The good and the interesting

The bench I use at the park next to the Itaú buildings and the leaning tree from my earlier post, except that this is the real tree the post was based on.
Life is immeasurably good! Sure, my finances are a challenge and Jurgis is eating me out of house and home *laugh* But... Life is so good!

As I sit here back in the little park outside Itaú, I look at the cool damp of mossy tree trunks and wet soil. A half-inch long ant passes my foot on its way somewhere important. A light breeze stirs the palm fronds to the beat of the song playing in my ears.

A random stranger just walked up and asked me where I live. I answered that I live on the other end of the city. "Are you American?" he asked. Apparently, I look foreign : )

......
The song that's been playing in my head for the past few days.
It's impossible Not to grin and want to dance in dizzy circles while listening to it.

Every day, without consciously looking for it, my faith in humanity is being reaffirmed. Wow! There are awesome people out there! Even bureaucrats! Yes, I was dumbstruck too. It's an entirely new experience for me to have a South African official  be kind and accommodating to an expat and to process a document on a same day basis. If that wasn't enough, the document has more info than I originally expected! That a friend bent over backwards to make it work comes as no surprise. I choose my friends well. Even so, I'm so, so grateful!! Thanks Marianne. Have I told you you're a star? : )  I'm now, once again, the proud owner of a drivers licence!! *huge grins*

I finally finished the project for el scrawny one. I'm fairly chuffed with the way it's turned out. Now to finish my other projects for other random scrawnies (and even not-so-scrawnies *laugh*). We packed up two large boxes for donation and burned a box-full of old paperwork. The clearing out process is slow, but we're getting there.

The rain continues. Daily storms and lots of water. We discovered that the water is coming *through* the front door. No, not because it's open, but through it! That is aside from the various other leaks and seepages. (Today is Saturday and the sun shone for a while. Everyone is on their rooftops attempting drastic repairs. The neighbour is complaining that the plaster has fallen off their soggy walls.) Brazilian houses aren't known for their water-tightness.

Then along comes the neighbour with a reality check. He's the guy living in the other house on this property. 11pm the phone rings. Jurgis has been in the land of nod for the past two hours, but the neighbour urgently needs to speak to him. I woke the bear up... The emergency that required an 11pm call from his door no more than 10 metres away? "Could I borrow some milk please?" Eish!

Wednesday waffle

The week sort of spun out of control again. I had a whole heap of random publishable (and some very unpublishable) thoughts to write down.

I'm having a week of far too many cancellations again. Now I remember... that was another reason I was unreasonably excited about working for an establishment. Cancellations aren't all bad though. Sometimes they allow me to tour the city in bumpy buses giving me time to muse about life in general and why I'm hungry an hour after lunch.

Bureaucracy sucks. I am fast learning that there isn't a country in the world that doesn't take delight in crumpling you up in a ball of paperwork and tossing you around. Much like this...



I was looking for this photo when I saw that Multiply had my last year's NaNo photo as having been uploaded in 2007. Craziness!

I took a chance and asked a random person on FB a couple of weeks ago if they knew anyone who would have a photo or could take a photo of the monument in Ficksburg. This guy is my great (x a few) grandfather, the one the town is named after. Being a small town in the Free State, there is very little information out here beyond the annual cherry festival and all things cherry. The family's farm there was... yep, you guessed it... a cherry farm. It's a beautiful part of the world that appears to be dominated by the prevalence of cherries and winter frost.

Lo and behold, one lady came through for me! The monument is in front of Ficksburg's really quaint city hall. What's more is that she said she'd go back and photograph the text detail for me. I think I love her. Now she's found an elderly gentleman who has the history of the town and its people on computer and may even be eager to share the information. I'm in genie heaven!


With grateful thanks to Susan K!
I may yet be able to map this family's winding path into the past.

