Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Surprises

Well, I have witnessed a great many surprises since I have moved to Uruguay. I cannot count how many.
Just when I didn't think I would see something that would really surprise me, bam.  I walked into the office supply store this afternoon to buy an envelope.  When I walked in the door there was an animated Santa Claus (Papa Noel) and he was singing, "The Yellow Rose of Texas".  It made me laugh inside because I didn't want to laugh publicly because I don't want to appear any stranger to the people here than I already do.  I asked the girl behind the counter about it but she didn't have a clue as to what I was talking about.
I wanted to make sure I wrote this down before I forgot about it.  I seriously doubt I will ever forget about this.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Home stretch

Well, I on the home stretch for my residency here in Uruguay.  I did the fingerprinting part today and that means I am almost done.  I also applied for my temporary cedula (ID card). Tomorrow I go and get my cedula.  After my application is accepted as ready from the office in Montevideo and the paperwork is mailed there, then all I have to do is wait.  My waiting time will probably be another couple of years.  As of now I cannot leave the country without permission from immigration.  It has taken me a little over 2 years to finish a 90 day process.  What I mean is, it usually only takes most people 90 days to get to where I am today.  I am excited.  It doesn't mean that I will be a citizen of Uruguay; it just means I have permission to live here without having to have my passport stamped every 90 days.  So it is time for me to calm down and get on with the other part of living.  In order to acquire citizenship here in Uruguay I will need to wait 5 years after my residency is approved.  I am going to maintain my American citizenship even after I become an Uruguayo.  Just thought I would keep you, who are interested in my status, informed about what is happening.

I will be receiving my Uruguayo identification card (cedula) in 12 days.  I have never been fingerprinted so many times in my life.
I am going to have 2 last names: Jonathan Lee Monnich Boyd.  So that means I am probably the first Monnich and the first Boyd to live in Uruguay.

Martes, 26 de noviembre 2013

Inicio estiramiento

Bueno, en la recta final de mi residencia aquí en Uruguay . Yo hice la parte de huellas digitales de hoy y eso significa que casi he terminado . También solicité mi cédula temporal ( tarjeta de identificación ) . Mañana me voy y pongo mi cédula . Después de mi solicitud es aceptada como listas de la oficina en Montevideo y la documentación se envía allí, entonces todo lo que tengo que hacer es esperar . Mi tiempo de espera será probablemente un par de años . A partir de ahora no puedo salir del país sin permiso de inmigración. Me ha costado un poco más de 2 años para terminar un proceso de 90 días. Lo que quiero decir es , por lo general sólo se necesita la mayoría de personas de 90 días para llegar a donde estoy hoy. Estoy muy emocionado . Esto no quiere decir que voy a ser un ciudadano de Uruguay , sino que sólo significa que tengo permiso para vivir aquí sin tener que tener mi pasaporte sellado cada 90 días. Así que es hora de que me calme y seguir con la otra parte de la vida . Con el fin de adquirir la ciudadanía aquí en Uruguay que tendrá que esperar 5 años después de que se apruebe mi residencia . Voy a mantener mi ciudadanía estadounidense , incluso después de que me convierto en un Uruguayo . Sólo pensé que te mantenga , que están interesados ​​en mi estado , informó acerca de lo que está sucediendo.

Que recibiré mi tarjeta de identificación Uruguayo (cédula) en 12 días. Nunca he tomado las huellas tantas veces en mi vida.

Voy a tener 2 apellidos: Jonathan Lee Monnich Boyd. Así que eso significa que soy probablemente el primer Monnich y la primera Boyd vivir en Uruguay.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Frustrated

I have titled this frustrated, because that is what I am right now.  I have all my papers ready for filing for residency and when we got there, they checked all my papers and then told me that I need to wait until November 22 when the person that knows how the process is done will be back in the office.  Makes me want to run screaming, naked through the woods.  I have been working on this for almost the entire 2 years I have been living here.  I stopped crossing the border because I found out I can pay for an extension of time instead of going to Argentina every 89 days.  Not much I can do about it except wait until November 22.  Fall back on the Serenity Prayer.

On a different note.  I found an insect in the kitchen last night that boggles my imagination. It was an ant.  I wish I would have taken a picture of it but it was as long as an inch.  I didn't kill it, I let it lose outside.  I only kill certain bugs, the occasional giant ant isn't going to be one of them.  I did some research and it turns out this particular ant is indigenous to Brazil.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTkkMbOomYw.

