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Arun Gupta is a GlassFish Evangelist focusing on Web Tier at Sun. He was the spec lead for APIs in the Java platform, committer in multiple Open Source projects, participated in standard bodies and contributed to Java EE and SE releases.
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http://blogs.sun.com/arungupta/date/20080929 Monday September 29, 2008

Travel tips for Brazil



  1. Brazilians are very warm people. Men will typically shake hands and pat on your shoulder. Women may kiss one (or both) cheeks upon meeting/departing so be ready to reciprocate.
  2. Brazil is a paradise for meat lovers. Most restaurants do not offer much (sometimes none) vegetarian choices. But they do offer some exotic fruits and vegetables, so you can certainly stay healthy!
  3. Some handy Portugese phrase

    Hello Alo / Oi
    Good morning Bom dia
    Good afternoon Boa tarde
    Good night Boa noite
    Thanks Obrigado for men, Obrigada for women
    No Thanks Nao Obrigado
    Excuse me Com licenca
    Please to meet you prazer
    Goodbye tchau (pronounced as ciao)
    Please por favor

    Check out English-Portugese phrases or a searchable dictionary.
  4. For Brazilians who claim to know some English, speak slowly and clearly with simple words.
  5. People are very friendly and very much willing to help but language may be a barrier.  Carry your hotel address on a paper as local public mostly speak Portugese. And smile is of course the universal human language.
  6. Withdraw money from the bank at airport. The ATM machines in the city are sparse and sometimes may not accept your ATM card.
  7. Don't miss 4 things: eating @ Churrascaria, drinking coffee, Caipirinha and Guarana.
  8. Hotels have free Internet and breakfast, really cool!
  9. If you are visiting a JUG event, make sure to carry freebies.
  10. Restaurants are open late (read very late or early morning) nights, even on weekdays. For example, we walked into a restaurant at 11:30pm for dinner on a Tuesday night and were not rushed.
  11. Most restaurants in food court offer food by weight.
  12. Offices have a 2 hour lunch time (typically 12-2), wow!
  13. TAM (local airlines) is Star Alliance member, so don't forget to get credits for United Miles and use benefits accordingly.
  14. The seasons in Brazil are completely opposite of those in Northern Hemisphere (which consists of 90% human population).

    Norther Hemisphere Brazil
    Summer Winter
    Fall Spring
    Winter Summer
    Spring Fall
  15. VISA is much more popular in Brazil than American Express. And cash works everywhere!
  16. Football (futebol) is not only a national sport, it's a complete passion here. Brazilians have won the FIFA world cup 5 times and very proud of it. So be aware of some of the popular players: Rivaldo, Roberto, Ronaldo, Rinaldinho, Kaka, Cafu.
And a very important aspect of being in Brazil, have fun!

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Comments:

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Posted by caipirinha on October 09, 2008 at 09:32 PM PDT #

i love brazil man!

Posted by Forex on October 10, 2008 at 07:36 AM PDT #

看了你的文章,想去巴西

Posted by 出産祝い on October 20, 2008 at 02:43 AM PDT #

The best options in terms of beaches are around Vitória. The deal is rent a car and take the Highway of the Sun, which along the coast of Espírito Santo. In direction to the north valley, you can visit Itaúnas, an ecological reserve formed by dunes and beaches of rare beauty. There, the tourist can learn a little about nature and preservation of marine turtles on the basis of the Tamar project.

Posted by Sujan P on January 12, 2009 at 04:27 AM PST #

Boa noite
Obrigado for men. :)

Posted by sinema izle on March 18, 2009 at 07:07 AM PDT #

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