Oh, Jurgis just came back from the village... mail day! Weeee!!! From the one place where us poor Seffies are welcome. And here I had just been watching the video of Tat dancing with her very sweet Leprechaun and no, she won't thank me for uploading the video, so it will stay safely tucked away on my pc : )

Cow entities and pole dancing

Hm... I wonder if this title will draw attention? Tat and I went in to town this morning. Her South African passport finally arrived!! Thus, our picture of the month... This isn't the current passport. Our new passports are very snazzy! The pages are thick, embossed and beautifully watermarked with the Big Five and other indigenous treasures. A photograph just does not do it justice at all. It's a passport I'm proud to show. Herewith, a photo of our old passports:




Back to going to town and pole dancing...

Tat has been watching an anime film. I tend to glance over her shoulder and shake my head. The one part had these little demon-imp-like creatures that were getting in everywhere. Today, they were in our bus service! First, the buses were going strange routes (probably being diverted because of some obstruction in the road), then they were crowded. On our crowded bus, we had tuneless whistlers, deaf ipod users, and a manic driver. The second bus was only slightly better. The driver was grumpy too. We were glad to reach our destination.

We had another mission to accomplish in town, so we headed to the metro and scored a ride on one of the brand spanking new metros on the green line (they're all colour coded). The green line is the one that will finally reach our neighbourhood next year, which will make a huge difference to getting into town for teaching. From there we took a walk through a less-than-salubrious area all for nothing, as many of our town exploits tend to work out. It was hot... and extremely humid. We got the bus to come home. If the earlier buses were bad, this one was lethal! The bus driver must have been on psychadelic drugs or something. The bus was, as all the others were, crowded. He took corners like a Formula 1 wannabe. As we clung to the poles, we were joking about doing pole pushups, then onto doing pole dancing. Tat did the whole "Ride 'em cowboy!" scene we usually reserve for crazy drivers. When seated, she often puts her arms in the air and pretends she's on a roller coaster. Yep! Has to be seen to be believed! We were laughing about the crazy driving - not much else we could do - when we suddenly found ourselves a foot or so in the air! He'd gone over a speed hump and gravity lost the battle. Everyone flew up! I didn't fare too badly. I was standing in a pole-free space at a door, but Tat was directly under a pole. She went up and slammed her head on the pole. When we dropped to the ground, I, like a fool, was laughing hysterically, totally confused. Poor Tat was in pain. We got off shortly after. The woman next to Tat who came up to Tat's shoulder, if that, was teasing Tat and calling her 'Shorty'. She's lucky Tat was too dazed to slap her. Now we were hot, thirsty, miserable and in search of another bus. We managed to get one about 45 minutes later. Strange creatures abounded there too. There was one girl who (apologies to those who are easily nauseated) was picking her nose and wiping it on her armpit as she was holding the overhead pole... weird!! It made for a looooong day.

Jurgis has been sniffing and sneezing all week. He is now congested and coughing too. Tonight, Tat and I are congested, headachy and with sore throats. It could be the heat and pollution. It often is. If it is a cold. I will not be happy.

But... Tat has her passport!! Finally!! *grins* All is good! Oh and the 'cow entities'? That's pc gone crazy, much like São Paulo was today. We decided on the one bus that we were cowboys... no... cowgirls... no... un-pc... uh... cowpeople? But that is discriminatory against actual cows, so 'cow entities'. Everyone is happy : )

 

del.icio.us Tags: transport,são-paulo,bus,buses,passport

Real life surreality

sur·re·al (sà r"ÆÃl, -r"lÆ), adj.
1.    of, pertaining to, or characteristic of surrealism; surrealistic.
2.    having the disorienting, hallucinatory quality of a dream; unreal; fantastic: surreal complexities of the bureaucracy.

I got the link to this video in my mailbox. Surreal hardly describes it well enough. Beautiful is another word that comes to mind. Let's go scuba diving... in a meadow!

Water Level 9,40m ... from Alex.Be. on Vimeo.

