Update: Internet, School, Apartment

I am connected again! It's so great having Internet at home. If you live abroad then you understand the importance of being able to talk to family and friends, as well as handle your "business" at home on-line. We've been here for fewer than two weeks so it wasn't too long that we were without, and I probably checked my e-mail at least once every two days previous to having Internet at home, but still...Now I can use Skype, my MagicJack, and update my blog :).

Internet - We weren't too sure on how to go about getting hooked up so when we were at my school last week (maybe Wednesday?) we were told to go ahead and contact the company NET using the secretary's computer. I guessed that due to that suggestion (to contact NET) that they must be a good Internet/cable company. We decided not to get cable at this time and chose the 1 Mega Internet option (at only R$ 54.90/month); the faster Internet options were much more expensive. What we got is a reasonable price. That's maybe $35/month, roughly. We don't need cable at this time because we do have about 6 channels (in Portuguese) at no cost and we brought a lot of DVDs with us. We can also watch TV on-line. Our Internet speed is perfect, too. The company sent me a text this past Tuesday notifying us that the technician would be here the following day (yesterday) and he was. Quick and easy. The only issue is that only one computer can be connected at one time and we can't use our wireless adapter yet since we don't have a converter (the voltage is different here than in the US).

Apart from now having Internet, I've also had orientation with the executive director of the school, the woman who hired me, and the coordinators and principals of the school. This all happened this morning. Since I'm teaching 9th, 11th, and 12th grades, I have two administrators and two guidance counselors. See, in Brazil, 9th grade is considered the final year in middle school, but we know that in the US it's the first year of high school, so the principals overlap (as do the counselors). This sounds good to me. I REALLY like the principal that I met at the job fair and the other is very nice as well (I just don't know him as well). The orientation that we had for teachers in international schools was very helpful and informative. I'm more excited about working, especially to such a diverse group of students. The coordinators were all very nice and offered to help us in many ways. 

I was also set up with my school e-mail address, was given a tour of the beautiful campus, and had another delicious lunch. The food at the school is out of this world mouthwatering and it's healthy; there is a nutritionist at the school who makes sure of that. And we were told this morning that it's the law that we be given an hour for lunch (on a daily basis of course). That's what I'm talking about. I also really like how the school is a bilingual school. This way there is a lot of Portuguese being spoken around the school; with that being said, I need to give off the impression to my students that my language skills are rusty so they don't try to speak Portuguese with me. We'll see how well that goes.

It was nice to visit the school for orientation and introductions since we've been doing a lot of running around to get our documents taken care of. In addition to visiting the policia federal and getting my CPF (like my Brazilian SSN), I also had to have a medical exam for my health insurance, open up a bank account, sign documents, among other errands. It's good to now have a temporary ID and to know that I'll soon have a local bank account and health insurance.

Everything with our apartment is good. We've gotten to know the doormen (there are three) and it's nice to never have to open a door (haha). Sebastian is also getting used to his new home. I have to clean this place differently than in the US since there are no carpets (thank God!!) and since we're in the dry season and it hasn't rained since about May, it's not only dry but also dusty outside. I've found myself dusting more often and have realized that sweeping is not as useful as I thought. I need to "mop" the floors. But the "tools" that I have to use to clean the floors are easy to use and it takes less time than it did in the US (or so it seems). Today the school dropped off a chair for our spare bedroom since we only have a computer desk when we arrived. In addition, I found a nice bookshelf at the school that was no longer being used; in fact, it was in storage only to collect dust. I was told that once it was sanded down it would be delivered. I'd say that apart from those two pieces of furniture we're all set. 

We've also been sightseeing, have hung out with friends, have been trying to get E resettled in his country, and of course have been busy running errands and trying to explore/get to know our new city. E's been job hunting, trying to get his school transcripts so he can go back to school, and has found a gym where he can train MMA and BJJ. There are some big time fighters there to train with so he's really challenged. I was able to check it out the other day so that was exciting for me because we met a UFC fighter and I love to meet famous people :). 

Speaking of settling in, I need to organize this place (I've been so busy that I haven't spend more than a few hours at a time here), clean up a bit, and find the closest post office so I can send my defective Kindle to Amazon before they charge me for another. Now that I have Internet I should be updating more often so keep your eye open. Talk to you soon!

Settling in and becoming a resident

I'm relieved to say that E found a cafe right next to our apartment that has free wi-fi (even if it didn't let me surf longer than about 20 minutes) with good/decently priced food/drinks, and that is comfortable to sit at, and safe to use your laptop. Being without Internet is not fun and frankly not very easy. With that being said, I did sweep our place yesterday, clean the bathroom floor, do laundry, exercise, and unpack/organize. So I guess not having cable and Internet is good for something.


