Recife Trip Report, End

[Brazilophile]

Sundays in areas away from the beach in Recife are quite devoid of people and activity.  We had been invited to a dinner on Sunday evening.  Unfortunately, as my namorada was returning home from being out with my during the afternoon, she was robbed at gun point.  

The street on which she lives is not well lit and is sporadically quiet.  For periods of up to an hour there can be may people on the street walking, cycling, driving, hganging out at one of the 2 bars, shopping at the small grocery store.  But for 10 or 15 minutes the street can be completely empty, and this gives robbers opportunities.  She had explained to me that in recent years crime has increased in her neighborhood because a favela (public housing project) had been constructed not far away (1.5 kilometers) and men from there rob people in the surrounding areas.  She was robbed as she turned into her street at 6 pm when the sun had just set and everyone was indoors preparing dinner.  She cancelled the dinner invitation because she felt so badly.  The most materially valuable thing she lost was her cell phone.  The robber also wanted her tennis shoes but a car was approaching and he ran away when it appeared.  We went shopping for a new cell phone in the ensuing days.  The hotel manager said to me that Sunday is the day with the most assaults and robberies.

We also shopped for Christmas dinner needs.  During grocery shopping, she told me she was impressed with my patience.  In her experience most men do not enjoy shopping.  Neither do I but I was using the opportunity to observe how she shopped and spent money.  I was very impressed.  She keeps a mental list of what she is looking for and shops ONLY for that.  She does not get distracted by other things that may be on sale.  However, she doesn't keep track very well of how much money she is spending.  When the grocery shopping was finished and we were in line, I asked how much she thought the bill would be.  She said around 90 reais. I felt it would be closer to 140 reais.  It came to 125 reais.  

Chistmas dinner was wonderful!  My namorada prepared duck with pineapple, rice with raisins peas and shredded carrots, tomatao salad, potato salad, fried bananas, and some other dioshes whose names I don't remember.  In Brazil, Christmas is celebrated at midnight.  We had midnight dinner and then exchanged gifts.  I was given some music CD's because I had said that I enjoyed Brazilian music.  I had taken a course in conversational Portuguese before this trip and the teacher, a native Brasiliera, suggested a nice gift.  I gave her body lotion from Victoria's Secret with the fragrance Amber Romance.  She liked it a great deal.  I had also given her mother a gift that she liked.  After this it was 1:30 am and too dangerous for me to go back to the hotel.  So we stayed up until dawn, 5 am, when I left for the hotel.  Later in the day, noon, we went to the beach and just hung out there until 5 pm.  After which we went back to her house to eat leftovers.

At the end of my trip we found we had both received what we needed from each other.  She learned much more about "me" the person, and I saw our relationship deepening in intimacy in all aspects.  There will very likely be a serious committment made during my next trip to see her.

This afternoon I am travelling to spend New Year's with my family.  I have not told them about my Brazilian namorada or my quest for a Latin wife.  I will tell them on this trip.  That is going to be interesting because some of my female relatives are against men going to other, poorer, countries to find women.

[Looking4Wife]

... in response to Recife Trip Report, End, posted by Brazilophile on Dec 27, 2004

.

[valleydude]

... in response to Recife Trip Report, End, posted by Brazilophile on Dec 27, 2004

Really good report.

You know, I had thought many times of going to Brasil.
The women there are beautiful. A while back, as I was thinking of where to go I discovered they spoke Portuguese. I began to learn that at the same time as Spanish, however it was too much and Spanish won.

I am curious, do you find that someone could get by without Portuguese? Personally, I just don't want to learn it. I probably won't go to Brasil unless some girl really catches my attention online. Going cold, I am still off to some undecided land... Probably Colombia, or Peru.

Just curious,

V-Dude

[Brazilophile]

... in response to Re: Recife Trip Report, End, posted by valleydude on Dec 27, 2004

I disagree with Malandro.  Too few Brazilians in the northeast speak English well enough for a tourist to get by without Portuguese.  

In the mega cities of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janiero a tourist could get by without Portuguese. But knowing some Portuguese would make you trip SOOOO much more enjoyable that I just cannot recommend going there with having taken some sort of course in Portuguese first.

I don't think many Brasilieras will REALLY catch your attention on line.  Where they REALLY!!!! catch AND KEEP your attention is in person.  The affection that you are given when a Brazilian women likes you is astounding.  It can even be overwhelming if all you have ever known is AW or other similar "coolish" women.  No man can ever come close to appreciating the potential I am talking about unless they are there interacting with her in person.  

Introduce yourself to Brasilieras online.  Get to know them in person.  That is the ONLY way to go for Brazil.

