Social Security Or Everyday Number?- Brasilian CPF

Some things vary between the USA and Brasil, but nothing is as different as the Social Security number, called CPF in Brasil. In the USA, I’m accustomed to a social security number being a heavily guarded thing that you don’t tell anyone. Whereas in Brasil, you use it everywhere. If you want to- buy groceries, buy furniture, buy a car, get a gym membership, buy a phone plan, etc… you’ll be giving your CPF number. Although it’s not absolutely necessary to have one, and foreigners can get away with living extended periods here without one, it sure is a useful tool to have.

After talking to other Fulbrighters and doing our research, we ventured out to try and obtain a CPF. First, we filled out a form online through the Receita Federal, and printed this form out. Next, we went to a correios, post office, and did most of the heavy lifting there. We ended up waiting for thirty minutes for the three people in line ahead of us, and then Kayla and I were called up. The post office worker scrutinized our document, passport, to the form and asked us questions. Thank goodness Kayla was there and her knowledge of Portuguese helped us complete the process mostly smoothly. It’s funny that even things like a middle name missing from the form caused question and concern. We left the correios with a receipt (and barcode sticker) in hand and we walked across the city to our next stop- a receita federal.

We had been warned that this part of the process can take hours, and we mentally prepared for this. In fact, it was just the opposite. We received our waiting number and were called immediately. The employee verified our information and printed out the CPF paper. It was as simple as that. She instructed us to visit the Papeleria, paper shop, down the street to have it laminated. Online, it stated that you might be asked for proof of residency, and I was surprised that you merely needed to give an address. For around $10 reais and a few hours of work, we obtained our Brasilian social security number.

Here are two websites that a Fulbright fellow recommended to me, and I greatly recommend if you intend to apply for a CPF. One contains step by step instructions and the other has a link to the receita form:

http://alittlebrazilian.com/cpf-for-foreigners-in-brazil/

http://www.visahunter.com/visa/brazil/how-to-get-a-cpf-number/

Nao Falo Portuguese- the Frustration of Not Knowing the Language

Frustration and tears- the two words to describe my experience moving to a new country without knowing the language. I’ve found that some Spanish words have cogantes, but it still varies. I’ve never had the experience of traveling somewhere that I was exhausted all day trying to decipher what people are saying. My knowledge of five present tense verbs has not helped me as much as I hoped. For example, I bought a pre-pay phone chip and it was giving me troubles, so I went to the phone store. This field trip led to sitting in the store with four employees in a room talking at me to try and figure out my phone, and in the and being told that I needed to return with someone that could lend me their CPF (The Brasilian’s version of a social security number that they use everywhere) and sign for it, and to buy a monthly plan. As per my knee jerk reaction, I started tearing up, and the worker looked to my friend and said in Portuguese, “ela esta nervosa”. This is one phrase I do know, which I don’t think she expected, and I looked up and just responded back “sim- yes”. Eventually, we did get the data working and calls to come through! A small victory, even if it’s temporary and took a while.

This week I also began a Portuguese class taught at UEL. It’s a mix of people from- Hungary, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, and the USA, and the teacher only speaks in Portuguese. I figured that the course would hopefully be taught in a mixture, but we jumped right in. I sat at my desk feeling lost, and confused, and helpless. My face showed it, as I always do without a poker face, and the teacher tried to ask what I was confused about. I was choked up from being upset about not understanding, and I just shook my head. I’m accustomed to understanding things when I work hard for them, but being thrown into situation like that, or the cashier at a store speaking very quickly, I just stare and freeze up. I’m hoping that the next Portuguese class will be a little bit easier to pick up on everything.

The moral of the story- if you’re going to travel abroad then try to get a good grasp on the basics before going. I’m sure by the end of the nine months I will feel very accomplished having come so far with my Portuguese, but right now it feels like a defeat. Also, happy international women’s day, especially to all those crazy ladies also taking a huge chance like I am to pursue your dreams, even if it means facing new challenges and going outside your comfort zone!

Picking My Independent Project and Meeting Staff!

After the weekend ended, the business of Fulbright began. I started my first weekday with a run around the lake, without getting lost! Lara, Bennie, and I took an uber to UEL, as to make sure we weren’t too late from trying to bus our first day. There we met Michele, our host professor! It was so exciting to have clarity on the University’s expectations and plan for us. It was frustrating that Fulbright never forwarded on the written outlined plans for us ETAs that Michele made, but we finally found out. It is an awesome balance between classroom Teaching assistant time and also developing a side project to collaborate with students and staff members. Immediately, I was drawn to the idea of working with the international education office, but Michele also mentioned the opportunity to volunteer in a local public school. You can imagine how happy I was. I did a little happy dance in my seat. To get to work with four of my loves- international education, postsecondary education, English, and secondary students…. My heart was ready to explode. There are four of us ETAs at UEL, and Michele cleverly thought to divide us up to each work with one grade level, and I claimed the freshman students. Working with lower level students during my student teaching made me realize how much I truly love the moments when students have breakthroughs. It might not be as often, and it might take longer, but their expression of making the connection to the material is what makes teaching one of the best careers.

