On Monday of week twenty my host mom told me that we would be going to Brazil to see the famous Iguazu Falls from the 23rd to the 29th. I've seen pictures and heard all about the Falls from people who have been lucky enough to see them, but now I would have my chance to see them for myself. I talked to my Danish friend from the orientation camp about it that night and he said "Don't get too excited cause Americans aren't allowed to enter Brazil." What? He said that on the AFS trip, when the kids passed to the Brazilian side of the falls, the Americans weren't allowed to because they needed visas. I was going to tell my host mom about this the next morning but she told me. The travel agency called our house before I woke up and told her the situation.
Brazil requires Americans to have visas as part of a payback for how incredibly difficult our government makes it for Brazilians to enter the States. So the next morning, we went to the Brazilian consulate in Buenos Aires. It was about an hour and a half travel by train and from the train station we took a bus and got off a few blocks away from the consulate. Once inside, they told us that we needed an appointment to apply for a visa so we took the first available one which was for the following Monday.
The next Monday we took a bus to Buenos Aires which was twice as fast as the train. We arrived early and stood in line but the lady took us early. We were done before our appointment was supposed to begin. I was surprised and happy by how easy it all was. On the website, there was a big list of documents needed in order to apply, but the woman only took my passport and the form I filled out on their website. She told us to come back the next day to pick up my visa. On the way out the security guard was arguing with a group of friends who were trying to apply for a visa without an appointment. He said "You guys want to come to Brazil, Brazil doesn't want you guys to come." I laughed about this with my host parents on the way to the bank to pay the special USA payback fee of $150, twice as much as any other country's Brazil visa fee.
When we got back home, I went online and wished my brother Eric a happy 15th birthday. That evening I Skyped with my family and helped them sing happy birthday to Eric. It was nice seeing everyone, but it also bummed me out.
The next day I went to BA with my host mom to pick up my visa. In the office were some Americans who didn't have the proper paperwork for the visa and they said as they were leaving "Whatever, let's just go to Uruguay!" My host mom asked me why I didn't talk to them and I said "I no speaky english." After I got my passport back with the visa stamped inside it, we went down the street to get something to eat. We observed all the tourists walking by through the window of the cafe where I had my first omelette in 21 weeks.
On the bus ride back I felt very relieved and excited to be legal for the Brazil trip. I can't wait to see the Falls in person. Here's a photo of them: http://www.propertyworld.com/assets/brazil.jpg
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