Finally!!!!

Made a trip into DC on Monday, which happened to be my bday as well, to apply for my visa. Woke up at 4:40 b/c we (myself & my mom) needed to leave the house by 6 to avoid major DC traffic.

Not a bad trip up, except we used my grandma’s little little car lol, which is good on gas but not so good on the bottom ;). Anyways, we made it up to DC & took the metro in the city. I LOVE the metro! I LOVE DC 🙂 It was fun, although my mom was stressing, getting on the metro and looking like I knew what I was doing.

It wasn’t hard finding the Consulate and thank God there wasn’t a long wait. As soon as I sat down my number was called. Everything went smoothly, except when the man who was helping me kept getting up & asking & pointing at my application sheet all while talking in Portuguese. Also, he kept looking at my passport picture and my recent visa picture… I assume comparing? But my heart was beating VERY fast & Felt like I was going to be ill. BUT there was no problem and the whole process took about 10 mins.

After the weight of that was lifted he told me that my visa will be ready to pick up next Friday, the 24th. YAY! Another trip into DC. 🙂

So, since we were in DC we decided to walk around the National Mall. I haven’t been there in years so it was cool to go to all the different museums and see everything. We also toured around the Holocaust Museum which was really something spectacular. Such an eye-opener and I encourage anyone who has not been to make the trip. It is well worth it. It’s also free to tour it.
So, after a very long day we headed home….. & I fill officially be flying out a week from Saturday!!! YAAAY!!!

Visa Got Approved

YAYAYAYAYA my visa got approved.

Oh crap. The enormity of what I’m doing has definitely hit. However, GOD is in control & I am SO thankful for that. He holds my life in his hands. YAY! Praise God! It hits me at random times… just mainly people/my baby Brody that I’ll miss & then it goes away. I try not to dwell on it for long periods of time b/c I’m sure I’ll start bawlin 😉 I have come to the conclusion that lots of tears will be shed & that’s okay… that just means that I have a lot of love & know a lot of people love me 🙂 Shooooooooooooo nufffffffffffffffffff! 😉

We head to DC on Monday (my 25 bday) to apply for my visa in person. Pretty much showing my passport, FBI background check, give monies, birth certificate, 2 pictures to the Brazilian Consulate & then we will have to make another trip to pick it up a week later.

I’m pretty sure my official leave day is August 22. Thankful for some more time w/family & friends 🙂

Another Off Topic Post…. READ, You Won’t Regret This Either ;)

Sooooooooooo I’m really lovin water polo, I mean REALLY loving it. The guys on the team are really appreciative of their fans & I just so happened to get another tweet today from another one of those guys 🙂 My cheeks hurt 😉 (j/k) 

Anyhow, our men play tomorrow in a tough match up between Serbia. GO USA!!!!!!! GO WATCH & support them! Pics are of Chay Lapin (yeahhhhhhh he tweeted me too) 😉 Hehehe

PPlease 🙂

Completely Off Topic….. You Want To Read This :)

Sooooooooooo this has nothing to do with Brazil/moving/PACA ect but this is my blog so I can write whatever I want 😉

 

Like I’ve stated in previous posts, I am loving watching the Olympics. I’ve pretty much watched everything including water polo. How the HECK have I not heard about this before?! Not sure, but I have now. Hehe!

Now why would any single (or whatever) female of a certain (or any) age watch water polo? Well let me just tell you:

1) HOT men

2) HOT men wearing speedos

3) HOT men wearing speedos with extremely ripped bodies

4) HOT men wearing speedos with extremely ripped bodies swimming/fighting each other

Need I go on? Obviously, I’m a HUGE fan of water polo now. I’ll be cheering on the good ol’ U S of A men’s water polo team from now on.

So, with my new discovery I decided to do a little research on our lovely water polo team. This led me to tweet about it and tag a few of the players. Wellllllllll I got a reply from one, Shea Buckner. Hello gorgeous, our children will be beautiful! 😉 lol! Sooooooo what does this guy look like? Here we go:

First Day of School

Today marks the first day of school at PACA. It’s weird I’m here, in VA, while school is going on there. Been corresponding with the lovely substitute who has agreed to take over my classes until I get there on progress. Here’s hoping everyone had a GREAT first day 🙂 

On a happier not, still loving being home, watching the Olympics, & soccer friendlies while I await this blasted visa 🙂

Update on my visa:

Just an update:

 

Still waiting for my visa to get approved. Legally the Brazilian Government has up to 45 days. If they take all 45 days it won’t be until August 22. It’s all good though, I’m really enjoying spending time with my family & friends. I’ve been watching the

Olympics

I’m sitting here, watching the Olympics (well I’ve been watching the Olympics since opening night), taping them in case I miss something and loving every second of it. I can honestly say that I LOVE this country, faults & all. I’m cheering on these athletes who I don’t know, or will probably ever meet. It’s not just me, it’s most all other Americans. I can say a lot of negative things about his country, things that should change that need to change but I can say them because I’m American.

