More Ouro Preto, Serra do Cipó, and the Polícia Federal

First of all, here are the Serra do Cipó photos:

http://usfca.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2035312&l=5f333&id=7103173

Now then. Sorry I didn't write any more about Ouro Preto, I was in a weird mood on Saturday and not in the right frame of mind to reflect. Anyway, Ouro Preto was really neat, and the history of the city was a big change from the mish-mash of old, new, fancy, and cheap that is Belo Horizonte. As you can see from my photos, all the streets were cobblestone, there were a ton of churches, and the roofs were red. I didn't love it as much as I maybe should have because we spent the morning walking around with a guide, and saw three churches, each more ornate than the last. I have a really big problem with gold-encrusted houses of worship, it seems sacrilegious to me, both because of the part in the bible where god gets pissed off because the people are worshiping a golden calf (I don't see how a golden saint is much different), and because I feel like that gold could have been used to help people instead of to coat the walls and ceiling. The carvings were really pretty, and all the ceilings had beautiful detailed paintings, but I could never worship in a place that visually busy and show-offy. I'm sorry if any of you are Catholic and I've offended you, but I'm just sharing my feelings and the reason that I haven't fallen head over heels for Ouro Preto.

On a happier note, we had a delicious, if overpriced, lunch, and spent the afternoon on our own, exploring and shopping. I bought some postcards, which I may or may not send, and had a good time looking around.

Sunday I went to Serra do Cipó with Barbara (my roommate, from Gonzaga, in case you haven't read the beginning of the blog), Leslie (also from Gonzaga), Neils (from Holland, who's in our class), Bea (who's Brazilian and spent a semester at Gonzaga), and Fernando (who's Brazilian and is going to Gonzaga in August). I was planning on showering Sunday morning (I went out Saturday night with Mariana, her boyfriend Leon, and their friend Julia, and got back around midnight), but Bea called at 8AM and said she'd be there to get me in half an hour. Since I had to eat breakfast and pack a bag for the day, I decided I didn't have time to shower, and rushed through my morning routine so I wouldn't be late. I was ready to go at 8:35, and promptly at 9:30 Bea called and told me she was outside my building. It turned out OK that I didn't shower though, because I ended up getting dirty at the park and showered later on. So, after she picked me up (Fernando was already with her) we went to get Barbara and Leslie, who had both spent the night at Leslie's house. We got there around 10, and then had to go pick up Neils, which was another 30 minutes away. Once we got Neils, Bea said, "OK, so everyone has everything? Sunscreen, towels, swimsuits?" None of us except for Fernando had any of that. Luckily, we hadn't left Neils' place yet, so he went and got his swimming things, and then we went back to Leslie's place, and then Barbara really wanted to swim so we went all the way back down to our apartment. At noon, we finally left Belo Horizonte for reals, and arrived at Serra do Cipó around 1:45.

The first thing we did when we got there was eat lunch, since we were all hungry. The place we went was little and simple, but it was the best food I've eaten yet. I don't remember what it was called, but if any of you ever end up at Serra do Cipó, let me know and I'll tell you how to get there, it was amazing. They only had one thing on the menu, which was a family style traditional meal, and that included regular beans, and feijão tropeiro, which is beans with a whole bunch of stuff in them, and carrots, and rice, and tomatoes, and beef, and chicken, and french fries, and couve (which is collard greens), and soda (which I promptly spilled on Fernando's lap) and it was all delicious and amazing. The best part was the price - R$10 each, which comes out to a whopping U$5! Oh man, do I love food prices in Brazil. Except in tourist traps, but this was not one.

After lunch we drove a little more and finally got to where we were going, which was Bridal Veil Falls. It was really beautiful (be sure to look at my pictures), and also REALLY freezing water. After swimming and sunning and climbing around for a while, we walked back to where the car was and checked out a volleyball and played that for a little while (we were all really horrible, with the possible exception of the boys). Once we all had nice red forearms, we returned the ball and Bea and Fernando taught us how to play Truco (or Troco, I'm not sure how it's spelled), which is a card game that's apparently very popular at UFMG. It was sort of complicated, but I think I get the gist of it, and it was a lot of fun.

We left the park around 6, and Bea took us all back to our respective apartments/dorms (in Neils' case), I showered and went to bed. I really loved the park and the people and I can't wait to go back.

