Yesterday I finally picked up my visa from Hartford and felt so undeniably relieved that the hardest and unnecessarily tedious part of my pre-departure process was over. Apparently my visa has been ready since valentines day (what better way to celebrate the national day of love than with an 150 day pass to a foreign country? I'd say it's fitting) So I promise from here on out no more complaining about the consulate, I am moving on.
With only 10 days left before I head to NYC to begin my travels, it's starting to sink in just a little bit but it has yet to fully hit me. I started packing a couple of days ago, making a list of all the things I needed to bring, dividing it into things I have and things I need to purchase...the list was about even on both sides, which means I have a good deal of shopping to do. Luckily most of the stuff I need is inexpensive and little so hopefully I won't be too stressed.
I've started making a 24 hour (yes that's how long I'll be traveling) playlist in my head and here's what I've got so far:
Hollywood - Madonna
Strobe - Deadmau5
Ghosts and Stuff (Hard Intro) - Deadmau5
Fauxing Berlin - Deadmau5
Hey, Hey - Dennis Ferrer
I Will Be Here - Tiesto
Sweet Things - Tiesto
Take Over Control - Afrojack feat. Eva Simmons
The Cave - Mumford and Sons
Little Lion Man - Mumford and Sons
Celebration (Benny Benassi Remix) - Madonna
Kids - MGMT
Ask Your Friends - Pretty Lights
Electro Cali - Pretty Lights
Sunday School - Pretty Lights
I Can See it in Your Face - Pretty Lights
Gazing at the Glare - Pretty Lights
Hello - Martin Solveig
More - Usher
Blow - Ke$ha
We Are Who We Are - Ke$ha
Born This Way - Lady Gaga
Boys Boys Boys - Lady Gaga
Just Dance (HCCR's Bambossa Main Remix) - Lady Gaga
Who Wants to Be Alone - Nelly Furtado
On The Floor - Jennifer Lopez
Let's Get Loud - Jennifer Lopez
One - Swedish House Mafia
any other ideas, lay it on me.
por agora,
ate lago
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
slightly panicked
As the days get closer [21 and counting] things are starting to hit me more and more and all the errands I have to run and things I need to buy and people I need to see, all these things I thought I had ample amounts of time for....and now don't is overwhelming at best. (Not all of that made sense grammatically I'm sure, but just run with it you know what I mean) I applied for my visa this past Tuesday and found it partially hilarious and partially nerve-racking. For one, everyone at the consulate genuinely thought I was portuguese and were surprised to find out that eu so falo um pouco de portugues (I only speak a little portuguese). It was nerve-racking because at first the woman at the counter wasn't sure that my criminal background check would work; see in RI all criminal background checks go through the attorney general's office instead of the police department and the consulate requested a police background check specifically. After explaining the situation the woman went to confer with someone in the back who checks visas and I guess he said it was okay because she came back out to tell me that my visa would be ready within 30 days....
Now this would be all well and good if I wasn't leaving in less than 30 days. I told her this and she was very vague and said "yeah we saw that, so if you get nervous call back in about 2 weeks but not before then." This should have comforted me a little except --as you have read in my previous post-- the consulate isn't exactly keen on answering their phones or returning voicemails...So as of right now I can't even leave the country because they have my passport and it makes me a little panicked but hopefully I'll be okay and everything will work out. Well I mean it has to or else I'm completely, totally, and utterly screwed.
Lately I've been slacking on learning portuguese a little but only because I've been busy, I find that I can understand when people speak in portuguese more and more without trying to translate it in my head too much but at the same time e dificil to speak it without figuring out what it would be in english first. The same goes for writing, eu entendo (I understand) when people text me in portuguese (for the most part) but I can't figure out how to write back. Hopefully these challenges will be lamented soon and I will be a semi-fluent portuguese speaker and writer but for now I am still struggling.
por enquanto,
boa tarde e ate logo :)
Now this would be all well and good if I wasn't leaving in less than 30 days. I told her this and she was very vague and said "yeah we saw that, so if you get nervous call back in about 2 weeks but not before then." This should have comforted me a little except --as you have read in my previous post-- the consulate isn't exactly keen on answering their phones or returning voicemails...So as of right now I can't even leave the country because they have my passport and it makes me a little panicked but hopefully I'll be okay and everything will work out. Well I mean it has to or else I'm completely, totally, and utterly screwed.
