Shipping media mail to Brazil

Tonight I received the teacher handbook from my school in Brazil and it was full of helpful information and great tips for someone moving to Brasilia. Makes the trip even more real and me an even more very excited and anxious person!

In addition, I found out that there IS a way to ship books and other printed matter to an international address. Great news! I thought that media mail was only a treat for us bibliophiles shipping books/magazines within the United States.

This is what my school sent regarding "m-bags":

"The cheapest way to send books from the USA is M-Bag through the U.S. Postal Service. Mbags

are a special service to send books or printed matter to an international address at a

reduced postage rate. It usually takes one to two weeks, but it might take much longer. Send

books in your name to the school. Be sure to pack all books in strong boxes!!!"

For more information, visit the USPS website:

260 Direct Sacks of Printed Matter to One Addressee (M–bags)

261 Description

261.1 General

M-bags are defined as direct sacks of printed matter (see 261.22) sent to a single foreign addressee at a single address. There are three types of M–bags: Airmail M-bags, International Priority Airmail (IPA) M-bags, and International Surface Air Lift (ISAL) M-bags. All M-bags are subject to the following conditions of mailing:

1. Maximum weight of a sack: 66 pounds (including the tare weight of the sack). Lower maximum weights apply to certain countries. See the Individual Country Listings.
2. Availability: All destinations that are referenced in the Individual Country Listings for Airmail M-bags, in Exhibit 292.452 for IPA M-bags, and in Exhibit 293.452 for ISAL M-bags.
3. Identification: PS Tag 158, M–bag Addressee Tag, must be completed and attached to the neck of the sack.
4. Postage: The applicable postage for Airmail M-bags, International Priority Airmail (IPA), and International Surface Air Lift (ISAL) must be affixed to PS Tag 158.
5. Extra services: Certificate of mailing is available. Registry and insurance are not available.

261.2 Eligibility

261.21 Printed Matter

Printed matter is admissible in M-bags. Articles that meet the definition of “printed matter” include newspapers, magazines, journals, books, sheet music, catalogs, directories, commercial advertising, and promotional matter. “Printed matter” is defined as follows:

1. Papers upon which words, letters, characters, figures, images, or any combinations thereof appear.
2. Papers that do not have the character of a bill or statement of account.
3. Papers that do not have the character of current and personal correspondence.

261.22 Other Articles

Certain other articles may be enclosed in M-bags, provided that all of the following conditions of mailing are met:

1. The articles being sent are limited to discs, tapes, and cassettes; commercial samples shipped by manufacturers and distributors; or other non-dutiable commercial articles or informational materials that are not subject to resale.
2. The articles are related to the printed matter (see 261.21) with which they are being mailed.
3. The articles are affixed to or are otherwise combined with the accompanying printed matter.
4. The combined weight of each printed matter mailpiece and the related articles may not exceed 4 pounds.
5. The M-bag must be accompanied by a fully completed PS Form 2976, Customs Declaration CN 22 — Sender’s Declaration (green label), which is to be affixed to PS Tag 158, M-bag Addressee Tag.

261.23 Mail Not Sealed Against Inspection

M-bags are not sealed against inspection. Regardless of physical closure, the mailing of an M-bag, including an airmail, IPA, or ISAL M-bag, constitutes consent by the mailer to inspection of the contents.

Nostalgic

This was the one of the first pictures taken from my new phone, which my parents gifted me for my birthday.
I had just reached college at 7.30 a.m. tired from traveling whole night, right leg bandaged unable to walk properly, along with that I had to carry all my luggage!
I had just got into long distance relationship, he was in some other country now, after he left, there was nothing going right for me, I even tripped and fell in a hole with my leg bleeding and no one around me to pull me up also.
I called up my mom and dad. Almost cried.
But more then that I missed him, I wanted to call him and tell him I hurt my leg, and that it was bleeding,I wanted him to say "appi, it's gonna be alright, don't worry" and make me forget about the pain.
Unfortunately, he didn't have his phone connection yet. There was no way I could contact him. I cried myself to sleep in the bus.
At around 2'o clock in the night, he called me up, by that time the whole leg was swollen, but just listening to his voice made me feel so much better, there was someone for me.
The whole long distance has made me stronger and independent. And I am glad I am doing things on my own, taking decisions on my own, have more time for me and my friends.
But I miss him, and I have to wait months together to see him again.

