It's been a month...

I have been a resident of Brasilia for a month, today. I arrived on the 12th of July and even though it's only been about 30 days, I feel like I've been living here much longer. One of my American co-workers told me that time passes slowly here and that's exactly how I feel. I'd say that's a good thing. I feel like my afternoons are much longer, maybe it has to do with the fact that I waste  spend A LOT less time watching TV, or because it quickly gets dark by 6:30 p.m., or because I don't need to spend hours planning since I have more time during my work day to do so. Whatever the reason, I do feel like I've been living in Brasilia for 3 months, not 30 days.

I definitely feel like I'm living here, versus visiting or even just spending an extended amount of time here. For example, just yesterday two women approached us as we were walking away from our apartment building. They asked us where a "block" was and I answered confidently and gave (perfect) directions; it's an area I often visit and I was pleased that they understood perfectly where I was sending them off to. Then we went to "our" bakery and the cashier (who has been unfriendly before) joked around with us and even smiled. Feels more like home when you're comfortable in your surroundings, when people recognize you, and even more so when they can joke around with you.


I also have a routine which helps me assimilate easier, as well as a temporary ID, a bank account,  I've applied for my carteira de trabalho (or work papers/permit), E is back in school and has a job, and we have friends and plans for the weekend. All of this makes you feel more "at home". This is exactly what I wanted. Now let me be honest and say that not everything is perfect. I get annoyed with a lot and I get frustrated, but that happens with less frequency than when things go my way. I also try to ignore the negative and focus on the positive so that I will be grateful and feel confident with my decision to leave behind my life in the US to move to Brazil. 
So far so good.

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....

I've signed my contract

I have received my teacher contract for the next two years (which can be extended) for the international school where I'll be teaching in Brasilia, Brazil starting next month! I printed three copies, initialed the margin of the first page and signed my signature on the second for each copy; tomorrow I'll mail all three copies to the school - they'll give me a copy after everyone signs their copy so I can keep one for my personal records. 


It's official now :). It could seem weird that I'm signing the contract now, versus in December when I received the job offer, but not all schools/counties work the same. For example, I signed the last contract that I had from my former school district in Florida (from August to August) MONTHS into the school year. I did receive a written job offer from the school in Brasilia and they have invested a lot into me, so I never doubted that I had the job. I actually don't even feel much better now that I'm putting the signed contract in the mail. But I AM glad that it's taken care of.


Once I printed out the contracts I realized I had to print out 13 copies of our cell phone bills, meaning each bill from the last 13 months. This is part of our requirement in providing proof that E has lived outside of Brazil for at least a year. I was having a problem printing them so I only got a few months in hand, but we still have a few more weeks so I'll do it later. AT&T is not the best phone company in the United States and of course their website was having difficulties. At least I got started with this.


On to the rest of moving....I gave away a framed piece of artwork that I love (one by Gustav Klimt) - but did so to a classmate of mine so I'm happy that she'll be able to enjoy it. We also have packed two full suitcases that will not be touched until we arrive in Brazil. One of them is 60 lbs (full of E's clothes) and the other is about 68... lbs. These are our smaller suitcases so it's OK that the first one is not heavier, plus it's jammed to the max (thanks to my amazing packing skills). We'll take all of our bags to FedEx to weigh them before we arrive at the airport to make sure they're all under 70 lbs. I did have to open up one suitcase to find the novel 1984 since I just found out that the 11th graders will start the year reading that book; turns out I won't be able to teach To Kill a Mockingbird until the year after, but that's OK. I could potentially fill that suitcase more, but I'm not going over 70 lbs.


This week we need to visit the army/ navy store and hopefully buy a heavy duty duffle bag and we're good to go. Our closet is almost empty and our piles are significantly smaller. Most of the books have been packed away, as well as some of our valuables, tucked between towels and pieces of clothing.  It's the rest of our valuables and kitchen appliances that need to be carefully packed. Our list of items to buy has also shrunk greatly so I know we're almost there. Good to know because we'll be on "vacation" in a few days and I don't want to worry about anything at all.


Until later....