Anyway, not much of a blog this time around but it's better than nothing.  Once I get this immigration thing in my past I will better be able to assist other people with the information they will definitely need for their paperwork.

Happy trails until we meet again.

Doc

Saturday, October 19, 2013

apologies

My deepest apologies to all you people that living in Texas and other places where this particular bird is prevelant.

I have been meaning to write this short blog for some time but I always seem to forget.  I heard a sound from downstairs that reminded me of this so I am writing it.

We do not have Grackle birds in Uruguay.  We have a lot of other birds.  The only one that makes anywhere near any kind of obnoxious sound are green parrots and that is only if you live on the outskirts of the city.

I really don't want to rub that in but I remember how horribly obnoxious those birds are.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

visits

This blog is inspired by something posted on Facebook by Paulo Peres.  

I know that America is a great place to live but if you don't visit a different country, at least once in your life, you are cheating yourself out of a wonderful experience.  The old world atmospheres that you feel when walking the streets and seeing the sights cannot really be explained in words.  You get to feel something strange and exciting.  You don't have to be able to speak the different languages, just inhale the wonder of the experience.  The tranquility of the experience is awesome.  The people in most countries are friendly.  You do have to be selective about which countries you visit.  A lot of the countries in South America have certain degrees of a fearful experience but a lot them are wonderful places to visit.  
I have visited a lot of the islands in the Caribbean, Israel, and many of the places in the Mediteranean.  I live in Paysandu, Uruguay so I can experience the wonders of foreign country on a daily basis.  We may not have all the wonders that can be experienced in the United States but the ones we do have are spectacular.  I have been here for almost 2 years and I still see things in this city that inspire an indescribable sense of awe.  Like in the US there are different examples of architecture from all over the world.  It was settled by Europeans and they brought with them all the cultural wonders of their homelands.  
Treat yourself to a visit to any of the many wonderful places to be seen in the world.  

Este blog está inspirado en algo publicado en Facebook por Peres Paulo .

Sé que Estados Unidos es un gran lugar para vivir, pero si no se visita un país diferente, al menos una vez en su vida, se está engañando a sí mismo de una experiencia maravillosa. Las viejas atmósferas mundo que se siente al caminar por las calles y ver los lugares de interés en realidad no puede explicarse con palabras. Tienes la oportunidad de sentir algo extraño y emocionante. Usted no tiene que ser capaz de hablar las diferentes lenguas , sólo inhalar la maravilla de la experiencia. La tranquilidad de la experiencia es increíble . La gente en la mayoría de los países son amistosas . Usted tiene que ser selectivo sobre lo que los países que visita. Muchos de los países de América del Sur tienen ciertos grados de una experiencia terrible , pero mucho ellos son lugares maravillosos para visitar .
He visitado muchas de las islas del Caribe , Israel, y muchos de los lugares en el Mediterráneo. Yo vivo en Paysandú, Uruguay , así que puede disfrutar de las maravillas de los países extranjeros sobre una base diaria . Puede que no tengamos todas las maravillas que se pueden experimentar en los Estados Unidos, pero los que sí tenemos son espectaculares . He estado aquí por casi 2 años y todavía ver las cosas en esta ciudad que inspiran un sentimiento indescriptible de asombro. Al igual que en los EE.UU. hay diversos ejemplos de arquitectura de todo el mundo. Fue colonizada por los europeos y trajeron con ellos todas las maravillas culturales de sus países de origen .

Disfrute de una visita a cualquiera de los muchos lugares maravillosos para ser visto en el mundo .