Say what?!.....(in Portuguese)

Here is a video in Portuguese about the humourous side of misunderstanding language. I was surprised to see the child misconstrue what the reporter asked him since he is a native speaker; I thought these kind of things only happened to foreigners.Then again, he is just a kid.

This little Brazilian boy is too cute. I won't say anything except that you have to see it (but only if you know Portuguese well or you won't understand the joke). I'm not going to bother translating because it'll lose its humor in English.

The way he responds is darrrrrling!

Going once....going twice....sold!

My husband told me this afternoon that he feels like he's in Brazil. He means that in his mind he's in Brazil; this of course was said as he was taking off his t-shirt while driving. To my delight, he's constantly talking about the move, and since it's almost March and I've applied for my visa, we're starting to feel like we're really on our way. I can't concentrate as much at work and when I'm supposed to be studying. I read blogs and make lists and dream of Brazil. Probably not the most responsible thing to do, but I can't help it. I'm excited.

I have started to post ads on-line about the sale of our belongings and to my surprise have received a lot of "hits" from interested buyers. We are basically going to sell everything, with the exception of our valuables, my books, and our electronics. Anything that is of value in Brazil, or a rarity, is what we are going to ship down, or take with us.

The first item that we sold was an old laptop. It was one that I bought when I first moved to Florida and used extensively, especially when E was still in Brazil and the phone and computer were our major means of communications. The laptop was easy to sell and we received a good deal for it, considering it's age and current capabilities.

I am also working on making arrangements with people who are interested in buying our furniture - desks, bookshelves, drawers, etc. My goal is to sell everything little by little so that we're not overwhelmed later and so we don't sell all of our furniture now and spend weeks or months sitting on the floor and with no place to put anything that is left behind.

Also, my family is planning another trip to Florida before we leave and I can't ask my parents to sleep somewhere uncomfortable because we sold everything.

In addition to selling things, we will also need to buy items that we want to have in Brazil. My husband wants a GPS (well, he's wanted one for years), and I want a Kindle. I never thought I'd ever want an e-reader because I love books: the feel, the smell, the pages, etc.; however, as I started to think more about the lack of English language books in Brazil, I decided that it was something that I couldn't do without. So I got excited about the Kindle and figured if E was going to get his GPS, then I'd might as well put them on the same order.

I also plan on buying DVDs of shows that I know I'll want to watch in the future - like Tru Blood and Sex in the City. What I don't already own I'll need to make sure I purchase before we depart, and I'm afraid that is just the chip off the iceberg. Well, at least all of the shopping will be fun.

And next thing we know, we'll be in Brazil before we know it.

Now It's My Turn!

       Due to the ridiculous response to my favorite album homework assignment I decided to give you my favs as a separate post. I'll jump right into it because it's the weekend and like most of you, if it's the weekend and it doesn't involve my friends, my lady, booze, or sports, I'm not really as into it as I could be.These are my 6 favorite records in no particular order. Here we go!

For me this is sort of where it all started. Cracked Rear View was one of the very first CDs I ever purchased with my own money that wasn't influenced by what my family or friends were listening to at the time. To this day I still have a soft spot for 90s pop and alt rock, and it all started right here. I always thought it was funny how in spite of their name, no one in the band was actually named Hootie. The band arbitrarally chose the name as a joke, and it just stuck. I still toss this one in from time to time and every song is still just as awesome as it was when I was a kid.

I am not in the business of over-glorifying a band just because one member dies. I like Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and Notorious BIG just fine, but it has nothing to do with them leaving this world ahead of schedule. Sublime's self titled debut is a complete record. It's original and it opened my eyes to the 'stoner music'(lacking better terminology because I'm a bit hung over). Without this one I probably never would have given 311, Dave Mathews, or Bob Marley the time of day. Thank God my friends did a lot of drugs when I was a teen...

