Inglês - PROF. Ms. JAMIL JUNIOR

 ASK LASKAS

            You´ve got questions, she´s got answers

I know that standard amount to tip is 15 percent of the bill, give or take 5 percent. But what about a restaurant where you serve yourself at a buffet and the waitress just brings drinks? How about hairdressers? Do they get 15 percent too? What if the hairdresser is the proprietor? Are you obliged to tip even though what you pay for your haircut is all going into her pocket?

Dear Tips,

Here´s my personal rule of thumb. For a buffet that´s just a cafeteria line – nothing, unless you want to leave a small amount for busboys. Depending on the extent and friendliness of the service, 5 to 10 percent  for the libatiom bears. In hair salons and other service establishments, proprietors are usually considered an exception. For employees, who rely on gratuities for much of their income, I think it´s courteous to thank them with a full expressions of your appreciation.

                                                                                                          (Reader´s Digest)

SLOWING THE PACE ALONG BRAZIL´S COAST

For most Americans accustomed to thinking of Rio de Janeiro as their first and only destination, Brazil´s vast northeast shoulder is a largely uncharted territory. While Europeans have in recent years begun flocking to the region´s spectacular beaches and fallen under the spell of its infectious music, American visitors have lagged far behind in exploring the many delights that seaside resort cities such as Recife, Natal and Fortaleza can offer, all at a fraction of what comparable packages in the Caribbean would cost.

Though the high season runs from December to March, the northeast is sunny and dry the year round, which makes it ideal for a lazy beach holiday at any time. And at night, cities like Recife, hugging the coast 1,250 miles north of Rio, come alive to the beat of a type of music known as forró, an accordion-driven folk-based style Brazilians once derided as “but now all the maids and taxis drivers” but now all the rage among young cognoscenti.

In the north and south of Recife, it is easy to find quieter, more relaxed places that respond to the basic human desire to indulge in doing absolutely nothing every now and then. Itamaracá for example, is a sleepy  island 30 miles north of Recife with a magnificently calm and sheltered beach in the shadow of Fort Orange, built by the Dutch in 1631. It´s definitely an off-the-beaten-track place, but the Orange Praia Hotel there, (55-81) 3544-1170, with double rooms for $ 50, offers comfort if not quite luxury.