You may want to go to Vimeo to view the video, as it looks way better when larger.

Surreality in real life:
See the second dictionary meaning above. Yes, I'm sure you can tell where this is going.

Friday started a little tensely. We were once again making our way to the Feds. This time, for Tat's documents. You see, because she is the daughter of a Brazilian (Jurgis will deny the latter with his dying breath), Tat has a right to a Brazilian citizenship. With this in mind, we went to Poupa Tempo some time back and were told she needs a lawyer if she wants to claim her citizenship, but, if she wanted to, she could get an RNE like mine, which is basically a permanent residency card. I suggested she opt for the RNE, as, even on a good day, most people find lawyers to be fairly expensive.

We got to the Feds.... we saw the Feds... we most certainly didn't conquer. Apparently, because she has a right to citizenship, she needs a lawyer... regardless of whether or not she wants an RNE or an RG (the local ID document). Uh... something doesn't make sense. So, as a total outsider, I can come into the country, fill out a few forms and provide a few Swiss Alps worth of paperwork and I'm in, but because she has a right to all that, she needs a lawyer???

So you can imagine the way our Friday went... downhill. Except for one thing...

On our way into the Feds, I got a call on my cell phone. "Corrianne? I'm from Mercedes-Chrysler. I have your 'carteira'." Now being a bit slow on the uptake, especially in Portuguese, I assumed she was talking about my business card and got happy. Ha! 'Carteira' is wallet. She had my wallet from when I taught there on Thursday. I must have sounded so dense. I spent a while swearing that it was impossible, that I had my wallet on me. Duh. In the end, I suggested she give the wallet to my student who could keep it until I got there. It was the least complicated solution I could come up with in Portuguese.

A part of me was ecstatic... wow... someone found my wallet and called me!! That is so very unusual. The other part of me (including the part that Jurgis kept reminding me of), was terrified. I had just drawn a pile of money because all the banks here went on strike and ATM's were closed. What if that money was gone? The money was intended to go towards the application fee we'd be facing with the Feds too.

When we'd finished at the Feds, for this run anyway, Jurgis went off to the offices that would handle the next step and Tat went with me to Mercedes, for moral support. My student gave me the wallet... intact... with every cent in place!! Yes, I plan to meet my rescuer in person and thank her. That was totally amazing! A missing wallet in this city usually only means one thing... missing... totally.

Yes... a surreal start to the weekend. As for the weekend, it has been very hot the past two days. Apparently, tomorrow will be the hottest day of this year. Yay. Then Tuesday, we go back into cold and wet. Surreal... that pretty much describes life in Brazil, I'd say.

 

del.icio.us Tags: rg,bureaucracy,scuba diving,meadow,tatiana,id

Swing high, swing low

One of my fondest childhood memories is going to St George's Park near my home and swinging. Swings are amazing. I think they give you a sense of freedom, an exhilaration seldom experienced elsewhere. For the inexperienced, they can be frustrating. You sit... wanting to swing high, but needing that push. Then you learn to swing your own legs to get the motion going. Sometimes someone comes along and gives you a push, sending you to new heights. Ever get brat kids (or an exasperated parent) that come along and yank your chain, bringing you to a grinding halt? Then there are the days when all you want to do is sit and gently rock back and forth, watching the world move around you. That is often when you end up swinging so high and out of control, you are terrified you'll fly off and end up among the rest of the space litter orbiting the earth.

Lately, my life has been a bit like an afternoon at the park... particularly the swing set. For so long, I sat in the swing, not moving and very frustrated. I'd get the occasional push, but had no idea how to keep the momentum up. Later, I learnt the fine art of getting my swing going and keeping it going... at least, as much as I could, occasionally being yanked to a halt. More recently, added to my own momentum, I've been getting random pushes from various directions. This past couple of weeks has been one of those times. My swing is about to head me off into orbit.

