DEADLINES REVISED

I just got an email from the IAU with the revised deadlines **** ANOTHER EMAIL WAS RECEIVED TODAY 03/13)****

Application for IAU GA Grants closes 1 March
End on-line submission of abstracts (revised date) ***** NEW: DEADLINE MARCH 31ST *******
Notification of IAU GA Grants 1 April
SOC programme review and completion (revised date) 1 May
Notification of abstract acceptance (revised date) 1 May
End early on-line registration (revised date) 1 May
Start regular on-line registration (revised date) 2 May
Accepted abstracts may be revised 15 May - 15 June
Media accreditation on-line registration 24 July
End regular on-line registration 24 July
Start on-site registration 3 August

Carnaval!

Quanto riso, quanta alegria!! Hoje é carnaval!!
Many smiles,  much happiness!! Today is carnival!!

This is an old carnival song (Máscara Negra) that I really like. Since carnival starts this weekend and goes until Wednesday, I thought I should add something here in the blog warning that business will slow down a lot for a few days. If you send emails to Brazil in the next few days, you might not get a quick answer until the 25th.

At some point I will post about Brazilian music and culture. For now I leave you with a great singer performing a sambinha (samba music we sing in bars) click on Maria Rita sings Conversa de Botequim .

Registration - not that simple...

I have been to 4 General Assemblies before, so I know how it works. It is not that simple to register, if you haven't done it yourself. Since I have a couple of students going to the IAU, I am gonna list here the steps to take to make life easier.

- Register for the meeting (includes paying fee) http://www.astronomy2009.com.br/registration.html
Registration FORM https://www.jz.com.br/congressos/2009/astronomia/en/registration.htm
To apply for the student fee, the applicant must be under 35 years of age and a personalized letter, signed by the head of his/her university or institutional department, must be sent by email (registration@jz.com.br) to the congress secretariat - JZ Congressos. The registration will be processed only after this document has been received.

- Send an abstract - http://iau2009.on.br/abstracts/welcome.action It will require to register username and password. Load your abstract under ABSTRACT SERVER (can't link it here directly, it is towards the end of the page, where it talks about grants).
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You don't need to register when you send an abstract. The deadlines are very different. Abstract deadline is March 15 and registration is May 1st. You can even send an abstract and decide later if you are going.
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- Apply for IAU financial aid (only for travels, not for registration fee) - http://www.astronomy2009.com.br/iaugrants.html
FORM http://www.iau.org/grants_prizes/iau_grants/ga_events/ga_application_form/

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I have asked the IAU and have been told: "The IAU calls them Travel Grants, but beneficiaries are supposed to use them to cover part of their total cost to participate in the GA. Beneficiaries will receive the grants in cash on the spot in Rio, and it will just cover a part of their total costs." So, you can use the IAU grant to cover accommodation, tickets, meals, etc. The IAU will not request receipts.
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- Apply for AAS (American Astronomical Society) financial aid (only for air tickets with american carriers) - http://aas.org/grants/itg.php
and download the ITG Program Application Form - fill in and send via FAX or mail, together with a letter from your supervisor.

- If you are not an IAU member, you need to contact the chair of the Symposium or JD that you are attending or your National Committee and ask for a letter of invitation. Many people get confused here and don't understand this. It is just an invitation to attend the IAU as a non-member, it is not an invitation to give a talk or a poster. Pretty much every astronomer and student who asks gets invited. If you are not a member, this should be your first step!

- Check if you need a visa to enter Brazil - do it in advance.

I don't know if it is my version of firefox, but not all links open when I click directly from the astronomy2009.com.br. But if I type the http address, links work.

Brazil, my Brazilian Brazil - Food

As I promised before, let's talk about Brazilian food. Our cuisine is unique and completely different from the rest of Latin America, so don't expect to get Mexican food in Brazil. Brazilian food is also very different in different locations in Brazil. Rio has strong Portuguese influence and somehow that got mixed with African traditions, European and even Lebanese food.

Many Brazilian restaurants sell by the kilo! one can choose from a buffet of varieties (from salad to barbecue) and pay the total weight (the ones who eat a lot don't usually like this system, so find out the price before). Prices vary a lot but usually 100gr/2.00 reais. Kilo restaurants are great to just try a little bit of everything.

