The Miami Ecuadorian Consulate Story....

September 3rd, Monday, Labor Day.......

Ed and I drove down to Miami to have our papers approved by the Ecuadorian Consulate.  We thought by driving down on Monday afternoon, we could be at the Consulate when their doors opened at 9:00am on Tuesday.  We had been told by a person who had used the Miami Consul that it took only an hour to get approval and $95.  We were all set.

We left Sun City at 1:30 and Ed drove the first couple of hours.  I took over the driving at the half way point.  I got stuck driving through some really nasty thunderstorms.  But, the drive was mainly boring driving down alligator alley.  I had arranged for us to spend the night at the Best Western near the Miami International Airport. The hotel is located about 1 block from the Consulate & within walking distance.  We arrived at the hotel near dinner time and neither of us wanted to get back in the car and go 'find' a restaurant.  So, we opted to just eat in the hotel's restaurant.  It turned out to be a nice meal in a quiet setting and we both enjoyed a good glass of wine.

September 4th, Tuesday........

I was up early this morning because I still had some travel agent business to complete (still have clients).  We were in the Consulate's office by 9:15 and there were just a couple of people waiting.  The 'receptionist' (Gate Keeper #1) was behind a glass wall with only a small hole in the glass to talk to her through.  She is seated low at desk and you really have to bend to talk to her.  Ed explained to the receptionist that we had come to have our Social Security Verification Letter certified by the Consulate.  We would also be apply for a Pension Residency when we arrived in Ecuador.  She asked if we had all our papers and asked to see them. 

We had learned from other expats living in Ecuador what papers were needed, and we had everything below ready! 

1.  We each had to have a new certified & notarized birth certificate and they had to apostilled from the state that had issued it (New Hampshire & Montana) - done! 
 
2.  A new certificate & notarized marriage certificate and it also had to be apostilled from the state which issued it (Virginia) - done! 

3.  A Florida State Police Background check for each of us and it needed to be notarized and apostilled in Florida - done!

4.  We needed a notarized bank statement of our good standing with them (our bank is USAA in Texas) - done!

5.  Ed needed a Verification Letter from Social Security of the amount of his monthly benefits.  Ed was able to get it notarized and apostilled in Montana while he was up there.  Then, we knew this had to be translated into Spanish and notarized in the state of Florida - done!

6.  Current Passports with extra pages for Visa stamps and they don't expire for many years - yup, got them!

7.  We each needed 2 recent passport pictures in color with white background - completed!

So, we handed this whole packet to the receptionist at the front desk.  She tells us to take and seat and wait until someone can help us.  We waited about 15 minutes before we were called back to meet with a lady (Gate Keeper #2) in an office.   She never introduced herself to us and there was no name plate on her desk, so we have no idea who we were talking to.  She then tells us our packet is NOT correct!  They only can take documents from Florida.  If the document is from another state is has to be translated into Spanish and then notarized by a Florida Notary!  She explains to us that if we had taken our documents as they were to Ecuador and had them translated over there the Ecuadorian Government would not have accepted them as properly completed.  That would mean our residency would have been delayed for months. 

Both Ed and I tried to ask her a question and she was very mad that we questioned her knowledge.  She printed off some paper in Spanish about a Visa that we were not applying for and had no idea what she was talking about.  She then asked (really booted) us to leave her office.  At this point Ed and I have NO idea what we did to piss her off but she was sure upset with us.

Oh, crap... that means we have to get a bunch of our documents translated and notarized ASAP! 

Now, the receptionist was ready... she told us there was an office that could help us just at the end of their building.  The receptionist told us she would keep the Social Security Verification Letter and when the other documents were in order, they would verify that document.  Ed then paid her $45 cash for that and she held onto it. 

So, we walked down to the end of the building and talked to them.  We spoke to a very nice lady, Ms. Nelly Lashman.  Yes, they could translate all our papers and notarize them just the way the Consulate needed them and the necessary copies.  Their price was $25 per document, I had paid $60 in Tampa.  BUT, it will take them 24 hours.  So, our simple 1 hour visit was turning into a full day's task.

Ed and I talked it over and decided it was just as easy to stay over night in Miami and pick up our papers in the morning and know that we would be correct and accepted by the Consulate.  That means we can get this completed by tomorrow, we hope.  OK, the hotel for two nights was unexpected but seemed the quickest and most efficient way to get it all done.  We left Nelly feeling good and went to find a restaurant for a nice lunch.

So, we had some unexpected time on our hands but there were things on our list that we could do from the hotel.  We needed to do a bank wire transfer for our Cuenca condo deposit.  Ed got that completed in minutes.  I needed to make hotel reservations in Guayaquil the night we arrive and in Cuenca until our condo is ready.  I found a really nice hotel in Cuenca for $350 per night - in Cuenca?  That is a price I would expect in NY City not in a small town in Ecuador.  I will keep looking.

September 5th, Wednesday.....

Nelly had suggested that we meet at her office at 8:45 to pick up our translated and Florida Notarized documents.  Her office does not open until 9:00 but she would get there early so we could be the first at the Consulate's office.  Because of some very heavy rains the night before, Nelly's was running a little late but had everything in order.  We paid her $120 in cash for our new packet of documents.  Yes, things were looking up for us!

So, we were at the Consulate's office at 9:05 and were the first ones in line.  We were feeling good.  We handed the Receptionist our complete new packet and was told to sit.  We were kept waiting about 45 minutes this time and then called back into Gate Keeper #2 office.  This time she informs us the Social Security Letter was illegal because our translator had a signature on it from the Social Security Office on it.  She was really up-set about this and told us it had to be redone.  She kicked us out of her office again.

