PDA - Here it is not just digital.

There is quite a bit more public displays here than I have had the privelege to witness in the United States. I hope this is not a typical topic of 2nd Glance, but it fits the name if not the theme. Many times the manner is quite spastic and quite frankly a little obnoxious. But once you realize its going to happen, you kind of just ignore it. The most interesting place so far was right in front of me in line at Bob's Burgers

Have a bone to pick?

I'm not a heavyweight fish eater but in recent years I've had some great fish eating experiences. So it was rather to my dismay to discover that they don't pull the pin-bones out of the fish here in Brazil. This may seem like a minor nusance, but somehow for me it ruins the experience. And I'm not just talking about the fillets (which shouldn't be too hard to debone); I had a fish lazagna the other day complete with prickly surprises.

Here in Brazil, where the labor is relatively cheap, I was surprised that they do not de-bone. This leads me to believe that there is little demand for deboning by the fish eating population. This contrasts with the US where I suspect most like their fish deboned even though the cost of doing so seems to be higher.

Club Scene

I have been in Rio for a little over a month now, and the only thing worse than my Portuguese is my luck with the nightlife. Seems like at every club you are either too early or too late. The crazy part is that you instantly change from being too early to too late. Too early and nothing is going on, so you don't know if it is a good club or not. Too late and they hit you up for an unholy entrance fee. I think this is somehow related to my earlier post on Brazilian Time but the connection eludes me at the moment!

Brazilian Time

In Brazil it is diffucult to know when a pre-arranged meeting time is meant as a guidleline or a strict rule. For us American here, who are used to arrived on the point or just before, 20-30 minute waits can be pretty frustrating. "Why not just say the time you are really going to come?" is a common gripe among us punctual types.

After waiting for 20 or so minutes you may be tempted to make a complimentary call to see what is up, just to be sure they are on their way and didn't get held up. You know, so you can grap a bite to eat or find a comfortable place to sit. But when you call you will inevitably here that all is well and to expect them shortly, say in 5 minutes. Surely they can make a fairly accurate estimate if they are only about 5 minutes away. Do not be fooled. Find that comfy chair and the purchase the Habib's "x-burguer" (say: sheeshburger). You have at least 20 minutes to go!

The First Glance

Hello World, or small subset thereof.

I'm Jeff. Currently located in Brasil (yes with an 's'), I have been asked several times if I have a web journal. The answer: Kind of. I had one that I kept up regularly, but I realized it was not really a journal. Instead it was a outlet for ideas that I wanted to remember/share... ie, a blog. So I've decided to port over to the blogsphere for a more appropriate setting.

I've entitled the blog "Second Glance" because my posts will be largely related to topics I feel need to be scrutinized more fully. I don't pretend to always take the appropriate second glance, so I'm open to hearing what others have to say.

First real post to come soon!