Next came the whole mess of me trying to get a visa to Brazil. I went online to read about it and see what I needed but the website for the Brazilian embassy in Peru was quite contradictory and in no way helpful. I decided to do what I thought was the responsible thing and just go in and ask what they'd need from me instead of guessing and ending up going with incorrect or not enough documents. Jessy and I got there and had barely opened our mouths to ask when the employee handed us a piece of paper with the website printed on it. We tried to politely explain that we'd already been reading on the website and that it had lots of confusing information but, again, before we could even finish what we were saying, he shoved the paper in our faces and told us to come back with all the necessary documents after we'd read online. Fail.
The next day, I went in and was denied because they wanted me to write down my estimated itinerary and I apparently needed US dollars (which I obviously didn't have) in order to pay. This was why we'd gone in to ask what I needed in the first place but obviously that hadn't worked. Another fail.
The day after, we went in with my USDs and I was told I had to go to the nearby bank to pay and come back with the receipt before I could officially apply. The embassy was just about to close for the morning so Jessy and I took off on a dead sprint, crossing two busy roads and breathing heavily by the time we got into the bank. At the bank, they asked me if I wanted to pay with Peruvian Soles or U.S. Dollars. I thought it was a joke. I hoped it was a joke. But it was not a joke. That was the moment we learned that the embassy's contradictory nature was not only reserved for their online services. So if you're wondering if I could've paid for the visa the day before when they sent me away for not having USD, the answer is yes. Anyway, we sprinted back and, to his dismay, wedged ourselves in past the guard as he was quite literally closing the door.
I triumphantly handed the unhelpful d-bag behind the counter my bank receipt and he finally accepted everything. He wrote on a small piece of paper to come back on Jan. 29th to pick up my visa. The 29th. But I already had a flight booked to Brazil for the 28th. I asked him if there was anything I could possibly do...pay an extra fee or something...in order to get my visa a little sooner but, as I'd seen him do to many other people in that same office while waiting in their long lines throughout the week, he just smiled his tool-ish smile and shook his head. Epic fail.
Granted, I should've gone in earlier to begin my visa process but, had the workers at the embassy been a bit more helpful any one of the days I'd gone in, I could've applied a day earlier and kept my same flight. In reality, however, my only choice then was to change it. I called the airline and explained the situation but they didn't have another flight of the same price until a full week after the original. That meant that on top of paying the $75 fee to change my flight, I had to stay illegally in Peru for four days and, consequently, pay a fine on my way out of the country. Fail, fail, fail.
Yes, one big pendejada is the perfect way to describe the week but it included a lot of laughs for that very reason and it also meant I got to spend an extra week with my Jessy, dancing and playing around in Lima. I made a few more friends that week before I left, too, so it really wasn't all bad. :)
The next day, I went in and was denied because they wanted me to write down my estimated itinerary and I apparently needed US dollars (which I obviously didn't have) in order to pay. This was why we'd gone in to ask what I needed in the first place but obviously that hadn't worked. Another fail.
The day after, we went in with my USDs and I was told I had to go to the nearby bank to pay and come back with the receipt before I could officially apply. The embassy was just about to close for the morning so Jessy and I took off on a dead sprint, crossing two busy roads and breathing heavily by the time we got into the bank. At the bank, they asked me if I wanted to pay with Peruvian Soles or U.S. Dollars. I thought it was a joke. I hoped it was a joke. But it was not a joke. That was the moment we learned that the embassy's contradictory nature was not only reserved for their online services. So if you're wondering if I could've paid for the visa the day before when they sent me away for not having USD, the answer is yes. Anyway, we sprinted back and, to his dismay, wedged ourselves in past the guard as he was quite literally closing the door.
I triumphantly handed the unhelpful d-bag behind the counter my bank receipt and he finally accepted everything. He wrote on a small piece of paper to come back on Jan. 29th to pick up my visa. The 29th. But I already had a flight booked to Brazil for the 28th. I asked him if there was anything I could possibly do...pay an extra fee or something...in order to get my visa a little sooner but, as I'd seen him do to many other people in that same office while waiting in their long lines throughout the week, he just smiled his tool-ish smile and shook his head. Epic fail.
Granted, I should've gone in earlier to begin my visa process but, had the workers at the embassy been a bit more helpful any one of the days I'd gone in, I could've applied a day earlier and kept my same flight. In reality, however, my only choice then was to change it. I called the airline and explained the situation but they didn't have another flight of the same price until a full week after the original. That meant that on top of paying the $75 fee to change my flight, I had to stay illegally in Peru for four days and, consequently, pay a fine on my way out of the country. Fail, fail, fail.
Yes, one big pendejada is the perfect way to describe the week but it included a lot of laughs for that very reason and it also meant I got to spend an extra week with my Jessy, dancing and playing around in Lima. I made a few more friends that week before I left, too, so it really wasn't all bad. :)
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