L' Atelier

Aviaçao e Turismo - English Francais

2009-05-11T18:53:00.000-07:00

A.

accomodation = hébergement

airfare = tarif aérien

airline = ligne aérienne

airplane = avion

aiport tax = taxe d'aéroport

area = région

aisle seat = siège coté couloir

B.

bank = banque

baggage claim = reception des bagages

baggage handler = bagagiste

baggage locker = consignes à baggages

beach = plage

break = vacances

border = frontière

business = affaires

B and B = gîte

C.

Cafeteria = caféteria

cabin luggage = bagage de cabine

cancel = annuler

chanel (the) = la Manche

check in = enregistrement

city hall = hôtel de ville

confirmation = confirmation

customs = douane

customs duties = droits de douane

customs officer = douanier

customer = client

currency exchange office = bureau de change

D.

depart from = partir de

domestic = intérieur

deposit slip = récépissé de dépôt

E.

escalator = escalier roulant

excess baggage = excédent de bagages

estuary = estuaire

europe = Europe

excursion = excursion

exotic = exotique

explore = explorer

F.

famous = réputé, celebre

flight = vol

flight attendant = hôtesse de l'air

flight number = numéro de vol

foreign = étranger,étrangère

frontier = frontière

G.

guide = guide

H.

hall = hall , entrée

hall porter = concierge

high season = haute saison

hospital = hôpital

hotel = hôtel

I.

ID = pièce d'identité

identity = identité

indian ocean = Ocean Indien

island = île

immigration = contrôle de passeports

J.

journey = voyage

L.

land = aterrir

lake = lac

language = langue

lecture hall = amphitheâtre

leisure = loisirs

leave from = partir de

life jacket = gilet de sauvetage

location = endroit, lieu

luggage cart = chariot à bagages

O.

overbook = surréserver

one way ticket = billet simple

ocean = océan

P.

passenger = passager

passeport size photograph = photo d'identité

peak season = haute saison

PIN = code secret

places of interest = endroits à visiter

R.

rear = l'arrière

round ticket = billet aller-retour

S.

safe = coffre-fort

safe deposit box = coffre de depot

safety belt = ceinture de sécurité

sea = mer

seasickness = de mal de mer

seat belt = ceinture de sécurité

seat number = numero de siège

shop = magasin

shuttle = navette

summer = été

suitcase = valise

surrounding = environnant

T.

take off = décoller

taxi stand = station de taxis

terminal = terminus

ticket = billet

toilet = toilettes

touch down = aterrir

traffic = circulation (de véhicules)

travel = voyager

tourism = tourisme

tour = visite

trip = voyage

twin = double

U.

unfamiliar = inconnu (e)

V.

village = village

visa = visa

visit = visite

VIP = VIP

W.

water = eau

window seat = siège de fenêtre

winter = hiver

West = Ouest

world = monde

Y.

youth hostel = auberge de jeunesse

.

Treine seu Frances! Genial!

2009-05-11T18:40:00.000-07:00

Treine seu Ingles com The Prince of Egypt!

2009-05-08T11:20:00.000-07:00

(Egyptian Guards)

Mud...
Sand...
Water....
Straw....
Faster!
Mud...
And lift....
Sand...
And pull
Water...
And raise up...
Sraw...
Faster!

(Slaves)

With the sting of the whip on my shoulder
With the salt of my sweat on my brow
Elohim, God on high
Can you hear your people cry:
Help us now
This dark hour....

DELIVER US
Hear our call
Deliver us
Lord of all
Remember us, here in this burning sand
Deliver us
There's a land you promised us
Deliver us to the promised land

(Yocheved)

Yal-di ha-tov veh ha-rach
Al i-ra veh al tif-chad
My son, I have nothing I can give
But this chance that you may live
I pray we'll meet again
If He will deliver us

(Slaves)

DELIVER US
Hear our call
Deliver us
Lord of all
Remember us, here in this burning sand
Deliver us
There's a land you promised us
Deliver us
Out of bondage and
Deleiver us to the promised land...

(Yocheved)

Hush now my baby
Be still, love, don't cry
Sleep as you're rocked by the stream
Sleep and remember
My last lullaby
So I'll be with you when you dream

River, o river
Flow gently for me
Such precious cargo you bear
Do you know somewhere
he can live free?
River, deliver him there...

(Young Miriam)
Brother, you're safe now
And safe may you stay
For I have a prayer just for you:
Grow, baby brother
Come back someday
Come and deliver us too...

(Slaves)

Deliver us
Send a sheperd to sheperd us
And deliver us to the promised land
Deliver us to the promised land

(Yocheved)

Deliver Us!

Treine seu Frances com Spirit

2009-05-08T11:05:00.000-07:00

Cem por Cento de Aprovação!

2009-04-21T11:27:00.000-07:00

Com essa linda vitoria, nosso grupo se completa e temos 100% de aprovação entre os alunos que preparei para a imigração, o que me deixa muito orgulhosa e feliz! A esse grupo fantastico o meu grande parabens! Voces foram e são para mim mais que alunos, companheiros de caminhada, amigos inesquecíveis com muito aprendi!

Em breve vamos tomar um café do lado da cá do Atlântico! :)

¯`•.¸¸.>

Entrevista da Familia Henrique!

2009-04-02T12:06:00.000-07:00

A entrevista começou as 09:50 hrs e terminou as 11:10 total = 01:20hs, assim que chegamos era umas 09:20, lá fomos atendidos pela recepcionista que nos orientou a esperar na sala ao lado enquant
Adicionar imagem
o ficamos assistindo um Show que em Montreal se não me engano era um festival de música onde vi que a Daniela mercuri cantava neste show também.
A Rose foi ao banheiro e demorou muito, eu ja estava preocupado, quando ela voltou, notou que eu estava muito nervoso e gelado. (Acho que ela nunca me viu neste estado kkkkkkk)
Em pouco tempo o entrevistador aparece na porta e se despede de uma moça e logo pronuncia o meu nome, Bonjour, Ms. Manuel?, aff dali por diante começou tudo.
Entramos e Sentamos e então ele pediu primeiramente passaporte e certidão de nascimento e casamento.
Perguntou nossas idades e também idade da nossa filha julia, e onde morávamos.
Em seguida solicitou comprovantes escolares colegial, técnico da Rose que é do Magistério e o meu Diploma universitário.
Após isso solicitou as provas de trabalho para verificar as experiências que mandamos.
Em seguida, foi solicitando os certificados. Perguntou se eu tinha algum curso de inglês e eu respondi que o meu inglês é técnico.
Enquanto ele digitava no computador ele fazia perguntas porque escolhemos o Quebec e fomos respondendo conforme ele perguntava.Mostrei a ele uma carta que o nosso amigo Patrick me enviou e levei também umas fotos da época da facu e duas dele lá em montreal e Quebec, ele gostou muito.

Para continuar a leitura Clique Aqui

Mais uma vitoria!

2009-03-31T11:38:00.000-07:00

Mais uma vitoria!!! Dessa vez a querida familia Henrique!!!

