Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Bidets becoming popular in the USA
Yes, you heard me right!
B I D E T s are becoming more common in the USA.
You can find a little bit about the history of bidets HERE .
I did miss having a bidet when I first moved into the US until buying our first house, which amazingly enough, had a bidet.
HERE is an interesting article written in Portuguese by a Portuguese American doctor from Bristol, Rhode Island. I am sorry if you don't understand Portuguese, but it has a hilarious poem at the end about bidets that shows how funny Portuguese folks can be. They truly have a great sense of humor.
You just have to get past the graphic medical images to get to the funny part at the end.
For the non Portuguese speaking crowd, long story short, the Portuguese doctor is saying Americans have the highest incidence of "hemorrhoids" due mainly to the lack of hygiene provided by bidets.
He also mentioned that at the beginning of the last century Ritz Hotel in New York city installed bidets and it caused a big campaign from puritan minded religious folks who were saying bidets promoted prostitution and women were using as a birth prevention method...not hard to imagine. It sounds like something Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh or Sarah Palin would say if they were around back in those days ;)
I love bidets, they are super practical and very hygienic, once you get used to having one. I doubt you would go back to using toilet paper alone.
Perhaps I don't need to go into details on why and how they are practical and super awesome and used by men and women around the world for cleaning their genitalia and perineum areas.
If you are an Expat, you also should now by now how much of clean freaks Brazilians are in general, and how popular bidets are in Brazil. ;)
Bidets are now clearly becoming a trend for bathroom renovations across the US.
You might be asking me how the heck do I know that, right?
We renovated our bathrooms in 2009 and wanted to replace our old bidet in one of the bathrooms being renovated, and to our surprise our local Lowe's and Home Depot were sold out of bidets!!!!
True story, I had no idea bidets were becoming a trend in Bathrooms across this country.
Well, at least across New England, they were sold out, every model and we had to order one from a catalog and wait 3 months.
I always thought our house was an absolute exception, once there was already a bidet here when we bought it. The lady we bought the house from, was an American of Portuguese origin, she sure had strong Portuguese cultural habits, including having a bidet in a small middle class Cape Cod style house in Rhode Island.
We looked at many houses before we purchased this one and we never saw a bidet anywhere, a rare exception were some luxurious condos downtown Providence, Rhode Island.
I have always liked the Marriott on the East Side in Manhattan, on Lexington and 49th street, it is the only Hotel in Manhattan that has a bidet in it's awesome Travertine marble bathroom, as far as I know. I am sure there are more, I will need to explore it in the future.
Now that we don't stay at Marriott's anymore we will definitely be able to discover other nice hotels with bidets in New York city and other places.
If you have been reading our blog, you will most likely remember that we don't stay at Marriott Hotels anymore in retaliation to the Mormon's shameful support of the Homophobic Proposition 8 in California.
We have changed our 19 years of loyalty from the Marriott family of Hotels to Hilton or any other hotel not associated with any Religion that actively fights against my family's basic civil rights.
You can take a peak HERE to refresh your memory on the whole controversy.
Back to Bidet's, if you are an expat in Brazil you have already encountered one, I am sure.
Most Brazilian homes have them, not the UBBER small new apartments in Sao Paulo, like my brother's new place near Paulista Avenue, but most Brazilian apartment and homes have bidets.
Bidet is an institution in Brazilian culture, a clear influence from southern Europe, where bidets are very popular.
My parent's apartment and everyone else's home I know in Brazil have a bidet in every bathroom of the house.
In Brazil, tile floors have to be washed and scrubbed with BLEACH and RINSED with lots of water.
The American way of cleaning with a string mop and some chemicals that you just apply and don't have to rinse cannot be accepted in Brazilian cultural cleaning habits, hence all the drains in Brazilian tiled kitchens and bathroom floors.
Brazilian tiles are usually well washed daily or at least weekly with lot's of soap, bleach and plenty of water to be well rinsed and all that water has to go down the drain. Apartment and houses are built with plenty of drains in tiled areas.
Our newly renovated bathroom has Travertine marble heated floors and has no drains, so, no washing Brazilian style here with lots of water, bleach and soap.
Remember that we have Americanized ourselves to a high degree and we have learned to clean our marble floors without all that water fest that we used to see in Brazil.
When I was going to Law School back in Sao Paulo and worked for an American family as a translator, the American lady from Vacaville, California was appalled and disgusted with a bidet she found at her rented apartment at "Portal do Morumbi", a luxurious condominium in Sao Paulo.
I tried to explain to her that it wasn't a place for plants in the bathroom or a urinal but she couldn't believe it, wouldn't accept it.
She told me that must it be a thing of the 3rd world...
-Yes, Irene, 3rd world France...for your information.
-You certainly sound like a sophisticated person.
-We 3rd world people like to be clean. Some day we might develop to a higher redneck degree and give up water and soap in exchange for toilet paper alone. Ok, I never said that, but I should have...
Another American family from Jackson, Mississippi thought a bidet was an urinal. They had two boys and told their boys that it was the place to pee in...oh, my, I had to wonder...
-Am I from another planet? or are these people from a different planet?
I was only 19 and truly thought bidets were a popular thing in Brazil and France only and the outside world had no knowledge of such convenience!!!!