ANOTHER visit to the Brazilian consulate and *Miami*

I know I have mentioned our multiple visits to the Brazilian consulate again and again and again because before today I think we took three trips there between December and May. Without these accomplishments, we wouldn't be bound for Brasilia so they were all necessary. Oh yeah, and and it would have been more if we hadn't mailed the application to renew E's passport (versus driving down and dropping it off and picking it up). That's too many. And guess what? We still had to come back (I'm still here) today. But this is it. No more. I promise.


The thing is that I get really nervous before and during our time at the consulate. I worry that I'm missing a document, that something will go wrong (on their end), that even worse, that we'll be told that the consulate won't be able to give us back whatever it is we went there to do and that we'll have to return the following day. We've never had time for that. I live more than three hours north of Miami and I had to miss work twice to go to the consulate. I can't return the next day. Plus, that's a lot of gas, waking up early, missing work, driving, money for food and tolls. It adds up.


Today's visit to the consulate was to have a document legalized. A document that will save us lots of money. E had to complete a form (except I always do everything because I know what needs to be done, and maybe I'm a bit controlling? But he doesn't mind that I take charge) stating that he's lived outside of Brazil for at least one year; this way he - well, we - won't have to pay taxes on his personal belongings when he returns to Brazil. Easy enough. The form is called declaracao de residencia no exterior and it's short and to the point. The Brazilian citizen just needs to write a few examples of the proof that they have of living outside the country and then will need to present these upon arrival. They don't need to be presented to the consulate. For instance, a phone bill (or any other utility bill), a lease agreement, stamp in their passport, and/or proof of paid taxes in the country of residence will prove that the Brazilian has not been in Brazil for at least a year - whether legally or not, it doesn't matter. I thought that the letters/receipts from Homeland Security that are regarding residency and citizenship would do, but the woman who helped us wasn't convinced so we came up with a list of four kinds of "proof" and that's what we'll show. Now we just need to print out the last 13 months of our phone bill since they're in E's name. We've sold our printer so it's not as easy as it sounds, but we'll figure it out. If our phone company mails them to us then they'll charge us $5 a copy. How sweet.


We dropped off our form and were able to pick it up about two hours later. All that needed to be done to the form was to be legalized by the Brazilian consulate. That meant a couple stamps and a sticker. Nothing really. But it still cost us $20. We were also going to "regulate" E's CPF (like the American SSN) and change my surname on mine, but we were told that it'd be faster to do it in Brazil (versus the 3-month wait time here). That was only $5 a piece so I figured it'd be quicker and cheaper to take care of it here, but I was mistaken. I also wanted to do that now so we don't have to take care of it later, but oh well. So we're done with the consulate. At least before we leave. But we're not done with paperwork forever. There is still a lot to do once we arrive in Brasilia, like register with the federal police, register at the America consulate, get E an American passport, make sure our CPFs are in order, get my "work card"...and that's all I can remember off the top of my head.


As we were finished at the consulate at 1:15 p.m., we decided to head to Miami Beach to relax on the warm sand, sunbathe (at least I did), and swim in the salty water. VERY nice. After about two hours there we were ready for dinner and revisited the local Bolivian restaurant for some delicious food. We had to buy a hair brush and wait in the world's longest line at CVS since we somehow forgot mine this morning, and then we drove to the hotel. 


It's been a long day, it'll be a long one tomorrow, and I have a king-sized bed for the night....so...
Boa noite,

I love not having a job

Ooooh, not having a job is sweet. S.W.E.E.T. It's relaxing, stressfree, and just plain enjoyable. I have all kinds of free time. I can stay up late. Sleep in. Go swimming. Watch TV. Order take out. I love not working. Love it. 


Now before I get too carried away; I'm not technically unemployed. Well, I guess. I mean, I have "retired" from the Orange County Public Schools and have turned in my letter of resignation stating that I will not be returning for work in the fall (the 2011-12 school year). So they're not expecting me back. On a side note, I'm grateful that I still have insurance through the county until August. That is a relief. I also have a job waiting for me in Brazil so I do have a job, I just haven't started yet, so I do feel like I don't have a job. Fun. Fun. Fun.