O Canada tem a honra de receber MANUEL, ROSE e JULIA!!!

PARABENS!!!! Agora é só correr para o abraço!!!

Parabens querida Andrea!

2009-02-05T09:34:00.001-08:00

Estamos aqui torcendo por voces! Que esse seja um dia maravilhoso, tão especial quanto voce!

Parabens Marcelo!

2009-01-13T13:02:00.000-08:00

Que aniversário mais gelado Marcelo! Desejo que esse primeiro aniversário nas terras geladas, seja um dia feliz como voce merece!

Como Escrever? Tecnicas de Estilo

2008-12-26T07:03:00.000-08:00

Por que precisamos aprender a escrever? São muitas as razões, escrever um blog é uma delas. No meu caso preciso aprender escrever Artigos acadêmicos, meus alunos precisam escrever boas redaçoes para exames internacionais. Outros precisam escrever redações em exames admissionais.

Aqui vão 17 dicas do escritor Mario Persona. Só não aconselho a dica numero 16, e depois explico porque :)

1- Converse com o leitor (conte uma estoria)

2- Use linguagem informal (mas não confunda informalidade com mau português)

3- Crie frases curtas (frases longas são muito comuns ao escritor inexperiente)

4- Comece com uma pergunta (mas lembre-se de que isso é apenas uma das tecnicas de como começar um paragrafo. Se voce começar todos os seus paragrafos com uma pergunta ninguem vai suportar seus escritos :)

5- Escreva como um escultor (trabalhe seu paragrafo,aperfeicoe)

6- Faça do humor uma atalho para o cérebro (o humor ajuda a fixar sua mensagem)

7- Deixe algo para a imaginação (se voce diz muito sobre um assunto voce acaba impondo sua visão e fica pouco para a imaginaçao do leitor. Essa é diferença entre ver um filme e ler um livro sobre a mesma historia. Quando voce le um bom livro voce cria sua visao da historia, quando voce um filme voce a visao de alguem sobre aquela historia)

8- Brinque com as palavras

9- Crie rimas (a prosa poética torna o texto mais criativo)

10- Abuse do corriqueiro (um novo olhar sobre o cotidiano é arte)

11- Leve o leitor para a cozinha (mesma dica de escrever informalmente)

12- Polvilhe seu texto com alguma erudição (criar alguma dificuldade no texto acorda a pessoa)

13- Faça o leitor viajar (crie universos para ele)

14- Termine um paragrafo com um suspense (para saber mais sobre essa técnica veja o video :)

15- Mantenha o compasso (Crie um ritmo na leitura)

16- Rompa com as regras gramaticais (não aconselho isso ao escritor que não seja tecnicamente experiente)

17- Transforme seu leitor em cúmplice

Escrever se Aprende

2008-12-15T10:11:00.000-08:00

Em breve vou postar como prometi dicas sobre Como Escrever Bem, baseadas no curso que estou fazendo aqui em Flat Rock.
Não me esqueci, e em breve começaremos. Não se trata de gramatica, mas de técnicas de Redação academica, para exames, entrevistas etc.

Abraços!

How to Survive a Recession

2008-11-25T17:39:00.000-08:00

7 Ways To Recession-Proof Your Life
Tuesday November 18, 11:09 pm ET

Amy Fontinelle

Are you worried about how a recession might affect you? You can put your fears to rest because there are many everyday habits the average person can implement to ease the sting of a recession, or even make it so its effects aren't felt at all. In this article, we'll discuss seven ways to do just that.

No. 1: Have an Emergency Fund
If you have plenty of cash lying around in a high-interest, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)-insured account, not only will your money retain its full value in times of market turmoil, it will also be extremely liquid, giving you easy access to funds if you lose your job or are forced to take a pay cut. Also, if you have your own cash, it won't be an issue if other sources of backup funds dry up, such as a home equity line of credit.

No. 2: Always Live Within Your Means
If you make it a habit to live within your means each and every day, you are less likely to go into consumer debt when gas or food prices go up and more likely to adjust your spending in other areas to compensate. Debt begets more debt when you can't pay it off right away - if you think gas prices are high, wait until you're paying 29.99% annual percentage rate (APR) on them.

To take this principle to the next level, if you have a spouse and are a two-income family, see how close you can get to living off of only one spouse's income. In good times, this tactic will allow you to save incredible amounts of money - how quickly could you pay off your mortgage or how much earlier could you retire if you had an extra $40,000 a year to save? In bad times, if one spouse gets laid off, you'll be OK because you'll already be used to living on one income. Your savings habits will stop temporarily, but your day-to-day spending can continue as normal.

No. 3: Have More Than One Source of Income
Even if you have a great full-time job, it's not a bad idea to have a source of extra income on the side, whether it's some consulting work or selling collectibles on eBay. With job security so nonexistent these days, more jobs mean more job security. If you lose one, at least you still have the other one. You may not be making as much money as you were before, but every little bit helps.

No. 4: Have a Long-Term Mindset With Investments
So what if a drop in the market brings your investments down 15%? If you don't sell, you won't lose anything. The market is cyclical, and in the long run, you'll have plenty of opportunities to sell high. In fact, if you buy when the market's down, you might thank yourself later.

That being said, as you near retirement age, you should make sure you have enough money in liquid, low-risk investments to retire on time and give the stock portion of your portfolio time to recover. Remember, you don't need all of your retirement money at 65 - just a portion of it. The market might be tanking when you're 65, but it might be headed to Pamplona by the time you're 70.

No. 5: Be Honest About Your Risk Tolerance
Yes, investing gurus say that people in certain age brackets should have their portfolios allocated a certain way, but if you can't sleep at night when your investments are down 15% for the year and the year isn't even over, you may need to change your asset allocation. Investments are supposed to provide you with a sense of financial security, not a sense of panic.

But wait - don't sell anything while the market is down, or you'll set those paper losses in stone. When market conditions improve is the time to trade in some of your stocks for bonds, or trade in some of your risky small-cap stocks for less volatile blue-chip stocks. If you have extra cash available and want to adjust your asset allocation while the market is down, however, you may be able to profit from infusing money into temporarily low-priced stocks with long-term value.

The biggest risk is that overestimating your risk tolerance will cause you to make poor investment decisions. Even if you're at an age where you're "supposed to" have 80% in stocks and 20% in bonds, you'll never see the returns that investment advisors intend if you sell when the market is down. These asset allocation suggestions are meant for people who can hang on for the ride.

No. 6: Diversify Your Investments
If you don't have all of your money in one place, your paper losses should be mitigated, making it less difficult emotionally to ride out the dips in the market. If you own a home and have a savings account, you've already got a start: you have some money in real estate and some money in cash. In particular, try to build a portfolio of investment pairs that aren't strongly correlated, meaning that when one is up, the other is down, and vice versa (like stocks and bonds).