I couldn't judge Vacaville, CA from the impressions of one extremelyredneck ignorant person, neither Jackson, Mississippi from the family with the bidet peeing boys.
Watching House Hunters on our HDTV cable channel last week, we saw a realtor from Saint Paul, Minnesota making a comment that you only include a bidet in a bathroom renovation in million dollar homes.
In her words, million dollar homes are almost always expected to have bidets in the US, but you are not supposed to spend money installing a bidet in regular middle class houses.
I guess millionaire Americans have a 3rd world mentality ;) People won't appreciate it and won't value it for what they are...a waste of money in that experts opinion.
Whoopi Goldberg has mentioned many times that she loves her Toto bidet/toilet combo. She is talking about the electric bidet invented in the early 60's and just now becoming a popular amenity in upscale American homes.
Toto is the most popular bidet brand and they are very expensive. The cheapest ones go for around U$900,00 dollars and the top of the line cost upwards of U$9,000.00 dollars. The most expensive ones, wash and air dry your toosh with warm water and air in addition to a heated seat. These prices are just the bidet itself, not counting the installation and possible adaptions you might need to do in your bathrooms.
We didn't get a Toto yet, but when we renovated our bathrooms we made electrical and plumbing adjustments to accommodate a Toto in the future, so, for now, we just have a regular old fashioned bidet ;)
You can find more information on Toto's website HERE this is the same type of toilet/bidet Whoopi Goldberg installed in her townhouse in Manhattan. She is always raving about her Toto and they have become more and more popular in recent years.
Would you install one at your American home?
Have you adapted and "Brazilianized" yourself with the use of a bidet? or do you completely ignore your bidet and use it as a water fountain, urinal or beer chilling device? :)
Would you spend U$1000.00 to buy a Toto adaptable piece?
Any funny Brazilian experience with bidets you would like to share?
:)
Ray
B I D E T s are becoming more common in the USA.
You can find a little bit about the history of bidets HERE .
 |
| French ladies using bidets in the 18th century. |
I did miss having a bidet when I first moved into the US until buying our first house, which amazingly enough, had a bidet.
HERE is an interesting article written in Portuguese by a Portuguese American doctor from Bristol, Rhode Island. I am sorry if you don't understand Portuguese, but it has a hilarious poem at the end about bidets that shows how funny Portuguese folks can be. They truly have a great sense of humor.
You just have to get past the graphic medical images to get to the funny part at the end.
For the non Portuguese speaking crowd, long story short, the Portuguese doctor is saying Americans have the highest incidence of "hemorrhoids" due mainly to the lack of hygiene provided by bidets.
He also mentioned that at the beginning of the last century Ritz Hotel in New York city installed bidets and it caused a big campaign from puritan minded religious folks who were saying bidets promoted prostitution and women were using as a birth prevention method...not hard to imagine. It sounds like something Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh or Sarah Palin would say if they were around back in those days ;)
I love bidets, they are super practical and very hygienic, once you get used to having one. I doubt you would go back to using toilet paper alone.
Perhaps I don't need to go into details on why and how they are practical and super awesome and used by men and women around the world for cleaning their genitalia and perineum areas.
If you are an Expat, you also should now by now how much of clean freaks Brazilians are in general, and how popular bidets are in Brazil. ;)
Bidets are now clearly becoming a trend for bathroom renovations across the US.
You might be asking me how the heck do I know that, right?
We renovated our bathrooms in 2009 and wanted to replace our old bidet in one of the bathrooms being renovated, and to our surprise our local Lowe's and Home Depot were sold out of bidets!!!!
True story, I had no idea bidets were becoming a trend in Bathrooms across this country.
Well, at least across New England, they were sold out, every model and we had to order one from a catalog and wait 3 months.
 |
| This is very similar to the Bidet at our house |
I always thought our house was an absolute exception, once there was already a bidet here when we bought it. The lady we bought the house from, was an American of Portuguese origin, she sure had strong Portuguese cultural habits, including having a bidet in a small middle class Cape Cod style house in Rhode Island.
We looked at many houses before we purchased this one and we never saw a bidet anywhere, a rare exception were some luxurious condos downtown Providence, Rhode Island.
I have always liked the Marriott on the East Side in Manhattan, on Lexington and 49th street, it is the only Hotel in Manhattan that has a bidet in it's awesome Travertine marble bathroom, as far as I know. I am sure there are more, I will need to explore it in the future.
Now that we don't stay at Marriott's anymore we will definitely be able to discover other nice hotels with bidets in New York city and other places.
If you have been reading our blog, you will most likely remember that we don't stay at Marriott Hotels anymore in retaliation to the Mormon's shameful support of the Homophobic Proposition 8 in California.
We have changed our 19 years of loyalty from the Marriott family of Hotels to Hilton or any other hotel not associated with any Religion that actively fights against my family's basic civil rights.
You can take a peak HERE to refresh your memory on the whole controversy.
 |
| This is how the first bidets looked like! Yikes! |
Back to Bidet's, if you are an expat in Brazil you have already encountered one, I am sure.
Most Brazilian homes have them, not the UBBER small new apartments in Sao Paulo, like my brother's new place near Paulista Avenue, but most Brazilian apartment and homes have bidets.