Tat and I have been busy. We are at the stage where we can't take on new students, especially those who insist on having lessons in the popular time zones. One couple wanted us to teach at 10pm on a Friday. Don't they know Friday nights are sacred?! Ok, the reason we're turning them down is that it wouldn't be safe for a woman alone to be heading out there and back so late at night. Our only free day is currently Sunday. The couple wants Saturday afternoons too. The hard part has been for Tat, as she is better with the more basic students and most of our applicants have been basic. My time is taken up with preparing everyone's lessons when I'm not actually teaching. One of our students has asked permission to have the lessons bound. I'm duly flattered. Most weekdays, we head out before breakfast and finish up after 10pm. This morning, I was up at 4:30am to teach a before-work student. For some reason, Electropaulo (our Electricity supply company) decided to work on the post right outside our bedroom window for half the night. I feel like a zombie! But, all in all, the busy-ness is good. I feel productive and a steady(ish) income is flowing. Students vary from kids through to teens, through to a journalist preparing for a summit in Australia, to a girl going to work in England for a year, to bankers and more... nothing like bit of variety. I got feedback from a student that I had for about a month some time ago. He has been shipped off to England. Apparently my accent prepared him for the weirdness of other English accents. Glad I could prove useful ; )

Ah! Someone yanked the swing's chain. Most of you know that Tat had plans to visit her godmother in the UK and have been asking for progress reports. All three of us applied for new passports at the same time. Jurgis and I got ours back ages ago. Tat's was missing. Apparently (gospel according to the consulate), they changed the standard for the photos around the same time that we applied. Jurgis and I slipped in under the radar, it seems. Tat must have been the last to be processed and hers got caught. We've waited all this time only to be told that we have to resubmit her application. Frustrating!

Our summer started a tad early. We've had temps in the mid 20's for a while now. By Thursday, we'll be up to 32°C (90°F). The city where one of the cousins live was up to 39°C (102°F) recently. I wonder what summer will be like... definitely not a walk (or swing) in the park.

On the subject of swings, take a look at this I found when I was on a hunt for a swing photo. Could you imagine having a house like this. Well, more a room really, but still. 

Oh and this is just great! With taking public transport as much as I do, I could have so much fun out there! Click here.

 

del.icio.us Tags: swing,work,passport,life

All in a week's living

This has been one very intense week (understatement of the year). I'm sitting here trying to remember details from the beginning of the week and having trouble doing that.

Monday, I gave my students their test results. They failed dismally. Trouble is, they are lacking basic language skills and are being tested on intermediate understanding with questions like, "Which program sounds more polemic and is likely to attract many people? Why?" Now, 'polemic' is not a word taught to foreign language English students... teens at that. Polemic is the same in Portuguese, so basically, the students were being tested on their understanding of Portuguese, not their use of English and what teen uses the word 'polemic' anyway??? I walked away from that class feeling defeated.

That night, or was it the next day, Tat and I were in her room. She was trying to decide what to keep, take with, toss, donate, etc. We ended up going through old stored make up. There were some of my lipsticks from South Africa. What was I thinking? Other than the fact that they were good lipsticks at the time and had awesome colours. Well, as she was tossing, I was messing around, 'testing' each one. Uh.... I got a little carried away. We had a good laugh though. Note, I never usually wear makeup. I stop at lipstick and at a stretch, eyeliner and mascara (Tat insists) for special occasions. Ignore the frizzy hair... the current 'joy' of my life.

Wednesday rolled along. We headed out to Poupa Tempo with huge optimism, armed with copies of more documents than any state department could ever want. First, we went to the orange desk. No, we can't give you your RG (Brazilian ID). Yes, we know you had one before. We argued about Tat's constitutional right to an RG and showed all the documents. Ok, said the lady behind the desk. Go and pay at the 'bank' and take the slip to the desk at the 4th door on the left. We paid and went to the 4th door, found the desk in question. There were a few people behind us, but no major queue. Nice. Tat went in. I wasn't allowed with her. People came and went. It's very quick, they said. I read a chapter of the book I brought. Quick? They said around 5 minutes. The people who were after us had left ages ago. Tat eventually came out, her face registering her disappointment and showed me where they had drawn lines on the local version of her birth certificate. The wording was wrong!