No. 7: Keep Your Credit Score High
When credit markets tighten, if anyone is going to get approved for a mortgage, credit card or other type of loan, it will be those with excellent credit. Things like paying your bills on time, keeping your oldest credit cards open, and keeping your ratio of debt to available credit low will help keep your credit score high.

Conclusion
The best part about these habits is that they won't only serve you well during times of recession - they'll serve you well no matter what's going on in the market. But if you implement these financial strategies, a recession is less likely to have a significant effect on your financial situation.

Mais um CSQ! Linda vitoria!

2008-11-17T01:33:00.000-08:00

RO E FÊ

Olá pessoal!

É com muita alegria que divulgamos que recebemos o nosso tão sonhado CSQ!!!

A nossa entrevista estava marcada para às 13h30m de hoje. Como moramos em Sampa e sabemos que o trânsito aqui é um caos, saímos cedo de casa e às 12h15m já estávamos no prédio do bureau. Fomos comer alguma coisa e às 12h50m nos apresentamos na recepção do prédio, pegamos o crachá de acesso e ficamos aguardando para subir, já que, segundo a recepcionista, o pessoal do bureau estava em horário de almoço.
Quando o relógio marcou 13h15m, começamos a ficar preocupados pq ainda não haviam nos dado a autorização para subir. Foi quando encontramos a Soraia saindo do prédio, demos um sorriso e a cumprimentamos, ela tb nos cumprimentou e veio falar conosco. Nos perguntou se estávamos esperando pela entrevista e afirmamos que sim, assim como uma outra moça que estava ao nosso lado. Ela então perguntou o horário das nossas entrevistas e nos disse que com certeza iria atrasar pq os estrevistadores ainda estvam terminando as entrevistas da manhã e que logo após sairiam para almoçar. Então ela nos sugeriu dar uma volta e retornar às 14 hs. Foi o que fizemos. Fomos ao shopping D&D, tomamos um café e retornamos às 14 hs pontualmente.
Ao chegarmos ao prédio, o pessoal da recepção nos autorizou logo a subir, então, demos as mãos um ao outro, nos olhamos e desejamos boa sorte!
Ao chegarmos no décimo quinto andar, fomos recepcionados pela Claudia (recepcionista) que confirmou o horário da nossa entrevista e nos pediu para aguardarmos na sala ao lado.
Na sala, já estavam a moça que encontramos na entrada do hotel e mais um rapaz que tinha a entrevista marcada para às 14h30m.
Permanecemos aguardando e, de repente, a Madame Judith abre a porta de sua sala e chama a moça de quem falei. Eu e o Rodrigo nos olhamos e demos um soriso como forma de incentivo e de que já sabíamos que nossa entrevista seria com o Monsieur Eddie.
Pouco depois, o Monsieur Eddie chegou, nos cumprimentou e entrou em sua sala. Cerca de dez minutos depois, ele nos chamou.
Entramos na sala bem confiantes, cumprimentamos o Monsieur Eddie que tb nos cumprimentou e nos convidou a sentar.
A primeira pergunta foi em qual língua preferíamos que fosse relizada a entrevista e eu respondi que preferíamos em francês. Ele até brincou e disse: Se pudesse ser em português.... E eu respondi que seria maravilhoso, mas que não era possível... rs
Daí pra frente foi em inglês... Ele me perguntou se eu falava inglês. Eu disse que sim, mas que meu inglês não era muito bom, então ele me perguntou qual era meu nível de inglês e eu disse que achava meu inglês intermediário. Ele me perguntou onde estudei inglês e eu disse que estudei apenas no colégio. Daí veio uma outra pergunta em inglês que eu não entendi muito bem, mas respondi mesmo assim... Daí ele olhou para a mim, deu uma risadinha e me respondeu: Ok, seu nível de inglês é básico. Ou seja, ele me perguntou uma coisa e eu respondi outra! rs
Então ele voltou para o francês e perguntou sobre as minhas atividades profissionais, tempo de expêriencia e eu respondi já mostrando os documentos (carteira de trabalho e demonstrativo de pagamento do meu emprego atual).
Depois ele perguntou a mesma coisa para o Rodrigo que fez o mesmo, ou seja, explicou já mostrando os documentos (carteira de trabalho, demonstrativo de pagamento do emprego atual e declarações emitidas pelas empresas ex-empregadoras).
Após isso, ele perguntou se éramos casados e respondemos que si, que somos casados há dois anos e mostramos a certidão de casamento. Ele nos perguntou se tínhamos filhos e eu disse que não, que tenho apenas uma filha de coração que é a filha do Rodrigo. Então ele perguntou se ela iria morar conosco no Québec e dissemos que não, que ela vai continuar com a mãe.
Ele perguntou das nossas formações, então nós explicamos e mostramos nossos diplomas.
Depois ele perguntou para o Rodrigo o que vamos fazer no Québec e o Rodrigo disse que vamos trabalhar na nossa área de atuação (finanças) e que tínhamos algumas oportunidades de emprego que mostramos e ele deu uma olhada em algumas.
Depois disso, ele foi para o computador e começou a inserir as informações. Eu e Rodrigo permanecemos sentados, de mãos dadas e rezando muito. De repente, ele perguntou nossas idades e respondemos.

Para saber o fim da historia CLIQUE AQUI

Vinte e uma coisas que aprendi como escritor

2008-11-10T19:44:00.001-08:00

Moacyr Scliar

APRENDI que escrever é basicamente contar histórias, e que os melhores livros de ficção que li eram aqueles que tinham uma história para contar.

APRENDI que o ato de escrever é uma seqüela do ato de ler. É preciso captar com os olhos as imagens das letras, guardá-las no reservatório que temos em nossa mente e utilizá-las para compor depois as nossas próprias palavras.

APRENDI que, quando se começa, plagiar não faz mal nenhum. Copiei descaradamente muitos escritores, Monteiro Lobato, Viriato Correa e outros. Não se incomodaram com isto. E copiar me fez muito bem.

APRENDI que, quando se começa a escrever, sempre se é autobiográfico, o que - de novo - não prejudica. Mas os escritores que ficam sempre na autobiografia, que só olham para o próprio umbigo, acabam se tornando chatos.

APRENDI que, para aprender a escrever, tinha de escrever. Não adiantava só ficar falando de como é bonito ( ... )

APRENDI que uma boa idéia pode ocorrer a qualquer momento: conversando com alguém, comendo, caminhando, lendo (e, segundo Agatha Christie, lavando pratos).

APRENDI que uma boa idéia é realmente boa quando não nos abandona, quando nos persegue sem cessar. O grande teste para uma idéia é tentar se livrar dela. Se veio para ficar, se resiste ao sono, ao cansaço, ao cotidiano, é porque merece atenção.

APRENDI que aeroportos e bares são grandes lugares para se escrever. O bar, por razões óbvias; o aeroporto, porque neles a vida como que está em suspenso. Nada como uma existência provisória para despertar a inspiração literária.

APRENDI que as costas do talão de cheque é um bom lugar para anotar idéias (é por isso que escritor tem de ganhar a grana suficiente para abrir uma conte bancária). O guardanapo do restaurante também serve, desde que seja de papel e não de pano. (...)