Speaking of work, I just found out that I'll be teaching 9th, 11th, and 12th grade next school year. At first it can seem overwhelming to have three preps (different grade levels to all of the nonteachers out there), but what it does give me is a challenge. And I am always up for a challenge. Anyway, I won't have to teach as many periods per week as I have had to do in the U.S. so even with the extra preps, and various novels that I'll be teaching, I shouldn't have more work to do in Brazil than I've had here. I mean, isn't that the point of switching jobs? I also enjoy teaching older students so teaching upperclassmen is something that I've been interested in for awhile. I am appreciative of the opportunity to teach 11th and 12th graders. Oh yeah, and I get to teach To Kill a Mockingbird again. What a powerful book!

Ok, enough with the digression.

Now back to my summer vacation.....I'd say one of the best parts of not having to work is that I can sleep in. No more 5:45 a.m. alarm clocks. I'm also not as exhausted as I was previously this month (or last month) and my eye doesn't twitch from lack of sleep and stress like it did before. I can stay up at late as I want (oh Lord, I sound like a teenager). I can also spend quality time with friends, like I did today (hopefully pictures will be posted later on) and can travel without worrying about taking days off of working (or how many sick/personal days I have left) or having to get back to town in order to work. We don't need to drive back and forth to Miami in one day; we can stay down south and stay in a hotel near the beach (like we're doing this weekend) and relax. And of course, we can visit my family and friends in New York any day of the week, for as long as we want (within reason of course).


I also have free time to read. On my Kindle for sure. I finished a (not so interesting) book yesterday and then read My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler in fewer than 24 hours. It was a great book! I couldn't put it down. AND it was on sale for only $1.99. So even if it wasn't as good as I thought, it was still a fabulous deal. (The price has since gone up). I wouldn't have time to read a book, especially that quickly, if I were working. I'm now the (proud?) owner of the book (on the Kindle) Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert - it's the sequel to Eat Pray Love. You can't be surprised that I'd want to find out exactly what happens to the American woman and her Brazilian lover, correct?


All of this is funny to me because I used to have such a strong work ethic. I started work as soon as I could - at the age of 15. I worked nonstop unless I was abroad. I've worked two jobs, and probably three if I worked hard to remember. I've worked summers even though I was still getting paid by the public school. Then again, maybe I haven't changed that much because I'm taking books and resources with me just in case I decide to give private English language classes.


But for now, I'll gleefully enjoy my month long (or is it six-week? :) summer vacation, relaxing by the pool, hanging out with friends and family, and taking pictures of botanical gardens, Miami beaches, and Times Square in New York City.

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: School's out for the summer!

Last weekend of grading papers

'Tis the final weekend before the end of the school year. Hallelujah! This has been a rough year for me. A busy year. A I-gotta-take-my-comprehensive-exams-and-graduate-from-graduate-school kind of year. A prepare-to-move-out-of-the-country year. And I'm relieved to know that there are only 3 more school days, and they're all final exam days so no teaching has to be done. I just need to clean my classroom, meet with my assistant principal to turn in all of my paperwork (lesson plans and such) and have her sign off on that. The biggest pain in the butt is all of the final grading that I need to do. I was quite productive today and graded my students' final quiz and extra credit assignment but I still need to grade their "Romeo and Juliet" test. That's saved for tomorrow, as well as making sure all of my lesson plans are ready to be turned in on Monday. And frankly, I'm tired of the tragedy of R & J and don't want to read any more timelines mapping out the untimely death of the star-crossed lovers. That is, until next school year :). Don't get me wrong, I love Shakespeare and the play and even enjoyed watching the movies I showed my students to help them understand, but I need a break from reading the play 6 times a day and talking about it. 


So even though I may be busy today, this weekend, and this coming week, I can relax knowing that next weekend I'll be home free. I'll still have to prepare for our move to Brazil and that includes yet another trip to the consulate in Miami, but I won't have to worry about returning home and getting enough sleep to survive my 6 a.m. alarm clock. Let's face it, I don't have to wake up early again unless it's to get us to the airport to fly to New York, but that'll be fun. I will still be busy throughout the month before our departure, but I'll have the luxury of sleeping in and that, my friends, is priceless.Oh the thought of it...


