Sending out an S.O.S.

Right when I thought my visa issues where over, I find out they've just begun. Since I'm teaching English through SWAP, I have a special "cultural exchange" visa that allows me to work here legally under the guise of an internship. In order to make this visa legit, I have to register with the Brasilian Federal Police within 30 days of my arrival. Unfortunately, this process has turned out to be quite painstaking.

The first day I went to the police station, they told me I dindn't have the right papers so I spent the rest of the day running around trying to get them. The next day they told me that I couldn't register in Sao Paulo, but that I had to register Belo Horizonte. They also told me that I could only operate out of Belo Horizonte...i.e. I wouldn't be able to work in Salvador, which really ticked me off. I would say that Belo Horizonte is to Salvador what Cleveland is to San Francisco..so as you can imagine..not very exciting. STI (SWAP's counterpart in Brasil) is currently looking into the situation. Apparently they are sending a letter to the police informing them of my situation in hopes that they will let me register here and work in Salvador. Considering STI's track record, I'm very skeptical that this will work. I will most likely have to head to Belo Horizonte and if worst comes to worst leave the country and try to re-enter on tourist visa...If all else fails I am looking into jobs at Whistler for the winter.

Despite my frustrating encounters with Brasilian bureaucracy, I've managed to have a pretty good time while stranded in Sao Paulo. There isn't much to see in the city, but there's certainly a lot to do. The friends I continue to stay with have the busiest social life I've ever seen, despite having a one year old son! Their apartment is always full with people and we've been out to restaurants and/or bars almost every night of the week. They also have lots of interesting friends many of whom are foreigners too, but have fallen in love with Brasil and find it too hard to leave. We even went out with a Trin alumni one night. It only took me 10 minutes to figure out he was a Trinitron, and once he found out I went to U of T, he immediately asked me (in typical trin fashion) "what college are you from?"

I've also made friends with the family driver, Fernando who has been my savior during these battles with the Federal Police. No one at the station speaks English so he's been my translator throughout the whole process. He doesn't speak English either, but with his English phrase book and my broken Spanish we've managed to understand each other somewhat well. I've also figured out by his radio station selection that he likes classic rock and hates country so in my eyes he's a good guy.

To end this scattered note, I must add that Brasil has the best food I've ever tasted! From Italian to Japanese to traditional Bahian cuisine...the Brasilians cook it best! They even have this special cheese that they put on everything...it's like heaven on earth! Anyway, that is all I have for now...hopefully there will be some good news to follow!


Market


Downtown Street




Japan Town


Fernando!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

The first thing I've learned about moving to Brasil is that you have to "go with the flow." You can't plan everything no matter how loud your mother is yelling at you in French because you have no clue what your're doing. This became evident to me when I found out my entry visa wasn't ready a few days before my departure. Although I had filled out the necessary documents several months ago, Brasilian bureaucracy had ensured that the visa had all but been processed. I found myself in somewhat of a tight spot and freaked out. Freaking out only ruined my day though, and in the end it all worked out. From that moment on I realized that when in Brasil, you just have to hope for the best and see where things take you.

My first day in Sao Paulo was...well...informative. Within minutes of arriving at the Sao Paulo airport I realized that I can read Portuguese relatively well (esp when there are pictures next to the text), but when it comes to verbal communication - I am really lost. For example, when I got into a cab at the airport to head downtown, my cab driver drove about 500m, told me something in Portuguese, got out of his car, took my bags out of the trunk and left... I am currently looking into Portuguese lessons

Later that day, I was also somewhat disoriented. A woman from the SWAP program equivilent in Brasil met up with me at my hotel. She was very nice and took me out for dinner. Unfortunately she was from out of town and knew less about Sao Paulo than I did. She was even more paranoid about the city's crime situation and would call or text message home every hour to let her family know she was still alive! Needless to say, I was pretty alarmed.

My second day was much better. I met up with some of my dad's friends in the city, who I am currently staying with in their amazing condo that overlooks the city centre. They have a little boy who is really adorable and since he hasn't learned to speak yet, we communicate quite well. The family has been more than welcoming and has even invited me to join them at the beach this weekend. So far I'm having a great time in Sao Paulo and can't wait to see what these next few days bring.

3 things I love about Sao Paulo
- The street corners: every corner has a restaurant, cafe, salon, shop...etc. People are always out in the street and the neighbourhoods are full of life
- Ibirapuera park: It's like central park but much busier. On Sundays you can drink coconut juice and watch people do capoiera
- The people: Paulistas are very friendly and they come from everywhere...I'd say Sao Paulo is even more diverse than Toronto. The family I'm staying with has origins from Germany and China, which makes me feel pretty much at home.

1 thing I hate about Sao Paulo
- Every house, condo and apartment building is gated with barbed wire.