APRENDI que o computador é um grande avanço no trabalho de escrever, mas tem um único inconveniente: elimina os originais, os riscos, os borrões, e portanto a história do texto, a qual - como toda história - pode nos ensinar muito.

APRENDI que a mancha gráfica representada pelo texto impresso diz muito sobre este mesmo texto. As linhas não podem estar cheias de palavras; o espaço vazio é tão eloqüente quanto o espaço preenchido pela escrita. O texto precisa respirar, e quando respira, fica graficamente bonito. Um texto bonito é um texto bom.

APRENDI a rasgar e jogar fora. Quando um texto não é bom, ele não é bom - ponto. Por causa da auto-comiseração (é a nossa vida que está ali!) temos a tentação de preservá-lo, esperando que, de forma misteriosa, melhore por si. Ilusão. É preciso ter a coragem de se desfazer. A cesta de papel é uma grande amiga do escritor. (...)

APRENDI a não ter pressa de publicar. Já se ouviu falar de muitos escritores batendo aflitos, à porta de editores. O que é mais raro, muito mais raro, são os leitores batendo à porta do escritor.

APRENDI a não reler meus livros. Um livro tem existência autônoma, boa e má. Não precisa do olhar de quem o escreveu para sobreviver.

APRENDI que, para um escritor, um livro é como um filho, mas que é preciso diferenciar entre filhos e livros.

APRENDI que terminar um livro se acompanha de uma sensação de vazio, mas que o vazio também faz parte da vida de quem escreve.

APRENDI que há uma diferença entre literatura e vida literária, entre literatura e política literária. Escrever é um vício solitário.

APRENDI a diferenciar entre o verdadeiro crítico e o falso crítico. O falso crítico não está falando do que leu. Está falando dos seus próprios problemas.

APRENDI que, para um escritor, frio na barriga ou pêlos do braço arrepiados são um bom sinal: um livro vem vindo aí.

Entrevista de Imigracao! Mais uma vitoria!

2008-11-06T15:21:00.001-08:00

DEA E JUBA!

Parte 01

São Paulo, 03 de novembro de 2008.

Nossa entrevista estava marcada para às 8:30m. Chegamos na portaria do prédio onde fica o BIQ às 8:15m, depois de ponte orca e caminhada. Nos apresentamos, o atendente conferiu nossos nomes na lista, e disse que achava que não tinha chegado ainda ninguém da imigração. Interfonou, e pediu que esperássemos, pois ninguém atendia e que logo ele interfonaria novamente. E começou a atender outras pessoas, tudo muito vagarosamente.

Felizmente chega uma moça e pergunta-nos se éramos Juarez e Andrea. Confirmamos e soubemos então que por coincidência ela era a Aline, justamente a pessoa que analisou nosso dossiê. O rapaz então nos deu o cartão de entrada, e passamos pela catraca. Ela fez o comentário de que já tinha gente no escritório e que então não precisávamos ter esperado. Ainda bem que a encontramos, e fomos salvos a tempo.

Subimos todos juntos pelo elevador. Aline atenciosamente nos pediu novamente desculpas pela mudança da data da entrevista - já tinha se desculpado por telefone, no dia em que nos telefonou. Respondemos que não tinha problemas e que compreendíamos bem.

Chegando lá, nos reapresentamos e a recepcionista gentilmente nos pediu para esperarmos na sala ao lado.

Por volta das 9hs, M. Eddie Alcide chega descontraidamente, cumprimenta um e outro e dirige-se à uma sala que fica em frente da que aguardávamos. Logo em seguida, chega um casal que sentou-se nas poltronas atrás de nós.

Às 9:30m M. Eddie Alcide abre a porta da sala, e anuncia os nomes do casal daquele horário, mas que pela ordem seria depois da gente.

Naquele momento nos levantamos e então M. Eddie imediatamente veio ao nosso encontro e consultando um pequeno papel que segurava, perguntou ao Juba se éramos o casal de sexta-feira, dissemos um “sim”, e então completei: - sexta da semana passada. Bem, alí já começou nossa conversa em francês. Ele então acenou positivamente com a cabeça, dirigiu-se ao casal anterior, com o qual trocamos figurinhas mais tarde (essa parte fica para depois), falou algo como para que eles aguardassem e foi nos dirigindo para a sala. Tudo isso aconteceu muito rapidamente e desde aqueles momentos iniciais pudemos perceber a objetividade e praticidade do entrevistador.