Today I woke up early to run errands with the HR woman from the school (as well as with the other two American teachers who have just recently arrived).  I was able to begin to apply for my Brazilian ID today after getting my picture, photocopy my passport/visa application, and get fingerprinted as well. However, I was not able to complete my application without a copy of E's Brazilian ID since I am requesting permanent residency. He was not with me so I couldn't do that at that time. Tomorrow the HR woman from my school will return to the Policia Federal (without me) to complete the application, get my passport and receipt stamped, and walk out of there with everything for me. It's great because the school helps with each step and pays for everything. On Wednesday I'll have a temporary ID (while I wait up to 6 months for my "green card"). 


I also opened up a bank account today and will be able to add E to the account once I receive confirmation in the mail. Tomorrow I don't have any plans with the school so I can explore a little bit more on my own; E went to the gym to train in jiu jitsu this evening and will go check out another place tomorrow morning. He may have a fight coming up in a few months in the States so cross your fingers. He's also looking for a job and trying to make contacts in the BJJ/MMA area here in Brasilia.


Everything is going well for us. The apartment is the right size - Sebastian is happy there and our next door neighbors are great. We live in a very safe, middle class neighborhood with bars/cafes/stores everywhere. Although we've only been able to check out the area on our side of the highway, we hope to "travel" a little further up to see what else is in Asa Sul. I also need to find a post office ASAP so I can mail my (second) defective Kindle back to Amazon; they sent me a replacement yesterday (to my mom).


I need to enjoy myself as long as I have some free time before starting work next week....

Wordless Wednesday: Mixed Martial Arts

Matt Hughes (UFC) seminar

UFC fighters Seth Petruzelli & Matt Hughes

E fighting

E training

De la Riva and the brown belt

Ricardo De la Riva & Thiago "Batata" Domingues

Ricardo De La Riva is a legendary Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt from Brazil who is both well known and well respected throughout the world. He currently resides in Rio de Janeiro but travels often around the world; he's in the U.S. today but heading out to Korea and Japan this week for a De La Riva tournament. In fact, I believe that I've met him three times over the last three years and each time was in central Florida. He came to Florida this month for the purpose of teaching and giving Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) seminars, and today he awarded my husband his brown belt (Congratulations, E!). That's quite an accomplishment; it's an even bigger deal that it was De La Riva himself who gave E his belt. Thiago, pictured above with De La Riva, is E's BJJ instructor in Orlando. He is also a well known, talented black belt instructor (and competitor) who is supportive and encouraging, as well as a good friend to E.


A Brazilian rapper even dedicated a song to De La Riva. Check it out...

Now E will return to his homeland with a brown belt in BJJ along with extensive experience in MMA, training and fighting with UFC fighters and with a number of fights under his own belt; this should open more doors to him as far as his fighting and teaching career. Additionally, receiving a brown belt will make E a more well rounded and better MMA fighter. He hopes to later earn his black belt, most likely in Brazil. I hope that E continues to have success in mixed martial arts and that I will read his name, see pictures and videos of him, watch him fight, and make a career out of this, as long as that's what he wants, for many years to come. 


Remember that you can read more about E's accomplishments in MMA at Manaus Fight's blog - in both English and Portuguese. Furthermore, you can stop by and "Like" E's Facebook page and/or click on the following link to learn more about him as a fighter...


MANAUS FIGHT: MAIS UM MANAUARA BRILHANDO FORA DO PAÍS COM O MMA "ELITON GOMES SARMENTO"


Thank you to everyone who has supported, and continues to support, E in his quest for success. We both appreciate it. And as always, thanks to all of the sponsors who have given money, clothes, and other forms of support to E - NewBreed, Dead Game, 2(x)ist, and RevGear. And now, here are a few pictures from today's De La Riva seminar at The Jungle MMA in Orlando, Florida...

Ricardo De La Riva

"Batata" with UFC fighters Seth Petruzelli & Tom Lawlor

E's last roll as a purple belt

Congratulations, E

De La Riva BJJ & The Jungle MMA

Brazilian Fighter, right out of the Amazon (Manaus)

Jungle Boy - Garoto da Selva

I know I have mentioned previously how proud I am of my husband for his success in MMA and for pursuing what it is that he loves; but today I have even more of a reason to "shout it from the roof tops". He was recently interviewed by Manaus Fight who has written a blog article about him and his experience in MMA and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It explains his "history" with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and MMA as well as highlights his accomplishments and just portrays him in a positive light. He definitely deserves this. And.....love it! So again, please visit the blog about....

