Any suggestions on where to start? I am going on holiday to Brazil over Christmas

A family member has very kindly given me a Christmas present of paying for a month's holiday in Brazil. I'm flying into Sao Paulo. I might visit Rio too. Any suggestions of what an English gringo can do to get a head start and find some beautiful latinas in Brazil?

[KPunch2]

That is a very nice holiday gift QLJ.

Yes, please read all posts relevant to Brazil from NunoEFSilva, Ray, and Bueller. If you can drop us a note from the trenches, we would be most grateful.

Cheers mate.

[Bueller]

I would suggest grabbing a bus to a smaller city, at least if you want to find a nice one.

Originally Posted by Bueller

I would suggest grabbing a bus to a smaller city, at least if you want to find a nice one.

Bueller- A GT All-Pro Advisor and former Brasilian Resident is on the money.

Stay away from Rio, Sampa and Salvador unless you're looking to party and/or get scammed unless you know the right people who are looking out for your best interest. I advise the northeast- Bahia to Belem and everything in between. The south is also viable too but Florianopolis and Porto Alegre are tough towns to make contacts in a short amount of time. Check the Brazil Forum for more info on Brazil.

[Bueller]

Well, I was working on a fairly lengthy list of suggestions for you here, but the message got erased. Note to self: other than two-sentence replies, use Word, then copy and paste. I just drove 500 miles overnight and need some sleep, and it's really hard to get inspired to write something a second time, but here's some of it:

If you are a non-Portuguese speaking foreigner going to Rio on holiday with visions of sugar plums dancing in your head, you are treading a very well-worn path, and the chances of meeting a nice girl are pretty slim, I think. Not nonexistent though; when I lived in Florianópolis one of my classmates in my Portuguese class at UFSC was a Brit that had met his Brazilian wife on the beach in Rio on New Year's Eve 1999--you could hardly beat that for harmonic convergence. The last time I saw them they were about to move to Britain together, and they had a second child on the way. However, unless you just get lucky like he did, I think you can either go to Rio on holiday and be dazzled by the spectacular city, or you can go elsewhere to find nice girls.

If you don't know Portuguese, get to work on it right away -- knowing even a modest amount will open all kinds of doors for you. I suggest that you go through all three levels of Pimsleur, 90 lessons. If you don't have 90 days, do one lesson every morning and one every evening for 45 days. Other people swear by Rosetta Stone, but with that you actually have to sit down at your computer and dedicate time to it. Take your pick, or maybe do both, but you give yourself the advantage of knowing some Portuguese.

Pick a couple of smaller cities to visit, such as the ones Ray suggested, or maybe in Minas Gerais or Goiás. Go there and meet people. Mineiros have a reputation as some of the most open, friendly people in Brazil. I like the idea of going places where people look at you funny and ask, "How did you wind up coming here? Usually tourists go to...", as long as the place isn't called Deliverance or Chernobyl or something. You could also look up latinsocialnetwork.com and brazilcupid.com.

When are you planning on going?

You sure have a nice family, btw...

Thanks for all your messages and advice. Really appreciated. Bueller, I'm going over Christmas for one month. I get the feeling this is nowhere near long enough, but - on the plus side - i'm someone who likes to stay off the beaten path. Well-worn tourist attractions aren't my thing.

In your opinion, folks, is it worth trying to establish contact with Brasilieras first before going? If so, where's the best forum or site to do that?

[Supermary]

I was going to post a reply when I realized that all I know about SP/Brazil is about places I have fun at, not necessarily good places to go for girls and that sort of stuff. I understand none of that type of thing... Blah. I'm a sucky Brazilian!

Originally Posted by qlj

In your opinion folks, is it worth trying to establish contact with Brasilieras first before going? If so, where's the best forum or site to do that?

Qlj-

If you want to make contacts (women) in Brazil before you leave home, try Robert Poet's www.brazilgirls.com and for information about Brazil, I recommend www.gringoes.com - a free informative site and public Forum about all things Brazilian, however be prepared for off banter posts and not much moderation. About the time game- I think you need at least 30 days to get fully adjusted. Portuguese is a make or break deal too. I cannot stress this enough and knowing the right people, but this is hard to do if you're a Newbie with minimal Portuguese and Bueller gives excellent advice.

Welcome to GT.

[Ciza29]

glj,
Any chance your family wants to adopt a 44 year old white guy? I play well with others most of the time.

Bueller,
If you could be holding a cute baby in one arm, the leash to the golden retriever in the other hand all while riding the unicycle, I think you would have your choice of beautiful women without kids. In fact, I believe it was this trifecta of stimuli to the female psychy which allowed Lyle Lovett to marry Julia Roberts.
Whether it be Brazil or any other non-English speaking country, one of the most important things is to speak their language and be a gentleman. You represent all of us GLJ, when you are down there so be well behaved and remember that tall, thin beautiful women need love too (and usually money).

[Bueller]

Good idea, Ciza. Carrying it a little bit further, here's the founder of the company I bought my unicycle from: http://jobnews.ajcjobs.com/news/cont...lovebanjo.html

As you can see, he runs another outfit dealing with his other passion, banjos. Looking at his picture, I'm thinking out loud here-- the unicycle, the banjo (make it a guitar for heavier chick-magnet effect?), a baby in one of those special backpacks, the Golden Retriever on a leash, and...a shot of Tag. Then maybe chest implants...

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/52985