So, I was stressed over NOTHING. This was so simple, it only took a few hours out of my day and a lot of patience dealing with Atlanta traffic. I got up at 8 in the morning, so I could have some time to myself before I had to get ready. Of course, my mother was along for the ride, so she was at my heels, keeping me in line.
I decided to dress in business casual clothing. My thoughts on this, I wanted to reciprocate how Brazilians are expected to behave during their visit. If our people treat them as such, then I would expect to be treated as such. I dressed up as nice as I could:
I wasn't going for an over sized shirt, but it was the only thing I could find that was long enough and I could wear in 90 degree heat. It was sweltering out, so I waited until we got to the consulate to apply any makeup. I know how quickly it can melt here. I gathered all my papers, double checked my list, and set off with my mother in tow. We live about 45 minutes outside of Atlanta, so I had to account for morning traffic, and I wanted to get to the Consulate early. If you know my mother, you know it takes time for us to even get on the interstate and get going, so I had to account for that as well. All-in-all, we got to the consulate on Lenox Square, at 10:30 am. My appointment was not until 11:45 am. The building is a huge glass structure located as 1 Alliance Center and shares parking with 2 Alliance Center. You have to pay for parking - at least $2 for an hour - so be prepared for this. The Consulate is housed on the 8th floor of the building.
Since we were early, I went up anyway. The lady behind the front desk gives you a check list and requests to see all the items before she will tell you where to go. Also, be prepared to be stalked by a couple of rent-a-cops. They showed me into the front office and then followed me into the room where the interviews are completed. Luck has it, it was good to show up early, as they took me right away! My appointment was so easy, I stressed out over nothing. The woman doing the interview asked for all of my paperwork, which I had ready, and asked me some basic questions. I treated this as if I was being pulled over by a cop. I answered with yes or no and kept my details to a minimum. When I started to go to much, I stopped myself and laughed. She said, "What was that?" and I replied, "Nothing, my boyfriend says I like to gab too much, so I have to remember not to" and I laughed, which she laughed in reply to. I was not nervous. This is key. I had nothing to hide, so there really was no reason to be nervous. It is not like they get many Americans trying to jump their borders! :)
She asked me why I was going, she asked about my boyfriend and how we met. She started to ask me if I was going to go to Brazil and work, get married, make a family, etc. I just said, "Gosh, it's way too early to even think about any of that" with a laugh. They want to make sure you know you cannot work or have any extended plans. That was about the gist of the interview. She typed away at her computer and told me I had to come back between 3 and 4 pm to pickup my visa. They confiscate your passport, so don't worry about that. She gave me a receipt for my visa, and told me to bring it back with me when I came to pick it up.
It was the quickest 10 minutes of my life. Then we were out of the building and off to play!
We spent some time in Lenox Square itself. I would love to go there when I had a lot of money and time to play around. This place has Crate & Barrel, a HUGE Macy's, an Apple store and Microsoft store. They have Louis Vitton and Coach. It is three floors and big. We didn't get to spend a lot of time because we had to eat and then get back to pickup my visa. We decided to eat at California Pizza Kitchen and it was a good decision. This place is a sit-down type restaurant in the mall, second floor, above the food court. Mall food is bad as it is, I wanted something tasty and new to eat. We had the best pizza ever. It was a Turkey Club Pizza. It had turkey and bacon on the pizza, and then it was topped with a blend of lettuce, tomato, and mayo with avocado slices. It was so yummy.
I got my visa!!! I will show you what it generally looks like. I erased all the private information out of it that I could. You want to make sure that all your information is accurate before you leave. It would be a shame that you went to the airport and there is a problem with your visa and you cannot board your plane. Apparently it has been known to happen. So without further ado:
