A Thursday Post!

I'm feelin' pretty good today, so here's a Thursday post!

And some housekeeping: it looks like there are a lot of readers in a similar exile situation. I've tried to keep up adding all of the exile blogs I can find to my blogroll, but if I've missed you, please send me a heads up at corininexile (at) gmail (dot) com. Having this community means a lot to me, and I have high hopes that we can organize ourselves a bit at some point in the near and slightly less busy future!

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Bureaucracy:

When you move to a new place, there are invariably a million little tasks that swallow up all of your spare time with lines, paperwork, phone calls and faxes. Yesterday, I tried to pick up my modem from the post office (I'm stealing internet currently, which requires that I go out on the porch to get a signal) but was told that because the name on the package is that of my landlady and because I don't have a British Columbia ID with this address on it, the package would be returned to the sender! Imagine my horror at the prospect of another month without reliable internet! I was told, however, that if I got my landlady to write a letter authorizing the pick up and if she faxed it to the post office directly along with a copy of her BC ID, I would be allowed to retrieve the modem. Seriously?! I thought I'd already left Brazil!

So imagine how terrified I was to apply for my Canadian Social Insurance Number this morning and to open a bank account (both on my to-do list). But when I got to the Service Canada office, practically the only other person there was a very chatty doorman who wanted to know all about what geographers do (I still don't know)! I got seen right away by a friendly, young guy who suggested a few nice Greek grocery stores in my neighborhood, chatted about good things to do in the city, and was similarly curious about what geographers do (I can't say, really). I was done so fast that I almost got to the bank before it opened! Opening an account was extremely easy, and the banker wanted to know all about New Year's in Rio (a dream vacation, he told me) and why I was studying geography (just the water, I promise!). He also said he was teaching me the proper way to spell "chequing account" -- "with a 'silent q.'"

I repress the urge to squeal like a teenage girl and hug every Canadian I meet.

So, what's up with the post office?!

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The kindness of strangers:

I have pretty amazing friends and family members, but I've been lucky enough to encounter some downright incredible strangers. When we went to São Paulo to (attempt to) clear up the visa mess, Mallory and Henrique hosted us without having met us face-to-face. This week, Leo is staying with friends of a friend in Niterói -- but people who have never met him and are willing to open their home to him. My landlady made a similar leap of faith in offering me her apartment from a continent away. Time and again, folks who've never met us have gone out of their way to lend us a hand. So while fighting the good fight in immigration terms can make me feel awfully yucky about the way some people treat strangers, visitors, and newcomers, the great kindness and warm welcomes we've received help me maintain my faith in mankind.