One of the first pieces of information we were given through EAP (our abroad program) was a warning about Brazilian bureaucracy. This warning came in the form of a 15 page long packet with instructions detailing how to apply for a visa. Including a step-by-step guideline of how to fill out the form online exactly, warning us that we would face dire consequences if our parents names were not written exactly as how they are on their birth certificates.
After two nervous breakdowns and three trips to San Francisco over the course of a week to get my visa, I foolishly figured the worst was over.
When I was given my visa, the woman at the consulate warned me to guard the two papers she had stapled to my passport with my life. It turns out, there was another step in the process of making sure I was staying legally in Brazil, only this part could only be completed while in Brazil.
During our first orientation we were told that we'd be sent in shifts to register with the Federal Police. We were told to expect an all day affair, leaving campus at SIX AM, and they could make no guarantees as to when we'd be back. My first thought was, wow, the Federal Police must be out in the boons and take a while to get there. Of course not. It's at the airport (?), a mere twenty minutes away. All day to register with the police? Welcome to Brazil.
After enduring the 6 am shuttle ride (I don't think I've been on a bus here that has any shocks to speak of, I've been known to catch some air if the driver is feeling particularly aggressive while making turns or speeding over potholes) and spending a solid five hours waiting for my turn to get my papers stamped, I figured it was over. Great!
So now I'm registered with the police, because, naturally foreign exchange students are the ones that Rio should be worrying about.
Only that's not all - we're now expected to go to a bank, fill out some paper work, and then go to the one store in Rio that can give us our "CPF" (and I don't even know why we want or need a CPF, except that apparently without it we can't get the equivalent of a Safeway card at the local grocery stores. Ok...)
Brazilian bureaucracy exists in almost all forms of daily life in Rio. If you go down to the local suco (juice) stands, there are approximately 45 barriers between you and your delicious suco de abacaxi. First you pay at this strange register located in a remote corner of the store, then you're given a receipt, then you hand that receipt to someone who hands that receipt to someone, who maybe brings you your suco. If you're lucky.
It's not to say that I don't totally love it here, and appreciate Brazil for it's little oddities, but sometimes I just want to talk to one person instead of explaining to four in pidgin Portuguese that I'd like my drink "sem açucar."
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
things brazil gets right
- If you're at the beach at sunset, everyone spontaneously applauds when the sun sets. At first I was like "oh is there a fight? someone performing?" but nope, just the sun setting. And really, if you live in a place where you can comfortably be on the beach until sunset, why wouldn't you applaud to that?
- One of the biggest perks about Brazil, that I've noticed, is the myriad of food that is at your disposal when you're out at night. Last night after a few caipirinhas, I decided that I needed a hot dog. Or as they call them here, cachorro quentes. The woman kept asking me what toppings I wanted and the only things I said no to were onions (pass) and mayonnaise (double pass). What did I end up with, you might ask? Ketchup, mustard, corn, peas, potato crisps, some sort of flavored dust (really I have no idea what that was) and an egg (that looked questionably like an eyeball). Needless to say, it was the best hot dog of my life.
- If you know me at all, you know that I love straws. Love them. EVERY drink here is served with a straw, and if they're not, almost all restaurants have big dishes that provide them. The downside of utensils/supplies/whatever you might call them, is that "napkins" are essentially tiny sheets of wax paper. Picture an oil blotting paper. Now picture trying to wipe your hands with that.
- Moral of the story: I need to start bringing out my camera so that these can be accompanied by pictures.
- One of the biggest perks about Brazil, that I've noticed, is the myriad of food that is at your disposal when you're out at night. Last night after a few caipirinhas, I decided that I needed a hot dog. Or as they call them here, cachorro quentes. The woman kept asking me what toppings I wanted and the only things I said no to were onions (pass) and mayonnaise (double pass). What did I end up with, you might ask? Ketchup, mustard, corn, peas, potato crisps, some sort of flavored dust (really I have no idea what that was) and an egg (that looked questionably like an eyeball). Needless to say, it was the best hot dog of my life.
- If you know me at all, you know that I love straws. Love them. EVERY drink here is served with a straw, and if they're not, almost all restaurants have big dishes that provide them. The downside of utensils/supplies/whatever you might call them, is that "napkins" are essentially tiny sheets of wax paper. Picture an oil blotting paper. Now picture trying to wipe your hands with that.