They packed us off to the cartorio. The 'cartorios' are notary offices. There, we'd have to pay a fee and get them to change the wording. Ok, we could deal with that... except they weren't very obliging. It turns out that because the document was drawn up at the wrong office - don't ask me... it's a mystery - when we first arrived, we need an attorney to start a legal process to claim Tat's right to a Brazilian RG. That, according to a cousin of Jorge's, is a very long, drawn out affair. We then waged war on the bank within Poupa Tempo for a refund of our fee, as it was 'not their policy' to give refunds and don't we know the fee can be held for us. Until when, was what I wanted to know? The aliens are coming in 2012 and I don't want to be dealing with that paperwork then. They 'made an exception' and gave us our refund. Hmph! My one student commented today and wanted to know why they call it 'burrocracia' or 'donkey-cratics' because donkeys are rather more intelligent.

So now we have to apply for a visa at the offices of the British consulate. They are in Rio de Janeiro and they're sooooo easy to get hold of. Methinks they're hiding from Brazilian bureaucracy. Not to mention the fact that it will cost us a fair penny to get a visa *sigh* I think it's a conspiracy. Do you know that on the visa application form, they actually ask straight out if you're a terrorist or support a terrorist organisation? Who the heck answers that truthfully if they are?

Thursday morning, I collected a package from the post office. Rather big for the book I was expecting. In it was no less than a tartan teddy, a few other bits and bobs, including mixed spice for hot cross buns, and First Light, which I've been waiting for with the eagerness of a child before Christmas. It was worth it! I'm so lucky I have a job that has me whiling away my time on public transport. First Light was written by my friend, Michelle Frost. I know and love her writing, but the book drew me in... totally. It is science fiction and yet, not. It spoke of another world, yet one we could recognise easily. Full of hidden twists, riddles, symbolism... it was a light read, but a meaty one. The end was satisfactory, while leaving me with plenty of food for thought. Hm... methinks I should write a proper review ; ) In short, if you want something different to read, this book comes highly recommended by me.

That leaves today, which I fully planned to spend most of the day checking out the blogs of my friends that I'd been neglecting, as I only had two students. Uh... let's just say the day has gone by and I've achieved little more than zilch.

I'm having a good chuckle here. As many of you know by now, Yahoo 360° is finally dying... again... next month. So Yahoo, in all it's wisdom, gave us a tool to download our blogs. Tat and I thought we'd give it a try, just for the heck of it. My archive turned out to be all of 32mb. When I clicked to download it, I got an error. Tat wasn't so lucky. Yafooey coughed up her 'archive', which included all her images and... wait for this... ALL her blogs in one text file, running into one, in html format!!

 

Technorati Tags: bureaucracy,passports,sorting,michelle frost,teaching,first light,package

Daily adventures in Lala Land

I had to go into town today to get my worker's book. While we were there, we were to pick up Tat's account cards, which she couldn't get last time, as she only had a copy of her identity and not the original. We try not to carry originals, as they're well nigh impossible to replace if stolen.

The day started out well. We were halfway down the road to the bus stop when Tat saw the bus coming and flagged him down. We were thrilled when he actually stopped. That is so rare. Aside from me grouching because there were old folk standing and teens sitting in the reserved seats, the trip in was uneventful with Tat and I discussing elder respect in various cultures.

Our first stop of the morning, just beyond the gypsies (they camp out and pounce on you on the bridge to the right in the photo), was Shopping Light, one of São Paulo's weirder shopping centers. I wanted to pay clothing accounts and Tat would collect her cards at the same time. She ended up not getting the cards today, as she didn't have her proof of address and proof of income with her. It's always a paperwork song and dance, it seems.

