elements of this board and the exchange of information is dealing with how to handle long distance relationships and learning about someone from a different culture etc...   Though many of us have tended to concentrate our efforts in Colombia, whether it be Colombia, Brazil, Panama, DR, CR etc... there are similarities in all regarding the many factors that we have to deal with which will be similar no matter where the specific region is for the search.   I am glad to learn that your trip went well and I hope all goes well for you...

[Brazilophile]

... in response to Re: Trip Report 3, posted by valleydude on Jun 4, 2005

Thank you, VD.  

Colombia gets more attention than Brazil for various reasons.  It is closer to the US.  There is less hassle getting to Colombia due to no visa requirement.  Spanish is more accessible in the US than Portuguese.

Despite this, having been to Cartagena, Cali, Medellin, and Santa Marta, and several cities in Brazil, I think Brazil has the better physical infrastructure, is easier for foreigners to integrate into, has more and better investment opportunities, and due to it being 3 times larger than Colombia has WAY more eligible women than Colombia (Col. pop. 55 mil. compared to Braz. pop. 180 mil.)

I didn't say this in my report but I will now.  The city I went to, Recife, is experiencing a construction boom.  The apartment we stayed in is a high-rise building and there were no less than 10 other high-rise buildings under construction within eye-sight of our building.  My noiva says two main factors are at play.  One is that Brazilians are preferring to live in high rise condos than single family homes due to the greater security (fear of kidnapping, etc.).   The other is that a HUGE amount of foreign money is pouring into Brazil, mostly from Europe but also from China and Japan.  This foreign investment is financing the boom in middle and high income residential housing along the beach areas.  My first trip to Recife was in the fall of 2002.  Between then and now I have witnessed significnt gentrification. Three inexpensive hotels in the beach area (which I stayed in) have been torn down and replaced with high-rise luxury buildings in less than 3 years.  

Anyone experienced in real estate (Pete E. ?) might consider looking into this as an investment opportunity.  The entire building we stayed in was composed of investor owned condos that are rented out to tourists and business men/women, though there are a few long-term residents.        

In addition, both of us noted the relatively large numbers of Asian travellers in Brazil during my visit.  That has not been the case in the past.  Brazil is changing fairly rapidly towards being quite (rich) foreigner friendly.

[valleydude]

... in response to Re: Re: Trip Report 3, posted by Brazilophile on Jun 4, 2005

Thanks for all the good info!

You know when I first started this thing and sitting on the fence, Brasil was one of my top choices. I was just getting into learning Spanish and finally began to feel comfortable practicing it, then I began looking seriously into countries to visit. Then the bombshell hit me... Brasil's language was Portuguese. Damn! haha! I tried picking up Portuguese but Spanish was enough at the time. As time went by and I began getting into "Making the trip" mode but I felt I had too much time invested learning Spanish and felt Spanish would be better to know so I wrote off Brasil.

My point: I still have the thoughts of Brasil and I really dig your reports. They give me a lot of insight and I read all of them. Each time I get focused on a new avenue the seed of Brasil is planted again. haha!

I have written to many many girls and I found the Brasilian women to be pretty top notch. I met a really nice girl from Recife last year but blew it off becuase of Portuguese. Right now I am thinking of not focusing on a specific country, but just seeing who I meet, and then go visit regardless of country. With that in mind, Brasil may be a possibility again.

I can't remember the city but man they have some wild architecture there. The condos look like something from the Jetson's. (Yeah the cartoon) It is in the middle of the country. (I'm too lazy to look up a map now)

Anyway, definitley keep posting the info. I'm starting to open my mind again.

V-Dude