The Olympics brings this out. Even though I don’t agree with a lot that is going on in our country the Olympics really does bring a country together. Even though we are trillions in debt we can still kick your butt in almost every sport. Hah! 

Even though I’m moving to another country, AMERICA will always be my home, my pride, my country. I will always wear the red, white, and blue with pride. I will always get teary eyed hearing the National Anthem, and I will always swell with pride when I see an American military personnel. I will always always always brag that my daddy served in our great military and also get teary eyed when military personnel are asked to stand, because again my daddy stands & I am exceedingly proud of that man! 

&&&& THis jewel is just for reading this 🙂

God Bless this beautiful man!

The Whole “I’ll miss you” thing…

Obviously when you tell people you’re moving to another country their first response (if they ‘know’ you) is “Oh my word, I’ll miss you so much.” Now… just take it all with a grain of salt. It’s funny because usually the people who have told me just this are the ones who rarely make an effort to see or talk to me.

For instance… I grew up in Newport News. I moved to Lynchburg in 2005 for school when I was 18. I think maybe in the course 7 years a total of 6 people have bothered to come up to Lynchburg to see me. Yet, I have gone back  to Newport News countless times to see people are supposedly “good good” friends. What a laugh. These are the same people who tell me how much they will “miss” me. These are also the same people who expect me to make a trip back to Newport News one las time before I move to Brazil. Yea, not gonna happen.

When I moved out of Newport News I honestly thought I’d be back there in a few years. I honestly thought I’d stay “best” friends with the people I grew up with. It’s funny how now, after 7 years, I can not imagine living back in N.N. I really can’t even imagine visiting again. Just thoughts.

Again, I’m not bitter, angry at anyone, life happens, life is hard and people fall out of contact… I mean, my feelings have been hurt but again that’s life. Sometimes you have to cut people out of your life not because you’re angry or whatever but because they are hurting you more than helping. Yet another thing to give to God. I am not perfect and I’m not blaming anyone, Lord knows I’m not faultless either. I’ve continued to let it happen… Anyways…. there’s still Facebook!!!! Lol!

Who would have thought taking a job in Brazil would entail so much self-discovery, wrestling with God, questioning Him, and ultimate surrender. I sure didn’t. So much emotion and thought has come with this decision. Things that I’ve needed to do but just haven’t been able. I mean, these are people who I’ve know FOREVER, who I spend almost every day with, who knew me SO well. That’s a hard thing to just ‘let go’ and not want to YELL at people and say mean things to them. But this is where God comes into play 🙂

I can honestly say that I have some of the best friends (besides my family) a girl could ask for. Five I can think of right off the top of my head and because they mean so much to me, here they are… Carissa, Danielle, Kara, Amy, and Melany. These are women who I cherish, admire, have shown me what true friendship is, and who I will dearly dearly miss when I move. These are women who when they say “I’ll miss you” I know they sincerely mean it, because they have shown it. When they say it, I’m not thinking with utter sarcasm “yeah, ok right you’ll miss me.” So thank you, you 5! I love each of you!

Myself & Carissa 🙂

 

Myself & Melany

Myself, Kara, & Danielle

Myself & Amy

 

Crisis that is Packing….

How do you pack when you are moving to live for an extended period of time in another country. Wellllll whatta challenge. I have been assembling various things and slowly yet surely the pile is growing wider and wider to where I have to do a stealthy maneuver to get to the other side of my bedroom. Call me J.I. Amber 😉 hehe

 

Anyways, I’ve also started a list of things I still need to gather/buy and later pack. I, and my mother 😉 are rapidly going broke over all the stuff I need to get that I use that I can’t get in Sao Paulo. One bit of good news is I get 3 70lb bags & my mom & aunt each get 2 70lb bags. So, if I can’t fit all my crap into these 7 total combined bags I have a consumer problem larger than I care to admit 😉 But, in my defense- I have to pack things to decorate my room… ya know, pictures, frames, nicknacks, act to make my room feel homey 🙂

Another plus- the apartment or house that I’ll be living in is furnished…. Another plus- the average temp in Brazil or in Sao Paulo is between 65-75 everyday ( I know you’re jealous) so I don’t have to pack a ton of heavy jackets and stuff. 

Anyways reader, I’ll keep ya posted & post pictures of the final load when it’s packed! I’ll impress!!!! 

The School I’ll Be Teaching At!!!!

The School I’ll Be Teaching At!!!!

This is the school I’ll be at!! Pan American Christian Academy 🙂 Whad upppppppppp!

 

*Click on the link above 😉