Shopping Light used to be the head offices of the electricity department and was called the São Paulo Light and Tramway company (or something to that effect). The structure is a square 'doughnut'. There is no courtyard or anything in the center... there is nothing, actually. On two levels, the escalators go across this 'nothing' area, which isn't even done up. It looks like the back of the building. It's odd, to say the least. We decided on our way out to smile at everyone to see what reaction we get. Thus far... odd stares ; )
 
We went on to the Dept of Labour (or whatever it is called). The glare off the sidewalks was prohibitive. We hid our smiles behind screwed-up eyes. The process of collecting the book went smoothly, in spite of the fact that the poor guy working there looked a little lost.

The sun was baking down. We were hot and sweaty and looking forward to getting into some shade. Around us, many were wearing jackets and jerseys. These Brazilians are crazy.

On our way back to the bus stop, we were again crossing the bridge where the gypsies are and I spotted a person walking ahead of us with what appeared to be a dead cat over her shoulder. I dragged Tat forward. From the front, it looked like one of those fox fur stoles... surely a dead cat... a dead ginger cat. The cat was lying like this. Yes, really. Except it was just draped over one shoulder.


Ah... Felipe sent us the photo!

It was sleeping. The woman was eager to talk to us and tell us all about her cat. We were joined by a chap called Felipe, who took a photo of the cat. He promised to send the photo on to us when he uploads it. The woman is apparently with a writer. All the poetry this guy writes is apparently inspired by this cat. He has his book online here. I won't be rushing out to buy the book, but the cat was amazing. We stood there for ages and only once did the cat lift his head to peer at us before going back to sleep. The cat had apparently been walking (it has a collar and leash), but it got cranky and started swiping at passers by, so the woman picked it up and it went to sleep. That was about the oddest thing I have seen in a long time. Odd, even for São Paulo where I firmly believe absolutely anything is possible.

Further on, we were still talking and laughing about the cat story and participating in our favourite hobby of people watching, when a small person.... I think it was a woman... started yelling at us from behind her mask. It was one of those masks that dentists wear to stop them breathing germs over you... or breathing in your germs. She admonished us to stop laughing at her. She knew we were laughing at her and we shouldn't laugh at her because we'll die too and on and on and on. My confused look didn't have much effect on her. She carried on with her yelling until we escaped into a clothing shop. I think she waited, though, because we had her yelling at us virtually all the way to our bus stop, a good 4 very long blocks away. I suspect she has AIDS, which would explain her obsession with death and the mask... anything to lessen the chance of getting a passing virus. I don't know... it's just a theory of mine.

We were finally on the bus heading home. Tat kept glaring at a guy who was playing his rather weird music out loud. There are signs on the buses prohibiting radios and such. I eventually suggested that we plug into our mp3 players, so we could try to tune him out. Tat sat folding an origami box out of a street-side flier. The guy started asking around for a pen. Next thing, I saw him folding paper and nudged Tat. Oh cute... he was doing origami too. Not long after, he tossed into her lap a paper aeroplane!! I grabbed it when I saw it had writing and packed up laughing. It read: Tom *insert telephone number* Gata. 'Gata' is what the guys call girls here... much the way English guys will refer to a 'chick'. 'Gata' is a female cat. Weirrd... and Tat was blushing and the more she blushed, the more I laughed. And no, Tat is not going to be calling him. He is not... uh... her type ; ) Strange encounters of the romantic kind? *laughing*

Oh... and Kippy... my first birthday present arrived today. I can't wait to get reading *grins*

Technorati Tags: shopping light,cat stole,sao-paulo,brazil,bureaucracy

Photo of the month

The photo that, for me, represents this month is an old one, as I've barely picked up the camera this month. How to represent this whirlwind month? In short, I've spent a lot of time on buses. This is the bus terminus closest to the recording studio.

