Riowakening

Brazil through an Australian's eyes

Ipanema Beach acai woman Vanessa Esplendorosa can teach us all about happiness

There's a great woman who works on Ipanema Beach that is impossible to forget. Vanessa Cabral dos Santos, or Vanessa Esplendorosa as she's known on the sand, sells acai, the Amazonian berry superfood turned purple smoothie health snack which can be mixed with things like banana, granola and powdered milk. It's loved by Brazilians and has made its way to Australia and anywhere else there are hipster, health-conscious people. But she doesn't just sell it, she lives it. This l

The C word: Changing Company, Career, City, Country, Culture

Company, Career, City, Country, Culture. Changing just one of these C words in your life can lead to untold discovery. Them all? Well that’s what I’d call a life well lived. You step up to the edge, toes peeled over the side, peering into the unknown, mind full of fantasies and possibilities about what could happen next as you get set to step over. A whirlwind of new encounters, friendships, lessons and knowledge flash before your eyes and next thing a year has passed and

Brazilian visas and the difficulties for tourists to stay

Coming all the way to South America and not visiting Brazil is like having sex without achieving orgasm - it’s great but you missed the best part. I’ve seen a few people I know making such trips recently and it really leaves me scratching my head, but I’m sure a big part of it is simply to do with the tedious and costly visa process. You see, Brazil makes it really hard for Australians, Americans and many Europeans to stay here for a long time, because whatever visa restrict

Are Brazilians and Australians similar and what do we have in common?

You'll see Aussie surf brands worn all over Brazil, from the beaches to the gangsters in the favelas just like Quiksilver above. In Australia you’ll find Brazil’s Havaianas on feet from the coast to the bush, on movie stars to the homeless. Despite this, Australians and Brazilians wouldn't usually consider each other all that similar, at least at first thought. But when one travels to the other there are shared traits between us that you can't help but notice. So are Brazil

Is Brazil safe to travel? Why tourists shouldn't worry

A newspaper front page with a little girl covered in her dead mother’s blood declared “Terrorism in Rio is everyday”. In the grisly story from July, Cristiane Andrade, 46, was stabbed in the neck in her car's front seat sitting next to her daughter in a supermarket carpark. The girl ran to a nearby taxi who raced them to hospital where the young mum died. Afterwards the driver recorded a short movie of the little girl, 7, distraught, blood-soaked next to his taxi, a police

Brazilian crime is prime time television

Brazil has turned its big time crime problem into prime time television. Taking the lead expertly from the USA, cameras chase Brazil’s machine-gun carrying police as they swerve and run through dingy streets capturing criminals. Hours-long news programs dedicated to reporting on crime across the country dominate primetime viewing. And it’s not car hoons and out-of-control teenage house parties. High quality footage of robberies and shootings is regularly captured through th

Social media was made for Brazilians

Social media was certainly made for Brazilians, and by some as well. There is no shame in a selfie in this country and privacy settings are often left to a minimum. All is on display here which is a lot like Brazilian culture, and being social media, well, you can imagine here it's pretty damn social. Think of it as just like a day at the beach - big smiles, eyes darting around, lots of laughs. Young women take photos of themselves and get showered with compliments and hund

Brazilian is the world's best accent no one knows

You can practically feel the sun and samba beats bursting out of Brazilians mouths. Yet when the coolest and sexiest accents in the world are spoken about you hear of the Irish, French, Italians or us Aussies. Even one of the many Spanish-speaking countries will usually be tossed up. But Brazil, not so much. Let me tell you though it should be on those lists because it is without a doubt one of the best accents in the world. And it sounds nothing like Spanish. Brazil

Why I left Australia for Rio de Janeiro and Brazil

The question wasn't why would I come to Rio it was why wouldn't I? Here I was, a stereotypical monolingual English-speaking dude. I had no understanding of the struggles and memory-searing moments which come from ditching the comforts of home to enter the unknown. So late last year I found myself with a huge desire to not only live overseas for the first time, but to learn a new language and culture. As 2015 wound down it became clear this trip wasn’t about sliding in so

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