Vet Visit #2

Today we took Sebastian to his second, and final, veterinarian visit before moving to Brazil. For more information regarding taking a cat to Brazil ,read on here and then about my first vet visit just click here. This morning's trip to the doctor's was at the ungodly hour of 7:30 a.m. Apparently I thought when I made the appointment that since I was a high school teacher my body would be accustomed to waking up when it's still dark, regardless of the fact that the appointment was on a Saturday during the summer. Not the best idea, especially after a late night. E went along, but he was sleeping until the vet started including him into our conversations - she was good like that.

Note: If you're taking a pet with you to Brazil I suggest reading the consulate's website and calling the USDA for more specifics, as well as your airline. 

This final exam was to get the International Health Certificate, make sure Sebastian is still in good health, check his weight (gain?), and ask the doctor some questions about his imminent trip abroad. Sebastian IS in good health; the vet said that his teeth are beautiful and his lymph nodes are healthy. He IS 15.5 lbs (only .1 lb more than his May visit), but he is a big boy - tall and long from head to toe. However, this vet said that she'd like to see him lose a bit of his belly...maybe just a pound. 

The vet today was excellent. She was friendly and informative and knew how to talk to pet owners. She gave us the certificate, which I verified and signed, and then she even filled out a health certificate in Portuguese/English. I don't know if that's standard procedure or if she just did it to be kind, but I'm glad I have all of the forms completed and signed, and that she is an accredited veterinarian (otherwise the USDA won't accept her signature). Nice touch that there is a bilingual form, if you ask me. She also noticed that the rabies certificates that we showed her were not signed by the first vet, Dr. Hart. Hence, my trip back there to see that doctor later in the afternoon. I had noticed he didn't sign it either but didn't think much of it since it does have his name written on it, but it's better to be safe than sorry, especially with Brazil so I stopped by his office. It's too hot for that. With that being said, it wasn't so bad stopping by his office because it was nice to see a pet owner so grateful for all that that he has done for her pet. A lady there was thanking him and his secretaries a million times. He was also a good vet and Sebastian really seemed to like him.

Dr. Krampotich (from today) took her time to talk to us and answer our questions, despite the fact that it was before 8 a.m. on a Saturday, and to be honest, that is what I appreciated the most. Oh yeah, and that she called Sebastian "munchkin" - so cute :). My first question was about Sebastian's behavior on the plane. Turns out we have an 8 and a half-hour flight from Orlando to Sao Paulo and then another 1 and a half-hour flight from SP to Brasilia (and that doesn't include our layover which can be up to 5 hours, if not more). I was thinking about buying a spray that is made to calm cats. The only issue with that is that each cat is different. What if it didn't work on Sebastian? What if he went crazy(ier)? So what did the doctor suggest? Sedatives. Sure, I'll take them. She gave us a bottle (of 5) and told us to try one out today. Which we did. Sebastian is sleeping like a baby now; he looks and acts like he's all drugged up and I think it'll be best to travel with him like this. I only gave him 1/2 a pill which I mixed in with his wet food. We'll do this again next week before we leave for the Orlando airport.

By the way, the vet told me that she likes male cats to eat wet food because it's good for their urinary tract. And I know that males are more susceptible to getting said infections and that it's very painful for them. I'm happy then to make my little guy happy since he loves to eat wet, canned food.

My other major question to the vet was regarding how much/when Sebastian should eat and drink before traveling. I really don't want him to use the bathroom on the plane, nor do I want him to have to but then not go because he's uncomfortable. (Cats tend to do that). The vet suggested since our flight is at night to give him breakfast that morning and then not feed him until we're on the flight, only giving him very very small portions at a time. She said that as he is a big cat and has fat in his body, his body would attack his fatty liver if he didn't eat food and we don't want that. 

We left the vet's office with the health certificate in hand (in English and Portuguese :), Sebastian's pills, a healthy cat who had one more car trip under his belt, and a number of questions answered in a professional manner. Sebastian came home and is now sleeping soundly. In three more days we'll go to Gainesville to make a visit to the USDA, sans the cat, and he'll be ready for the following week and his first international flight.

The boys

Crazy cat

Nosy

Sleeping beauty

If you're looking for a veterinarian in the Orlando area, I'd highly recommend the following doctors. I hope that someone does find this information useful because I know when I was looking for a vet to help with this process it was difficult for me to find any information on-line. 

Dr. Roger Hart, DVM

8219 S John Young Parkway

Orlando, FL 32819

(located in PetSmart)

Dr. Eva Diana Krampotich, DVM

7424 E Colonial Drive

Orlando, FL 32807

(VCA Animal Hospital)

What's on my mind?

As I have less than a month before my departure, I've been thinking about...

• My crown breaking and although I had planned to have it fixed in Brazil (at a much cheaper price), looks like I may have to have at least a temporary crown put on by my dentist =(
• Needing to sell textbooks from graduate school because I don't have room to take them
• Glad I earned some money from selling my textbooks. Maybe I'll use it to pay the dentist.
• How I have an excuse to go shopping =)
• My new clothes
• Sales at the malls and shopping centers
• Donating clothes and household items to Goodwill
• Packing four more suitcases 
• What I'm going to do with my box full of books. Do I buy a duffle bag to put it in?
• Laundry
• Upcoming trip to Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. The consulate again? YES
• Our imminent trip to New York state and seeing friends and family!
• How I'll miss my friends in Orlando and where our goodbye should be because people keep asking me
• Paying the rest of our bills, cancelling our utilities, cleaning up the apartment, and selling our bed and TV
• How I'm glad I'm no longer working

Orlando, the happiest place on Earth

I'm not kidding that that's the sign that was only 10 minutes from my house for the 2 years that I lived right near Disney. I could watch their fireworks, take a quick drive to Downtown Disney in just a few minutes, and  watch all of my neighbors go to work in their hideous Disney "costumes" every day. Now I live near Universal Studios, even closer than I did to Disney in fact, so I can experience all of the traffic that leads there - like I did when I was near Disney - but I'm also only a few minutes from the movie theater, restaurants, and of course, the theme parks. Not too shabby, I'd say. But the happiest place on Earth? Not quite sure, but it can be fun.