OK OK! Before you get all up in arms, let me explain. When I was in 9th grade my friend Brad was on the Flip-Interscope Records street team. Remember how labels used to have to give kids T-shirts and name badges to go out and pimp their music before the internet started doing it for them? Brad gave me Three Dollar Bill Yall$ before I ever heard music with heavy guitars, screaming, or explicit lyrics. Now pretty much everything I truly enjoy has one of (if not all) of these elements.  If you don't at least like LBs cover of George Michaels 'Faith" then you have a problem with you and I can't fix it. Most people didn't hear about these guys until Significant Other came out, so it was my first chance to be a snobby music elitist. Plus, this one really pissed my Gram off, which made me love it even more!

I thought about having some measure of American classic in my list of all time favorites, but I would kind of be lying to myself. I like CCR and GNR and any other number of something-R's, but nothing compares to Fall Out Boy. I actually listened to these guys for the first time when I accidentally stumbled across them while yahoo searching (pre-google) something about Radioactive Man from the Simpsons. It was a total coincidence that I am eternally grateful for, FOB has been copied about a million times over but nobody has the vocal talent of Patrick Stump, the bands front man. I have had this CD forever and I still return to it often. Hell my screen name on AIM was FALLOUTTROX.. The album is called  'Take This To Your Grave' and I probably will.

"And the survey said: YER DEAD!" Most people are pretty surprised when I tell them that I listen to a lot of rap/hip hop. Most of it is older stuff because I believe that most of the new rap that comes out is either too watered down, fake, or it in my opinion trying to be the way rap used to be. I love Dr. Dre, Snoop, 2Pac, LL Cool J, and the list could go on and on, but Wu-tangs greatest hits is absolutely incomparable. Whether its RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Mastakilla, Ghostface, Raekwon, or Methodman, I will bump this record to my grandkids. Their beats are filthy and their rhymes are unparalleled. In short, "the Wu Tang clan ain't nuttin' to fuck wit!"

Last on my list, is Hit the Lights- This is a Stick Up...Don't Make It A Murder. For me this record represents an era. I guess I could have also repped this period with Say Anything, Saves the Day, Rx Bandits, Monty Are I, or Over It. They are all part of the same memories as this one. HtL is epic because it was the background music to some of the best nights of my life spent with some of the best people I'll ever know. Anytime I hear a track off of this one, I am taken to a time when things were a lot simpler but way more complicated at the same time. I had just lost my step mother, who was one of the best friends anyone ever had, and it sounds corny, but I believe a higher power saw what I needed to fill the void she left behind and He sent me a group of crazy kids who would become my greatest friends along with these amazing albums for us to jump around and have pop-punk parties to. Hit the Lights spoke to us directly. They were from Ohio, they liked to get wild, and they stuck together through thick and thin like brothers. The entire CD was practically an anthem to our good times. Sam, Tyler, Jake, Pat, Rut, Polar, Jewell, Dave, Wanger, and Jesse, if you haven't heard me say it, I love you all to death, and thanks for everything.

  
       That's all for now. I hope you guys had fun with it. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. If you want to get a jump on the competition, I'll go ahead and let you know that next weeks homework is a contest. I wanna see you naked! Let this link explain. The second annual Shower Beer extravaganza is approaching. Here's what you do..Send a pic of you or a beer or you with a beer in your shower! That's it. The person who submits the best pic get a $15 gift card to Chili's. If you don't like beer, showering, or Chili's then this contest might not be for you..Also, you're an idiot.

                                                             Warmest Regards,

                                                             Trox

Julia or... JuLIAR?

Short and simple.  Julia Gillard says "no carbon tax" during election campaign.
Julia Gillard now says "A Carbon Tax"

Does this mean Julia is in fact JuLIAR?  Many in the media are saying as much!

Green/Labor Capitalist Network

Yep....you heard it hear first.. perhaps.  Don't you ever wonder who is lurking and operating behind the public face of politics, and why they are so passionate about certain issues?

CLIMATE CHANGE..oohhhhhh we're all going to DIE.. we are DOOOMED....how many times have you had this mantra rammmmmed down your throat over the past few years? Well.. maybe it's time to see some of the financial interests smack bang in the middle, side, top and bottom of this huge scam of the century!

Let's take our old buddy AL GORE... and his mate 'MAURICE STRONG. and a few others.

Click on the graphics to see a larger version.