- Moral of the story: I need to start bringing out my camera so that these can be accompanied by pictures.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
tid bits
Since I last posted, school has started. Well, not "school" per say, but rather our "intensive language program." Essentially this consists of being in school for 5 hours straight practicing our Portuguese. Intensively. Classes start at 8:30, which means that I have to be out the door at around 7:30 (which translates to me actually leaving around 7:45). The buses are less of a mystery than before...I still regularly make an ass out of myself when I bumble around for loose change (why is it that as soon as you're in a foreign country, scouring for change automatically becomes the most frazzling experience of your life?).
Here are a few tid bits from the last few days:
-Although I may feel like I know my way around Copa already (see, I've even taken to calling it Copa, which totally amuses all my taxi drivers) it turns out that this false sense of direction lead me squarely into the outskirts of a favela yesterday. Whoops!
-The nightlife is insane. Most things don't start until around midnight, and the last night I went out to a big party I was home at around 6. Even what I thought would be a quiet night watching (real) football turned into a 4am outing. Before this trip I never really understood the term "disco nap," but now they've become an integral part of my day.
-My worries over men's shoes were absolutely unfounded. The men here dress...amazingly. The only leather loafers I've seen are on other tourists, and I like to imagine that the Brazilians are judging along with me.
-Most people think I'm Brazilian...until I open my mouth. Which is cool on the one hand, because who likes to feel like the blatant outsider, but it also makes for some incredibly awkward situations. Yesterday, after my brush with the favela, I was buying some grapes at the grocery store by myself. As I stood there, debating the pros and cons of each bunch, a young man came up to me and started (I assume?) joking with me about something. In a panic, I did the awkward "heh heh" and quickly scurried away. He was confused, I was confused, it was way too uncomfortable for the fruit aisle. Fittingly, today in my class we had a lesson on what to say in those situations where you just have absolutely no idea what is being said. It turns out an emphatic "isso!" or "claro!" would have done the trick. My hope is that by the end of this six months my conversations will cease to consist solely of uncomfortable giggles and "sim, sim!"
-Corcovado is amazing. That's where there is the giant stature of Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) that overlooks almost all of Rio. The contrasts here are remarkable - whether it's the wealthy elite (the girls are called burguisinhas, and the boys playboys) and the favelas or the lush craigy mountains with the high rises on the beach...I think that's definitely what makes Rio unique.
It's hard to believe that I'm actually here - everything still looks like a postcard. That I would assume was photoshopped.
Here are a few tid bits from the last few days:
-Although I may feel like I know my way around Copa already (see, I've even taken to calling it Copa, which totally amuses all my taxi drivers) it turns out that this false sense of direction lead me squarely into the outskirts of a favela yesterday. Whoops!
-The nightlife is insane. Most things don't start until around midnight, and the last night I went out to a big party I was home at around 6. Even what I thought would be a quiet night watching (real) football turned into a 4am outing. Before this trip I never really understood the term "disco nap," but now they've become an integral part of my day.
-My worries over men's shoes were absolutely unfounded. The men here dress...amazingly. The only leather loafers I've seen are on other tourists, and I like to imagine that the Brazilians are judging along with me.
-Most people think I'm Brazilian...until I open my mouth. Which is cool on the one hand, because who likes to feel like the blatant outsider, but it also makes for some incredibly awkward situations. Yesterday, after my brush with the favela, I was buying some grapes at the grocery store by myself. As I stood there, debating the pros and cons of each bunch, a young man came up to me and started (I assume?) joking with me about something. In a panic, I did the awkward "heh heh" and quickly scurried away. He was confused, I was confused, it was way too uncomfortable for the fruit aisle. Fittingly, today in my class we had a lesson on what to say in those situations where you just have absolutely no idea what is being said. It turns out an emphatic "isso!" or "claro!" would have done the trick. My hope is that by the end of this six months my conversations will cease to consist solely of uncomfortable giggles and "sim, sim!"
-Corcovado is amazing. That's where there is the giant stature of Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) that overlooks almost all of Rio. The contrasts here are remarkable - whether it's the wealthy elite (the girls are called burguisinhas, and the boys playboys) and the favelas or the lush craigy mountains with the high rises on the beach...I think that's definitely what makes Rio unique.
