Foreigners vs. the Brazilian Embassy, DC

I haven’t posted for a while because we spent the last week in Washington, DC trying to get our temporary visa stamped into our passports. This would allow us to stay in Brazil for 2 years without having to leave every 90 days. I have to say that I was very excited to be back in the states. Before moving I was determined to forget about our conveniences and franchises and embrace local culture. Unfortunately, I think I failed at accomplishing this goal. I just never thought I could miss Target so much! I jumped for joy when I saw my first Caribou and Starbucks Coffees and loved the familiar smell of walking back into a Gap. It took me almost the full week to realize that everyone around me would understand me when I spoke English.

So I guess it is clear that I was glad to be back to the familiar. I recently received a comment (from a Brazilian) on my blog telling me that I also needed to discuss what I don’t like about Brazil as well as what I do. I don’t like to come across as though I’m not understanding of other cultures, but I’m beginning to realize that understanding is a lot easier when you are traveling there for a short trip versus living in that culture. After the trip to DC and the Brazilian Embassy my understanding went out the window.

Stepping into the Brazilian Embassy in DC was like we took a several thousand mile step back into Brazil itself. First off, they don’t use computers. That alone makes for a very slow process. We waited for 2.5 hours to simply turn in forms for Visas that were already approved. They had a number system for order of service, but didn’t follow it, allowing people to walk in and jump the line to ask questions that would stall the progress for 5 – 10 minutes. We were there to get our Type V Visa and the people at the desk didn’t even know what a type V was. It was hard to believe that they can even survive in the DC area with their lack of technology and order.

One thing is overwhelming clear to me and I warn that this is going to sound negative. Brazil (as a country) does not want other people in their country. It appears that their goal is to make things so difficult that people decide not to even come in. (We actually witnessed 2 people at the Embassy that simply changed their plans and chose not to go.) It is very sad in my opinion. All this beauty and nature and they don’t want to share it. You would think the revenue the country would get from tourism alone would be a motivator to encourage people to visit. That being said maybe it is just as difficult for a Brazilian to come to the US, I don’t know. This is purely my opinion and I’m sure many disagree.

I’ll make a long story short and just say that we were supposed to drop off the passports on Monday and get them back by Wednesday. When we turned them in they said they couldn’t be ready until Friday. This was a problem due to an appointment we had at the US Passport office. By the way, I never thought I would say this about the US government, but the service at the US passport office was excellent - quick, organized and helpful. It was like night and day compared to the Brazilian Embassy. The kicker was that the Visa was already approved. They just had to stamp it. It was basically a power trip. They told us that they wouldn’t stamp it until Friday. They just didn’t want to do it before.

In the end, things did work out. I guess that is obvious because we are back in Brazil. This is after about 40 phone calls (I’m serious), explaining our situation each time. Not to mention 4 trips to the Brazilian Embassy which was an hour commute on metro and bus. We are just keeping our fingers crossed that we don’t ever have to go there again.

What we found funny was that when we checked in at the Delta desk to fly out of DC back to Brazil, the clerk was a Brazilian. Noticing that we didn’t have a return trip to the US, she asked if we lived in Brazil. We told her about all our problems and she said, “Yes, my country is not very good at paperwork.” Ha, ha! That probably sums up the whole week. Perhaps if they used the great world of technology instead of paper if would make for a much more pleasant experience.