I've come quite a long way in my job hunt since I first started looking back in April, even before I came back to New York. Initially, I had a rather narrow set of criteria for job openings I would apply to, and since I initially got three interviews right off the bat, I was lured into a very false sense of security.
Well, sure enough, it became abundantly clear that a job wasn't going to come easy, so I gradually expanded my search, until it became much broader. I applied for some short term jobs, but decided against temping, since my rationale went that I had no idea when I would get a full time job and wouldn't want to be caught in between a temporary, part-time job and the goal of a full-time, long-term job.
That ship has sailed, and I recently began pursuing temping opportunities. The two most important factors are that I managed to pull myself out of a sad little unemployment funk and that it has been five whole months since I got back to the States and have not been able to get a full time job. I still shudder at that number. Five. Nearly half a year. It's mind boggling.
So I went ahead and got myself set up with a non-profit temping agency, which turned out to be really great, and also applied for a temporary position I found on a job board. I was called in for an interview at both places, making me eligible for the agency's temp positions and a candidate at the company looking for a short-term consultant. But amazingly, I was hired for the temp position I had applied for on my own just a few days later, and I start next week. I'm excited about it because it involves a lot of Portuguese translation and using my knowledge of Brazilian culture and current events to help the company try to break into the Brazilian market.
Oh yeah, that's the other thing. I'm going private sector! At least temporarily.
I realize that it's possible an opportunity will come along for a full-time job (I'm still applying to openings almost every day), but it will likely not be right away. In the meantime, I've found something to get myself back on my feet and back into the American workplace, which will be a great way to prepare me for the (hopeful) long-term position I will find somewhere down the road.
Começei a escrever alguns posts para um blog de moda, Amo Muito, já que é o projeto de uma querida amiga minha. Além de ter um desenho muito legal, os posts das duas blogueiras principais são muito bacanas com dicas de moda e coisas realmente muito fofas. A minha amiga me ajuda com as fotos e o texto dos meus posts, e o resultado é muito melhor do que conseguiria sozinha! Na verdade, comprei muita pouca coisa depois de voltar para os EUA, mas as poucas coisas que comprei foram vários pares de sapatos, e por isso resolvi começar meus posts lá com sapatos.
Aqui tem dois trechinhos dos posts que fiz da série "Shoe York":
Sapatilhas: Uma loja muito legal para comprar sapato é a Century 21.
Também tem roupa e acessórios excelentes de marcas que aí no Brasil são
caríssimas, mas a loja de sapatos é separada da loja principal; Tem que
seguir um caminho dentro da loja ou sair e entrar na entrada da loja
dos sapatos. [Como chegar] Leia mais e veja fotos
Galochas: Tem várias coisas que eu devia ter comprado antes de me mudar para o
Rio de Janeiro, sem dúvida, as galochas ficam no topo da lista. Só
quando voltei para New York eu pude perceber o quanto elas me fizeram
falta naquelas tardes de chuva do Rio, mas…mesmo não podendo mais
usá-las no Rio (porque eu moro em NY), eu não resisti e comprei! Fiquei
muito arrependida por não ter feito essa comprinha antes. Leia mais e veja fotos
Fica ligado aqui e no Amo Muito para mais posts sobre moda e coisas legais em Nova Iorque!
In case you're wondering why I haven't written about the Goldman case in awhile, it's because nothing is happening. Again. Once more, the case has hit a plateau where nothing seems to be moving, though the appellate court had promised to rule in late September on the decision to send Sean back to the US.
TRF-2, I've got news. It's September 28th. E ai?
Sadly, this isn't at all surprising, given the well-documented slowness of the Brazilian judicial system, and the incredible amount of heel-dragging that has gone on in this particular case. But since it's been out of the news, most Americans familiar with the case assume Sean was sent home, and Brazilians assume he is staying in Brazil indefinitely.
The truth is that he's still in Brazil, and there really doesn't seem to be any timeline for when or if he will be returned to his father. Meanwhile, Brazil's international relations concerns have multiplied and intensified: pre-salt madness, the Honduras crisis, and the 2016 Olympics bid. The Brazilian government has all but forgotten about the case, and it seems the US government has, too amidst many, many domestic woes.
The only positive news I can give you is that this Saturday, October 3rd, the BSH Foundation will hold a fundraiser to defray the costs of Sean's abduction and (hopeful) repatriation, considering David has racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal and travel costs. Some of BSH's most important supporters will be there, including Congressman Chris Smith, and it's possible David himself will make an appearance. If you're interested in donating, you can do so online. It's for a really and truly excellent cause.
When there is definitive news, I'll be sure to give everyone an update right way. But there's no telling when it will be.
Slowly but surely, Eli has begun the process of Americanization. I'm not necessarily happy about it, but it's inevitable to a certain degree.
He's been speaking English a lot, though he still speaks to me in Portuguese unless we're talking in a group with other people, but I'm selfishly thankful for that because I really don't want to lose my Portuguese. Nevertheless, he'll throw in English words when we're talking in Portuguese all the time, and he'll surprise me with random big vocabulary words I didn't know he knew.
He's been watching a lot of [American] football. He claims he's always loved the Giants, but now he watches all the time, even if there are other teams playing. And the funny part is when he shouts or curses at the TV, he does it in English, even though when he watches soccer, he yells in Portuguese. That makes me smile.
The other day, he left me a voicemail on my cell phone. I thought about it, and I'm pretty sure it's the first time in the 3 years we've been together that he has left me a voicemail. Voicemail is not big in Rio - I didn't know anyone who had an answering machine on their home phones - and he most certainly never used it. I was so happy when he did.
Luckily, because of his personality, he's already a highly punctual person, and is always early or on time. Ironically, because there are so many recent immigrants in New York, he's sometimes the first one to show up. (For example, he's been playing soccer with a group of Ecuadorian and Colombian guys.)
He jaywalks. All the time. He sometimes agrees to eating raw vegetables without being drenched in oil or dressing. He learned how to play baseball. He loves Oreos and marshmallows. He wears Yankees shirts all the time.
He's still very much Brazilian, but he's adapting in different ways than I expected.
I'd been following the Honduras political crisis with mild interest, sensing that something wasn't quite right, especially since I take Latin American news perspectives with a grain of salt coming from the American media. But then this week, it took an interesting turn and sparked my interest.
Manuel Zelaya, the president of the small Central American country, was deposed in late June in what many labeled as a coup, since the military forcibly removed him from Honduras. The immediate response from the US government and international media was one of an outcry, the horror that there could be a coup in our backyard after so much supposed democratic progress in the region.
But I did some research, and what I came up with, as the Brazilian expression goes, doesn't smell good.
First, a little background: Zelaya comes from the country's wealthy elite, and from an interesting family. In 1975, his father was convicted along with seven other people of being responsible for the Los Horcones Massacre, in which fifteen priests, social activists, and farmers were murdered near the Zelaya family farm. He was later given amnesty.
Skipping ahead--the reason Zelaya was deposed with the support of many in the Honduran government was that he was trying to change the constitution to give himself more terms in office, and even issued a referendum asking voters to create a constitutional assembly to write a whole new constitution from scratch. Fearing that Zelaya was planning on dissolving Congress and the Supreme Court, and trying to create a Chavez-like dictatorship, the Honduran military packed Zelaya off to Costa Rica. A Honduran polisci blogger in favor of his expulsion explained his opinion:
The expulsion of Zelaya was a crime, but it was through that crime that
the current legal order was saved. This would not be the case had
Zelaya fulfilled his intention to convene a Constituent Assembly, and
to dissolve the Congress and the Supreme Court. This is a case
analogous to the principle of self-defense in criminal law. In
expelling Zelaya the system acted in self defense for its own
self-preservation.
Meanwhile, I checked in with an American blogger who has lived in Honduras for years and follows politics closely. As it turns out, Zelaya and his family have millions in offshore bank accounts, and in the aftermath of his removal from power, authorities found that surprise, surprise, Zelaya had been stealing from the government and using public funds for, including but not limited to: helicopter rentals, wine, cigars, jewelery, a caretaker for his horse, oil paintings, a car stereo, motorcycle repairs, and sculptures. Sound familiar?
But here's where Brazil comes in.
After traveling for fifteen hours, Zelaya and his wife were smuggled across the border into Honduras on Monday, where they took up residence at the Brazilian embassy. The Brazilian government has been quick to deny any funny business, and Zelaya told the Brazilian media that he was the one who approached the Brazilians, though he doesn't intend to ask for asylum. The Honduran military surrounded the building, and the embassy's electricity, water, and phone lines were cut, though last night they got their water and electricity back. The Brazilian government is now worried about its staff, who fear the Honduran military may take violent action. Meanwhile, a poll shows that Hondurans are strongly against Zelaya's presence in the country, which they do not believe will help solve the crisis.
Brazil may seem like a logical choice for a safe haven, given its position as Latin America's most powerful country and Lula's diplomatic position as the mouth piece and representative for the developing world. Also, Brazil has traditionally been a mediator in Latin American conflicts, and manages to be both an ally of the US and a friend to the Castros and Chavez.
But I'm convinced the US is behind the whole thing.
President Lula and his Foreign Affairs Minister just so happened to be in New York this week for a UN meeting and for Lula to accept an award from the Wilson Center, and Lula has a very good relationship with President Obama, who was also in New York this week.
Robert White, President of the Center for International Policy's op-ed in the LA Times gives an important clue:
"Venezuela's Hugo Chavez has already threatened military intervention to
restore democracy to Honduras. If the U.S. continues to sit on the
sidelines, Chavez could cobble together a coalition to reinstall Zelaya
and create an anti-American client state in Honduras that might serve
as a political and economic beachhead for Chavez's Iranian, Chinese and
Russian allies. Millions of people in Latin America would suddenly see
Chavez, not the United States, as the guarantor of democracy and
freedom -- and be willing to turn a blind eye to his abuses and his
unsavory friends.
Obama needs to recognize that, in Honduras, democracy and his
administration's credibility are on the line. By making a stand there,
the president can ensure that greater threats to democracy and American
security never develop at all."
So why make the US look like the bad guy, as it often is in Latin America, and give Brazil the dirty work instead? It's no secret the US tends to work behind the scenes when it comes to political crises in Latin America, and this one seems no different. Letting Brazil get Zelaya in the country and waiting to see what happens before officially supporting him in his return to power keeps the US at a safe diplomatic distance, while it puts Brazil in the hot seat. Zelaya may be a corrupt and inefficient leader, but that is not necessarily an impediment to US support. Keeping a firm grip on the illusion of democracy in the Americas has always been a big priority for the American government. They'll worry about another Chavez when they see one--until then, no coup will go unpunished.
I recently discovered an amazing blog called The Classe Media Way of Life, which seems to be inspired by Stuff White People Like, except by making it into a kind of ironic how-to guide on how to be a middle class Brazilian. After reading the entire blog, it inspired me to write a new top ten list.
Two notes: first off, the Brazilian middle class is considerably different from the American middle class, and both "Classe Media" and my list really apply more to the upper middle class. Second, while "Classe Media" is so spot on, it's also meant to be sarcastic. My list, too, is meant to be ironic and not to be taken too seriously, as it is intended to be a comedic generalization (and from a Gen Y perspective at that).
10. You love Obama, but you despise Lula (goddamn commie).
9. You made a Facebook account, but you check Orkut every day.
8. You bought designer boots to wear on your shopping trip to New York in May, only to find women walking around in Havaianas.
7. Your family can afford a country house where you spend weekends and holidays, but your 35 year-old brother still lives with your parents.
6. You love the Black Eyed Peas, but you hate axé. (Que lixo brega!)
5. You go to the movies all the time, but you've never seen a Brazilian
film in theaters (you bought Tropa de Elite on a pirated DVD before it
came out).
4. You've been to Bariloche, Buenos Aires, and Disney World, but you've never been to the Brazilian Northeast or the Amazon...
3. ...and you speak decent English, but don't know how to say "airplane," "flight" or "luggage" in Spanish.
2. You get HBO, but you watch novelas from 8 - 10 every night.
1. You'd like to have everyone think that you're much happier tweeting on your Blackberry from an expensive club or driving your imported car to eat at a fancy sushi restaurant, but you're actually happiest sitting on the beach in your bathing suit, crowded together with the masses (that is, as long as you're immediately surrounded by gente fina), or at home eating rice and beans with your family (that is, as long as the meal was prepared by the housekeeper).
Suddenly, I blinked and the summer was over, and all of the sudden the leaves are changing color and the temperature has dropped to match my spirits. I can't believe how I spent half of the summer doing practically nothing but job hunting and otherwise being a slug.
This is in part why I lost a little bit of steam here on the blog, since I found myself digging deeper and deeper into a rut. On the job hunt, it seems, I always seem to be taking one step forward and two steps back, and now I feel like I've taken a giant leap back and I'm starting from square one. It seems that every time I got my hopes up for a job, and spent hours researching the organization and staff and projects and reports and preparing for the interviews, I'd wind up back where I started, with nothing, surfing Idealist and playing FarmVille in bed.
The time has come and gone when I would normally be back at school or abroad, and being home in September is a bit unsettling for me. To make matters worse, everyone wants to give me advice on how to get a job (or ask about my "wedding"), but at this point, what I need are actual job leads, since I have already been given very good advice from lots of different people. I know what my strengths and weaknesses are, and I know how terrible I am at networking at events and in person, so I'm trying to use the contacts I already have and see where it goes, as well as applying for job listings online (by the way--it is not useless to apply for those listings like many would have you think--all of the interviews I've had so far have been from them).
In the meantime, I've basically stopped doing the things I'd normally do, partially due to relative isolation in the burbs, lack of money, and sheer laziness. I haven't taken or given a dance class since April, and I'm suffering greatly as a result. I haven't gone out as often as I'd like, and some days I barely leave the house. It's been making me a little crazy as a result, but I've planned a few new projects (and luckily, have a few interviews coming up) to keep me occupied. I've decided that instead of being mopey and miserable, I might as well take a shot at being funemployed.
