We woke up at 6:30 and were at the consulate at 8:00. The interview went very smoothly. The consul was from the East Bay so we mostly talked about California. He didn’t really ask me too many questions, the interview lasted less than 10 minutes. He told me to come back later to pick up my visa papers and wished me luck. He also appeared to be 5 years old.
We then went to Rio Sul and shopped till we dropped. I bought these awesome sandals (with 4” heels, I’ll probably break a leg), 2 earrings, 3 rings, 2 bracelets and a pair of sunglasses. I also bought a couple of small gifts for people at work. We then picked up my passport, headed to the airport and were back here by 6:00 pm.

Tomorrow morning, I’m getting a haircut. Layered. Scary!

O Rio de Janeiro continua lindo…
We arrived in Rio at 5:00 pm. I hadn’t been there in so long I forgot how beautiful it is (and I’m a Paulista so admitting that means a lot)!
We stayed at Le Meridien in Copacabana and had an awesome view from the bedroom. We were too tired so we ate at the hotel, at a restaurant called Le St. Honore. I had a salad with some Brie cheese. My mom had lamb and she said it wasn’t good. The little French chef came out to check on everything, wearing his chef hat and all. He was a cute (and seemed to be about 5 years old which is why I said he was little. He wasn’t really short) and gave us free desserts to compensate for the lamb. I had strawberry tart (or is it tarte?)

I leave for Rio in one hour. The interview is tomorrow at 8:30 am. I’ll report back tomorrow night.

The documents finally arrived today. I spent the day at the mall with one of my best friends (Paula or Palu) whom I’ve know since 3rd grade. She’s a fashion producer so she’s the best shopping companion a girl could ever wish for.

Saturday night, I went out with Sofia and her friend Elaine to a place called Armazem. It was nice but it took us a while to find a table. Going out at night reminded me of the reason why (for the most part) I’m not attracted to Brazilian men.

Tonight we went to visit my grandma and then stopped by my sister’s house.

The papers are finally on their way and should be here on Sunday.
I’m going to bed early tonight; my dad arrives from Spain at 6:00 am tomorrow.

VPN trouble
I can’t connect again. At least I’m getting a lot of work done without the constant emails that keep distracting me. I’m working on a presentation and listening to Sinatra. And sipping Guarana… A martini would be more appropriate.

Where to start…
Yesterday was one of those days. First, I get the email from the lawyer basically saying that there is some risk that I might not get my documents in time for my interview. Then my connection gets messed up and I can’t login to my work email to see what he had to say to my “not so nice” reply. To top it all off, I check my voicemail at home back in CA and my house alarm went off on Tuesday and the cops were sent over. Let’s just say that I was just slightly stressed out.

Today is just slightly better. I can finally connect and I found out that my landlord set the alarm off. As far as the paperwork for my interview, who knows whether they will be able to send it today.

In other news, I had two voicemails from guys I met last week asking me out. Of course they call when I’m in Brazil. Now they’ll think that I’m a snob for not calling them back. Oh well.

Finally, I just realized that both my Brazilian blog friends are lawyers (ok, one is studying to become one). Mobacana e Paula, I hope I didn’t offend you guys.
E Paula, aqui esta o aviso (antes tarde do que nunca, ne?): To no Brasil ate domingo que vem pra fazer a minha entrevista do greencard.

Uneventful day… Pretty much worked all day. I just got an email from the lab saying that my lab results are ready and I can check them online. I click on the link and then remember that Everaldo (the driver from the bank where my dad works) has the ID and password. I can’t get to my results. Will have to wait until tomorrow to find out whether I have syphilis. Sigh.

Sofia is on her way. I can’t wait to see her. My mom and I are home alone. My dad had to go to Spain for work and won’t be back until Saturday. That sucks.

I just read that there was a 5.2 quake in the South Bay last night. I hope everyone is doing fine. Since moving to the Bay Area 3 years ago, I’ve grown used to the fact that an earthquake can happen any minute. We had a not so strong one my first year there but nothing after that. After a while, you almost forget about it. And now it happened. Except that I wasn’t there when it happened…

I’m in Brazil and I have been running around since I got here yesterday trying to get everything done before the greencard interview. Most of my American friends were shocked when they found out how much work it is to get a greencard. Especially since I’ve been in the US for twelve years. So I’ll document my saga for everyone’s enjoyment.