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Cars

There is actually a good reason why I titled this blog cars.  I watched the animated movie, "Cars" this morning.  Larry the Cable Guy played the voice for the wrecker in the movie.  He had a lot of funny one liners but one really stands out.  "I'm happier than a tornado in a trailer park".  I thought that was funny on a few levels.  I used to live in a mobile home subdivision that got hit by a tornado and I remember that mobile home backs are referred to as tornado magnets.  The big reason this was an outstanding one liner is because where I live most of the people don't have a clue what he might have been referring to.  In order for me to tell that joke down here I would have to explain what a "trailer" is, then what a "trailer park" is, along with a few other explanations in order for people here to understand why that statement would be funny.  There have been a few things that I have managed to translate that are still funny but a lot of things lose something in the translation.
Just a short thought for the day.  I am not saying anything to demean the people of this country, I would never do that.  I love the people here.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Money

Well, I decided to write about money among other things that have happened over the past few weeks.  
Life in Uruguay is still good,but I would sure like to get a certain bank executive's neck in my clutches.  I had to set up another account with the BBVA here to qualify for residency.  A certain bank executive gave me a routing number to open the account.  I did ask him why the routing number had changed from the previous one and he told me that there was a new contract.  I took the information he had given me and sent it to the organizations that provide my annuities.  I was informed by both that the routing number I was given was not active.  I contacted the bank exec and informed him of the problem and asked him to contact the main bank in Montevideo to make sure that the original routing number was not available.  Through a series of emails he told me that the only routing number they had to provide was the one that he gave me.  After a few phone calls with little progress I resorted to calling my only other contact group.  I called the U S Embassy here in Uruguay.  They told me that another returnee had a similar difficulty.  She called the main BBVA in Montevideo and was informed that they were going to contact the BBVA exec here in Uruguay to set up my account with the original routing number.  Deadlines for direct deposits had passed so I had to have SSA send a direct deposit to my bank in the US.  The other was not able to do a direct deposit so they mailed me a check.  Unfortunately, no one here in Paysandu wanted to cash the check and it would have taken 30 days to clear BBVA here.  I found out a way to mail the check to a bank by mail center affiliated with Bank of America.  I put it in an envelope and mailed it to the address that I was given only to find out a few days later that I was given an incorrect address.  At this point my only hope was that that particular bank by mail center would deposit my check.  It took several days for the envelope to find its way out of the country, at which point I lost track of the envelope.  It finally showed up a being tracked to the USPS in Miami.  Unfortunately, I found out after a few phone calls that it was being held by U S Customs.  Guess what, there is no way to contact U S Customs to find out why they were holding my mail.  In the meantime, I had worked out an agreement with TMRS to FedEx a replacement check to a bank by mail center for Bank of America at the correct address depending on the status of the missing check.  I was told that if I didn't notify TMRS by 8:30 AM on Tuesday, October 1 they were going to cancel the missing check and FedEx the replacement check.  I checked my bank balance this morning and the missing check had been deposited even though the Miami USPS was still saying that the check was still there instead of being forwarded to Tampa.  I was relieved only to find out that the missing check had been canceled on September 30 at 4:00 PM.  TMRS decided because they cancelled the missing check to go ahead and FedEx the replacement check, pending cancellation of the missing check.  If the missing check did not get cancelled then the replacement check would stand for the money I should receive for my November annuity because they also direct deposited my annuity for October, which hasn't shown up at my bank account here.  So now I am watching to see what happens with the missing check that was deposited.  During all this I withdrew 300 dollars so I could buy some food, only to find out that the missing check that was deposited will probably be cancelled causing me to be overdrawn at the bank until the replacement check can be deposited in the bank tomorrow, October 2.  I can only hope that the replacement check deposit beats the notification that the other check was cancelled.  To prevent this story from becoming too boring I have left out how many times I have called different organizations in the US.
So I am sitting on pins and needles to see what happens to my money tomorrow.
In the meantime, I have to travel to Montevideo, no later than Monday, October 7 to get a translated copy of my divorce decree so I can present it on October 8 so that our wedding can be approved to be performed on November 1.  In the meantime, I have to travel to Argentina no later than October 24 so that I can get a 90 day extension on my passport.
And I was beginning to actually think that living in Paysandu wasn't the adventure I thought it was going to be, go figure.