Tuesday, Tat and I were meant to go for a test and interview at a recruitment company. Tat came down with a vicious stomach bug, so we postponed. Instead, I went with Jorge to get my worker's book, another piece of documentation I need to be employed in this country. Turns out that, because I am a foreigner, I needed to go to a different location.

Wednesday, Tat and I went into the recording studio. The publishers are pushing to get this range of material out by mid-April. Both Tat and I had recording work this time. I'm fairly pleased with the way mine went. We got home rather late.

Yesterday morning, Tat and I headed back into town to find the department that would deal with my worker's book. We weren't sure exactly where it was and discovered new parts to the inner city. I wish... I wish I could carry the camera to share the sights with you! We found the building. Luckily, we were in and out there. I was the only foreigner, so the wait was minimal. Unfortunately, because I'm a foreigner, the book isn't immediate, as it is for locals. I have to go back in to collect it when it is ready.

When we were done at the Ministerio de Trabalho, we went to Shopping Light where I reactivated an old clothing account. I love my new-found freedom of being able to quote my own financial and work details. For those new to my list, trust me, it's been a very long road of being pretty much invisible here.

We made our way back through town, stopping to open a clothing account at a different store. We made our way back via Sé to Liberdade. When heading for the bus, we heard a dog bark. That was very odd. This was city center with high rise office blocks. It turned out to be a dog belonging to a homeless man, one who pushes his cart, rickshaw style, around the city, collecting goods for recycling, selling or using.


I was looking for a pic of one of these carts and found one here, along with an article on bureaucracy-free banking in Brazil. That is something of a jaw-dropper for me. Another good example of one of São Paulo's cart guys can be found here.... a very realistic scene. Getting back to the dog. The dog was barking because a second cart guy had come too close to his owner's cart. He was free-roaming, as the dogs of the homeless usually are, but he defended his owner's cart fiercely. This dog had no 'territory'. His territory, like his owner's, was that cart. It was amazing to see. I wish I could have photographed it. Speaking of dogs, do visit this slide show. It is fabulous. Read the description on each dog : )

We got on the bus to go home and had gone but a few blocks when we got a call. Could Tat come in for a recording. We hopped off the bus, walked the few blocks back to the metro station and headed out to the studio. I got home just in time to eat and go to my evening student. Let's just say it was tiring.

This morning, after teaching the morning run, I went in with Tat to bank. I opened a second bank account, as everyone heaves and sighs when I mention the other bank (not a popular one for deposits, being a state bank). It went beautifully. I may just grow to like banks ; ) We resolved the 'misprint' on my other bank card. Turns out my name is too long for the bank card, which was why it was cut short.

When we got home, I got an e-mail from the recruitment agency that there was a school looking for teachers. I called them and it is just the school I've been aiming for! If I can get in with this school, I'll be able to teach for them anywhere in the world and they have excellent benefits. They're the best paying school in São Paulo. The test and interview was so that I could apply to teach at this school. Now it turns out that my profile fits what they're looking for and they wanted me in for testing/interviewing. All a happy more-than-coincidence. Tat has been called in too. I'm thrilled!

What a month. I was just looking back at my calendar and most events from earlier in the month feel like years ago.

Technorati Tags: buses,march madness

Life and bureaucracy

Last night, I got to the school to find our director in tears. Earlier, she had mentioned that her friend was in hospital and she wanted to visit him, but was worried about being caught in the rain. To get to the hospital, one has to drive through a low lying area that always floods. She ended up going, but was told he had about 72 hours to live. He is apparently an ex-boyfriend of hers from 3 years ago and the relationship was unresolved. Now he has cancer and has contracted pneumonia. She was understandably very shook up. While I was with her, she asked me to take over for her today. Thankfully, she just meant the classes, not the admin, so I'll be teaching this afternoon and night. It was meant to be a day off. Tat teaches tonight too. Timing should be fun.