Bidet is an institution in Brazilian culture, a clear influence from southern Europe, where bidets are very popular.
My parent's apartment and everyone else's home I know in Brazil have a bidet in every bathroom of the house.
 |
| Stylish classic bidet |
In Brazil, tile floors have to be washed and scrubbed with BLEACH and RINSED with lots of water.
The American way of cleaning with a string mop and some chemicals that you just apply and don't have to rinse cannot be accepted in Brazilian cultural cleaning habits, hence all the drains in Brazilian tiled kitchens and bathroom floors.
Brazilian tiles are usually well washed daily or at least weekly with lot's of soap, bleach and plenty of water to be well rinsed and all that water has to go down the drain. Apartment and houses are built with plenty of drains in tiled areas.
Our newly renovated bathroom has Travertine marble heated floors and has no drains, so, no washing Brazilian style here with lots of water, bleach and soap.
Remember that we have Americanized ourselves to a high degree and we have learned to clean our marble floors without all that water fest that we used to see in Brazil.
When I was going to Law School back in Sao Paulo and worked for an American family as a translator, the American lady from Vacaville, California was appalled and disgusted with a bidet she found at her rented apartment at "Portal do Morumbi", a luxurious condominium in Sao Paulo.
I tried to explain to her that it wasn't a place for plants in the bathroom or a urinal but she couldn't believe it, wouldn't accept it.
She told me that must it be a thing of the 3rd world...
-Yes, Irene, 3rd world France...for your information.
-You certainly sound like a sophisticated person.
-We 3rd world people like to be clean. Some day we might develop to a higher redneck degree and give up water and soap in exchange for toilet paper alone. Ok, I never said that, but I should have...
Another American family from Jackson, Mississippi thought a bidet was an urinal. They had two boys and told their boys that it was the place to pee in...oh, my, I had to wonder...
-Am I from another planet? or are these people from a different planet?
I was only 19 and truly thought bidets were a popular thing in Brazil and France only and the outside world had no knowledge of such convenience!!!!
I couldn't judge Vacaville, CA from the impressions of one extremely
Watching House Hunters on our HDTV cable channel last week, we saw a realtor from Saint Paul, Minnesota making a comment that you only include a bidet in a bathroom renovation in million dollar homes.
In her words, million dollar homes are almost always expected to have bidets in the US, but you are not supposed to spend money installing a bidet in regular middle class houses.
I guess millionaire Americans have a 3rd world mentality ;) People won't appreciate it and won't value it for what they are...a waste of money in that experts opinion.
Whoopi Goldberg has mentioned many times that she loves her Toto bidet/toilet combo. She is talking about the electric bidet invented in the early 60's and just now becoming a popular amenity in upscale American homes.
Toto is the most popular bidet brand and they are very expensive. The cheapest ones go for around U$900,00 dollars and the top of the line cost upwards of U$9,000.00 dollars. The most expensive ones, wash and air dry your toosh with warm water and air in addition to a heated seat. These prices are just the bidet itself, not counting the installation and possible adaptions you might need to do in your bathrooms.
We didn't get a Toto yet, but when we renovated our bathrooms we made electrical and plumbing adjustments to accommodate a Toto in the future, so, for now, we just have a regular old fashioned bidet ;)
You can find more information on Toto's website HERE this is the same type of toilet/bidet Whoopi Goldberg installed in her townhouse in Manhattan. She is always raving about her Toto and they have become more and more popular in recent years.
 |
| Toto electric bidet adaptation for your regular toilet! |
Would you install one at your American home?
Have you adapted and "Brazilianized" yourself with the use of a bidet? or do you completely ignore your bidet and use it as a water fountain, urinal or beer chilling device? :)
 |
| Bidet used as a water fountain! |
 |
| Bidet used for chilling beers :) |
Would you spend U$1000.00 to buy a Toto adaptable piece?
 |
| Automatic bidets being installed in toilets all across the US! |
:)
Ray
Saturday, February 12, 2011
New Vaccine Against Skin and Renal Cancer!
Following dear blogger/friend Danielle's lead, I decided to embark on her great "Caught being good" initiative and share some good news we got from Gil's mom this week.
Yes, I have fully recovered from my hangover originated with this week's negative Florida trip post fiasco :)
"Caught being good" this week is Phd. Jose Alexandre Barbuto, an immunologist at Sao Paulo University (USP), in Sao Paulo, Brazil, who just developed the first Vaccine that is showing to be 80% effective on the treatment and stopping the growth of tumors in Skin and Renal cancer patients.
You can find the original article in English HERE .
This is the contact for the Brazilian company that is producing the Vaccine in Sao Paulo HERE.
You can also find out more information at Hospital Sirio Libanes in Sao Paulo:
Hospital Sírio Libanês - Grupo Genoma.
Telefone do Laboratório: (0800)773-7327
( ask for Dra. Ana Carolina or Dra. Karyn, for more details )
Ray
Yes, I have fully recovered from my hangover originated with this week's negative Florida trip post fiasco :)
"Caught being good" this week is Phd. Jose Alexandre Barbuto, an immunologist at Sao Paulo University (USP), in Sao Paulo, Brazil, who just developed the first Vaccine that is showing to be 80% effective on the treatment and stopping the growth of tumors in Skin and Renal cancer patients.