MAIS UM MANAUARA BRILHANDO FORA DO PAÍS COM O MMA "ELITON GOMES SARMENTO"

What's really cool is that the article is the first of its kind because it's bilingual and I wrote the majority of the English part. The interviewer then translated the biographical information into Portuguese. Well, I translated a teeny bit :). The end of the article was written by Jefferson Palma de Paula, of Manaus Fight, who put a nice touch on the interview about my husband.

Congratulations, E! Parabens!

And a special thanks to Jefferson from Manaus Fight.

Oh yeah. Interested in MMA? Read this funny commentary written about E's win from November 2010. It can be found here at MMA Spot.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Brazilian jiu jitsu is an interesting sport. It's one that I had never been exposed to until I first watched my husband grapple years ago. According to Wikipedia, it "is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting. The art was derived from the Japanese martial art of Kodokan judo in the early 20th century."

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, or BJJ, looks most like wrestling, though I understand that they are two different sports.

The sport requires that athletes are in top condition, that they are dedicated and tough, and frankly, they should L-O-V-E it. I believe that BJJ can be good for a person's soul. Those athletes that are very serious about the sport, whether amateurs or professionals, tend to become very involved in the sport and spend hours at the gym - on a weekly basis. They simply enjoy training, martial arts, the (extreme) conditioning, and I'd say everything that goes with it.

I'm pleased and proud that E has found something that he is so passionate about, and that he has a talent for. I never thought that I'd be interested in a such a sport. I remember when I was a kid my male cousins used to make fun of wrestling saying that it's just a couple of half naked guys rolling in the floor together. But I can see now that BJJ is much more. And I've seen a lot in the past few years.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu may look funny when in training, slow motion, or in pictures (see above), but it is without a doubt a combat sport. And it's good for you, too. Since my husband is a professional athlete, part of his being in top (health) condition means taking care of himself; he rarely even drinks alcoholic beverages. The sport also gives guys and girls something to be a part of, and it's a healthy alternative to other activities so I'm supportive of my husband's involvement in martial arts.

I'm glad to have the opportunity to continue to learn about BJJ and MMA (mixed martial arts), and to be a supportive wife. I also think it's fun that E gets to train with famous fighters and "big names" in the sports. And it's funny how much I've come to like these aggressive sports and how much I actually want to watch the fights.

Here are a few more pictures that I have taken of E's training. (I took most of the two pictures above):

After beating a guy much bigger than him

Training mask

MMA

BJJ

Thanks to those that have sponsored him in his career - NewBreed, Dead Game, and Orange County Fitness & Sports.

Check out the next BJJ and/or MMA tournament or fight in your area. Support mixed martial arts.

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

Memoirs of a Professional MMA Fighter's Wife

I am one proud fighter's wife. I love that my husband has found something that he LOVES in life (besides me of course), and that he is good at it. Actually, more than good. He's able to train, fight, and get paid. Sponsors give him clothes, people recognize his talent.

I may have to put up with the STENCH of dirty/sweaty/wet training clothes, jock straps, mouth guards, boxing gloves, etc. But it's all worth it, especially when I watch the World Extreme Fighting (WEF) 2011 Promo video - for the March fights -and see him TEN times training and fighting in the ring. Check him out. The best is 1:24 when he is smiling with his mouth open after a win by submission and saying "yeahhh". Rear naked choke to be specific.

People, especially women, ask me all the time if I get nervous when he fights in the ring. I can say that in the beginning I did. During his first fight I thought my heart was going to beat itself out of my chest, but it didn't. I believe he won't get hurt and that he is in good hands with the ref, judges, and the doctors. He does not street fight. The Florida State Boxing Commission has strict rules and guidelines and fighters must pass multiple tests and exams (including blood tests - HIV, Hepatitis, etc - to guarantee that they are safe in the ring. Fighters must be examined by doctors on a regular basis as well as at the weigh-ins the evening before their fight. So, do I worry? No, not anymore.

Another advantage to being a professional fighter is that you can teach MMA (mixed martial arts) along with fighting. So my husband will be able to teach when we move to Brazil, as well as fight.

I am proud of my husband and all that he has accomplished in what has really been a short time. I hope that his hard work will continue to pay off and that he will be able to fight professionally as long as he wants to. I want him to continue earning stripes on his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu belt and I know that he will be awarded his brown belt this year. I know that he will continue to participate in BJJ tournaments and will continue to win. I also pity the fools that enter the ring to fight him.

Take down

Ground and Pound



Muay Thai

Bilingual Interview