What you should do is this, google each of the names and key words in the graphic and just see what comes up.
For example.. "Kathy Zoi"  Do a wiki on her.  How about this ENVEX in Sydney and our Labor mate Bob Carr!...aaah yes.. now..who was it who was raving and ranting about how much we neeeeed a cap and TRADE  policy? Hmmm...oh yesss.. I've got it.. it....was....HIM! Strange how we now find him as CEO of a carbon TRADING company in Australia, a company which is affiliated with the now infamous Chicago Mob..ooops..I mean 'Chicago Climate Exchange'.

Zoi was appointed by Gore to the Alliance for Climate Protection, given $300Mil, and told "Persuade the masses about global warming"...she indeed did that, and as a reward, was appointed as the Assistant Secretary for ENERGY, and now she has her fingies on $16,000,000,000 stimulus money.  She also just happens to have large shareholdings in the Smart Meter company Landis and Gyr...  Next time that bloke comes to your house to 'check things for your new smart meter' which you have zero choice about getting.... remember this blog.

Let's not forget that 'kindly old man' Maurice Strong, the man who was the skilful artchitect behind all major 'earth summits' and who had a big hand in orchestrating the Copenhagen global warming scam. You only have to look at his business connections and positions to see what's going on there!

Don't forget to check out where Al Gore fits into all this as well.

Remember.. do your own homework.. check/verify all of this material. Just do what I did, use Google.
Keep on digging.. probing.. looking.

This is what you can find...when you dig.

That information is found here.  oops.. correction...they have now removed the list of Directors from their web site. The above image was taken from the CCX web site prior to the change. (They've been feeling a lot of heat about this)


But notice in this link the connection between Bob Carr/Envex and the CCX global network.

http://www.chicagoclimatex.com/content.jsf?id=4566102

The extent of this huge scam defies the imagination. It's almost like some supercomputer is pulling all the strings.. like one of those old movies where the computer 'suggests' changes to it's software and hardware..until finally "it" runs the whole show and controls the humans. 

What is your favorite album of all time? (User Submitted)

      Michael Jackson's masterpiece album Thriller has sold over 110 million copies since it's release on November 30th, 1982. Even more impressive is that it's the only album in history to hit the 50 million copy mark..The next best seller is AC/DC- Back in Black with 49 million.  Thriller is the top selling album of all time and many would argue the "greatest" record ever made. Rolling Stone heralded the Beatles-St. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band as 'the most important album ever created'. For TroxTalk's weekly homework assignment (name pending) I wanted to find out which album was the greatest or most important of all time to you. Piss off, Billboard and Rolling Stone.
       Here's what I've learned this week. People are WAY more passionate about their music selection than their movie quotes. Picking your favorite movie quote was tough, but some people found this weeks challenge nearly impossible. I asked readers for their favorite album of all time. If the Terminator rolls up on you naked while you're out at the bar with your crew and says, "I need your clothes, your boots, your motorcycle, and your favorite CD!" Which one are you going to choose? We've all seen what happens if you don't comply...

       I noticed right away, as soon as I asked that question, most people immediately got defensive. "I dunno, Trox, that's a tough one. What's YOURS?!" It was as if everyone had some dark secret or guilty pleasure that they were insecure about sharing. My dear readers, you do not have to preface your preferences to me or anyone else with "well you're probably going to make fun of this but...". The truth is anyone who takes potshots at another persons likes or dislikes doesn't have a lot of confidence in their own. I pretty much can't stand it when I tell someone "Hey I dig..suchandsuch." and they hit me back with "Aw you *explitive*! Do you seriously like that *explitive*?!" Pretty much anyone who gave me the pre-post disclaimer on what they like ended up naming something that wouldn't have been to much of a stretch for me to enjoy on my own playlist. (No one named any country albums. I don't care too much for Conway Twitty, but if that's your thing, have at it.) I'll get to my personal picks in a bit, but for now let's have a look at YOUR favorites, and some of the insightful reasons why you picked what you did....

