I just returned home from our designated "we have one day off this semester, so lets use it to get our Brazilian Visas" trip. Needless to say, that the trip didn't go as planned and little here is ever truly as it seems.
News
It's been an eventful week, not school-wise or me having any great stories to tell, rather a situation that occurred over the weekend that sheds light on the complexity of this nation. If you read the world news from a publication or watched them (do people watch the world news) you noticed Venezuela appeared twice.The first was the case of a Miami Herald journalist being detained for reporting on the upcoming elections without clearance. For a little more insight go here or here.
The second case was a little more discerning and a lot more visible. A large group of staff members went on a boat trip this past Saturday and while riding to the dock we saw huge lines outside of Daka (think Best Buy). I was told that the government had ordered prices to decline substantially and those in line were going to try to take advantage of the discount. Unfortunately, that was not fully the case.
This situation only depicts a small portion of the population and their actions. The people I have met and been lucky enough to befriend here are some of the most full-hearted and caring people I've known. They are just as shocked of these situations and have their own feelings regarding the actions of those that created these headlines. I will not speak for them (as it is neither my place, nor accurate), but I can say that they all want what is best for this country and issues like this chip away at morale.
Here is a little insight to the financial situation here due to inflation:
At the official rate a 46-inch, Sony plasma TV is 54,000 bolivars (BsF) or $8,571.
The official rate is $1 for 6.3 BsF.
Black Market (parallel rate) $1 = 61 BsF
See the issue?
Well the call for the discounted prices resulted in a mob mentality that produced the following pictures on this blog and this one.
Here are some links to get a variety of perspectives on the situation:
I hope that by sharing this I can help educate those that read this blog and give them more insight to a sliver of the over-arching issues that loom over this beautiful country.
CARACAS
Early this morning (3:30 to be exact) eight of us hit the dusty trail to Caracas to get our Brazilian Visa in order to attend the World Cup matches we got tickets for.
Back story: Prior to this escapade we did some diligent research. We spoke with Diana (resident Brazilian citizen teaching here), sent five emails, and made three phone calls to ensure this was a successful mission. We had to gather a laundry list of materials (from bank statements to proof of our job at CIC, even our hotel reservations!) to present them to the gatekeeper of the visa. It was seriously a three/four week process.
So we saddled up our two car caravan and hit the highway to Caracas. Notice the italics as there is only one way (most major cities have only one road in and out [I say most because that's what I was told]). We thought by leaving so early it would allow us to miss the traffic outside/in Caracas- we were wrong. The ride in took a mere FOUR HOURS.
The drive is roughly 168 kilometers (104ish miles) and should only take just below 2 hours, but not for us. Morris was a trooper and with just a hint of caffeine (two cokes and a red bull) we made it there. Traffic was ridiculous just inside the city.
Finally, we rolled into the Consulate, parked and made our way up to the heavily barred and guarded office area where we were promptly told that we were in the wrong spot. Cool. If you don't know anything about Caracas, know this:
WORLDS MOST DANGEROUS CITY RANKINGS
Pretty cool huh?
Anyway, the guard that the consulate said we just have to go about "two blocks" to the embassy and they would be able to fulfill our request. Mind you, the process of getting a visa is first come, first serve, it is 8:31am, it is raining, we have a two-year old with us, and are going off the directions of the guard. Add in the typical Venezuelan busyness and wait times, and this is not ideal.
What can go wrong?
The two block walk was more like 6-8 blocks and the rain happened to pick up to a steady pour. We asked three people for assistance in getting there and most cases the gave vague responses or told us to ask someone down the road. I got my phone out and used google maps, but we still were directed into the wrong building. I shake my fist at you google maps.
We get out of the rain, sign in for an appointment, and then grab a seat. Literally, within in five minutes of waiting Jon and Randi are called up. And then literally within two minutes we find out that this whole trip was for nothing.
It turns out that you can only get a Brazilian visa within in 90 days of entering the country, but they don't turn down Americans. MAYBE SOMEONE SHOULD HAVE ANSWERED THEIR EMAILS AND PHONE CALLS. Or at least edit their 1995 Windows-created-website (Jon's joke). We made the whole trip for nothing. We can't get the visa until mid-March and with no personal days or days off, that will be a challenge. We gathered ourselves and hoofed it back to a small coffee shop near the consulate.
We decided that we'll go to the downtown area and find something to do to not totally waste the day. We ended up going to the art museum and getting lunch.
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| This was an obvious bad sign that we didn't realize. |
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| This was like L.A style traffic. |
The drive downtown was traffic filled and had lots of graffiti scattered about the roadways. I saw an interest "piece" that was an American in front of Old Glory, except the American had a swastika on his hat and the stars were also replaced by the Nazi symbol. I didn't get the artistic connection. We pressed on and parked in a lot that was build for 200 but somehow fit 1000.
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| Eyes up dude, keep it classy. These mannequins have been in the papers about how they present an unreal representation of the female body. Between this and Barbie, I think people have created some big issues. |
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| Street art. |
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| Insert funny caption to a really cool picture (if I may say, and I will- my pic). |
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| See where the fire was? I have no idea how they put it out. |
The are museum was cool, they had works by Chagall and Picasso. There was no guard to tell us to not take pictures so I snapped several.
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| Chagall with my silhouette. |
The Picasso's:
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This was an awesome piece made of wood and then painted.
We hoofed it down towards the historical district to go to a really decorated restaurant, but we were deterred. The restaurant was closed due to the excessive showing of national guardsman, police, and civilians. The civilians were lined up and packed into the streets. We saw this gathering and got our gringo asses out of that area and into a different restaurant where we had a pretty good lunch. As we walked out, we saw a large line for another electronics store and promptly scuttled out of the area and back to the vehicles.
Everyone was gassed, but we tried to make the day as much of a non-waste as we could. We had hoped to miss traffic, but got caught in it and Morris spent another four hours behind the wheel through traffic jams and rain to get us back. He's a trooper though, and did a great job.
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| Is this a teenage mutant radish? |
What had been set up to be a focused mission turned into a shit show. It will be interesting to see what the faculty at school says, as they all knew we were going to get our visas today. No one could have predicted this though.
It was just another day of not trying to control what cannot be controlled and trying to make the most out of it when people were disappointed and tired. I think our group did that, but it was a let down.
I logged this lesson into the "learned" file. I have to keep things into perspective and not stress about the things that are behind my reach. I couldn't control the illogical rules of the embassy or the travel issues, but I had to accept them.
Some of those lessons I have learned lately have been followed by some bouts with anxiety and the blues, so if I've come across to anyone as stand-offish or closed I apologize. I have battled this for years and sometimes it comes back. Nothing personal.
I hope you have clicked on the links and learned some about the issues of this unique country. I hope for my friend's sake things improve.
I see that the temps back home are getting chilly, I actually miss it- I just sweat all the time here (I'm over it being hot everyday).
That's all I got and I'm tired.
Until next time,
KRS
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