From January 2001 to May 2002
My company is sponsoring my greencard so, for the most part; the lawyers have been taking care of everything. I’ve had to sign countless applications and gather a huge amount of documents, including birth certificate, police certificate, tax records for the past 3 years, diplomas, paycheck stubs, etc. I also had to get a bad profile picture taken.
Then on May 9, I found out I had to be in Brazil in a few days for the interview so here I am now.

Monday May 13 2002
Arrived in Brazil at noon. I was supposed to get here at 9:00 am but it was too foggy in Sao Paulo so we headed to Rio instead, landed, refueled, and flew back to Sao Paulo. I thought that was a little bizarre. But I was so tired I slept the entire way. I’ve never slept so much on a trip. The fact that I was able to get an upgrade and had a row of three seats all to myself probably helped. Having two glasses of wine and two Nytols probably helped even more.
Anyway, in the afternoon, my mom and I went to the lab to start on all the exams needed for the greencard. I had to do some blood tests for the following: measles, mumps, rubella, HIV and syphilis. Did I mention that I have been IN the country for the past 12 years? Oh, I also had to get x-rays of my lungs to show that I don’t have tuberculosis. Apparently my lungs are too large so I actually had to get two x-rays (upper and lower) and two sideways shots. Weird.
We then left the lab and had to go get a 3×4 photo for the doctor’s appointment the next day. I forgot I was in Brazil and was shocked when the photo booth guy asked me if he could have a copy of my photo for his wallet. Freaky.

Tuesday, May 14, 2002
Woke up at 8:00 to go to the doctor for my “official medical examination”: the medical examination must be performed by a civil surgeon designated by the INS. It was much less formal than I thought. He asked me a few basic questions, looked at my tongue, took my blood pressure, listed no my heart and breathing, and had me read a couple of letters on the eye chart. On Thursday, the lab results will be sent to him and hopefully I won’t have to go back for a follow-up exam.
Left the doctor and went to get my vaccinations. Had the MMR (Mumps, Measles, Rubella) on my right arm, Varicella (chickenpox) on my left arm, and Tetanus on my butt. They weren’t too painful but I think the Tetanus vaccine gets a little sore after a while.

I really believe in this quote. I’ve been so busy lately that my time is planned to the tenth of a second. And then life throws you a curveball and you realize that we really have no control over what can happen every minute of our lives.

Last night I got home and there was this manila envelope in the middle of the living room floor, in the pile of mail I get every day. I decided to sit on the floor to sort through my mail (I never do that but there was too much to sort this time and I was in a hurry so I thought it would be more efficient). I’m sorting through all the mail order catalogs and then I glance over at the manila envelope and see the stamp: US Consulate in Rio. Shit! That can’t be. I open it and there’s a stack of papers. I start reading the first one and it seems like they are just letting me know about some additional documents I’ll need when I go for my greencard interview at the end of summer.

See, my company is sponsoring my greencard and I chose to do it via the consulate, which is riskier but faster, and it also means I have to go to Brazil for the interview. I knew that it could happen in very short notice but I had planned to buy an open ticket and be ready in August-September to pick up and go any minute (that portion of the process was filed 3/6 with the consulate in Rio and the lawyers told me it would be at least 6 months until I got my interview). And that’s when God laughed…

I turn the stack of papers over and realize I was reading the last page. And what do I see on the first page? Interview Date: 22-May-2002 8:30 AM at the Consulate in Rio. My heart stopped! I started calculating in my head. Oh shit! That’s less than two weeks away. Yep, and that’s why I’m on my way to Brazil this Sunday. One day to wrap things up at work and one day to pack and get all my shit together for the interview. Planning? Who needs it?

I spent all day today wondering what to do. Here’s the deal: tomorrow, we have a work trip up to Napa. usually don’t like these company-sponsored activities but I was actually excited about this one. We had different choices of things to do during the day and I had picked the spa to get a facial and a massage. Then yesterday I was feeling sick and stayed home. Today I was better but still not 100%.

Then I casually started mapping out the day tomorrow:
6:30 am wake up
6:55 am leave for work to catch the bus to Napa
7:15 bus leaves Mountain View, stops is San Mateo, San Francisco and then heads up to Calistoga
10:00ish we arrive in Calistoga
10:01 until 12:00 walk down Main Street and check out shops
12:00 till 1:30 get facial and massage
1:31 until 5:15 walk down Main Street again
5:15 either take bus back to Mountain View (option 1) or stay for dinner at the Culinary Institute (option 2)
5:16 go for option 1
8:00 get back to parking lot where we picked up the bus
8:20 get home
With Option 2, I probably wouldn’t have been home until 11:30 PM.