Lately I've been slacking on learning portuguese a little but only because I've been busy, I find that I can understand when people speak in portuguese more and more without trying to translate it in my head too much but at the same time e dificil to speak it without figuring out what it would be in english first. The same goes for writing, eu entendo (I understand) when people text me in portuguese (for the most part) but I can't figure out how to write back. Hopefully these challenges will be lamented soon and I will be a semi-fluent portuguese speaker and writer but for now I am still struggling.
por enquanto,
boa tarde e ate logo :)
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
New York, you have grown on me
A few days ago the supporting documents for my visa application came in from SIT, which means that I am now free to apply for my visa. In fact, logically I would have applied for it already if A: the Hartford, CT consulate (yes I know there's one in Boston but for some reason unbeknown to me, my jurisdiction is in CT) WOULD ANSWER THEIR PHONES. or B: I trusted the U.S. Postal Service enough with my actual passport (which I need for the application).
See, I have everything I need for my application except for my round-trip ticket. I have purchased a round-trip ticket but I purchased it online through Expedia and thus I can't print out my actual ticket until I get to the airport. If I were to go to any other consulate (which I can't) I would be able to just print out my itinerary and call it a day...but Hartford doesn't accept itineraries they need to know the flight is confirmed. I found a document that is technically an itinerary but also has my confirmed flight status on it but apparently people at this consulate don't like to answer their phones or the message I left them to let me know if this is acceptable.
Because I don't trust the USPS with my passport I have to drive an hour and a half to Hartford, which actually isn't too bad but finding a date from monday to friday where I don't have work or some other obligation is difficult. *sigh* hopefully by next week this will all be sorted out and I won't be as stressed.
On a happier note, this past weekend I went to New York City to visit my best friend Cynthia. She goes to school on Staten Island (which yes I know is not technically nyc but whatever) and I had a great time hanging out with her sorority sisters and going on mini adventures.
On Saturday night we went to this place in New Jersey called Bounce U, which is this AMAZING place full of those giant inflatable bouncy things that you can jump on:
And on Sunday Cynthia and I spent the day in the city, where I broke my rule of not being a tourist for just a little bit:
There are tons more pictures on facebook and I can't wait to go back. NYC has grown on me a little bit, guess it's good that I'm flying in and out of JFK for my Brazil trip :) Okay, I have to get ready to go spinning (If you don't know what that is click here)
Ate lago!
See, I have everything I need for my application except for my round-trip ticket. I have purchased a round-trip ticket but I purchased it online through Expedia and thus I can't print out my actual ticket until I get to the airport. If I were to go to any other consulate (which I can't) I would be able to just print out my itinerary and call it a day...but Hartford doesn't accept itineraries they need to know the flight is confirmed. I found a document that is technically an itinerary but also has my confirmed flight status on it but apparently people at this consulate don't like to answer their phones or the message I left them to let me know if this is acceptable.
Because I don't trust the USPS with my passport I have to drive an hour and a half to Hartford, which actually isn't too bad but finding a date from monday to friday where I don't have work or some other obligation is difficult. *sigh* hopefully by next week this will all be sorted out and I won't be as stressed.
On a happier note, this past weekend I went to New York City to visit my best friend Cynthia. She goes to school on Staten Island (which yes I know is not technically nyc but whatever) and I had a great time hanging out with her sorority sisters and going on mini adventures.
On Saturday night we went to this place in New Jersey called Bounce U, which is this AMAZING place full of those giant inflatable bouncy things that you can jump on:
There are tons more pictures on facebook and I can't wait to go back. NYC has grown on me a little bit, guess it's good that I'm flying in and out of JFK for my Brazil trip :) Okay, I have to get ready to go spinning (If you don't know what that is click here)
Ate lago!
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