[Malandro]

... in response to Re: Recife Trip Report, End, posted by valleydude on Dec 27, 2004

you can get by.  thousands of travelers go to Brasil without speaking the language.  you may meet a woman who speaks Spanish or English.

then again if you don't meet a bilingual brazilian, speaking Spanish may help you read a menu but it won't be nearly enough to effectively communicate with brazilians.

[OkieMan]

... in response to Recife Trip Report, End, posted by Brazilophile on Dec 27, 2004

Hey Brazilophile,
I enjoyed your trip report.  Do I understand correctly that you had met this lady in person before this last trip?  If not, then this is the first time that you have actually met; so it would appear that either way, you are making some progress in your relationship.  I am curious about several points.  Has she been married before, or at least in a serious relationship before?  Does she have any children?  Does she want children?  I also do not recall you mentioning her age, so I am curious about that as well.
I have read a good deal about Brazil, over the years, and I have heard that Recife is a nice area.  But, I have never actually been to Brazil.  My first trip to SA was this past August, when I went to Cali, Colombia.  There certainly are many men on this site that go to Colombia, but to my knowledge, you are the only guy that goes to Brazil.  Have you been to Colombia?  If so, how many times?  How would you compare the two countries?
I am also interested to find out how your family reacts when you tell them about this lady, and your trip.  If I understood your post correctly, you have never even shared with your family that you are interested in latin women?   Until recently, I was in the same boat.  In my next post, I will discuss how that has gone for me.  I had an interesting discussion with some members of my family on Christmas Eve.  At any rate, best of luck to you.

                        OkieMan

[Brazilophile]

... in response to Re: Recife Trip Report, End, posted by OkieMan on Dec 27, 2004

Most of the answers to your questions are in my trip reports of May '04 and August '04, which should be in the archives.  I first met her in May '04, and again in August '04.  She is divorced from a 4-year marriage to a Briton.  She is 32, (I am 46) has no children (nor do I) buts wants some (as do I).

I am not the only man who goes to Brazil.  Several other list member regularly travel there. In particular, a list member, Bueller, currently lives in Florianapolis, a city in southern Brazil.

I have been to Colombia and Cali specifically, several times.  I had a novia in Cali, but it did not work out.  I like the ocean.  I swim and scuba dive.  I found the Brazil's beaches and other lifestyle issues were more to my liking than Colombia's in general and Cali's in particular.  Cali has no large bodies of water.    

A major reason why I focused on Brazil for wife searching is that I would not mind living in Brazil if I could find a decent paying job there.  I would not enjoy living in Colombia nearly as much.

I will report on my family's reaction.

[pablo]

... in response to Re: Re: Recife Trip Report, End, posted by Brazilophile on Dec 27, 2004


Oui Brazilophile!

Nice trip report.  There was one other poster going by the name of Brazilpro who also lives in Brasil but I think Hoda gave him the boot for asking one of those no-no questions on Colombia.  Too bad, because not much is said about Brasil.  Even Bueller has stopped posting.

As someone who has experience in both countries, how would you compare the women in each?  Is the lack of agencies in Brasil a problem as well?  I was planning on visiting Brasil but that has been put on hold for awhile as I have been having a great time in Medellin.  Like you though, I enjoy the beaches and didn't think much about Cartagena, the only Colombian coastal city I've been too.

I would appreciate your comments.

Tchau,

Pablo

[Brazilophile]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Recife Trip Report, End, posted by pablo on Dec 27, 2004

It is impossible to compare Brasilieras to Colombianas.  Both are big countries with lots of local variation.  There is enough controversy just comparing Calenas to Bogotanas.

In Brazil, there is even more controversy in comparing women from Rio to those in Sao Paulo, or women from thre south like Florianapolis to women in the North like Belem, to Women in the northeast like Salvador.  Then there are the women from the non-coastal central areas of Brasil or from the Amazon area like Manaus.  

Each region has its own physical traits and cultural quirks.  

Then, I have spent most of my time in Colombia in Cali, and most of my time in Brasil in Salvador and Recife.  I can really only compare my experiences with the women in those cities.

The only generalization I am willing to make is to say that I saw more racial mixing and variation in skin tones in Salvador than I saw in Cali, though about the same as in Cartagena.  I think the Brasilieras in Salvador and Recife are marginally more attractive than the Colombianas in Cali and Cartagena.

[OkieMan]

... in response to Re: Re: Recife Trip Report, End, posted by Brazilophile on Dec 27, 2004

I appreciate you sharing your trip report and the additional info with all of us.  In particular, I personally am trying to learn from everyone on this board. I am sure there will continue to be many stories, both good and bad.  Hopefully, all of us can learn from each other. Let us know how it goes for you.  Do we hear wedding bells?

                          OkieMan