OK, now for the saga that is the Polícia Federal. For those of you who have not traveled to Brazil recently (which is most of you, probably), one of the stipulations of the student visa is that you have to check in with the Federal Police within 30 days of entering the country. That doesn't sound so bad, right? Check in? We were all expecting to go in, introduce ourselves, maybe get an extra stamp in the passport, and be on our merry way. WRONG! Luckily Barbara and the other Gonzagans went a couple of weeks ago, and found out what we had to have. Checking in with the Federal Police involves two 3x4cm photos, copies of all the used pages of your passport, your original visa application (that's been stamped at the consulate in the U.S., of course), some forms you have to print off the Federal Police website, and R$200 cold hard cash.

Today Lourdes, Neils, and I ditched afternoon class to go to the police station (which is outside of town a little ways, in the complete opposite direction of the university, by the way). We took the 5102 bus from the university, and then the 4113 bus from the Mercado Central, and then walked up a big hill, and then another, and then we were there. Lourdes had already paid, so Neils (who had been there once before but hadn't had cash) showed her where to wait (and I tagged along, just for kicks) and then he and I went and got in the paying line. While I was getting out my money and the forms I'd printed off the internet, I realized that the funny feeling of forgetting something that had been bugging me all day was not unfounded. I had forgotten my original visa application in my closet. I paid my money (I was already in line, anyway), and then started the journey back to my closet for the form. Oh, and did I mention that by this time it was 2:46 and the police station closes at 4? Yeah.

The thing about buses here is that they don't alway have the same route both directions, and this was the case with good old 4113. Luckily, Barbara had written me out detailed directions about how to get back to our apartment from the station. The first leg of the journey was a lovely stroll of about 3/4 of a mile along a highway (which was all downhill and had a sidewalk, luckily). I powerwalked that in about 10 minutes, and found the bus stop I needed without a problem. My guardian angel/the fates/karma was looking out for me, because the correct bus came just as I reached the stop. I hopped on, and watched street signs out the window and traced the route with my finger on my now pretty tattered map of BH. I got a little antsy with the "I'd like to get off the bus" button and ended up getting off a stop too early, but I found the apartment anyway.

By this time it was 3:22, and I had decided that the only way I was going to be able to get back on time was to take a cab (that, and I didn't know how to get back on the bus from my place, the bus I'd taken makes a huge ring around the city, in one direction only). Cabs come quickly in Brazil (which I LOVE, by the way - not like being told by a San Francisco cab company that someone will come for you in 20 minutes, now could you please go wait for them in the rain?), so I had planned to call the cab as soon as I got in the house, grab the paper from my closet, and go wait downstairs. However, when I arrived, Elsy, the old slightly deaf one, was talking on the phone. I found my paper, emptied my bag of the things I didn't need, and then went to see how the phone was doing. She was chatting away with a friend, asking how the kids and the husband were and making plans for the weekend. I interjected and asked her could I please use the phone real quick because I needed a cab and was in a terrible hurry, and she told me sure, just a second, and proceeded to talk. For 4 more minutes. Which is quite a few when every one counts. Finally, she got off the phone, I called the cab, and 3 minutes later, it was there. A quick aside: why is that, when I call them, cabs can find the apartment no problem, but when I'm in them, I have to give the drivers directions here? Just wondering.

Anyway, there was some traffic by this time, but the cab pulled up to the Polícia Federal at 3:52. I literally ran up the walkway, up the stairs, and through the hallway to the international relations section (boy was I glad I'd followed Neils to show Lourdes where to go!). There was no one waiting, and an unoccupied employee, so he took my papers and did some stamping and some gluing and some form filling-out, directed me down the hall and up the stairs to the fingerprint-taking office, where I was fingerprinted, and then I turned in my forms to him and he said what I'd been waiting for: "Tudo bem. Isto é tudo, obrigado!" (All right. That's it, thanks!). As I walked away from the counter, I breathed a real live sigh of relief, and I didn't even mean to, it was a completely involuntary reaction.

On the walk back down the hill, I passed a bakery, and bought myself mandioca chips, a tube of cookies (which I haven't tried yet) and an ice cream bar to celebrate. I'm really glad that's over with, and now all I have to worry about is finding a place to live for the next 5 months (which will happen at my meeting with Maria Helena, our professor liaison, on Wednesday).

Don't forget to look at my Serra do Cipó photos, and I'll blog to you later!