One of the documents we're required to carry here is our CPF. Don't ask me exactly what it is. I just know it has something to do with tax. Tat and I got our CPF cards shortly before they changed some tax law. All who have those cards have had their cards blocked and need to apply to reactivate them, so they fall in with this new law... or something to that effect. Yes, I know this is vague, but bureaucracy is pretty vague too, right? Oh, and naturally, we have to pay to have the card 'unlocked'.

Tat's CPF is a little complicated now because her Brazilian ID card has expired, now that she is of age, and she needs to either swear in as a Brazilian or get a permanent residency card, like the one I carry. I have the card, so it should be easy. I wish!

I went into the bank this morning. Now banks freak me out in general. I avoid them where I can. Here, we have to go through a revolving door that doesn't allow metal. You put your keys, cell phone, etc into a perspex container, then step back, wait for the door to 'reset', and go through. Once through, you can collect your belongings again.

So I try to go through. The door jams. I go to put my keys in the perspex container, but see that it is locked. I gesture to the security guard on the other side. He keeps telling me to put my keys in. I show him that I can't. He tells me I can. I get frustrated and start muttering and gesturing more. At this time, a smart-aleck behind Jorge starts telling me in English to calm down, which pushed my blood pressure over the limit. Eventually, the security guard gets the point and comes to release the container. I put the keys in... then the cell phone. I was carrying a tiny bag which just holds my purse, so I figured I'd just put the whole thing in. He says, no... not the bag, but I struggled to get the bag out from 'outside'. I can sense the impatience of the people behind me and the idiot still telling me to calm down. I finally got through. Have I mentioned that I hate those doors?

Then it was Jorge's turn. He put his keys in. Blocked. He put his wallet in. Blocked. He put his belt in eventually and was still blocked. I could see him tensing up. I knew he had his pocket knife on him, but that is always a touchy thing here. So he put his knife in, trying to be circumspect about it. The security guard saw and said, Aha! That is the problem. He stepped forward and said, "I'll keep that until you're finished here," at which point Jorge exploded. They started, through the doors, a battle of cursing. Picture Merlin's epic fight with Madam Mim. Thankfully they stopped before the purple pox curse. The security guard insisted that Jorge was 'armed' and Jorge insisted the guy was being an idiot. In the end, they locked the knife up while we were in the bank.

The law as far as 'arms' go is that you can carry a pocket knife as long as it is no bigger than 4 fingers wide. Now this, to me, is a totally stupid law. What 4 fingers?? My own pocket knife, a little Swiss army knife is barely smaller than my 4 fingers, but drowns in Jorge's hand. I have small hands. Jorge's knife is neatly 4 of his fingers long, but Jorge doesn't have hands. He has spades. The security guard had what we call ladies' hands. The knife looked huge in his hands.

We eventually got into the bank. In a matter of moments, I was talking to the lady at the desk. Their systems were down, so she couldn't help me. What? After all that? Would I mind coming back later. Ok. No problem. I have all the time in the world. I needed to go to the supermarket anyway. I returned after over an hour (there was a giganormous queue at the meat counter) only to be told their systems were still down and why don't I try the post office, at which point I thought, "Yay! Should have done that in the first place! No revolting doors." I tootled across the road to the post office, breezed through the process... and then...

*sigh*

"To liberate your CPF, you need to go to the tax offices, as you are a foreigner." Omg! At this point, I wanted to find a corner to huddle in, clutching my security blanket and sucking my thumb.

In short, I need to have a bank account to get my pay. To get a bank account, I need to have my CPF cleared. Pay day is in 5 days time. I have no clue when I will be able to go into town between now and then to clear that card.

The donkeys at the top? Cute, aren't they? I like donkeys (in case you haven't noticed). Here, 'bureaucracy' is written 'burocracia'. Now 'burro' is 'donkey', so they play on the sound of the 'burrocracia'.

Technorati Tags: bureaucracy,work,paperwork