Brazilians don´t give a s#$t about Canadian mula.

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Lesson to all Canadians: Brazilians don´t give a s#$t about Canadian mula. "No we don´t exchange Canadian dollars. Not Canadian sorry. Not here sorry." Another lesson: travellers cheques (in Canadian funds especially) are equally useless in this city. And the most important lesson: this country suffers from a serious case of disorganization. You go into a bank and all you see is mayhem. People friggin´ everywhere, no information counters, no "Can I help you with something?" The only people standing around are stern looking, gun toting security guards who look at you like "are you kidding me?" when you ask them a question. In order to find out that the answer is "nao" you have to stand in loosely established line-ups for an eternity. Everyone will give you the same beaurocratic answer: "Oh no. We can´t help you. You have to go to such and such place." Someone else, somewhere else. So my advice is, if you should find yourself in such a bind, forego hunting for answers on foot while sweating your buns off. Instead get on the blower in an air-conditioned room and do your research.

The gentleman at the bank whom I sought for advice in Canada suggested that I take travellers cheques and then open a bank account in Brasil into which I would deposit the cheques (instead of opening a second chequing account at my own Canadian bank). His reasoning was that there would be a fee of 5 bucks each and every time I withdrew funds from a bank machine. Well, he gave me the wrong advice. You cannot open a bank account here without exteme hassle (it´s near impossible), and anywhere they will exchange your dinheiro they´re gonna gouge you. This is how much they´re gonna gouge you: they´ll give you R$2.05 per American dollar and only R$1.50 per Canadian dollar. We all know the rate of exchange between Canadian and American is not that great anymore. But the way things work around here is: if they can gouge you, they will. So the verdict is, it´s gonna cost you any way you go about it; but it´ll cost you less to pay the transaction fees at a bank machine...and you won´t have to travel to a different state in order to have your travellers cheques cashed. Ya, that´s right, I have to go to another state altogether to get my travellers cheques cashed. Not happening! I´m happy right where I am for now. But there is good news. I located a bank machine in Ponta Verde ("Green Point", which is the district where Marcelo lives), that takes cards with the "plus" symbol on the back (if you look at the back of your bank card it will tell you that you can use your card anywhere displaying the interac or plus symbols). In case any other Alagoas travellers happen to be reading this, this is the location: on the Av Senador Robert Kennedy (this is the main road that runs along the beach), NOrth of the Mercado Praia de Pujaçara on the way to Ponta Verde. There is also a Bradesco ATM a few blocks North of the ATM I´m talking about, but it doesn´t display the plus or interac symbols. Not many bank machines are compatible with the interac or plus systems, so finding a machine that will take your bank card is priceless.

Today Marcelo and I went into the city with his mom´s car. What an experience. This disorganization I was talking about...wow, let me tell you. It´s like, there´s absolutely no reasoning behind the design of the city at all. It´s a maze of haphazard streets filled with pedestrians taking their lives into their own hands simply by walking down the road. It´s insane! People drive like mad. There are no lanes but people drive as if there are. You wanna turn a corner from the wrong side of the street, hey, giver´buddy, cuz that´s the way it´s done around here. GAS, BRAKE, GAS, BRAKE... Hahaha!!! The first place we went was Marcelo´s old university to get his transcripts. He was instructed to go to the bank to pay a fee and was given a slip of paper that he would have to return stamped by the teller for proof of payment. We drove to the bank. Bank mayhem again. "No you can´t do that here," and the beat goes on. When we did get to an approriate bank we waited forever in a line-up that was being serviced by a single teller. I couldn´t help but feel a bit afraid for the poor young gentleman. No wonder Brazilians are shooting eachother in the streets: pure frustration! When our turn came and went we returned to the front counter of the university and were told to go down the street for some purpose. Marcelo was becoming incapable of explaining himself by this point, so I´m not sure what the purpose was exactly. I bought a can of diet Guarana from a street vendor and waited for him outside. He came out laughing. "The computer system is not working!" he exclaimed. He said he was gonna go back into the university, explain his situation, and apply a little pressure to see if he could make things happen. Two minutes later he came out laughing again. "No way man! She said, 'Maybe you can call in 2 days.' So I said, 'I think I´m gonna leave laughing, and then I will cry.'" What a Brazilian thing to say. I laughed my ass off.

We returned home with his mom´s car and then quickly departed again with her in the driver seat. Our destination was the shopping center where we had loated a place that would exchange canadian dollars. His mom dropped us off and we went inside. when we found the place we were looking for I realized that I had removed my dinheiro from my wallet along with my travellers cheques. Oh dear. In this moment I realized what a gem Marcelo is. He didn´t freak out. He didn´t grunt or groan. Inspite of his frustration he smiled. I almost uttered a complaint, but suddenly felt things inside me soften. "This is completely my fault," I said and promised that I had no more complaints to voice for the rest of the day. We caught a bus home, ate, and caught another bus back to finish our quest. After parting with much of my money during the funds exchange, I went into a clothing store to buy some shorts. Marcelo went for icecream and patiently waited for his Canadian girlfriend to do her thing. When we went back to the bus we realized we had no change so we sat down at a bar which was right behind the bus stop. I bought my patient sweetheart a beer and ordered myself a double vodka with diet coke. Great way to make change after a stressful day. We sat and talked, laughed, watched the crowds of waiting bus passengers, and ate acarajé which Marcelo bought from a street vendor...

Ta ta for now.

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Comments

[Jason]

Oh Ya... the problems are only beginning
All these headaches, trials and tribulations are what makes a person grow from such travels.....it's only going to get easier and easier....always trust your gut and just remember to take some time to let yourself experience it all..... The good, the bad, and even the ugly......Jason