If you feel like meat, try churrascaria rodízio (barbecue steakhouse, one price per person, all you can eat). I recommend Mario's in Copacabana and Porcão in Ipanema. They are a bit expensive (~US$30-40/person), but you will appreciate every cent! The hotel can give you directions to both, they are well-known. Mario's is a little more formal. My favorite is Porcão (big pig). By the way, they also have great salads, vegetables, fish/sushi in the salad bar which are fantastic! Don't eat breakfast if you are going to a churrascaria for lunch and don't plan on having dinner either.

The Brazilian national dish is called feijoada (shown in the photo), a stew made of pork meat and black beans, it is served with white rice (most of the dishes come with that), farofa, greens and orange. Farofa is something hard for me to explain, it is probably my favorite side dish. It is dry manioc flour with oil and seasoning, delicious!! Saturday is Feijoada day in Rio. Many restaurants will offer that in the menu only on Saturdays and sometimes on Wednesdays.

If you like spicy food, look for comida bahiana (typical from the state of Bahia). Some of their dishes are: moqueca (fish stew), bobó de camarão (shrimp stew), vatapá.

Brazilian food is not usually spicy, unless you are in the Northeast, but there will always be pepper sauce to be added if you like. Ask for "pimenta, por favor."

If you are vegetarian or vegan you will have to do a little research before you go out for dinner, but salads are always good in Rio. Just make sure you tell them that you don't want boiled eggs (sem ovo cozido), no ham (sem presunto), no cheese (sem queijo), no mayonese (sem maionese) all over the salad. Most of the time, trust me, beans will have bacon added to it when cooking. You can double check, but they might think your question is a bit weird... why wouldn't you want bacon (toucinho) in your beans?? Ipanema.com has a good page with recommended restaurants. http://www.ipanema.com/restrnts/salads.htm I love the Natural in Ipanema, I hope you will too.

Brazilians are foodie and love to snack, here are some things to try:

Drink = caipirinha - cachaça (white rum), lime and sugar. Careful, it is good, but it is strong. Brazilians usually have one before dinner and switch to beer. If you have more than 2 caipirinhas quickly, you will be noticed :-)

soft-drink = guaraná (like ginger ale, made of an amazon fruit)

Don't miss all the fresh juices (sucos)/fruits/ice-cream = maracuja (passion fruit), manga (mango), abacaxi (pineapple), goiaba (guava), caju (fruit of the cashew nut)

You will get addicted to bread/snack = pão de queijo (made of cheese and manioc flour, served warm)

Our snacks (aperitivo/entrada) are delicious, often I only eat them and skip lunch: aipim/mandioca frito (fried manioc = fried yucca root), bolinho de bacalhau (codfish fried snack- it is like a crab cake but better), coxinha (snack made of chicken), pastel de queijo/carne/palmito (fried dough filled with either cheese/meat/heart of palms)

If you feel like a coffee and a little snack, go to Casa do Pão de Queijo, there are many of them all over the place and have a coffee with pão de queijo, you will like it!

There are many juice houses in Copacabana/Ipanema/Leblon. Just enter one of them and choose any fruit you never heard of and try a juice. You can also ask the attendant to suggest a juice. They will enjoy that and will be very friendly if you try your Portuguese ("Pode sugerir um suco gostoso?" Can you suggest a tasty juice?). You can ask to see the fruit first, posso ver a fruta? Of course, you will be able to have the real açaí juice and will get addicted.

If you are going out with friends and family, I recommend that you either ask or look around to see the sizes of the portions which tend to be large. It is unusual to have one plate per person in a table of 4. We usually share a few entries (e.g. 3 for 4 people) and have rice, beans, fries, manioc and salad as side dishes.

Tipping

Usually 10% will be included in your bill in most restaurants. It should be written in your bill, otherwise you are supposed to give around 10% for tip. But I have never been to any place where the 10% was not included. Anyway, feel free to round it and give a little extra if you like the food and service, but don't over-do it. Ask when you get the check: por favor, os dez porcentos estao incluidos? The kilo restaurants will probably not include since the waiter will only bring you a drink. You can give like 3-5 reais if you want, but don't have to tip. By the way, you always have to ask for the check (a conta, por favor), or they will not bring it.

Going to IAU - Where to stay

If you are going to the IAU in Rio (August 03-14) and would like some tips from an astronomer who knows Rio, you are in the right place. I grew up in Rio and I consider Rio my hometown. Rio is absolutely beautiful and charming. I am looking forward seeing you there. Here are some links that will make your life a little easier.

