Like mother like daughter

At a recent BBQ in Itaipú the girls were imitating their mothers. And I don’t mean by putting on their high heels.



Probably about half of the adult women in our circle of friends have gotten breast implants. Nothing enormous or freaky Vegas-like. Just a little enhancement. If you have seen many Brazilian women you know that their bodies feature large hips and butt and pretty modest (if not small) breasts. It’s just nature being nature.



Anyway – this cosmetic procedure has not gone unnoticed by the children. On this occasion at the pool water balloons served the purpose of breast enhancement among the girls.



Could it be cuter? I don't think so.

Brazil tops list of vacation days for workers

It's not just my imagination. Workers in Brazil enjoy a bumper crop of time off during the year. And as I recall that was not the case in the USA. I'm pretty sure I have that right.

Now there is a study that sets the record straight (er - accurate). According to this article in today's Chicago Tribune business section citing a recent study comparing workers' holiday time in 41 countries, Brazilians are at the top of the list of workers with the most time off with 56 days off per year while residents of the United States are near the bottom of that list with roughly 25 days off per year.

I knew there was something about working here that I liked (and it was not the salary!) According to the study, in Brazil the government mandates that employers provide 30 days vacation for workers -- and that is not including public holidays (of which there is a steady stream).

The United States is the only country included in the study where federal law does not set a minimum number of vacation days, but a typical full-time worker with five to 10 years on the job receives about three weeks off per year.

So as people here are fond of saying, Brazilians work to live, not live to work. The flip side is the low wages. As a friend of ours once said: "In Brazil employees pretend to work and then their employers pretend to pay them!"

For me -- I'll take the time at the beach.

US financial shenanigans

People scream when I get too political on this blog (too much US politics). But I have to promote this video.

Elizabeth Warren is like your aunt Edith who doesn't care if you believe her or not. She is earnest and knows what she knows. You can listen to her or not. She has also been recently appointed as the chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel created to oversee the U.S. banking bailout.

Here she is explaining the most recent report from the Congressional Oversight Panel. (Stay with me!) The report is: Guarantees and Contingent Payments in TARP and Related Programs.

An exerpt: “The impact of the guarantees that have been offered over the past year really can’t be overstated. The magnitude of the intervention in the market has rewritten the basic rules of our financial system. By putting taxpayer money on the line to cover a private company’s bad decisions, Treasury has crossed a threshold that has left us in unknown territory.”

Trust me. It's worth your time. Get schooled.

Health Insurance in Brazil

Healthcare reform in the US must be possible.

Take Brazil, for example. We are a poor country. But everyone has access to healthcare. If you have no supplemental insurance you definitely wait for care in the nationalized system that is stressed and can be lacking. But there is care – for as long as you need it. And you don't have to sell your house to get it.

Nobody loses everything trying to pay for medical care. In fact it is against the law to have your house taken away from you to pay a debt. To Brazil's credit - some things are seen as going too far. People need a place to live!

Most employed people buy some form of supplemental insurance that kicks things upstairs a bit, reducing wait times or improving comfort levels along the way.

By way of comparison let me comment on my dental care of late. I just completed a triple root canal. (No pain.) I pay about US$5.00 per month through my employer for dental coverage. No co-pays. No deductible. The quality of care was outstanding. In fact I’m inclined to invite my dentist to our next BBQ.

In the end I paid pennies on the dollar for the service I received. She got paid what she needs and I got quality dental care. Go figure.

UPDATE: With the root canal work behind me it is time to reconstruct the tooth (I have no tooth above the gum line) and then fit it with a crown. This is not covered by my insurance company. All is not lost -- the price for the reconstruction is US$46 and the price for the state-of-the-art porcelain crown is US$200. [If you don't want to be sad or frustrated I suggest you NOT call your dentist and compare prices.]

Easy for me to say, but, the US can (and must) do better.

Feel the burn

It has begun. Summer is clearly on the march.

Today it is 95 degrees Fahrenheit.

My schedule includes a root canal in the morning, one student in the morning, and two conversation classes into the evening. Nice and light.

Luiz left for the beach at 9:00 a.m. to meet up with some friends.



It is definitely hotter in the summer, but we don’t work any harder…

Luiz Health Update

Even though our heads understand that Luiz’s Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia is behaving itself and not getting too excited in his body, trekking over to the National Cancer Institute for his quarterly check-in is always a bummer because somewhere in our guts we can’t extinguish the worry that things might change. Maybe this visit will bring bad news.

Well, not this time. Luiz’s latest blood counts show he continues to be in very good shape. And once again, his platelets count went up. (That’s good.)

For the CLL geeks: Luiz’s Absolute Lymphocyte Count (ALC), while climbing, has been moving at a snail’s pace. One of the guidelines physicians use in monitoring progression of CLL is to look at how fast the lymphocyte counts are increasing. The measure used is the time taken for ALC to double. A doubling time of one year or more is considered a hallmark of a slow, indolent disease. Over the past TWO YEARS since Luiz was diagnosed his ALC has increased by only 46%.

Again, his blood count trends continue to report nothing but good news (within the bad reality of being a CLL patient).

Thanks again for all your concerns and well wishes. Luiz soaks them up like a smiling sponge. Next appointment: January 2010.

It's all good. Luiz -- I gotta feelin'...

Check this out.

Gay Pride Parade in Rio

More than 1.2 million gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and supportive people flooded Atlantic Avenue in Copacabana on Sunday for the 14th annual Gay Parade in Rio. The theme this year was "I have the right to live and love freely." The gathering is said to be the third largest event in Rio after Carnaval and New Years Eve.

In spite of a spitting drizzle that persisted all day long it was a great time full of good spirits, incredible eye candy and some very creative costumes.

There were 16 trio electicos pounding out entrancing dance music that kept people dancing in the street.

Expressions of pride, a political insistence on equality, and an end to homophobia were noted on banners hanging off the sides of the trio electricos. Speakers from various trucks took their microphones periodically to work the crowd into a prideful buzz.

And I had the pleasure of running into Carmen Miranda! (Although she looked a little worse for wear than I remember her from her movies.)

Here is one of the local newscasts about the parade: