Bureau-crazy

From CIEE:

" Hi Bimbola,

I received the message from customer service. I will contact the consulate as well, but unfortunately I have heard from other students who use the Chicago consulate that they were running into the same issue – we’re not sure why the Chicago consulate is requiring the VITEM4 instead, as their requirements for the 1 are clearly for exchange students and all of the other consulates are processing it as such. There’s not much I can do – we have been appealing to them since they have done this to a few students and we’ve been trying to have them process it.

At this point there’s 1 of 2 options:

1) Fly to Chicago to have the visa processed

2) Contact your airline now to see if you’re unable to make the flight if you can use the credit towards a later flight. Explain the situation (that you’re waiting for your visa) and will be flying to Sao Paulo just at a later date – most airlines will allow you to use the credit for the flight as long as you tell them in advance that you won’t be able to make it. If you need to arrive a bit late to the program because of your visa this is something that I will talk to the resident staff about, it shouldn’t be a problem. "

I'm tempted to write back,

"Dear CIEE,

You are unhelpful and send e-mails that take up room in my inbox and make me sad."

Love,

Bimbola

....So I'm flying to Chicago tomorrow morning to take care of business. Wish me luck!

Visa Troubles

There are nothing like visa troubles to remind you that you're scheduled to leave the continent in 11 days.
I found out today that the envelope that was suppose to contain my visa-ed passport for Brazil actually contained paperwork informing me that I had applied for the wrong type of visa and they needed more paperwork. I have 11 days. To make things worse my study abroad adviser was out of the office today "for the holidays." How nice.
It's hard, waiting until tomorrow to fix this whole mess. It's looking like I may need to book a flight to Chicago on Wednesday and pay the consular a visit.
Send positive energy my way tonight.
(Please someone tell me something good tomorrow).

Goodnight.

B

So Angela says I should update my blog more...

I'm writing to inform you that this will soon become my study abroad blog.Although I think that study abroad blogs are lame by definition what else can I call writing in a blog while I'm studying abroad?
Starting on January 8th, 2010 I will be studying abroad in Brazil first in Sao Paulo for a month and then in Salvador da Bahia until June 22nd.
(Sorry, I don't know how to put that squiggly thing over the "a" yet. Or how to properly format a sentence within parenthesis).

All My Love,
Bimbola

I have a blog! I should write in it!

Hey lovers,

I was in San Francisco from Wednesday to Sunday and had a wonderful time. Angela is a spectacular host and since entering college I love being anywhere parents are.
A highlight was a day hike through The Redwoods in Muir Woods. Hmmm, I'd write more but I have a terrible headache (why does my head weigh 3,000 pounds?). I think I'll try to nurse it with a corn dog.

Bimbola

Yes Pecan

This year Emily and Jamila sponsored my second chocolate portrait for Chocolate Fest 2009 (Last year was Kofi Annan).
We decided on "Yes Pecan Brownies" which was a platter with Barack Obama's face in the middle and pecan brownies surrounding his face.
Though we won most creative entry we are still waiting for the Crowd Favorite winner.

-B

Hey Yall'z.
Well, I'm back in Minnesota.
I must say that my flying experience today was perfect except for the fact that I received a "random security check" for the third time this break : (
In fairness to the people at the St. Louis airport everyone was very nice about it all.
Besides that, I got to the airport an hour before, there were no lines and I didn't have to sit next to annoying midwesterns talking about their children. I flew with only five other people and when I got off the plane my luggage was waiting on the carousel for me.
BEA-U-TIFUL.
In addition, I got back to campus in time to eat at the dinning hall and recently found the best radio station on my alarm radio.
There are many things that I could do right now but complaining isn't one of them.
Shoutout to Truman for driving me to the airport.

-B

DIY

Learn to make some boy shorts out of a t-shirt here,:

http://www.threadbanger.com/episode/THR_20081107

Also, Ruffeo and Lil Snotty are super cute.
My dream of waking up to the sound of Andrew Bird whistling "Measuring Cups" while making pancakes may be superseded by a dream to open a fashion line called "birdy hearts bimby" with Andrew Bird after he decides he only wants to sing to me ever again.

-B

Felted Laptop Case

Here are the results of my first felting project, completed last week.
I used the laptop case pattern from Lion Brand Yarn's website but used more colors an did buttons instead of a strap. I have two layers of buttons so it can convert into an over sized clutch which is super nice. Overall I'm super happy with the end result although it took days of drying, some cutting and re-sewing and many hours of picking out the right buttons (thanks Sean).

Columbia in the Summer

I love it here.

-B

Ideally

An event tonight made me think of how nice it would be to have a house about the size of Manhattan to keep all of my loved ones in so I wouldn't have to worry about them. The house would include everything a small city would have except it would always be clean and the food would always be healthy. Oh! and everyone would be kind and thoughtful. Ideally all of us would live to be the same age so I would never have to experience losing anyone.

-B

American Studies Leaves the Classroom

Tonight I introduced the concept of racial politics to a group of white, upper middle class men and women in their mid- forties.
It wasn't that fun.
It was over seasoned sweet potatoes, apple and cabbage coleslaw and pork loin.
It was a conversation that didn't have to take the direction it did but did anyway because I am who I am, majoring in what I am, caring about what I do.

"There should be more teachers of color because it's important for students of color to have teachers who look like them." *from one end of table*

"Once a parent told me that I couldn't understand their child because I'm white. It made me think..." *from other end of table*

"And I cant teach women because I'm a man." *scoff*

"So what should be done to recruit more teachers of color?" *defensively(?)*

*please please please don't turn into affirmative action debate*

And I felt it. I was the angry [political] black women who brings race [her blackness] into everything. And that made me feel tired. Here I had singlehandedly made these people acknowledge their whiteness and it didn't feel good.
I felt like I had burst a bubble.
Been the barer of bad news.
Brought up a heavy issue with no solution.
And as unresolved as the entire conversation was, there was some hustle and bustle. Plates were taken to the sink. The retractable table was retracted and they continued their game of bridge.
Me the Debbie Downer, left to awkwardly hang around before returning upstairs.
Having American Studies conversations with people who aren't American Studies majors is...hard. Really fucking hard. Introducing moderndayracismwhitepriviledgeindustrialcomplexesetc.etc. to adults [white] over hummus is HARD and yet there's still something inside me that wants to do it.
Because they should know.

Bimbola