In addition, Michele organized for us ETAs to meet the director for international education at UEL. I, of course, was in my glory listening to all of the opportunities I could get involved in to help welcome, track, and maintain a relationship with international students. I’m not sure if I will go the career route of working postsecondary in international education, but I definitely want to see the perspective from another school system abroad.

A quick side note- my host professor also told us that she wants to encourage us to participate in teaching and educational conferences across Brazil with her, meaning traveling to Belem and Salvador possibly!! I loved presenting at conferences while in University, but I’m a bit nervous for if I were to present in Brasil, and whether it would have to be in Portuguese. It’s a goal to work towards, and I very much hope that I can share my research on Educational Disparities in the USA to show that the USA isn’t always as “rainbows and butterflies” as some Brasilians think it is. It’s true that the phrase “the grass is always green on the other side” carries a lot of weight here, even around the world really.

OH! So, my campus has monkey on it around the Calcedon, main street through campus. My friends warned me not to try and cuddle the monkeys, which wasn’t a thought of mine to begin with, but they still told me to keep my distance. The ETA group plus Michele were walking between buildings and suddenly we were surrounded by monkeys! They started dropping from the trees, surrounding us, bared their teeth, and stood around us like a small monkey mafia. We got away without being touched by them, but I didn’t believe the stories that the monkeys make a menace around campus.

Beginning Days in Londrina

Uber XL means something very different in the USA in comparison to Brasil. One might order an uber in hopes to fit luggage in the back, yet instead find a game of tetris and squeezing into the back seat with a suitcase piled on them. The fifteen minute ride to the bus terminal was filled with sharp turns, heavy suitcases, and cramming into a tiny car. Somehow, we thought that it would be a smart idea to bus our way from Sao Paulo to Londrina. Believe me, it could definitely have been much worse than our seven hour trip, especially considering how large Brasil is, but seven hours on a bus can drive a person crazy. I ended up watching the Smurfs and Batman Versus Superman in Portuguese, which was also broken up by a few naps. We arrived in the bus terminal, and I finally got the meet Beatriz- my flatmate. She was so absolutely sweet helping me with my bags and had a bottle of water ready for me.

Walking into my apartment and seeing my room made everything seem more real. Especially, when Beatriz gave me the keys! I lugged my bags into the room, and prepared to meet my other new flatmates, Pedro e Patricia, at their friend’s house. It is common in Brasil to live in republicas, which entail a lot of people sharing one house, and also makes for some fun hang outs. That night I tried my best to make my seven Portuguese word vocab extend as far as I could, and sometimes I attempted to throw in Spanish as hope that the cognates work. I can say that never before had I played gestures in Portuguese.

That weekend was nonstop, and I was ecstatic to get to see Mario again. Mario graduated from the University that I’ll be teaching at, and we studied abroad together in New Zealand. After a long awaited “hello again”, he showed me to my closest bus stop and I experience my first time riding the Londrina city bus. UEL is a HUGE campus, and we got stuck on the far end of campus during the tempestade. Streets quickly became rivers, and my first encounter with Londrina downpour rain didn’t phase me. I was so excited to be living my dream that I did the cliche thing and literally did dance in the rain. While drenched, Mario and I adventured downtown to meet his friend for some Feijoada (one of my favorite Brasilian foods). Afterwards, we indulged in some cake, and I tried the well known Brasilian classic Brigadiero. To end the night, they showed me where the cheaper supermarket was, and we hung out with my flatmates.

The next day was just as adventurous, if not more. Mario and I began the day with a walk around Lago Igapu, which is only a few blocks from my apartment. We next made our way to a street market, which was ENORMOUS! It was way beyond my expectation and filled main street and branching avenues. I had my first pastel con quieso e carne, and you can think of it as similar to an empanada, but I was one happy girl. Following that, I went to Mario’s for his family’s babreque, and we munched on meats from the grill. Mario’s dad was very kind and offered to take us on a car town around town, and this spontaneously led to us watching a Londrina futbol game! It was a rough game though, and they tied. Mario and Refeal insisted that I must try Caldo de Cana, and it ended up being a very sweet sugar cane drink, which I would definitely have again! We once again were picked up, but then walked around a second lake. Londrina has several lakes in the area, and they’re all great for running by.

I’m beginning to get the area the more that I walk around through it. Centro is a bit confusing, especially since it’s hard to get your bearings when you don’t know landmarks. I have only so far figured out the bus system to my university, and I’m not going to try and tackle any other lines yet!

Oreintation Week!