In the meantime, I will be staying in working during my last weekend grading papers, finishing a book (yeah! and necessary because I want to read and leave behind paperbacks and then just read my Kindle once I'm abroad), continuing to sell sell sell my belongings on-line, packing just a bit, and maybe sneaking in sips of my husband's Johnny and Red Bull drink while watching NBA games and UFC fights. (I need to try and live as much as an American as I can before I become an expat). Now if only my on-line grade book was up and running this could be an almost perfect final weekend before the summer is out and I'm done with public school teaching in America...perhaps forever...

I'm EXHAUSTED

I'm not just exhausted; I'm pooped. I don't know if it's the heat, the stress from work, the moving preparations, or all of the above. I think it's the latter. Actually, I know it is.


The air conditioners in my classroom are not the hardest working machines, even despite my request for the one to be fixed. Which it was. It received an upgrade and it's better, but it's still hot. I know I live in Florida and it's in the 90s on a daily basis, but still...how can I work effectively like that? 


What was really funny about me getting my AC fixed was how the technician thought that I am from a foreign country because of my accent. Excuse me? My accent? I guess if you call upstate New York a foreign country :). He was just being nice as he had been in the military during the Vietnam War and according to him had the time of his life. I guess he was just nostalgic for travel and living abroad and maybe wanted me to be from overseas. I mean, living in the "south" I'd been told I have an accent but most people know I'm from the U.S. It's just that southerners don't know how to enunciate and I never know if they're saying pEn or pIn. Not my fault.


The packing, or thinking of packing, exhausts me as well. And the trying to sell and thinking about selling also wears me down. The feeling tired enough not to do anything but not tired enough to sleep also makes me feel pooped. And of course the final preparations at school and the students wanting to act crazy and even more like hooligans because it's the end of the year business. Oh yeah, and the papers I need to grade but don't because I'm too tired. Oh Lord, I'm making myself even more exhausted thinking about all of this - and writing it all down. Haha


So what do I do? Make myself run errands with E so we get out of house and I don't just lounge on the couch all afternoon/evening/night watching Meet the Browns episodes - which I love and will miss (even though I can watch the entire show on TBS.com). I also force myself out of the house to walk or do some kind of exercise. At least the exhaustion I feel after that is a good kind of feeling tired. Oh yeah, and I blog. A lot. I've written like 6 blog entries in 2 days. At least I'm giving you all (interesting :) posts to read and can try and be entertaining. Try.


Ok. Enough "tired" talk. Time to grade papers and grade them all. 2 more school days and then 3 more exam days. Then 2 more teacher days and I can sleep in!

Musical May Madness: Bossa Nova

I've mentioned it before - I love Brazilian music (and yes, I'm aware that there is a variety of genres). I like samba, pagode, axe, funk, and even some forro. In fact, it was the music that sparked my interest in wanting to learn the Portuguese language and that's probably what eventually lead me to Brazil. I especially like Bossa Nova; it's so romantic and makes you want to dance slowly with a partner or listen to a musician play music live while relaxing at a bar or restaurant in Brazil.


Therefore, for my final Musical May Madness, I present you with a few videos of Bossa Nova music. They may be old, but they're classics. I hope you can appreciate the music as much as I do. 


Turn up your speakers, sit back, relax, and just listen and enjoy....

Driving Miss Davis

Moving to a new country means selling your car. Or cars. The latter is our case. We have two automobiles that we need to get rid of - as in sell - before we move. We have made the decision to first sell my car since I'll be out of work in a few weeks and my school is located only 6 miles from our home. This works great for me because my husband takes me to work at picks me up. It's like having my own private chauffeur.


It actually works great because he can take me to work and then can go directly to school from there; he can then pick me up once he's finished teaching his class. I love it because when he picks me up after work the car is cool and I get door-to-door service. When I drive myself I have to get into a steaming hot car after work and then wait for the hot air to escape out the windows while the air conditioner is cooling down. That takes time and makes me cranky. I'm also not a morning person so I enjoy being able to sit back and relax while someone else drives.  PLUS, I can always use the "I gotta go my husband is picking me up" excuse to sneak out of work once the bell rings at the end of the day. Not a bad deal.