I recommend to stay close to a subway (metrô) station in Copacabana. The Convention Center is located close to a subway station 25 minutes from Copacabana (Station Estácio). Wiki on Rio metrô http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_de_Janeiro_Metro
I recommend the area of Copacabana close to Cantagalo station (marked with A below). There is another station, Siqueira Campos, (marked wit blue M below), but it is a bit busy. Cardeal Arcoverde station is closer to the entrance of Copacabana, it should be fine too, but metro starts to get crowded there.

Try to stay in hotels at the Atlantica Avenue. N.S. de Copacabana Avenue is very busy and loud. Hotels in side streets should be fine.

The IAU official page for hotels is http://www.astronomy2009.com.br/accommodation.html

You can also find hotels and lots of fun and useful texts in the http://ipanema.com.

Why shouldn´t you stay in Ipanema? well, you can, but it will take a long time to get to the convention center, there is no subway in Ipanema, but there are buses, if you feel adventurous. But you should take the bus from Ipanema that takes you to the subway station in Copacabana, and not the bus to the area of the convention center, unless you don't mind 1 hour in a crowded bus. It will take 15 minutes by bus from Ipanema to Copacabana metro. Taxis to the convention center can be pricy, but taxis to the subway should be reasonable. I just don't like the taxi drivers of Rio, they can be really nice and total jerks. I avoid them, if I can.

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If you don't want to spend too much money with hotel and can handle 2 stars hotels, you can stay in the Flamengo-Gloria-Catete area (in between Copacabana and downtown) which is also by the subway system. Ipanema.com has a selection of hotels there http://www.ipanema.com/rio/hotels/e/hotfla.htm
Hotel Paysandu is well located and the cheapest room is around US$50. But I recommend you shop around on the internet for 2 stars. The Catete area has at least one that I have read about Hotel Imperial which is reasonable (***NEW***around $70, not as reasonable anymore) and well located. This area is historic and quite charming, but noisy. I would NOT recommend staying in Santa Teresa area. It is not easy access and at night can be a little rough to get there...
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Why shouldn´t you rent a car in Rio? well, you can, but it will be stressful. Only behind the wheels Cariocas (people from Rio) may turn too competitive.

Is Rio dangerous? I don´t think so. It is a big city, it has crime and poverty. If you use common sense and don´t display your rolex watch, your diamond rings, laptops and super cameras in your neck, you will be fine. By the way, watches are a major attraction for street kids in Rio. If you don´t want to donate yours, leave it in your hotel. I also recommend leaving your passport in your hotel safe and bring a photocopy in your bag, just in case. But I do that even when I go to Europe.

It is winter in Rio, but ... I promise it won't get cold!!! A really cold day in Rio will reach 15C (60 F), it is like California but humid. But in a sunny day, it will reach high 20sC (80sF). Winter is the dry season, so it should be pleasant. But do remember that in the tropics the weather is not as predictable as elsewhere.

Currency converter - today the conversion rate from Reais to Dollars is 1 US$=2.32 Reais, but that changes all the time. I suggest to double check here (click). I recommend bringing dollars and do not always count on ATM machines to work. Only a couple of banks have the Plus and Cirrus agreement, most of the ATMS are for local banks. I also recommend to be careful when using your credit card and that you call your credit card/bank before you go to make sure your credit card has fraud protection and to tell them that you will be in Brazil. It is common that they will ask for a pin number for your credit card when you purchase something. Even restaurants will bring the machine to your table and you will need to type your pin number. Copacabana has many cambio houses, if you bring dollars, you can easily exchange them to reais and get a better rate than ATM machines do.

*****NEW ***** The dollar exchange rate is getting lower and lower. As of today, 05/24, it is only 2.02 Reais ******

BY THE WAY, CANADA, CHINA, RUSSIA, USA and other CITIZENS NEED TOURIST VISAS TO GO TO BRAZIL. TRY TO ARRANGE THAT AT LEAST 45 DAYS IN ADVANCE.

***** NEW*****

Check here

Information on Visas from the IAU

List of Brazilian Consular offices in the USA

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In my next posts I will write about what to do and eat in Rio. I might start writing about other places to visit in Brazil too. Stay tuned and do email if you have a question - duilia at yahoo.com


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