You can find the original article in English HERE .
This is the contact for the Brazilian company that is producing the Vaccine in Sao Paulo HERE.
You can also find out more information at Hospital Sirio Libanes in Sao Paulo:
Hospital Sírio Libanês - Grupo Genoma.
Telefone do Laboratório: (0800)773-7327
( ask for Dra. Ana Carolina or Dra. Karyn, for more details )
Ray
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
HIGH SPEED RAIL IS COMING TO THE US!
 |
| Click on Map to Enlarge it! |
After my stressful day flying to Florida and back for a 15 minute meeting, I was reminded of how much I hate flying, the day got progressively better, after I wrote my sad, bitter post.
I can't stand Airports anymore, it is getting worse everyday, you literally have to undress yourself to go thru security, you might tell me it has been like this for a while, I will tell you, it is getting worse.
Yesterday, in the chaos of my bad day and mental and physical stress I handed my Credit Card to a TSA official instead of my Driver's License, the guy was literally scratching his head and looking at me trying to figure out what was going on...and I was so stupidly "Jacked UP" after being ripped off by the Thug cab driver, I was thinking WHAT? WHAT NOW?
The poor guy was very patient and asked -I see that your credit card has a picture but, Do you have an actual ID on you Sir?
I looked at him with a confused and embarrassed look...!!!!
-Oh, sorry, yes, off course, that is my Credit Card, sorry, it's been a long and frustrating day!
The poor guy was actually doing his job and I was out of it.
Once last year, American Airlines gave me the WRONG BOARDING PASS, with someone else's name, I didn't see it, then I went on thru security and NOBODY caught it either, those TSA people were so distracted it was ridiculous.
After the incident they got mad at ME, like I had done something wrong.
Excuse me! I know I was distracted, but if you were doing YOUR job, YOU wouldn't have allowed me in with DRIVER'S LICENSE not matching MY BOARDING PASS.
Flying used to be a great pleasure, back in the 80's, when TWA still existed and flight attendants were gentle and nice and helpful.
Nowadays, you have to be afraid of these neurotic divas, you look them the wrong way and they have the power to throw you off the plane, I have seen it happening with my own eyes.
American Airlines is not helping with their falling a part airplanes and rude personnel, they behave like they are doing you are favor to allow you to fly with in their precious junked up Airplanes.
Dear fellow blogger and friend Jana @ Paper Plains described a horrifying event on her recent flight out of Sao Paulo with American Airlines on Paulista Pursuits on this recent post HERE.
It reminded me of a similar incident I had with American Airlines flying out Mexico on a Chicago bound flight last year, same issue, the radars went all out and we had to return to the tarmac and wait for a solution, which in that case, American Airlines mechanics trouble shooting the issue via cell phone from Tulsa, Oklahoma, once they didn't have American Airlines mechanics on site in Mexico.
They didn't take us back to the GATE because if we left the plane, they would be forced to place us in other Airlines and pay for it.
Long story short, we were HOLD HOSTAGE on a parked Airplane all turned off, no A/C, super hot, we were being baked alive, door wide open, flys and other bugs in the airplane, UGH, it was a horrible experience to say the least...!!!
There was a commotion, many people fought and got off the plane, they walked right off the plane on the tarmac and left, I had no choice, didn't want to be a the Newspapers on a foreigner country causing trouble when I was representing my bank in that country. I stayed and waited for ever...along with the other poor souls who had no choice.
They have rules that always benefit the Airlines and put us passengers in the back burner, until they get their crap together. It got progressively worse after 9/11.
I HATE FLYING. HATE FLYING. HATE IT.
Well, Good news on the way! I hope!
Spain built a High Speed Rail between Madrid and Seville and their project was so successful that they have more people traveling by high speed train between those two cities than people traveling by cars and planes combined.
France was able to revitalized many sleepy touristic cities when they added high speed rails as their destinations.
China is building so much High Speed Rail that in 5 years they will offer more options than any other country for this mode of transportation.
And then today, Gil shares THIS story with me.
It brought me a big smile, principally after the awful flying experience I had flying down to Florida yesterday.
I dream of the day we will be able to take High Speed Rail all over the USA.
The Acela is an Express train service, it is only between Boston and Washington DC, I am a frequent Acela passenger, usually going from Providence to New York city is my best option, principally in the winter with the snow and ice and traffic jams, no to mention the absurd cost of parking in New York city, but it is High Speed Rail, far from it. It is only faster than the Regional Amtrak trains because it doesn't stop in every small town along the way.
It would be really great if we can take this project on and turn it into a reality, we need Speed Rail in the US.
If you take a look at THIS excellent article by Wolters Kluwer, Brazil is expected to generate around 30,000 new jobs from the project which is very small comparing to Obama's Vision for High Speed Rail in the US, you can just imagine how many so needed jobs we could create in the US if the Obama administration is able to make this Vision a reality, I hope they succeed.
We can still have the Airplanes for the long distances or for the smaller markets where trains are not profitable, but we definitely need trains between our big American cities, fast, reliable comfortable trains, it will be an important step in freeing us from the turmoils of the International Oil market.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Welcome to 3rd World USA
I have to say I hate the term, but it is the best way to describe my day.
