iAdventurer!

I haven’t written in months, but this will probably be my last post for a while. Now that the chaos of summer and carnaval are over, I’ve had the chance to see the real Rio. They say, if you can’t say anything nice then don’t say anything at all. So, after this post, I’ll probably be quiet for a while.

Since my last update, I’ve had a couple of guests, went home for a while, came back, and have been diligently trying to close out my last few projects and figure out where to go next. Unfortunately, I’m ready to leave Rio. This city has soured my view of what is a beautiful and wonderful country.

Brazilians are supposed to be noted for their kindness, warmth and openness… but definitely NOT in Rio. Cariocas, particularly those in the affluent area of Zuna Sul where I live, are hands down the rudest, most disrespectful people (lacking any form of common courtesy) that I’ve ever met. New Yorkers have nothing on them. They will hit you, push you off sidewalks, knock you with their purses, scrape you with their sharp shopping bags, blatantly cut in line in front of you, trip you and all without a simple “excuse me” or “sorry.” In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever heard a Carioca say “excuse me” or “sorry” the entire 5 months that I’ve been here.

And don’t get me started on customer service. If you say hello or good morning to an employee, they just stare at you like “Get out of my effing face.” When you walk up to order at a lunch bar or fast food restaurant, you’re greeted with “What do you want?!” If you say thank you to the checkout person at the register, you better not expect a smile and definitely not a “have a nice day.” The only thing you’ll get is a look that says, “Get the eff out of here.” I wish I had a hidden camera to show how much I’m NOT exaggerating.

There’s also a general lack of organization and management, in both the private and public sector. A simple example is what happened today. I tried to order a chicken sandwich from a fast food restaurant, but I couldn’t get one because they were out of bread. Later on, I decided to soothe my growing frustration with an ice cream sundae, but the ice cream place had run out of all flavors but chocolate. (Of which they had recently increased the price!) So I went a few blocks over to get some frozen yogurt, only to find that they were out of 2 of the 4 flavors they carry, which of course, were the only 2 flavors I like. This happens on a daily basis here in Rio. Managers don’t care enough to ensure that products are in stock. Even if they are in stock, you won’t know what is available because menus rarely have all the items listed and hardly ever have the prices for individuals items. There is a gross lack of transparency at every level. And don’t think you can save time by checking out a businesses web site first. Even high level businesses generally don’t have web sites and those that do offer no useful information.

But returning to the topic of food, Rio just might have the least diverse, poorly cooked food in Latin America. Not only is food ridiculously over-priced, but they have no clue how to cook meat. Although they are famous for the churrascaria, the cuts of meat that people eat every day are horrendous. I have yet to have a piece of chicken that was well seasoned on the outside and juicy & tender on the inside. The cuts of red meat often have huge chunks of fat and gristle still attached. They cook all meat and fish until it’s hard and dry. Everywhere. I went to the uber luxe Othon Palace in Copacabana for dinner. The steak was bland and dry. The chicken was chewy and gummy. And the dessert brownie was actually a thinly sliced piece of hardened, week old vanilla cake with chocolate syrup dripped on top. The next day, both me and the person I had dinner with were sick.

This leads me to my next point about inflation, price gauging and general hustling. When people ask me to sum up Brazil, I call it “hustle nation.” Everyone will try you, even up to the most expensive restaurants. I now have a habit of counting up my bill and the change BEFORE I give money to anyone, something I never had to do outside Brazil. And don’t count on your receipt being accurate either. Cariocas seem to be on a high from the impending World Cup and Olympics… but it’s gotten out of control. Inflation was supposed to cap at 16.5% this year, but it already reached 16% by April!!! Speaking of which, I have never in my life seen rampant inflation such as this. The price of something goes up every single week. Food and transportation have been the most affected. Even living in post-bankrupcy Argentina 9 years ago, I didn’t witness such inflation. And let’s not talk about real estate. I’ve seen the rental prices in Copacabana almost double in the five months I’ve been here.

In addition to price inflation, large foreign investment is artificially boosting the currency which is damaging Brazil’s exports. Brazilians and experts alike agree that the currency will have to be corrected. But, will the government reduce the value of the Real? Probably not! After talking with many people about the state of the current economy, there seems to be a general consensus that it will crash… HARD… after the Olympics. Then Brazil and Argentina, as they often do, will yet again switch places in their boom and bust cycles. People (who don’t live in Brazil, some of whom have never even stepped foot in the country) say I’m being unfairly pessimistic. My reply, you come spend 6 months here and then we can talk.

I remember reading reports that Brazil’s economy was expected to surpass France to become the 5th largest in the world next year. Now, living here and seeing the reality, all I can do is laugh. There is no real planning or long-term strategy. There is no real investment in sustainable growth and fiscal policy. There is no real management and oversight. There has been no corruption reduction. If anything, it’s increased! To break it down, Brazil is like a dude from the projects who gets a two album rap deal. (In this case, the rap deal is the World Cup and Olympics.) Within a few years, he’s back in the projects again. He had the opportunity and the resources, but not the common sense to make it last.