dinero
Bueno, he decidido escribir sobre el dinero , entre otras cosas que han sucedido durante las últimas semanas .
La vida en Uruguay sigue siendo bueno, pero me gustaría estar seguro de cuello de cierto ejecutivo bancario en mis garras. Tuve que crear otra cuenta con el BBVA para calificar para la residencia . Cierto ejecutivo del banco me dio un número de ruta para abrir la cuenta . Yo le pregunto por qué el número de ruta había cambiado desde el anterior y me dijo que había un nuevo contrato. Tomé la información que me había dado y se lo envié a las organizaciones que ofrecen mis anualidades. Fui informado por tanto que el número de ruta que me dieron no estaba activo . Me puso el ejecutivo del banco y le informé del problema y le pedí que ponerse en contacto con el banco principal de Montevideo para asegurarse de que el número de ruta original no estaba disponible. A través de una serie de correos electrónicos que me dijo que el único número de ruta que tenían que ofrecer era la que él me dio . Después de un par de llamadas con poco progreso recurrí a llamar a mi único grupo de contacto . Llamé a la embajada de U S aquí en Uruguay . Me dijeron que otro repatriado una dificultad similar. Llamó al BBVA principal en Montevideo y fue informado de que iban a ponerse en contacto con el ejecutivo de BBVA aquí en Uruguay para establecer mi cuenta con el número de ruta inicial. Fechas límite para depósitos directos habían pasado por lo que tenía que tener SSA enviar un depósito directo a mi banco en los EE.UU. . El otro no era capaz de hacer un depósito directo para que me enviaron un cheque. Por desgracia , nadie aquí en Paysandu quería cobrar el cheque y habría tomado 30 días para despejar BBVA aquí . Me enteré de una forma de enviar el cheque a un banco por el centro de correo de afiliados a Bank of America. Lo puse en un sobre y envié por correo a la dirección que me dieron sólo para descubrir a los pocos días que me dieron una dirección incorrecta . En este momento mi única esperanza era que ese banco en particular por centro de correo de depositaría mi cheque. Pasaron varios días para el sobre de encontrar su salida del país , y en ese momento perdí la noción del sobre. Finalmente apareció un ser rastreado a la USPS en Miami. Por desgracia , me enteré después de un par de llamadas que se celebraba por la aduana EE.UU. . ¿Sabes una cosa , no hay manera de ponerse en contacto con EE.UU. Aduanas para averiguar por qué estaban celebrando mi correo. Mientras tanto , yo había elaborado un acuerdo con TMRS a FedEx un reemplazo cheque a un banco por el centro de correo de Bank of America en la dirección correcta en función de la situación de la falta de verificación . Me dijeron que si no me notifico TMRS antes de las 8:30 am el martes 1 de octubre se iba a cancelar la falta de verificación y FedEx el cheque de reemplazo . Revisé mi cuenta bancaria esta mañana y la falta de verificación había sido depositada , aunque el Miami USPS seguía diciendo que el cheque todavía estaba allí en lugar de ser enviado a Tampa. Me sentí aliviado sólo para descubrir que la falta de verificación había sido cancelado el 30 de septiembre a las 4:00 PM. TMRS decidieron porque cancelaron el cheque que falta para seguir adelante y FedEx el cheque de reemplazo , en espera de la cancelación del cheque perdido. Si la falta de verificación no se cancelan después el cheque de reemplazo se situaría por el dinero que debería recibir para mi anualidad noviembre porque también directa depositados mi anualidad para octubre , que no ha aparecido en mi cuenta bancaria aquí . Así que ahora estoy viendo a ver qué pasa con la falta de verificación que fue depositado . Durante todo esto me retiré 300 dólares para poder comprar algo de comida , sólo para descubrir que la falta de verificación que se depositó probablemente se cancelará haciendo que me sobregirado en el banco hasta que el cheque de reemplazo puede ser depositado en el banco mañana , octubre 2 . Sólo puedo esperar que el depósito de cheque de reemplazo es mejor que la notificación de que el otro control fue cancelado . Para evitar que esta historia se vuelva demasiado aburrida que he dejado de lado la cantidad de veces que he llamado las diferentes organizaciones en los EE.UU. .
Así que estoy sentado en ascuas a ver qué pasa con mi dinero mañana .
Mientras tanto , tengo que viajar a Montevideo , a más tardar el lunes 7 de octubre para obtener una copia traducida de mi sentencia de divorcio para que pueda presentarlo el 8 de octubre para que nuestra boda pueda ser aprobada para llevar a cabo el 1 de noviembre . Mientras tanto , tengo que viajar a Argentina antes del 24 de octubre, así que puedo conseguir una prórroga de 90 días en mi pasaporte.

Y yo estaba empezando a pensar que en realidad viven en Paysandu no era la aventura que pensé que iba a ser , vaya usted a saber .