Don't think I am going to bash my beloved country...not exactly.
Let's start from the beginning.
I woke up in beautiful frozen Rhode Island early, SUPER early 3am, got ready and drove to the Airport.
Checked in at Providence TF Green Airport at 5:20am for my 6:30am flight to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
I have lived in this country for many, many years, 10 years in the Boston area alone, if you reading my blog you know details.
Honestly I am still impressed with the efficiency of services and transportation here just to name a few.
The state of Rhode Island just built an awesome train station right at the Airport with a beautiful glass moving side walk connecting a gigantic Parking Garage to the Airport, all enclosed and heated thank you very much...
The Airport already had an amazing amount of parking space in it's many concrete Garages around the Airport, a great infrastructure, for an area that is always snowing or raining, the comfort of covered Parking is priceless.
PVD ( Providence International Airport ) is a very small secondary Airport just 38 miles south of Boston Logan and it amazes me to no end that you find 10 times more decent Parking at PVD than at the Sao Paulo International Airport, a main hub for International travel in Brazil and a real nightmare for Parking, if you live in Sao Paulo you know exactly what I am talking about.
How can Providence and Tampa have HUGE Parking facilities when Sao Paulo, a city of 18 million has a small patio like area for parking. Well, the fact that Brazilian Airports are owed by the government explains part of it.
In the US it is almost all Private money making investments where it makes sense.
Back to the beginning of my day...
We had to sit at the Tarmac for a long while because it was Snowing and our plane had to be Defrosted...
At the same time we watched a line of about 80 dump trucks being filled with snow from the run ways, see, we have had so much snow since Christmas that they need room to push new snow in and clear the runways...no biggie, I had taken off in much worse snow storms, in the Boston/Providence area they have great infra-structure/equipment at the Airports and they only really run into trouble and shut down for a few hours if you get more than a couple feet, yes, I said feet, of snow. I know you folks from Georgia and Texas are thinking feet? Yes, I know, Airports in Atlanta and Dallas come to a complete stand still if they get half an inch of snow. Their method of clearing the snow if my favorite, they wait until the weather gets warmer to melt it away.
We watched ( and laughed ) when London got mere 4 inches of snow just before Christmas and people had to sleep in the Airport for a whole week...What the hell people, buy some plows and snow tires for your freaking trucks and call it a day.
Just yesterday Gil was sharing with me the most fascinating fact. All of the SALT used in the Northeast during the winter comes from GIGANTIC deep underground SALT MINES that are located right under the city of Cleveland, YES, you heard me right, I would think some Florida or California coastal community right? No, freaking CLEVELAND, Ohio, it is from a dried up underground ancient sea that used to be there millions of years ago, how cool is that?
Ok, back my day, if you know me, you know I side track like noboby's business ;)
Plane de iced, we take off, flight is good and uneventful, besides the usual idiotic young parents with the out of control 2 year olds...I came prepared, plugs in ear, face mask, neck pillow, Tylenol PM, I was gone for the 3 and a half hour flight between Providence and Ft.Lauderdale.
We land and I wake up with the actual touching down of the plane, I was out the whole time.
When I took my face mask off, I was suddenly blinded my the freaking strong SUNNY south Florida morning...it figures I completely forgot my sunglasses, I have barely seen the sun since sometime before Christmas, it's either raining, snowing or cloudy, don't feel sorry for me, that is the way I love it.
Ok, I recover from the semi blindness state just in time to walk out of the plane into 81 degrees, OUCH!
I came from 25 degrees this morning...so I quickly adapted and the town car was already waiting and ready to take me to my meeting.
On the ride, I had a chance to glance at the local newspaper just to find out that Crime Rates in Ft. Lauderdale and Miami have been soaring recently and have surpassed DETROIT!!!! I know, my thoughts exactly...!!!
Welcome to the 3rd World.
Just for the record, the Miami and Ft.Lauderdale areas have 70% of the population who don't even speak English...that pisses me off to no end.
You go to a bank of America and a semi-neurotic Cuban speaks to you in a 200 mile an hour Spanish that really sounds like a machine gun.
Remember how Seinfeld used to portrait the Hispanic Gay couple, he wasn't exaggerating. I swear, you have to be here to believe it.
CULTURE SHOCK!
Good news is that my 1 hour meeting turned out to be 15 minutes and it was total success.
No problem, I flew 3 and a half hours to get here and take care of business, and it was great. Done.
Back to the Airport.
My Town car was schedule for much later, so I canceled it and called a cab to zoom me to the Airport and see if I could catch an earlier flight back to Providence.
I felt like the Gringos complaining about catching a cab in the 3rd world and being ripped off...
I used to live in the Miami area and know exactly how much a cab costs, I was going 3 exits on the highway to the Airport and my fare shouldn't cost more than 8 or 9 dollars.
The literally stinking Haitian Taxi driver pushed some buttons on his Taxi meter and before we drove a couple of miles of I-95 I noticed the meter going up very fast already above 10 dollars.
I asked him what was wrong with his meter, how come it was going up so fast...????
He replied in very broken English that I could barely understand:
-If you don't like my meter, I can drop you off right here on the side of the highway...!!! What is it gonna be???