Para ver a entrevista completa Clique Aqui

Entrevistas de Imigracao

2008-11-02T10:20:00.000-08:00

MARCELO CAMPERO

Cheguei às 8h35min no prédio, fiz o cadastro na recepção e foi-me dito que minha entrada no escritório ainda não estava autorizada.
Fui dar umas voltas pelas redondezas, tomei um suco de laranja e retornei por volta das 9h00min; ainda assim a recepcionista disse que ela não havia recebido autorização para me deixar subir. Aguardei mais 5min e logo minha entrada foi autorizada.
O escritório fica no 15º. andar, parecia uma eternidade chegar lá. Fui recebido com “Bon jour” pela recepcionista e logo em seguida “Asseyez-vous s’il vous plaît”. Quando me dirigi ao hall de espera, já avistei de longe uma sala aberta onde se encontrava meu entrevistador, lendo alguns documentos. Devia ser o tal do africano que alguns entrevistados mencionaram... [Na verdade, parece-me que ele é haitiano.]
Aguardei uns 15min, assistindo a um vídeo chamado “Infiniment Québec” e em seguida o entrevistador me chamou. Vestia um paletó xadrez meio alaranjado, uma gravata amarela e uma calça social cuja cor me parecia salmão... Logo de cara ele começou a falar em francês e me perguntou quais línguas eu falava e eu disse que, além do português, falava inglês e um pouco de francês, no que ele começou a deslanchar, pra minha surpresa, perguntas em inglês! Perguntou coisas sobre meu trabalho atual, minha profissão etc.
Voltou para o francês e, no decorrer de minhas respostas às suas perguntas, disse que meu francês não era tão avançado, conforme eu havia mencionado no dossiê. Na mesma hora, saquei da minha mochila o resultado do TFI (Test de français international), que apontava minha nota total de 830 sobre 990 possíveis, o que me colocava, sim, num nível avançado, segundo avaliação da UP Language, aplicadora do teste, e da própria ETS. Ele pegou esse resultado e foi para o computador. [Obs. Decidi pelo TFI por ser bem mais barato que o TCF e o TEF; custou-me R$ 180,00 comparado a mais de R$350,00 dos outros dois. O TFI compreende 90 testes de compreensão oral (listening), em 48 min, e 90 testes de compreensão escrita, em 62 min. Não tem avaliação verbal.]
Aliás, devo dizer que nesse momento a impressão que me dava é que, de fato, segundo alguns relatos que li no Orkut, esse entrevistador estava interessado somente na pontuação. Não demonstrou nenhum ar de simpatia, de informalidade, nada do que eu ouvi falar sobre os antigos entrevistadores. Não houve nenhum interesse da parte dele em saber acerca de meus conhecimentos sobre o Québec, aspectos culturais, políticos, climáticos, quais os motivos para eu querer ir pra lá, não perguntou quase nada de minha vida pessoal, ...
Devo dizer que particularmente eu prefiro um tratamento como o dele, o que demonstra imparcialidade, e também não deve ser nada diferente do que devemos esperar dos quebequenses que trabalham em serviços públicos.
Durante nosso encontro, ele me pediu diplomas, comprovantes de trabalho, viu meu demonstrativo de pagamento de salário, certidão de nascimento, perguntou se tinha filhos (não tenho), se era casado (não sou casado), se eu tinha feito pesquisa sobre minha área de trabalho no Québec (eu mostrei algumas ofertas de trabalho na minha área em Montreal, aliás, minha área é Finanças).
No final, ele imprimiu uma folha com o resultado e disse que minha pontuação era insuficiente para a aprovação, basicamente por causa de minha idade (38 anos). Na verdade, eu já sabia que minha idade seria o maior empecilho para a aprovação, motivo pelo qual eu investi tempo e dinheiro para colocar meu francês num nível avançado, que era pra compensar esse problema. Ele disse que se eu tivesse um mestrado ou doutorado, isso poderia até ajudar, mas o grande obstáculo era a idade.
Foi aí que ele começou a amolecer: demonstrou uma certa indignação com o resultado, querendo dizer que ele havia tentado me ajudar no que pôde, me mostrou que eu havia feito uma ótima pontuação nos outros quesitos, etc. Naquele momento, eu simplesmente joguei a toalha e vi que todo meu esforço no aperfeiçoamento do francês não tinha sido suficiente. Ou seja, o resultado estava fora do meu alcance, o fator idade pesava muito. Eu nem tive forças pra argumentar que eu havia feito a simulação no computador e tinha sido aprovado somente quando eu colocava nível de francês avançado. Eu nem acho que se meu nível tivesse dado fluente as coisas iriam mudar muito.
Foi então que eu me levantei, muito chateado, sem dizer absolutamente nada, apenas ouvindo ele dizer que meu perfil era muito bom, que eu tinha ótimos níveis de francês e inglês, que eu tinha ótima experiência de trabalho, etc. E que ele iria fazer um pedido para que eu fosse aprovado, que dificilmente seria negado e que era pra eu aguardar uma carta na semana seguinte. Segundo ele, era quase certo que eu seria aprovado. O entrevistador mostrou um lado bem mais sensível do que eu poderia imaginar, ele estava triste pois parecia que estava torcendo pra eu ser aprovado pelo sistema. Não parava de falar, parecia que queria até me consolar... Voltei pra casa completamente desolado, mas pouco a pouco me dei conta que havia feito meu melhor e que, se não tinha sido daquela vez, haveria outras.

Para ver a entrevista completa Clique Aqui

Mais uma vitoria!

2008-11-01T23:35:00.000-07:00

Vitoria! O Canada tem a honra de receber ...

MARCELO CAMPERO

JUBA E DEA

RO E FÊ

JURIJ E CAMILA

Air Cars

2008-11-01T13:17:00.000-07:00

Air Cars: A New Wind for America's Roads?
by Jim Ostroff

Thursday, October 30, 2008
provided by
Courtesy of MDI

A new carmaker has a plan for cheap, environmentally friendly cars to be built all over the country

An air-powered car? It may be available sooner than you think at a price tag that will hardly be a budget buster. The vehicle may not run like a speed racer on back road highways, but developer Zero Pollution Motors is betting consumers will be willing to fork over $20,000 for a vehicle that can motor around all day on nothing but air and a splash of salad oil, alcohol or possibly a pint of gasoline.

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The expertise needed to build a compressed air car, or CAV, is not rocket science, either. Years-old, off-the-shelf technology uses compressed air to drive old-fashioned car engine pistons instead of combusting gas or diesel fuel to create a burst of air to do the same thing. Indian carmaker Tata has no qualms about the technology. It has already bought the rights to make the car for the huge Indian market.

The air car can tool along at a top speed of 35 mph for some 60 miles or so on a tank of compressed air, a sufficient distance for 80% of consumers to commute to work and back and complete daily chores.

Courtesy of MDI

On highways, the CAV can cruise at interstate speeds for nearly 800 miles with a small motor that compresses outside air to keep the tank filled. The motor isn't finicky about fuel. It will burn gasoline or diesel as well as biodiesel, ethanol or vegetable oil.

This car leaves the highest-mpg vehicles you can buy right now in the dust. Even if it used only regular gasoline, the air car would average 106 mpg, more than double today's fuel sipping champ, the Toyota Prius. The air tank also can be refilled when it's not in use by being plugged into a wall socket and recharged with electricity as the motor compresses air.

Automakers aren't quite ready yet to gear up huge assembly line operations churning out air cars or set up glitzy dealer showrooms where you can ooh and aah over the color or style. But the vehicles will be built in factories that will make up to 8,000 vehicles a year, likely starting in 2011, and be sold directly to consumers.

There will be plants in nearly every state, based on the number of drivers in the state. California will have as many as 17 air car manufacturing plants, and there'll be around 12 in Florida, eight in New York, four in Georgia, while two in Connecticut will serve that state and Rhode Island.

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Visit the Family & Home Center

The technology goes back decades, but is coming together courtesy of two converging forces. First, new laws are likely to be enacted in a few years that will limit carbon dioxide emissions and force automakers to develop ultra-high mileage cars and those that emit minuscule amounts of or no gases linked with global warming. Plug-in electric hybrids will slash these emissions, but they'll be pricey at around $40,000 each and require some changes in infrastructure -- such as widespread recharge stations -- to be practical. Fuel cells that burn hydrogen to produce only water vapor still face daunting technical challenges.

Second, the relatively high cost of gas has expedited the air car's development. Yes, pump prices have plunged since July from record levels, but remain way higher than just a few years ago and continue to take a bite out of disposable income. Refiners will face carbon emission restraints, too, and steeply higher costs will be passed along at the pump.

Tata doesn't plan to produce the cars in the U.S. Instead, it plans to charge $15 million for the rights to the technology, a fully built turnkey auto assembly plant, tools, machinery, training and rights to use trademarks.

The CAV has a big hurdle: proving it can pass federal crash tests. Shiva Vencat, president and CEO of Zero Pollution Motors, says he's not worried. "The requirements can be modeled [on a computer] before anything is built and adjusted to ensure that the cars will pass" the crash tests. Vencat also is a vice president of MDI Inc., a French company that developed the air car.

The inventor of this technology is Mr. Guy Negre, who is the founder and CEO of MDI SA, a company headquartered in Luxembourg with its R and D in Nice, France.

Copyrighted, Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc.