Snoop Doggy Dogg- Doggystyle..."Every track on the entire album is tight and the whole thing reminds me of a much simpler time." - Albert the Mailman

Weezer-Blue... I can't tell you how many times I've listened to 'In the Garage' while I was physically in a garage. Mind=Blown. "Defines my adolescence." -DFord

Blink 182- Enema of the State... I don't know if it's my favorite too, but this is the only CD I have ever played until it just absolutely would not play anymore. "It's tight-n-shit. I like it."- Jesse

Third Eye Blind- Third Eye Blind... Sarah sent me a few picks, but I chose this one because of the one's she listed, this one reminds me most of her. Plus I think this was the only self titled submission I received, so it's unique. Graduate is a great track on this one. "My little middle school self loved this. I used to sit in my room with the lyrics to Semi Charmed Life and play it on repeat until I had it memorized.(Chop another line with a coda with a curse still gets me all confuddled.)" -Sarah

Bon Jovi- Slippery When Wet... She didn't give a real reason, but if I had to put it into words for her, it would have been something to the effect of: "It's old school and makes me feel like partyin!"- Cami

Bush- Sixteen Stone... Gavin Rosdale has been nailing Gwen Stefani and making good records for more than a decade. This was his best work with Bush. " It was the first cd I ever owned. My mom got it for me for Christmas when I was about 12."- Cody

Smashing Pumpkins- Siamese Dream... My man Carl was concise as usual in his reasoning.

" well.. 1) i like every song on it. 2) good combination of super loud-ass crazy guitar rock and slow stuff. 3) awesome lyrics 4) right around that time i was still a kid in college

(time it came out)"- Carl

Hopesfall- The Frailty of Words... This album hits just a little harder than all of the other submissions. "The album came out when i was in the 8th grade and gave me complete solace through high school, just during a time i was stuggling with myself and the type of music i was into..and everything in my life really..then and still now hardcore isn't widely accepted
I mean why cant I look like a normal dude and love to rock the fuck out!?" -Ian

Shaquille O'Neal- Shaq Diesel.. First of all, does this man look Irish to you? O'boy. "Trox and I used to get in trouble for bumping this too loud in Circuit City's Car Audio department when we worked there together." J Bruce (Not Jay Bruce)

**I want to take a break in the action for a second to say that if you've never heard this before, you should give it a listen. Shaq is beyond awesome. What the hell is a jungle bee??**

Back to business..

The Strokes- Is This It?...  I feel like this could be one of the most underrated albums I've ever bought. Not torrented. Bought." i picked it up when it came out back in '01. and i've always consistently listened to for the past 10 years. I can't say that about any other albums.

but really, I love the strokes for their sound and their approach the song writing." -Tyler

The Roots- Phrenology..."It came out right after I graduated high school, all was perfect in my world. I can't hear the seed 2.0 without wishing I was just driving around, windows down, on a nice warm day." -Syphax

Strung Out- Exile in Oblivion..."i mean, their are some rap records up there, some country, some metal, some new wave, but if i could only have one record for the rest of my life it would have to be Strung Out - Exile In Oblivion, my top few records are all Strung Out records probably." -Shad

Pink Floyd- Wish You Were Here... My roomies used to watch Wizard of Oz over Darkside of the Moon on a loop.. "AMAZING! Shine on your crazy daimond part 1 changed my whole perspective on shit."- Steve @Weltbrand

Rush- The Spirit of Radio..."I just grew up with them

plus as musician...they satiate my desire to hear something more complex and considered than a lot of other artists can deliver

and i'm a nerd."-Ryan

 

Counting Crows- August and Everything After.. "the sound was fresh, original, an auditory treat with IMMENSE staying power to me, the Counting Crows are not my favorite Band of all time, in the top but not THE top... however a cohesive album that can be listened to over, and over , and over again is hard to come by and FEW artists truly pull off a whole album that is close to flawless, many do half the album well, or a few songs that are great. However, to achieve a truly great album, the artist and producer must synch in an uncommon manner, from the writing of the songs, through performance, to production quality, and even to track layout for the album the cohesive bond between variables of parties involved is hard to attain. The Counting Crows with T-Bone Burnett produced an album that i have never stopped enjoying for almost 11 years (yes I first got it 5 years after it was released) obviously I don't listen to the album everyday, or even every week or month, but this album catches me several times a year and I will listen to and enjoy as much as I ever have all over again this entire album start to finish. So finally, for my personal enjoyment taken as a single unit -"album" Counting Crows' August and Everything After album is the greatest album ever recorded. " -Paul...I agree with everything you just said.