I remembered on my way to the office reading about all the corruption and out of control crime surging in Florida right now and decided to shut my mouth and fork it over the 37 dollars for the 5 mile trip.
I am not xenophobic at all, I understand we as a country need immigrants to keep our economy thriving and vibrant, but sometimes, I wish the US was a little bit more tough and or selective with immigrants.
Some Hispanics in Florida treat you like garbage if you don't speak Spanish, heck, I am fluent in Spanish and I am treated poorly very often.
There is a big controversy going on in Massachusetts right now because some Muslims are suing the state because they feel there children have been offended to have to pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, WHAT???????
Are you kidding me???
Offended?
Drive to Logan and go back to the miserable dictatorship you just left behind and leave us alone, otherwise it's time to hurry up and Americanize yourself.
If you want to be here, respect the culture you choose to live in, respect the country that have welcomed you in a time of need.
Just for the record, I have nothing against Hispanics, Haitians or Muslims in general.
Just the neurotic Cubans who are rude to me when I visit Miami, the thug stinking Taxi Driver I had today in Ft. Lauderdale and the idiotic Muslims who are suing the Massachusetts School system.
Sorry, folks, my style is more positive posts than this heavy complaining stuff I am venting out about today...but I just had to share this with you guys, plus I am sleep deprived, super tired and mentally stressed.
If you are from the US you probably understand what I am talking about, but Brazilians who have a Disneyland/Hollywood image of the US and cannot believe we are a country with problems, conflicts and crap just like everyone else.
They need to read about this to understand a little bit more about the realities of living in the US.
Ray
Don't think I am going to bash my beloved country...not exactly.
Let's start from the beginning.
I woke up in beautiful frozen Rhode Island early, SUPER early 3am, got ready and drove to the Airport.
Checked in at Providence TF Green Airport at 5:20am for my 6:30am flight to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
I have lived in this country for many, many years, 10 years in the Boston area alone, if you reading my blog you know details.
Honestly I am still impressed with the efficiency of services and transportation here just to name a few.
The state of Rhode Island just built an awesome train station right at the Airport with a beautiful glass moving side walk connecting a gigantic Parking Garage to the Airport, all enclosed and heated thank you very much...
The Airport already had an amazing amount of parking space in it's many concrete Garages around the Airport, a great infrastructure, for an area that is always snowing or raining, the comfort of covered Parking is priceless.
PVD ( Providence International Airport ) is a very small secondary Airport just 38 miles south of Boston Logan and it amazes me to no end that you find 10 times more decent Parking at PVD than at the Sao Paulo International Airport, a main hub for International travel in Brazil and a real nightmare for Parking, if you live in Sao Paulo you know exactly what I am talking about.
How can Providence and Tampa have HUGE Parking facilities when Sao Paulo, a city of 18 million has a small patio like area for parking. Well, the fact that Brazilian Airports are owed by the government explains part of it.
In the US it is almost all Private money making investments where it makes sense.
Back to the beginning of my day...
We had to sit at the Tarmac for a long while because it was Snowing and our plane had to be Defrosted...
At the same time we watched a line of about 80 dump trucks being filled with snow from the run ways, see, we have had so much snow since Christmas that they need room to push new snow in and clear the runways...no biggie, I had taken off in much worse snow storms, in the Boston/Providence area they have great infra-structure/equipment at the Airports and they only really run into trouble and shut down for a few hours if you get more than a couple feet, yes, I said feet, of snow. I know you folks from Georgia and Texas are thinking feet? Yes, I know, Airports in Atlanta and Dallas come to a complete stand still if they get half an inch of snow. Their method of clearing the snow if my favorite, they wait until the weather gets warmer to melt it away.
We watched ( and laughed ) when London got mere 4 inches of snow just before Christmas and people had to sleep in the Airport for a whole week...What the hell people, buy some plows and snow tires for your freaking trucks and call it a day.
Just yesterday Gil was sharing with me the most fascinating fact. All of the SALT used in the Northeast during the winter comes from GIGANTIC deep underground SALT MINES that are located right under the city of Cleveland, YES, you heard me right, I would think some Florida or California coastal community right? No, freaking CLEVELAND, Ohio, it is from a dried up underground ancient sea that used to be there millions of years ago, how cool is that?
Ok, back my day, if you know me, you know I side track like noboby's business ;)
Plane de iced, we take off, flight is good and uneventful, besides the usual idiotic young parents with the out of control 2 year olds...I came prepared, plugs in ear, face mask, neck pillow, Tylenol PM, I was gone for the 3 and a half hour flight between Providence and Ft.Lauderdale.
We land and I wake up with the actual touching down of the plane, I was out the whole time.
When I took my face mask off, I was suddenly blinded my the freaking strong SUNNY south Florida morning...it figures I completely forgot my sunglasses, I have barely seen the sun since sometime before Christmas, it's either raining, snowing or cloudy, don't feel sorry for me, that is the way I love it.
Ok, I recover from the semi blindness state just in time to walk out of the plane into 81 degrees, OUCH!
I came from 25 degrees this morning...so I quickly adapted and the town car was already waiting and ready to take me to my meeting.
On the ride, I had a chance to glance at the local newspaper just to find out that Crime Rates in Ft. Lauderdale and Miami have been soaring recently and have surpassed DETROIT!!!! I know, my thoughts exactly...!!!