Four days filled with intensive training on- cultural shock, safety, the Brazilian history, dance lessons, and the side exploration of a samba bar, of course to practice our new dance skills. Although the information portions should have been the most memorable, of course it was my Parana family dinner at an Arab restaurant, my first time eating that style food, and the dance lessons. It was crazy to squish 120 Fulbright fellows into the top floor ballroom to learn Forro, Salsa, Samba, and Bachata. That night, Jake, Kathryn and I attempted to go to the Skye bar, with one of the best views in the city, but it was closed due to the rain. We made due, and ended up heading to the samba bar, where I tried to learn the difference between a caipirinha and cachaça from a local. Spoiler- I still don’t understand. Afterwards, Mundo Pensate was filled with a bunch of Gringos that couldn’t dance, but we all enjoyed our last night out together before separating to our host cities. The morning we were all departing, Jake and I found a convenience store that sold Tim Tams (YES! The Australian Tim Tams that I fell in love with while studying abroad!!) and I had to buy some to share. It was a glorious moment then followed by the sadness of realizing that I needed to part ways from my travel buddies and new friends.

Ilhabela Adventures

The next morning involved preparing for a short but traveling packed weekend to the coast line- Ilhabela (beautiful island). Kathryn, another fellow ETA, Jake, and I successfully navigated the metro through the city, but not without some hiccups. I couldn’t figure out how to feed my ticket into the booth, and Jake’s ticket didn’t work. All in all, we arrived at the rodoviaria (bus terminal), bought our tickets, and took the four hour bus ride to Sao Sebastiao. From there, we took the ferry across, which is free for pedestrians. With a backpack each, we walked along the coast to our hostel, and stopped to have dinner on the beach. The 5 kilometer walk seemed a lot longer than we had anticipated with the weight of our backpacks! We had troubles finding our hostel as it was buried back in the woods up a long cobblestone steep driveway. The three of us fell in love with the atmosphere and ambiance of the hostel! To and the night, Jake and I went for a dip in the pool and shared a beer. Our room ended up having about nine people in it!

In the morning, Jake and I ate the hostel breakfast and enjoyed our coffee with food and a view of the mountains overlooking a coastline. We inquired about island tours, trying to make the most of our time on the island, and set out for a day excursion beach trip. While we were walking towards Maremar, a hostel employee offered to drive us there! We made it to the escuna, popped open a drink, and boated towards the beaches Frome and Jabaquara.

The water was crystal blue and a medium temperature- not bath water and not freezing. Along the beaches were also small pool of colder water leading into the ocean. It was a cloudy day, but I still managed to get sunburnt, as always. We spent a few hours romping around the beaches, treading water, and enjoying the views. Following that, Jake and I went to dinner at one of the most amazing restaurants I have ever been to. We were on a rooftop restaurant overlooking the city streets with a live guitarist playing. We shared a seafood platter, and I was really surprised to like the cerviche! I was really surprised and still baffled as to what I thought about the passion fruit risotto. The brownie with homemade sorbet at the and made the meal absolutely complete. To end the night, we strolled around town by the water.

The next morning, our last few hours in Ilhabela, we wanted to squeeze in some hiking and waterfalls! Ilhabela in chuck full of waterfalls, if you know where to find them. The hiking path across the island that we wanted to take was closed down due to a storm that had damaged it, but instead we went to hike Cachoeira Frigagem. It was a few kilometer trek up a mountain, through residential areas, trails, and past a lot of bugs. The waterfall was worth it! There was even a small pool of water at the bottom that we lounged in.

On the walk back to the hostel then ferry, we waited at least forty minutes for a late bus that never arrived. We decided to speed walk back to the hotel, taxi to the ferry, and super speed walk to the bus terminal. It was an intense thirty minutes of hurrying and rushing to try and not miss the bus back to Sao Paulo. By time we reached the terminal there were only four tickets left, and three of us. With a mix of rain and traffic, we didn’t arrive at our orientation hotel until 9:30 pm. As we walked up to the hotel we saw a plethora of Gringos (you have to just own it here), and I met my Co-ETAs!

Check out the travel video at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03ZU-d5ikXw&feature=youtu.be

I made it safely to Sao Paulo!

Arriving in the Sao Paulo airport tested my anxiety levels, but I was so glad to have made a friend on the plane ride. My new friend Mat, a native Brazilian living in Toronto the last few years, saved me when we agreed to share an uber to Sao Paulo Centro. I could not get internet in the airport (a nightmare for a person without a cellphone plan)! He chatted with the uber driver during the hour drive, and it was silent after Jake left the car.

I arrived at Vila Madalena, and I was greeted by Jake, a Fulbright friend who I have been creating travel plans with since January. After showering, and feeling more like a human again, we explored the city on foot! Of course we grabbed some fruit and wine for our adventure, which we enjoyed while resting at sunset park overlooking the city. We also visited Beco de Batman, a graffiti street that I related to Hosier street in Australia. For Jake, the coffeholic, we stopped at Coffee Lab and I tried a Cafe com cachaca, which has a bit of alcohol like an irish coffee. Jake had arrived a day earlier, so he knew the city pretty well, and he was a great sight seeing buddy. That night, the adventures continued and we went to a block party in Pinheiros, and my phrase “nao falo Portuguese” was constantly used. That first day was cram packed with sights and people, the Vila Madalena suburb continues to be one of the favorite locations I’ve been so far.