The pros and cons of netbooks

2008-10-31T06:28:00.000-07:00

Reader Tom writes: What can you tell me about the "mini-laptops" or netbooks that seem to be popping up all over the place? My wife saw one that sold for about $350 with built-in Wi-Fi and she says she wants one now. I have yet to see one in person, so I have no idea if they are worth the money.
Yeah, what's the deal with all the netbooks?

If you're unfamiliar with the devices, here's the pitch: You get a small, cheap laptop with a basic set of features, limited performance, and often a small hard drive (or an even smaller amount of flash storage). Some netbooks run Windows (usually XP), some don't. And that's the sell. The emphasis: cheap.

Prices typically range from about $300 to $500, but there are exceptions on either side. As with standard laptops, the more you pay, the more you get... but at some point you get into the realm of those regular laptops, and the appeal of the netbook fades considerably.

There are numerous pros and cons to the netbook phenomenon that should impact your decision whether to buy one. First, some pros: They're cheap. Oh, I mentioned that. But they're also very portable and generally more rugged than you'd expect, which makes them great for people looking for a second laptop to use as a "getaway" computer. Just toss it in your bag and head out for that adventure weekend. If it gets lost, stolen, or broken, you're out a much smaller investment than if it had been your $2,000 Mac that you dropped into a ravine.

Now for the flipside. Netbooks are, again, cheap. To get prices down, sacrifices must be made. That means dog-slow processors, no graphics ability, (usually) no optical drive, and minimal RAM. Netbooks won't work as an emergency DVD player for the kids. Battery life is often poor (with a few exceptions). Many netbooks look more like toys than real laptops, so they aren't appropriate for business users. And the smaller the keyboard gets, the harder it is to type. On machines with an 8.9-inch screen (the smallest and typical standard among netbooks), touch-typing is pretty much impossible. Then there's the OS issue. While some netbooks run Windows, many run Linux. Whether that's a pro or con depends on your opinion of Microsoft, but many users dislike having to learn a new operating system and instead prefer the familiarity of Windows.

Should you buy one? Tough question, but I highly recommend that if you do, you consider a model with a 10-inch screen, which will give you a less cramped experience on both the eyes and the fingers (thanks to the bigger keyboard). My two favorite models: The Asus Eee PC 1000H and the new Lenovo IdeaPad S10, both with 10.2-inch screens and Windows XP. Both are available for under $500. The Eee has much longer battery life (but weighs half a pound more), while the IdeaPad has better performance and a larger hard drive. Take your pick.

Who’s Behind the Economic Collapse?

2008-10-30T12:49:00.001-07:00

Who’s Behind the Economic Collapse?

By Cliff Kincaid

Don’t voters have the right to know whether these illegal activities were being conducted for political purposes?

Joe Biden made headlines by talking about a “generated crisis” for a President Obama. But is the current financial meltdown another “generated crisis?” Considering the problems in the economy, including too much federal debt, too much spending and easy credit, which have been with us for years, why did this crisis suddenly occur only six weeks before the election?

And is it just a coincidence that it occurred at a time when John McCain was leading in the national public opinion polls and appeared to be on his way to a November 4 election victory?

The crisis was man-made. It is a fact that President Bush’s Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who worked for a Democratic firm, Goldman Sachs, and has very close ties to Communist China, is the one who convinced Bush to demand hundreds of billions of bailout dollars from Congress.

This is when McCain began falling in the polls. That’s apparently because McCain, like Bush, is a Republican, and he has been blamed by Obama and the Democrats for the Republican policies that are said to have produced this crisis. This charge is debatable, but it has proven to be effective, with the cooperation of the major media.

Part of the problem, of course, was of McCain’s own making. He voted for the $700-billion plan after flirting with the House conservatives opposing it. This was a major error on his part. He missed a critical opportunity to take on the incumbent President of his own party, Obama, the Democrats, and Wall Street interests.

The timing was important. If you examine the polling trend (see page two of this PDF document from Karl Rove & Company), one can see that McCain was moving ahead of Obama by mid-September. One poll, the Rasmussen poll, had McCain over Obama every day from September 12-17. McCain evened up the race again on September 23, after Obama had taken a lead, but it has been Obama ever since.

Clearly, the controversy over the legislative “bailout” or “rescue” for Wall Street, which emerged in a big way on September 18, changed the dynamics of the presidential race. It has hugely benefited Obama by making the economy take precedence over Obama’s controversial associates, pro-socialist views, or lack of a background and security check.

The growing suspicion that the financial meltdown is a “generated crisis” has been fed by statements from President Bush himself that illegal financial activities were taking place. On September 18, when he made a public statement about the growing economic problems, Bush announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was stepping up its enforcement actions “against illegal market manipulation.”

By whom or what? The President didn’t say.

The next day, September 19, Bush appeared in the Rose Garden with Paulson, SEC chairman Christopher Cox, and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. Bush declared, “The SEC is also requiring certain investors to disclose their short selling, and has launched rigorous enforcement actions to detect fraud and manipulation in the market. Anyone engaging in illegal financial transactions will be caught and persecuted [sic].” Again, what was Bush talking about?

For its part, on the same day, the SEC announced “a sweeping expansion of its ongoing investigation into possible market manipulation in the securities of certain financial institutions.” The SEC declared, “Hedge fund managers, broker-dealers, and institutional investors with significant trading activity in financial issuers or positions in credit default swaps will be required, under oath, to disclose those positions to the Commission and provide certain other information.”

But no details were provided. Don’t voters have the right to know whether these illegal activities were being conducted for political purposes?

Almost as secretive were Treasury Secretary Paulson’s maneuvers. He produced a quick three-page proposal to make himself a virtual financial dictator without judicial oversight or review. Then just as quickly it was secretly altered so that he would have the authority to bail out banks in China and other foreign countries.

For those interested in some of the fascinating details about Paulson’s extremely close relationship with China, which may have provoked the financial crisis and stands to benefit from it, the October issue of Bloomberg Markets is a good place to start. It notes that Paulson was sworn in as secretary in July 2006 and that by September he was announcing “creation of the first U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue.” Paulson, the magazine reports, has a relationship with Chinese leaders and has traveled to China at least 70 times in his career. It reports that he personally had $25 million worth of holdings in a Goldman Sachs fund whose sole asset was a stake in the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China.

Goldman Sachs, a “full-service global investment banking and securities firm,” is “the leading underwriter of Chinese equity securities and M&A [merger and acquisition] advisor in China,” its website declares.

“Managing the U.S. relationship with China is an increasingly important part of the Treasury secretary’s job,” Bloomberg Markets says. “During the Fannie and Freddie crisis, Paulson used his credibility with Chinese leaders to reassure them that the U.S. mortgage companies weren’t in jeopardy.” Paulson is quoted as saying that “I clearly talked with the Chinese through this. They’ve worked with me enough that they knew I wouldn’t say it unless I believed it.”

Why was this necessary? Chinese institutions own more than $30 billion of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac paper, the magazine reports.

