Another day in Manaus, needless to say very little surprises me anymore. Last night I purchased a "pos pago" (post-paid) plan at Claro. What takes 15 minutes in the United States took over 2 hours. I actually recall my last car purchase in Chicago took only 1.25 hours. So I guess buying a cell phone is a BIG deal here. Claro seems to have by far the fastest internet in Manaus. They claim 4G (b/s). Unfortunately it is pretty much useless outside of Manaus.
Today I planned on going to the bank to pay a GRU for my spouses passport - surprise! Every bank in the Amazonas is on strike. You got to be kidding me. How can people function here without access to there money? By drinking. Now I know why there are so many parties here - because it's the way to cope with laziness, long days, bureaucracy and bullshit.
What's next? :-)
Hi Matt,
ReplyDeleteHow are you two doing? Anything to do with telephones is a pain here. That's why the telephone companies lead the list of complaints at PROCON. Not only is it bureaucracy up the wahzoo, but wait until you have a problem of some kind with your phone, customer service will drive you crazy.
Hope all is well, you're well settled in and all that good stuff. BTW, how are things going on the job front? Have you found anything yet?
If not I had a thought the other day that perhaps might interest you. Give me a call sometime.
Cheers,
James
Oh yeah, almost forgot...
ReplyDeleteYou'll notice when the banks go on strike they wouldn't even imagine to suspend the daily withdrawal limit or debit purchase limit to make your life any easier either! Not here, now way!!!
This is why I like being a member on sites like this. I want to move to Brazil so much but haven't saved enough money yet. Then when I hear stories like this, I get reminded of how day to day life is in Brazil. As you both know... it's a lot different when on vacation as opposed to living there! The most I ever stayed was 3 months and the bureaucracy/customer service was tough. I can only imagine living there! My ex used to always say... "are you sure you really want to LIVE here?" lol
ReplyDeleteI often wonder if the tourists heard ahead of time about the bureaucracy in this country if they would still come, even if it was just to visit. I honestly can say I probably would have never been to Brazil if I had known about the bureaucracy ahead of time. So I guess I am glad I did not know prior to my initial visit! It is very well hidden from the tourists and they only time you really see it is when you are checking into and out of a hotel.
ReplyDeletevocê poderia pagar o GRU pelo caixa de auto-atendimento. Sabia que uma simples busca no Google com essas simples palavras "como pagar gru" lhe levariam a esse documento?: http://www3.tesouro.gov.br/siafi/gru/download/Informacoes_pagamento.pdf
ReplyDeleteA maior parte da burocracia que as pessoas tanto falam poderia ser resolvida com simples pesquisas no Google.
The most of bureaucracy that people keep talking bad about could be solved with simple Google searches. ;)
Thanks for the feedback Plugadão. Unfortunately, not everything is as simple as a Google search. Often times Brazilian websites (government ones too) contradict each other, are 5 years old or just not accurate. Yes, somethings can be solved with a simple search but all too often it just is not the case. Also, I wrote this the day the strike started. Through later research and word of mouth from other expats I learned banks still performed essential services. Well, honestly, I think your banks should strike year round because they operate much more efficiently WITHOUT the people that were on strike - little wait, friendly service.
ReplyDelete