My True Story on Yes & Yes

A few months back, Sarah Von from Yes & Yes, a blog I follow religiously, e-mailed me to ask me if I would like to talk to her about my experience living in the US and moving back to Brazil, which I promptly accepted :-)

She's pretty "OCD," so three months later, she scheduled the post to be published and it was posted yesterday!

If you'd like to read it, you can find it here: True Story: I Immigrated to America... And Then Moved Back to My Home Country.

What's funny is, I'm so used to my "story," and telling it here, that it's almost become sort of blasé to me and I never realize how some of my struggles while living in the US and then moving back, to a lot of people, are seemingly "courageous," "brave," and "amazing."

I realized this yesterday when I posted the link to Sarah's post and was overwhelmed with comments from friends and relatives, and even strangers, who congratulated me on the above adjectives.

You can read all the comments here.

In short, I just wanted to say to those of you who spoke so kindly of me and look up to me, that I couldn't be as brave, courageous, and inspiring if it weren't for those around me - which is what I suggested in Sarah's interview to anyone who is in a similar situation I was in when in the US. Surround yourself with wonderful people, and you shall succeed :-) 

"What advice would you give to someone else who feels out of place where they live?

My biggest advice is surrounding yourself with people you trust who you can vent to and cry with. Having good friends to talk to who I can relate to has always been a great way for me to keep my sanity and not go around pessimistic about everything. And also, always be positive and try to see things in a good light. I’m you’re average “Pollyanna,” and think this was all really just meant to be!"

beijos no coração! 

-poly. 

Hey America, STOP SOPA!

As a search marketer, I'm obliged to spread the word: 

Also, from a short spiel I wrote for a blog post on the matter, yesterday: 


Like many things in life, despite being an American law, all internet users in the world will be affected by SOPA and/or PIPA (not an exaggeration). In the law's description, found on the US congress website, it is clear that any site that links to a page that has "pirated" content, as they put it, can and should be taken down if that link is not removed, even if the site is foreign. Now, how am I going to know the content I link to is pirated? What about Google or Wikipedia? Wikipedia was on strike yesterday, and they told us on the strike's page that the law can end the "free" internet. Free as in monetary and liberty! Also, who is a congressman in the US to tell us that we can't access sites we want to access? Or to end access to important information we have access to today? Who needs to be punished are those who plagiarize or priatize information online. One of the law's clauses, which hasn't been given much attention, is that SOPA will end the use of "private government information," that is publicly online. Wikileaks ring a bell? I don't see this as a law that will protect intelectual property, but will protect US government officials. 


In Portuguese: 


Como muitas coisas da vida, apesar de ser lei estadunidense, todos os usuários de internet do mundo serão afetados pelo SOPA e/ou PIPA (sem exagero). Na descrição da lei, encontrada no site do congresso dos EUA, está bem claro que qualquer site que linkar para alguma página que tenha conteúdo “piratado”, como eles dizem, pode e deve ser tirado do ar se não tirar o tal link mesmo se o site que está com o conteúdo plagiado seja estrangeiro. Agora, como que eu vou saber se o conteúdo do site que eu linkei foi piratado? E o Google ou a Wikipédia? O site em inglês da Wikipédia está de “greve”, hoje e eles mesmo disseram na página onde explicam o porquê da greve, que a lei pode acabar com a internet “grátis e livre”, que temos hoje. E outra, quem é um deputado lá da gringa para dizer que não posso acessar os sites que eu quero acessar? Ou para acabar com informações úteis que estão disponíveis hoje. Quem precisa ser punido são os infratores de conteúdo plagiado ou explícito. Uma das cláusulas da lei que tem tido pouca atenção em matérias sobre o SOPA, cita o uso de informações “governamentais particulares” (irônico, não?) como parte do conteúdo piratado. Não vejo esta lei como uma lei que vá proteger a propriedade intelectual, mas sim, os podres do governo americano.


More in portuguese here: O que é o SOPA e o que muda?

10 Reasons to Love or Hate São Paulo

I've been reading a lot of different Brazilians blogs and columns recently, and one of my favorites is Xico Sá's blog over at Folha de São Paulo's blogs, where he wittingly talks about relationships & sex, culture, society and politics. He'll use a lot of literary references I don't know about, so it's a great reason to look this sort of stuff up! haha


He recently posted on the top ten reasons to love or hate SP in honor of the city's upcoming birthday, and I can't help but agree! Here's his list in Portuguese. And my simple translation below, because I'm not nearly as clever as he is. :-)


For those who are planning on moving to Brazil and considering São Paulo, here's the fabulous and harsh reality of it all.

10 reasons to love SP

- The women and their incomparable elegance. :-) I must say that, since living in SP City, I have upped the notch on my style. And I don't mean I've been following every fashion trend out there, but there's something about looking effortlessly classy in SP's women you don't see much elsewhere in Brazil, that is contagious once you move here. 

- São Paulo nights. Av. Augusta with it's clubs hosting the world's best DJs, classy bars, brothels, and dive bars until... well, 24h a day... is just the beginning. 

- Great waiters. Unfortunately, the 10% included on all tabs aren't always passed on to waiters. When the service is great, I'll usually ask to not pay the 10% and tip my waiter separately. 

- Mondays when Corinthians wins on Sunday. The coffee is warmer and the beer cooler. 

- The street Art. The biggest outdoor art gallery in the world. Despite the city's efforts to paint over some prime work, there's always something beautiful and new around the corner. 

- Xico Sá references 2 Paulistano music artists. The number of local artists and the local music scene has grown so much and is so good, it makes me smile that I have the opportunity to see so many great artists live so often. 

-  Sugar cane juice and pastel (deep fried wonderfulness filled with whatever you desire) at the farmer's market. The most organized institutions in the city. Nevermind the market's vendors giving you a self esteem boost and free fruit tastings. Yum!

-  The metro. 

-  Italian cantinas downtown. 

-  The "baiano immigrants" from every state in the Northeast.  

10 reasons to hate SP

- Kassab. Our  mayor. Who Sá mentions "does so little and prohibits so much." 

- Traffic, obvi. 

- How much you pay for a cab to the international airport, Guarulhos. 

- The assault in restaurants on the west side. On a number of levels - by thieves themselves or the restaurant owners in their prices (TRUE STORY). 

- The closeted gay men who beat up openly gay men on Paulista. 

- The metro. At around 6 PM. 

- The tapioca which is being meddled with and practically turning into a specimen of pizza. 

- People on Oscar Freire (street with upscale shops - or as my British friends would say - the posh part of town) who think this is New York, when really, it's more like Mexico City. 

- Lines.

- The police.

---

And to add a little of my own loves and hates - 

Love: 

the parks, the art scene, sunday afternoons at bars in vila madalena, vai-vai samba school rehearsals, japanese food on every corner. 

Hate: 

any public institution which makes me wait endlessly for the simplest things, really really wealthy paulistanos, cars, lack of cheap greasy pizza, prices on any and everything.