So.....if you live in the Orlando are and are looking to buy a used car in good condition, let me know :). I feel like we'll be even more ready to move once at least one of our cars is sold. These things can take time and with everything else we need to do to tie loose ends, whatever we do now to move is less that we have to do later. That's what I'm hoping for. No stress as we reach July. Only shopping and packing. Shopping. Now that sounds like fun.


I think it's good "practice" for us to share a car for the next couple months. I mean, we're not sure how our transportation will be in Brasilia. See, cars are really expensive in Brazil and at the same time I'd love to be a one-family car. I think we can easily make this work. We just have to maybe plan out who will drive when. I mean, unlike Florida, Brasilia has public transportation so if we can't both be in the car one of us can depend on another form of transportation. There are buses, a metro, and taxis. And my school will pay for my transportation to work so we don't need two cars. But we will need one. However, at this time we don't intend to jump into any car purchase. We'll get a feel for things and take our time with buying a car so we can be smart buyers.


Obviously having a driver would be ideal, even though I do enjoy the independence of having my own car. But it looks like I'll only have a driver for the next 3 weeks of school. I'll be sure to milk it while it lasts.

South America: What's not to love?

I have had the absolute pleasure, and let's be real, the extraordinary opportunity(ies) to travel, work, and study in various countries in South America. For some reason, out of the blue - while working out at the gym (because there you'll have time to think), I thought about this tremendous, diverse continent and how much I love to be there.

Not only am I anxiously awaiting my move to Brazil, but I'm secretly planning adventures to surrounding countries that I would either like to return to or that I'd like to explore for the first time. I'm not going to say too much more about that yet except that we do have an invitation to a wedding in Colombia in December 2011. Yeah!!

Until today I've been fortunate enough to live, work, travel to, and/or study in:

Bolivia (Cochabamba, La Paz, Santa Cruz, Sucre)

Perú (Cusco, Ayacucho, Lima)

Uruguay (Montevideo, Punto del Este, Colonia, Flores)

Argentina (Buenos Aires)

Brazil (Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Manaus, Itacoitiara, Presidente Figueiredo)

There is no grad school in Brazil

Don't believe everything you read. For example, the title of this post. There are graduate schools and programs in Brazil. A lot. But none for me! I am beyond excited that I will be graduating this semester and that I will never have to do this again - grad school + a stressful job. It's hard. Really hard. (But it was worth it).

It's taking me 2.5 years to finish my Master's since I work full time. I've taken 2 classes a semester and even a class over the summer (for 2 summers) in order to complete my program in the shortest time possible. I was aiming for 2 years, but what's one more semester?

I am feeling a little bit of relief as I begin my final semester at UCF, but at the same time, I have to take my comprehensive exams in April so that means a lot of studying and added pressure because I HAVE to pass them. Which I will. I'm taking a semester long class to prepare me to succeed and I have a number of resources to help me study. And of course, wonderful classmates.

But you see, it's not just graduate school that stresses me out. It's my job. In fact, E called me today after work and when I answered the phone he asked me what was wrong. What was my response? "A mesma merda" (the same sh*t). Different day. It's not necessarily the school or my job, but working in general. You all know. You have a job. Maybe even a stressful job. But in my case I can talk to my husband and we can remind each other that we only have 5 months left. We can put up with our jobs for 5 more months. Can't we? (we ask ourselves)

Don't get me wrong. I love being a teacher. LOVE it. But it's stressful. Public school teaching, especially in Title 1 schools, is not for the faint of heart. I'm strict, and I can be fun (and funny), and my students generally like me, so it does work itself out in the end. But I'm ready for a change, and on that note, I am looking forward to working at a small, private school where education is valued in the homes of the students. I don't want to have to deal with the state dictating every move I make or every decision either.

I am also really looking forward to having some freedom as to what (novels) I can teach and to have smaller classes so I can do more with my students. I'm especially interested in the bilingual aspect of the school, even if I will only be teaching in English. As an Anthropologist (even if just in my mind and on my undergraduate diploma), working at an international school should be fun and I am excited about that.  

Only 5 more months of work and 6 more months in the United States and I'll be there.