On September 7, of course, the U.S. Government, under Paulson’s direction, took control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, putting the U.S. taxpayers on the hook for $5 trillion of mortgages. But Paulson’s statement made no mention of the Chinese investments. Instead, he talked about protecting financial markets and U.S. taxpayers.

About a week and a half later the demands came for more taxpayer money for Wall Street, and the national economic crisis was well underway.

Rep. Scott Garrett, Republican of New Jersey, is leading the Congressional effort to find out how Paulson’s proposal was developed and by whom. He wants to know what went on behind “closed conference room doors” in the U.S. Government.

Equally significant, on September 23, Paulson’s former firm, Goldman-Sachs, received an infusion of $5 billion from Warren Buffett, a major Obama financial backer and booster.

The former Goldman Sachs CEO “does not act or sound much like a conservative Republican to the GOP remnant at the Treasury,” noted Robert Novak in an October 2007 column. Novak reported that Paulson had “marched to his own drummer” by naming Eric Mindich, chairman of Eton Park Capital Management, to head the Asset Managers’ Committee of the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets. “A former Goldman Sachs colleague of Paulson’s, Mindich is a top-level Democratic fundraiser,” Novak noted. “He was in Sen. John Kerry’s inner circle for the 2004 presidential campaign and backs Sen. Barack Obama for 2008.”

Then, during the current crisis, Paulson appointed another former Goldman Sachs banker, Neel Kashkari, to run the new “Office of Financial Stability” and buy bad loans and distressed securities.

Information from the Center for Responsive Politics identifies Goldman Sachs as a “strongly Democratic” firm, having contributed 73 percent of their almost $5 million in 2008 election cycle contributions to Democrats.

Some liberals understand the connection between Goldman Sachs and Obama. “Obama’s number one bundler is Goldman Sachs,” notes John R. MacArthur, publisher of Harper’s Magazine, in a release from the “progressive” group calling itself the Institute for Public Accuracy. He was referring to how money from the firm is packaged for the Obama campaign.

“In his book, ‘The Audacity of Hope,’ Obama talks about how much he likes investment bankers, how bright and liberal they are,” says MacArthur. He believes that Obama is a “socialist” only in the sense that he, like Bush and McCain, supports socialism for the rich through the Wall Street bailout.

Socialist or not, Obama is clearly the firm’s favorite in the presidential race.

Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Tribune recently discovered that, on May 3, 2007, Obama had attended an event at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan “that was not on his public schedule and is only now surfacing―a private dinner for Goldman Sachs traders with a discussion on issues moderated for the Wall Street firm by NBC’s Tom Brokaw”―the moderator of the second presidential debate.

Her column notes other Obama campaign connections to Goldman Sachs and mentions that Bloomberg had reported that Obama addressed the Goldman’s annual partners meeting 2006 in Chicago.

It is not known, of course, what kind of illegal financial activities may have contributed to the current crisis. But based on what has been publicly said by the President and the SEC, the culprits could possibly include operators of the controversial, mysterious and secretive financial vehicles known as hedge funds.

A hedge fund operator such as George Soros, who was convicted of insider trading in France, is known to make money from the collapse of national economies and currencies. Labeled “The Man who broke the Bank of England” because of his financial activities against the British currency, he is said to be on a witness list of hedge fund operators that will be called to testify before Congress next month―probably after the election.

One wonders if the Democrats controlling Congress will want to investigate or even aggressively question the multi-billionaire. It is significant, as I noted in a January column, that Soros pours millions of dollars into the Democratic Party, its front groups and candidates. But his agenda goes far beyond making himself rich. He provides funding for causes ranging from marijuana legalization to rights for immigrants, criminals, and prostitutes.

The same column I wrote noted that the Wall Street Journal in January had reported that hedge fund operator John Paulson received a visit from Soros, who is also a public supporter of and contributor to the Obama campaign, after Paulson had made about $4 billion betting on a housing market collapse. Soros wanted to know how he had done it. But Soros wouldn’t talk to the Journal about his meeting with Paulson. Why?

Soros gets away with a “no-comment” because he pours money into journalism organizations, including the Center for Investigative Reporting, the Fund for Investigative Journalism, and Investigative Reporters & Editors, thereby guaranteeing that they won’t investigate how and where he gets his money. Isn’t this convenient?

A recent example of this conflict of interest came in Bill Moyers’ October 10 interview of Soros on the Public Broadcasting Service. Moyers lavished Soros with praise, saying that he is “one of the world’s best known and successful investors, making billions in times of boom or bust.” Moyers also mentioned Soros’s new book, The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What It Means.

Moyers said that, in the interest of “full disclosure,” he should reveal that that he, Moyers, had served on the board of Soros’s Open Society Institute. Moyers laughingly insisted that was a non-political position on his part.

Not once did Moyers question Soros about his reported discussions with John Paulson. Not once did he question whether Soros’s financial activities had facilitated or precipitated the current financial crisis that he writes about in his book.

Soros insists that one contributing factor to the crisis was the lack of financial regulation. But he takes advantage of the lack of those regulations. Indeed, as I reported back in 2005, one Soros company was a member of the Managed Funds Association, which describes itself as “the global voice for the hedge fund industry” and was actively fighting an SEC proposal to impose more regulation on hedge-fund managers.

The ranking of top hedge fund earners for 2007 shows John Paulson of Paulson & Co. at $3.7 billion and George Soros of Soros Fund Management at $2.9 billion.

Is there anybody in the media willing to question Soros about how he made that money? And whether it came at the expense of the American people?

Cliff Kincaid is the Editor of the AIM Report and can be reached at cliff.kincaid@aim.org

Offre d'emploi

2008-10-30T12:46:00.000-07:00

A escola PBF unidade Jardim Prudência (uma escola do grupo Fisk) está precisando de professor de francês.
Os interessados devem entrar em contato com: Amanda Maria Pereira – secretária PBF – Jardim Prudência - Tel.: (11) 5562-5141

Uma ideia sobre a apresentacao

2008-10-28T11:00:00.001-07:00

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The Presentation Day

2008-10-28T10:44:00.001-07:00

- Here is my school and finally the day of my presentation about the Street Kids!

- Chegando na escola, no tão esperado dia da apresentacao sobre as Criancas de Rua!

- The landscape, showing the leaves changing colors!

- A paisagem em volta da escola ja se vestindo de outono!

- Cold and blue sky!

- Frio e ceu azul!

- Zsofi Tileke, our dear professor, always a great inspiration!

- Zsofi Tileke, nossa professora querida, que tem sido uma grande inspiracao!

Lina from Syria

Rebeca from Tanzania

Lina from Colombia

Suhair from Syria

Lina e Suhair

- Na hora da apresentacao

- The time of the presentation

10 Home Upgrades That Pay Off

2008-10-27T08:41:00.000-07:00

These around-the-house improvements are well worth the investment
By Allegra Muzzillo, RealSimple.com
Photo: Getty Images
No sugar coating here: The housing market is in trouble. But some experts say that it will start turning around as early as 2010. So while you're waiting for it to recover, you might want to reconsider putting off that kitchen redo or landscaping job. "Any changes you make on your house now should increase your home value later," says Kermit Baker, project director for the Remodeling Futures program at Harvard University. But which projects will yield the most bang for your buck? Take a look at this list, starting with the upgrades most likely to recoup your investment, and then enjoy that gleaming new kitchen.