So as appealing as a spa treatment and a dinner at the CIA seemed, I decided to skip the trip. I think the deal breaker was realizing that I would have to depend on this bus and that I would be stranded in Calistoga with no way of getting back if all of a sudden I felt very sick or very bored. That scared me.

I’m home sick today… On the bright side, it gives me a chance to catch up with all my blogging.

Brasil Getting There I left on dec. 19th and had to fly through Miami (my least favorite place). Luckily everything went well (except for my upgrade which never happened since I had a restricted fare), so I can’t complain. On the flight to Miami, I sat next to a cute older Korean guy. He couldn’t speak a word of English so he just smiled the whole time. When the flight attendant came by with the beverage cart, he held up his indicator finger on his right hand and placed his left indicator finger on top of it, horizontally. She looked puzzle so he thought for a while and finally said: “T”. It was very cute.On my flight from MIA to Brazil, I sat next to a very nice girl and we had the first row in Economy Plus so we had all kinds of legroom. I swear, I think legroom in Economy class is shrinking. On the trip to Miami, my legs were touching the front seat the entire time. Oh, and as embarrassing as it is to admit it, I watched The Princess Diaries on that flight. Going to Miami, I watched Tortilla Soup, which I really liked (aside for the fact that the Brazilian guy was really Russian or something).

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my sister My dad was waiting for me at the airport. It was very humid; I forgot what humidity felt like after being in California for the past 2.5 years. It was great seeing my parents again. It felt as though I hadn’t seen them in a long time (it had been 1 year). My sis came by for dinner that night and she looks just as beautiful as ever. It’s strange to be home without both my sister and my brother (who now have their own places).

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guaecá We left for Guaecá a couple of days later. My mom and I went in one car and my dad drove alone with the Jeep in tow. Somehow he almost beat us there even though he had left after us. Somehow I’m also not surprised. My aunt Carmem and Uncle João were already in Guaecá with my cousins. My brother and sister arrived a few days later. Christmas was nice, very family like which was something I had been craving lately. Then my sister and cousins left and we started getting ready for my friends’ arrivals.On the morning on the 27th, my dad woke me up because Sofia had called with bad news. Tina and Chuck had missed their connection in Chicago and were only arriving the next day. We were all pretty bummed about that especially since they were wasting one of their vacation days in Chicago (in the middle of winter). So Sofia picked up Su and Nathan on the 27th and we arranged for Everaldo (my dad’s driver at the bank, more about him later) to pick up Tina and Chuck on the 28th.There were now twelve of us, fifteen if you count the housekeeper and her family (mom, dad, uncle João, aunt Carmem, Tico (my brother), me, Sofia, Tina, Chuck, Su, and Nathan). Paty arrived a few days later. The funny thing is that it didn’t feel like that many people. For new year’s eve of 1999, we had just a few more people but it felt like a crowd (mom, dad, grandma, Mi (my sis), Tico, Sabrina (his girlfriend at the time), Paty, Sofia, Bas, Veronica, James, Gaston, Sergio, Tom, Arthur, August, Marcus plus Carmem, Ge and Daniela (housekeeper, her ex-husband plus their daughter).

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ilha bela Anyway, New Year’s was great, the weather couldn’t have been better (it rained two years before so we didn’t go to the beach at midnight). You can read more about it on Tina’s blog. We didn’t do much at the beach, just hung out in hammocks and played Buraco (a Brazilian card game. Everyone got addicted to it). We also went to an island across from Guaecá (Ilha Bela) one afternoon and ended up staying for dinner since the line for the ferry was too long.

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my sister’s apartment We drove back up to São Paulo on 1/3 and Su and Nathan left for Rio the next day. On Friday night we had dinner at Mi’s new apartment, which is absolutely incredible, I had only seen pictures. It is totally her style and it was awesome to see what she had done to it. We then went to Sofia’s place for dessert. Her apartment is also beautiful, and her dog is the cutest.

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country house On Saturday, the rest of us went to Embu on Saturday and spent Sat. night at the country house (playing more Buraco).

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Su and Nathan came back to São Paulo on Monday and we spent the next few days shopping and etc. They left on Thursday and it was strange how quiet the house was. Thursday night, my parents, Mi and I went out for dinner to celebrate their 32nd anniversary. My brother came up with some excuse not to attend. I then spent the night at Mi’s apartment. The weekend flew by and I left on Monday. The trip back was pretty uneventful but I did manage to score an upgrade from Miami to San Francisco. That means that even with a restricted fare, I could have been upgraded before. It’s really all about whom you talk to and whether they’re willing to help, isn’t it?