Megadeth- Endgame.. Growing up, my girl Kim was ALL rap ALL the time. I almost fell out of my chairs when she sent me this one. "Because my taste in music has changed so much."  -Kimberly (I'll say it did! Nice to see you branching out!)

Led Zepplin- Houses of the Holy..."Fuck you and these questions! It's got it all. If I was going to go more modern I'd say Dude Ranch..Everybody got behind that record." - Dave T of www.thebestpodcast.com

Now I don't ever like to play favorites, but THIS is how you TroxTalk...I loved this response...

Offspring- Americana...After racking my brain trying to decide which one single album to crown my "Favorite CD of All TIme" I realized its really an impossible task. Whether it comes down to replay value, production quality, pure nostalgia, or just the overall impact it makes on your life, there were just too many factors to take into account.

So I decided to go a different direction with it.

Everyone has that one album that acted as a catalyst in discovering all the music they've ever known; that one album that made it possible. "Dude Ranch" doesn't count. Saying "Dude Ranch" is your favorite CD is like saying pizza is your favorite food. We know, its a given.

Having said that, no other collection of songs made as big of an impact on the man I am today than The Offspring's "Americana" -Phinny from www.thebestcast.com

Blink 182- Dude Ranch..."Fuck Phinny and Dave T.  I'll say what I want!" -Green Hayes (He didn't really say that.)

      Now, this guy is running a little long because I have a tendency to let that happen. Tell you what! Tomorrow in a special weekend edition of TroxTalk I'll take a page out of my boys at The Best Podcast's book, and I'll break down my desert island Top 5 albums of all time.. Maybe I'll do a top 6 just so I'm not blatantly ripping anyone off. Here's to you for helping this thing grow each week *takes a shot of vodka* ! Catch you tomorrow.

                                                                 Warmest Regards,

                                                                  Trox

A snapshot of Brasilia - DF

O DF em números [DF in numbers]

População [Population]:	2.455.903 habitantes[inhabitants]
Densidade Demográfica [Population Density]:	354,3 hab/Km²
Índice de Desenvolvimento Humano (IDH) [Human Development Index]:	0,844 (0-1)
Analfabetismo [Illiteracy]:	4,35% [4.35%]
Altitude:	1.172 m²
Temperatura média anual [Average annual temperature]:	21ºC [70ºF]
Umidade relativa do ar [Humidity]:	40 a 70%

Source: http://www.brasilia.df.gov.br/

Vivo sonhando....

Vivo sonhando, sonhando mil horas sem fim...

Música, o alimento da Alma

Acordes, distorções, batidas, timbres, berros... A música está solta no ar.

Tão presente no nosso dia-a-dia das mais variadas maneiras.

Já repararam que ela está em todo lugar? Na propaganda de um comercial, na vinheta do jornal, na loja, no ônibus ou até mesmo na sala de espera do dentista? Seria inútil tentar ignorá-la.

Mas para alguns a música não é apenas música, a música é o alimento da alma.

Quem é que nunca foi ao a um show e sai de lá literalmente com a alma lavada?

Como diria o antigo ditado... “Quem canta seus males espanta”.

O ouvido é apenas a porta de entrada. A música entra e se espalha pelo seu interior, você a sente, você se revigora, você a deixa agir juntamente com seus sentimentos.

Vários estilos, diversos segmentos, mas sempre haverá aquela música que você irá dizer: “Nossa parece que essa música foi feita exatamente pra mim.”

Aquela música que te lembra um amigo, um(a) namorado(a), um momento de sua vida.

É a vida real transformada em melodia.

Ouvi-la apenas não basta... Você precisa senti-la.

.

Muslim Violence in Indonesia

Dear friends, if you ever wondered why there are increasing numbers of 'anti Islamist' groups rising up (including this one) you can find the answer 'here'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8TJTG4yUSQ

The core reason for this violence is the simple belief among the Ahmadiya's that their leader is the final 'messenger' from God. They worship "Allah" like normal Muslims, but this is how 'insulting Muhammad' is dealt with when strict Muslims have power.

It should be remembered, THIS is how radical Muslims can act toward those they believe are 'heretics'.
This is Sunni Muslim outrage and violence against hapless and peaceful Ahmadiyya Muslims in Indonesia.
It should be remembered.. Ahmadiyya's are the only Muslim sect to have renounced violence and Jihad.