1. Painting
Why It Pays Off: Paint provides dramatic results with little investment. If you decide to hire a professional to do the work, expect to pay $3,600 to $6,000 for the interior of an average American house (about 2,400 square feet). An exterior paint job will run $5,000 or more. Can't decide on a color? Gerri Willis, the anchor of Open House on CNN and the author of "Home Rich," says that pale yellow homes tend to sell faster and for more money. Barbara Richardson, the director of color marketing for Glidden and a noted color-trend forecaster, explains, "Yellow is optimistic and inspirational. It gives people joy and the sense that brighter times are ahead."

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2. Adding Siding
Why It Pays Off: According to the 2007 Cost vs. Value Report, a study conducted by Remodeling magazine, fiber-cement siding (which is made of sand, cement, and cellulose fibers and costs an average of $13,200) is estimated to recoup about 88 percent (or $11,635) of a home owner's initial investment. While vinyl can crack, split, and warp and aluminum tends to dent and fade, easy-care fiber cement holds up well against the elements and is resistant to fire, rotting, and termites.

3. Building a Deck
Why It Pays Off: A deck will provide you with more than a place to flip burgers and soak up the sun. "Buyers see a deck as offering a seamless transition from inside to out," says Jerry Levine, president of the Levine Group, an architectural and construction firm in Silver Spring, Md. Experts suggest using natural, rustic wood. In 2007 wooden decks (as opposed to concrete or composite ones) reaped an impressive return on investment: Home owners who spent an average of $10,350 on lumber and labor could expect to recoup $8,840, or 85 percent of their costs.

4. Updating the Kitchen
Why It Pays Off: You really can't go wrong with remodeling your kitchen, which can net up to 83 percent of the cost. "People know that renovating can be a nightmare, and potential buyers will appreciate that you did the dirty work for them," says Vern Yip, a designer and the host of HGTV's Deserving Design. "But stick with high-quality fixtures, like stainless-steel appliances and granite counters, and don't pair them with a cheaper material, like laminate." A word of caution: If your house is a tiny two-bedroom bungalow, don't bother splurging on, say, a high-end stove. "You'll never get your money back by installing fancy appliances in a smaller home," says Leslie Sellers, vice president of the Appraisal Institute, an association of real estate-appraisal professionals in Chicago. And if an appliance overhaul isn't in the cards, "you can easily make cosmetic updates on a kitchen that's in decent shape," says Steven D. Bullock, a designer in New York City and a certified member of the National Kitchen & Bath Association, in Hackettstown, N.J. For example, if your existing appliances are in good working order, coat them with electrostatic paint to give them a metallic or enamel-type finish. And you don't have to rip out your cabinets, either.

5. Replacing the Windows
Why It Pays Off: If you're experiencing cool and blustery weather ... in your living room, it's time to buy new panes, pronto. Not only are you losing precious heat but your utility bill could also be skyrocketing. "Energy-efficient windows eliminate drafts, so your home feels warmer," says Sellers. Last year home owners who spent $11,400 on 10 3-by-5-foot insulated vinyl or aluminum-clad windows got an 81 percent ($9,240) return.

6. Modifying a Bathroom
Why It Pays Off: Bathroom upgrades, like updated countertops and new fixtures, provide solid returns — anywhere from 68 to 78 percent. But "avoid anything too trendy," says designer Vern Yip. "Choose classic features, like off-white subway tiles, that will appeal to people with both traditional and contemporary tastes." There's no need to splurge on fancy fixtures, either. "A tub is a tub. A Jacuzzi will never make or break a sale," says designer Steven D. Bullock. For quick touch-ups on existing sinks, toilets, and tubs, consider hiring Miracle Method, a surface-restoration company that recoats ceramic, porcelain, and fiberglass fixtures with a chemical bonding agent that looks like shiny new porcelain. (Cost: $465 to $600 for a tub.)

7. Landscaping
Why It Pays Off: The front of your house is the first thing people see, so it makes sense that any improvements — from planting petunias to surrounding your home with a hedge — will be worth your while. "Don't be afraid to spend money on perennials, which come back year after year," says Yip. As for big-ticket investments, like trees, they aren't just nice to look at; they also stave off erosion, block storm-water runoff, reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and filter groundwater pollutants. They might make your home sell for more money, too. The Arbor Day Foundation estimates a 6- to 8-foot Colorado blue spruce or live oak (both are commonly found all around the United States) may grow one to two feet a year. And properties with gorgeous, established trees are even more attractive to potential home buyers down the road. When determining which areas of your yard to attend to first, try approaching the house from the curb to the front door. "Buyers make their decisions in exactly eight seconds," says Barbara Corcoran, founder of the Corcoran Group, a Manhattan real estate firm. "After that, they've either fallen in love or are just honoring an appointment."

8. Installing Central Air-Conditioning
Why It Pays Off: Adding central air to an average 2,400-square-foot house could cost upward of $10,000 and boost your home's value by 10 to 20 percent, says appraiser Leslie Sellers. And central air-conditioning is energy-efficient too. Centralized units have an average energy-efficiency rating (EER) of 11.5, compared with an 8.5 EER in single-window models, making them less expensive to run. What's more, central air won't block the view the way a window unit does.

9. Fixing up the Basement
Why It Pays Off: "There's nothing worse than that unmistakable damp-basement smell," says Corcoran. "A dry basement is far more important than worrying about the right lighting or furnishings." If your basement is prone to flooding, leaks, or excess moisture, call in a pro. If you do want to finish your basement by adding drywall, insulation, laminate flooring, or even a bathroom, "be sure it's proportional in quality to other areas of your home," says Lonny Rutherford, a chairman of the National Association of Home Builders Remodelers, in Washington, D.C. According to Sellers, "basement remodels gain back anywhere from 50 to 100 percent, depending on the quality of the materials."

10. Putting in a Swimming Pool
Why It Pays Off: When you're deciding whether to install a pool, it's important to consider the part of the country where you live. In places where it can get unforgivingly hot, such as Arizona and Florida, an inground pool may boost a home's value by up to 8 percent, according to a 2003 study by the National Association of Realtors. In more temperate areas, however, a pool can be a big turnoff, as prospective buyers imagine all the work they'll have to do to maintain it, not to mention safety issues and higher insurance rates. But if you plan to enjoy a pool for a few years and it improves your quality of life, "then go for it," says Tom Kraeutler, a cohost of The Money Pit, a home-improvement radio show, and a coauthor of "My Home, My Money Pit". "You can't put a number on that."

Marcelo Sollero

2008-10-24T12:42:00.000-07:00

no filme O FAZEDOR DE MONTANHAS

32a. Mostra Internacional de Cinema

até 30 de outubro

Informações e programação no site: http://www.mostra.org/32/

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