I read in the Guinness Book of World Records (from 2009, I think) that the most visited city in the world is Orlando (Florida). Of course I'm not surprised. All you need to do is go to Downtown Disney during Christmas vacation and you'll see the streets PACKED with people. Watch a movie at the theater at Universal's CityWalk and you can't even count the crowds of people leave the parks to go home. On a Wednesday night in May.

This is where I live. I've been in the Orlando area for 4 years and consider it home. It's the only place that E really knows well in the United States, though we've traveled along the east coast and into the Midwest a bit. I often think about the fact that many people spend their whole lives saving to go on vacation in Orlando, and we've gone to the parks so many times for free that it seems unfair. I mean, in 6 years I've never paid to go to Universal Studios and have never paid full price to visit Disney. Sea World has always been free since I'm a public school teacher, as has been Kennedy Space Center. It's really been awesome. Oh yeah, and Busch Gardens is close by and we've not paid full price there. Not even for parking if I remember correctly (and that is up to $15 these days). 

I'm glad that I took the opportunity to live and work in Orlando and to call it home. I've made AMAZING friends and am pleased with the university I chose for graduate school. I've had good jobs here and will miss it more than I think I will.

So here are a few observations I've made over the years....

I'm used to every other person working at a theme park, or at least knowing someone who does. I'm used to seeing a million different license plates on my way to work. 

There are street signs, highway signs, and billboards with directions all over the city. This is a city built for tourists; you can literally never get lost.

Tons of Brits come to America.

Brazilians really boost the economy.

I live where people vacation.

Living in Orlando means lots of touristy things to do (i.e. Arabian Nights, Disney's Food & Wine, just a drive away from the beach, Comedy shows, etc).

Butter beer (from Harry Potter) tastes better than it appears in the books. 

Although I already knew it, roller coasters rock.

Orlando, although you may not be the happiest place on Earth in my eyes, I'll miss you and all that you've given my husband and me. Thanks for the AMC movies, the restaurants, the theme parks, the shopping centers, the friends, the teaching jobs and the perks that have gone with it, the university, the sun, the proximity to other cities, the coast, and everything else that has helped make central Florida my home. Oh yeah, and your attraction has brought people that I love to the city to visit. 

Stay in touch,

Wordless Wednesday: I'll miss my favorite English teacher

And on to the Brazilian passport

Check out that new fancy schmancy Brazilian passport! I like to tease E that Brazil wants to be more like the U.S. because their passport used to be green and now it's blue?? Weird. Anyway, E's passport expires in two months (since it's only valid for 5 years), and he needs to renew it in order for me to apply for my permanent visa. Apparently we both need to have valid passports at the time I apply for my visa. Even if we didn't need to renew it for my immigration paperwork, we'd still have to get him a new passport before we move to Brazil. The process to renew the Brazilian passport for an adult (vs a child) is relatively similar to to that of renewing an American passport. In fact, I remember only waiting about a week when I renewed/applied for a name change to my passport back in '08. I'd imagine that it's an easier process to renew a passport then to apply for one in any country. At least, I'd hope so.

Since we live in Florida, E is supposed to request for his passport at the consulate in Miami. However, the beauty of living in a city inundated with Brazilians is that the consulate makes frequent trips up north and visits a Brazilian church in Orlando for one day every other month (at least I think that is there plan) to assist those citizens living in central Florida. Since I was aware of this, I asked the consular last month when we were in Miami when the next trip to Orlando would be. We were told that it would be the final weekend of January. Good. Neither one of us has much time or energy to make another quick trip to Miami, especially when we have to go there to get my visa within the next few months. Unlike applying for a permanent visa, renewing your passport can be done at the consulate visit in central Florida.

In order for a Brazilian citizen to renew his or her passport, the requesting person must present the following documents:

1. the complete application (which can be found on-line or at the consulate). If this is not done at the consulate, the signature must be notarized. [of course, Brazilians LOVE notaries!]

2. a passport style picture taken within the last 6 months

3. the original passport (and a copy), including the page with the citizen's signature and picture

4. the original (and a copy of the) military document for men ages 18-45. This proves that the man has registered with the Brazilian military.

5. a money order for $80. If the Brazilian renews his/her passport at the consulate, this person can pay at the Banco do Brasil machine and can just present the receipt as proof of payment.

In addition to the above listed items, if the passport is expired [which is our case], the Brazilian citizen can also present his/her national identification, work identification, Brazilian driver's license, a professional identification, birth certificate, or a marriage certificate (as long as it was a Brazilian marriage certificate).

From when the application and supporting documents are given to the consulate, it should take about 20 days (about 3 weeks) for the person to receive his/her new passport.

Luckily we have everything required to renew the passport except for the passport picture (but that takes 5-10 minutes at your local Walgreen's drugstore). And so it seems that we are on the right path to taking care of all of the legalities of emigrating to Brazil.