Welcome to the 3rd World.
Just for the record, the Miami and Ft.Lauderdale areas have 70% of the population who don't even speak English...that pisses me off to no end.
You go to a bank of America and a semi-neurotic Cuban speaks to you in a 200 mile an hour Spanish that really sounds like a machine gun.
Remember how Seinfeld used to portrait the Hispanic Gay couple, he wasn't exaggerating. I swear, you have to be here to believe it.
CULTURE SHOCK!
Good news is that my 1 hour meeting turned out to be 15 minutes and it was total success.
No problem, I flew 3 and a half hours to get here and take care of business, and it was great. Done.
Back to the Airport.
My Town car was schedule for much later, so I canceled it and called a cab to zoom me to the Airport and see if I could catch an earlier flight back to Providence.
I felt like the Gringos complaining about catching a cab in the 3rd world and being ripped off...
I used to live in the Miami area and know exactly how much a cab costs, I was going 3 exits on the highway to the Airport and my fare shouldn't cost more than 8 or 9 dollars.
The literally stinking Haitian Taxi driver pushed some buttons on his Taxi meter and before we drove a couple of miles of I-95 I noticed the meter going up very fast already above 10 dollars.
I asked him what was wrong with his meter, how come it was going up so fast...????
He replied in very broken English that I could barely understand:
-If you don't like my meter, I can drop you off right here on the side of the highway...!!! What is it gonna be???
I remembered on my way to the office reading about all the corruption and out of control crime surging in Florida right now and decided to shut my mouth and fork it over the 37 dollars for the 5 mile trip.
I am not xenophobic at all, I understand we as a country need immigrants to keep our economy thriving and vibrant, but sometimes, I wish the US was a little bit more tough and or selective with immigrants.
Some Hispanics in Florida treat you like garbage if you don't speak Spanish, heck, I am fluent in Spanish and I am treated poorly very often.
There is a big controversy going on in Massachusetts right now because some Muslims are suing the state because they feel there children have been offended to have to pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, WHAT???????
Are you kidding me???
Offended?
Drive to Logan and go back to the miserable dictatorship you just left behind and leave us alone, otherwise it's time to hurry up and Americanize yourself.
If you want to be here, respect the culture you choose to live in, respect the country that have welcomed you in a time of need.
Just for the record, I have nothing against Hispanics, Haitians or Muslims in general.
Just the neurotic Cubans who are rude to me when I visit Miami, the thug stinking Taxi Driver I had today in Ft. Lauderdale and the idiotic Muslims who are suing the Massachusetts School system.
Sorry, folks, my style is more positive posts than this heavy complaining stuff I am venting out about today...but I just had to share this with you guys, plus I am sleep deprived, super tired and mentally stressed.
If you are from the US you probably understand what I am talking about, but Brazilians who have a Disneyland/Hollywood image of the US and cannot believe we are a country with problems, conflicts and crap just like everyone else.
They need to read about this to understand a little bit more about the realities of living in the US.
Ray
Friday, February 4, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
What will you do for love?
Hey, today I decided to cook feijoada!
Yes, you heard me right, it is freaking cold in Rhode Island today, we have been hit with ridiculous amounts of snow and ICE on top of it which makes a romantic snow day a memory of the past...December to be more specific.
You might drive 40 minutes to buy your loved one some traditional American Peanut Butter...
I drove 40 minutes ( each way ) to go get Gil some Farofa! Yes, authentic Brazilian farofa, our favorite brand, which I can only find at the Brazilian stores in the East Providence area.
Our large grocery stores, Stop & Shop and Shaw's also carry farofa, but not our favorite brand, you know, if you like Jif, you like Jif or Skippy and you just won't be happy with "Amendocrem".
Gil and I like Farofa Yoki, so the nasty "Minas" brand sold at our local Stop & Shop just won't do.
Off to East Providence where I also bought some "Erva Doce" Tea, Requeijao, Frozen Pao de Queijo, Linguica, and of course FAROFA YOKI!
I know, you go for one thing and buy U$40,00 worth of goodies.
This is already seasoned, if you live in Brazil, buy it, it is great, tastes very good, it is the number one in sales, so it's always fresh.
Most people eat it with Churrasco, the typical Brazilian barbecue, we eat it with everything...Gil likes it with almost every meal. I only like it with some meats and beans.
While I drove to East Providence to get our so loved favorite FAROFA brand, Gil started on a delicious FEIJOADA, which we make from canned beans, Hey! I have confessed time and time again how Americanized beyond repair we have become after living here for so many years. 13 years to be exact.
Brazilians would be really disgusted if they found out we are making FEIJOADA with canned beans, garlic powder and onion powder.
Sorry, we have given up on that battle a long time ago, most dry beans we buy here are really hard, probably because they don't sell as much, they get old sitting at the store shelves for so long.
So when in Rome, do as the Romans...while in America go with CANNED BEANS and DRIED SEASONING.
No Pressure cooker going for hours around here. Open the freaking can, season the beans with Garlic Powder and Onion Powder and call it a day!
I love AMERICAN LIVING :)
Sorry, I am practical, no crying over cutting onions and dealing with hands smelling like Garlic for days...well, not often anyway...just when we are inspired.
