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,

Guess where I'm going this weekend?

I swear that our "errands" at the Brazilian consulate are endless. So off we go again to Miami to take care of some (please-God-let-it-be-the-last-time-we-go-there) business.

I know, I know, it's not so shabby.
Plus, it's not like I'm working, right?

And then the following day we need to be in Hollywood, Florida so E can attend the open tryouts hosted by Bellator Fighting Championships. Wish him luck!

Hard Rock Hotel - Hollywood

The Bellator Cage

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,