The Video and image speak for themselves.  I hope 'you' will add your voice to mine and move a step closer to being available for events and actions which advance the cause of true freedom in Australia. Freedom from even the 'possibility' of Muslim control of anything in this country.

What a freakin' headache!

.....AKA the Brazilian consulate of Miami.

I mentioned just the other day that I felt like something wasn't right with what the consulate was telling me vs what I was reading about the permanent visa. Turns out I was right. Big surprise. Big headache.

I felt nervous when I first arrived at the consulate today, but I always do since we have to drive all the way there and I want everything to go like it should so I don't feel like our trip was in vain. Unlike our last visit to the consulate though, there was a huge line for people wanting a visa (probably due to Carnaval), but we did eventually make it to the window to be waited on. That's when my fear was confirmed. I was told that I needed to fill out an application and have my husband complete an affidavit of support for me in order to get my permanent visa. I was told that everything that I believed about getting my visa was wrong. That made me nervous and pissed because I don't have time to take off of work and drive to Miami to be told that I'm missing a lot of paperwork. I stress out about these things and that's why I got mad.

Now that I look back on this morning I do realize that I probably overreacted a bit. But that's not the point. The issue is that the website AND the consulate's confusing e-mails were wrong. I had been told that we only needed to take a few documents to request the visa (the first step), and then complete the second step, listed on the consulate's website, once the authorization came back from Brazil. It's at that time, the second step, that we pay and complete the application. Of course this was wrong. I tried to tell the girl that, too, but she wouldn't have any of it. Of course the consulate's website was not wrong. Imagine that! And then the e-mails. No way. Ooooh, I was so mad. And of course you can't call. There is no way to contact the visa department by phone.

The thing is that I have to take off of work to drive to Miami to take care of this stuff and it stresses me out. I don't need some chic telling me something else, especially when I can tell that she doesn't know how to do her job right. And the affidavit? Not mentioned at all on the website. Now completing that form was a piece of cake, but that's not the point, is it?

In the end, what we had to do was complete the affidavit of support, which I filled out while E went downstairs to the ATM to get cash to pay for the visa + legalization fees. He signed it later. I then had to complete the visa application on the computer, print out my protocol number, AND get a passport picture taken. Luckily for me, a girl who was at the consulate to get her visa gave me a business card of a Brazilian company only 6 floors below us who'd take instant pictures.

This didn't take us too long to get, but I was still mad and then worried because it was almost noon and the visa department is only open 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. So we were rushing around to get everything done and even though we finished after noon, we were allowed to finish our process since we started at 10:30 a.m. But I didn't know that when the girl told me that all the information that I had was wrong and that I was missing a lot. I also didn't know that I could get my picture taken in that building and that the affidavit was easy to complete. I freaked out because she was telling me all that we needed to complete and I didn't imagine that we could get it all done that day.

Once we had everything completed and paid our visa fees, we handed in everything to a different woman (thank God). She seemed very competent and organized. She was polite, too. She went over all of our documents and was very thorough (and gawked in confusion at E's birth certificate, even showing it to her co-worker, since she'd never seen one like his before), she made copies, and then returned all of the originals to us. That didn't take anymore than 10 minutes, tops.

Finally, I was told that the permanent visa could take up to 6 months to be approved (which I was aware of), but once it is, the consulate will call me and I can pick it up. They have to collect all of the paperwork from us - copies of our passports, our marriage certificate, the marriage registration from the consulate, proof of my residency in Florida, E's passport, the application, the affidavit, and of course the money - and then send it to Brasilia to be approved (or denied). The weird thing is that if we had been married 14 months longer than we have been, my permanent visa would be approved in 5 business days right there at the consulate.  

Now all I can do is wait....and hope that it is approved in much less time (which I think it will be). I was told it can take a little as 4 weeks. Let's hope that's the case.

------------

On the bright side, I have successfully applied for my permanent visa and there is nothing else I need to do, legally, about moving to Brazil. In addition, since we're in Miami we decided to take a trip to the beach, relax, eat at a Bolivian restaurant, and now E is training at a jiu jitsu academy while I write and study. All in all, it was a worthwhile trip, even with the headache.

Biscayne Bay

Bolivian Food - Pique Macho

In Little Havanna