Ok, we have fresh Collard Greens, that stuff in the CANS just makes me gag with the thought of it, we have bought a CAN of Collard Greens but were never brave enough to open it, some day, maybe, we need to get Americanized to a more ridiculous level to be able to bare the thought of even opening a CAN of Collard Greens. Sorry!
Collard Greens is a very PORTUGUESE thing by the way. I don't know why or how it got connect to African Americans in the South of the US. I will probably try to find out how that happened.
Portuguese people grow Collard Greens in the gardens and eat it very often.
Brazilians love it with Feijoada and if you are an Expat living in Brazil, you have seen it many times.
We remembered to buy oranges which we will have it sliced and serve next to our mean FEIJOADA.
Ok. so I am mouth watering right now, our FEIJOADA is ready and I will help Gil with setting up our dinning room for the Brazilian Feast of the night :)
Just for the record, I can't stand FEET, EARS, TAIL or any other kind of disgusting PORK meat SOME BRAZILIANS like to pup in their FEIJOADA.
Our FEIJOADA is made with BABY BACK PORK RIBS, BRAZILIAN LINGUICA, PORK CHOPS, PORK LOIN and that is it, we mix a little bit of kidney beans with the Black Beans which makes for a richer stew.
What better dish for our brutally cold winter in Rhode Island?
Pancakes with warmed up real Maple Syrup! Ok, that is our Sunday morning breakfast ;)
Here is a picture of our FEIJOADA:
Ray
Yes, you heard me right, it is freaking cold in Rhode Island today, we have been hit with ridiculous amounts of snow and ICE on top of it which makes a romantic snow day a memory of the past...December to be more specific.
You might drive 40 minutes to buy your loved one some traditional American Peanut Butter...
I drove 40 minutes ( each way ) to go get Gil some Farofa! Yes, authentic Brazilian farofa, our favorite brand, which I can only find at the Brazilian stores in the East Providence area.
Our large grocery stores, Stop & Shop and Shaw's also carry farofa, but not our favorite brand, you know, if you like Jif, you like Jif or Skippy and you just won't be happy with "Amendocrem".
Gil and I like Farofa Yoki, so the nasty "Minas" brand sold at our local Stop & Shop just won't do.
Off to East Providence where I also bought some "Erva Doce" Tea, Requeijao, Frozen Pao de Queijo, Linguica, and of course FAROFA YOKI!
I know, you go for one thing and buy U$40,00 worth of goodies.
 |
| FAROFA YOKI bought at East Providence's Brazilian Store, PONTO 1 |
Most people eat it with Churrasco, the typical Brazilian barbecue, we eat it with everything...Gil likes it with almost every meal. I only like it with some meats and beans.
While I drove to East Providence to get our so loved favorite FAROFA brand, Gil started on a delicious FEIJOADA, which we make from canned beans, Hey! I have confessed time and time again how Americanized beyond repair we have become after living here for so many years. 13 years to be exact.
Brazilians would be really disgusted if they found out we are making FEIJOADA with canned beans, garlic powder and onion powder.
Sorry, we have given up on that battle a long time ago, most dry beans we buy here are really hard, probably because they don't sell as much, they get old sitting at the store shelves for so long.
So when in Rome, do as the Romans...while in America go with CANNED BEANS and DRIED SEASONING.
No Pressure cooker going for hours around here. Open the freaking can, season the beans with Garlic Powder and Onion Powder and call it a day!
I love AMERICAN LIVING :)
Sorry, I am practical, no crying over cutting onions and dealing with hands smelling like Garlic for days...well, not often anyway...just when we are inspired.
Ok, we have fresh Collard Greens, that stuff in the CANS just makes me gag with the thought of it, we have bought a CAN of Collard Greens but were never brave enough to open it, some day, maybe, we need to get Americanized to a more ridiculous level to be able to bare the thought of even opening a CAN of Collard Greens. Sorry!
Collard Greens is a very PORTUGUESE thing by the way. I don't know why or how it got connect to African Americans in the South of the US. I will probably try to find out how that happened.
Portuguese people grow Collard Greens in the gardens and eat it very often.
Brazilians love it with Feijoada and if you are an Expat living in Brazil, you have seen it many times.
We remembered to buy oranges which we will have it sliced and serve next to our mean FEIJOADA.
Ok. so I am mouth watering right now, our FEIJOADA is ready and I will help Gil with setting up our dinning room for the Brazilian Feast of the night :)
Just for the record, I can't stand FEET, EARS, TAIL or any other kind of disgusting PORK meat SOME BRAZILIANS like to pup in their FEIJOADA.
Our FEIJOADA is made with BABY BACK PORK RIBS, BRAZILIAN LINGUICA, PORK CHOPS, PORK LOIN and that is it, we mix a little bit of kidney beans with the Black Beans which makes for a richer stew.
What better dish for our brutally cold winter in Rhode Island?
Pancakes with warmed up real Maple Syrup! Ok, that is our Sunday morning breakfast ;)
Here is a picture of our FEIJOADA:
 |
| I know it looks UGLY, but it is so DELICIOUS it's not even funny! :) |
 |
| An Awesome Brazilian Meal in the Coldest Winter we ever faced in Rhode Island! |
Ray
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