It's hard to believe that I'm actually here - everything still looks like a postcard. That I would assume was photoshopped.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
day 2: buses and bikinis
Today was my second full day in Rio. Yesterday we moved into our homestays, I'm living with a woman named Nancy who's really nice and very animated - essentially the stereotypical Brazilian. She designs jewelry and does something else which I did not even begin to understand and just nodded along and smiled when she tried to explain. We also live with her 25 year old daughter who I haven't met yet. In Brazil it's normal for children to live with their parents until they get married (which makes it a little difficult to use the "does he live with his parents" loser check for potential male suitors, but I digress). My room is decent sized, and I have a lovely view of a tunnel and the edge of a cliff. But most importantly, I have plenty of storage space and an industrial level fan to keep me from being wildly uncomfortable in this heat. Not to mention - WI FI! Probably the most important perk of all.
My day started with Nancy walking me to the bus stop and trying to explain the ins and outs of the "onibus" system. Essentially, buses drive down a few main drags and don't stop unless you hail them. They also don't announce stops, so you pretty much have to know where you're going at all times. Which is GREAT for someone with no sense of direction like me. Somehow I made it to PUC (my school) in a somewhat timely fashion without any major catastrophic incidents. After our (second) orientation today, me and a few girls from my program decided that first and foremost we needed to prioritize getting Brazilian bikinis before heading to the beach. Naturally, I found a tie-dye one at this epic ritzy mall that is right next to the beach in the neighborhood Leblon. After that we headed to the beach and all squeezed on my friend Megan's travel towel. Apparently all Brazilian women use sarongs as towels/blankets so we looked pretty ridiculous. Can I just say that Brazilian women WOULD use something sexier than a towel to lay out on?
Things don't get dark here till around 8, so me and my friend Ellie decided to head back to our neighborhood in Copacabana and get some dinner before heading home. We ended up eating at this Japanese place which actually isn't as random as it seems - Brazilians LOVE Japanese food. On campus there are about 3 restaurants, and one of them is sushi. They're also really big on buffets where you pay by the kilo, which is especially difficult because I have no sense of what a kilo of food should look like or weigh. At around 9 my host mom got all nervous that I'd gotten lost so she called to check up on me, which I thought was pretty sweet. Oh! And in a throwback to 8th grade me, I now have a very hilarious unmodern Nokia to my name.
More updates to come,
Tchau! (yes I'm going to become one of those pretentious people who uses foreign languages to say regular things like "hey" and "see you later")
My day started with Nancy walking me to the bus stop and trying to explain the ins and outs of the "onibus" system. Essentially, buses drive down a few main drags and don't stop unless you hail them. They also don't announce stops, so you pretty much have to know where you're going at all times. Which is GREAT for someone with no sense of direction like me. Somehow I made it to PUC (my school) in a somewhat timely fashion without any major catastrophic incidents. After our (second) orientation today, me and a few girls from my program decided that first and foremost we needed to prioritize getting Brazilian bikinis before heading to the beach. Naturally, I found a tie-dye one at this epic ritzy mall that is right next to the beach in the neighborhood Leblon. After that we headed to the beach and all squeezed on my friend Megan's travel towel. Apparently all Brazilian women use sarongs as towels/blankets so we looked pretty ridiculous. Can I just say that Brazilian women WOULD use something sexier than a towel to lay out on?
Things don't get dark here till around 8, so me and my friend Ellie decided to head back to our neighborhood in Copacabana and get some dinner before heading home. We ended up eating at this Japanese place which actually isn't as random as it seems - Brazilians LOVE Japanese food. On campus there are about 3 restaurants, and one of them is sushi. They're also really big on buffets where you pay by the kilo, which is especially difficult because I have no sense of what a kilo of food should look like or weigh. At around 9 my host mom got all nervous that I'd gotten lost so she called to check up on me, which I thought was pretty sweet. Oh! And in a throwback to 8th grade me, I now have a very hilarious unmodern Nokia to my name.
More updates to come,
Tchau! (yes I'm going to become one of those pretentious people who uses foreign languages to say regular things like "hey" and "see you later")
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