The receptionist returned our $45 cash and we took the document down to visit Nelly again.  Nelly really wanted to help us out, so she suggested that if we used her computer and typed the document she would then Notarize it.  Nelly read the translated letter from our Tampa translator and said it was good and just type that.  She got us onto her computer and Ed typed the letter exactly as our original translator had done.  When Ed was done, Nelly came back and corrected a couple of items and added a statement at the bottom of the letter.  The newly translated letter was printed out, Nelly told Ed to sign it and she Notarized his signature.  The time was 11:30am and we had to be out of the hotel by 1:00.

Off we went to the Consulate's Office.  Ed and I checked in with the Receptionist and told to wait.  We waited a long time and it was getting to be 12:30 so Ed told me to return to the hotel and pack up our room and check out.  He would meet me there as soon as he got the SS letter certified.  I was not with Ed when the next part happened:

Ed was called to the door by Gate Keeper #2.  She asked him in Spanish if he spoke Spanish.  He said he did and had his college degree in Spanish but was rusty in speaking.  She then rapidly fired questions at him in Spanish and there was no way he would reply - she never shut up!  She then told him to come into his office.  She then light into Ed that he had plagiarized this translated paper and that was illegal - there was NO way Ed understood the document or what was said in Spanish.  She informed Ed that she was going to take copies of all our documents and report him to the immigration authorities in Ecuador and this would prevent us from become residents.  At this time, her supervisor joined them in Gate Keeper's #2 office, and he was much more helpful and told Ed all he had to do was get the proper paper work done this letter and he would certify it.

Ed then asked for all his documents to be returned so he could get them "properly completed".  Gate Keeper #2 told him to go sit in the waiting room that they would be returned when SHE was finished with what she was doing.  Ed waited about 30 minutes and the documents were returned to Ed by someone else.  Ed then returned to the hotel very upset.  His integrity had been questioned and this was what Ed couldn't stand. 

Now, it 1:30 and we have the long drive back to Tampa.  But, we both were hungry because we had skipped breakfast.  We just went into Subway for a quick sandwich.  There is something on the schedule that we had been looking forward to but now our mood was down.  Ed had bought tickets to a home game for a Tampa Rays baseball game against the NY Yankees.  The game started at 7:00 and we just drove directly to the Tropicana Field.

On the drive back to Tampa, Ed called Jason, the guy who had originally translated our SS letter. We told him the problem and he said he would correct it. I promised to scan and send him the document the way Nelly had done it to when I got home from the ball game.

The game was good but Tampa had lost by 4 to 6 and that kinda of matched our spirits.  We got home at 11:00 and it had been a long day and I still had to deal with this Social Security Letter.  Before bed, I scanned the SS letter to Jason.

September 6th, Thursday.....

Jason was quick to repsond and had his corrected translated letter to us via email to look over by 9:15.  Ed and I both looked over the letter to make sure it was exactly the way Nelly had done.  I then printed off 3 copies.  Ed had also written a letter directly to Mr. Eduardo Rivadeneira, the Consul General to apologize for any misunderstanding or upsets we caused.  Jason also translated this letter for us. 

We met Jason at 1:00 in a Tampa Kinko Office and was able to get the document Notarized and Expressed mailed back to the Miami Consulate's office, along with Ed's apology letter.  We also enclosed a prepaid Express mail envelop back to us and a money order for $50.  We did paid extra for a 10:00 am delivery to the Consulate.  Now, we just have to sit back and pray that Gate Keeper #2 doesn't hide this document on her desk for days or it doesn't get accidentally bumped into the trash can from her desk.

We still have worries that IF this Social Security letter is verified by the Ecuadorian Consulate's office and arrives to us before our departure this coming Thursday (Sept. 13th) will Gate Keeper #2 have any power over our residency and continue to make our life a series of problems.....

So, this isn't really the end of the story.....

Productive Day !!!

We are down to less than three weeks until our departure to Ecuador.  It seems my list of things to do or buy is getting longer not shorter.  I am feeling stressed!  I have been putting all the items that are going down with us in a bedroom. The room was full and is just getting worse. 

I've been guided by expats living there what they suggest I bring:

  Good bed sheet sets - hard to find and expensive there
  Favorite pillows - if you need them
  Electric blanket but we've opted for a good down blanket
  Mattress pad
  * A good memory foam mattress pad for my bad back
  Large bath towels sets 
  Warm clothes that you can layer & wool socks
  Rain Jacket & Totes umbrella
  Good walking shoes 

I've also been told that certain spices are not available or not easily found in Cuenca.  I've included our favorite ones:
  Black Pepper Corns
  Old Bay Spice Packets
  Cinnamon
  Onion Powder
  Garlic Power
  Celery Salt
  Chili Powder
  Tabasco Sauce - Ed couldn't live without this one

I have also decided to include things we still own, so we don't have to buy them again down there:
  DVD player with a few movies
  Good fry pan
  My favorite saucepan with lid
  Good kitchen knives
  My other preferred utensils:
          Hand held cheese grater
          Good Grips Veggie Peeler
          Good Grips hand held can opener
          Measuring spoons
          Wine opener & VinVac with stoppers
          Pepper Mill
  Lipton Decaf large tea bags - we understand it isn't easy to
  find these locally & these are Ed's favorite
  My size XL Kitchen Rubber Gloves
  Bathroom night lights

I had also keep a few things aside from our estate sale: a few special pictures and several trinkets with special memories of our travels. 

There were other items that I feel might be needed:
  Special nails for cement walls
  Adaptors to change electrical 3 prong plugs to a 2 prong
  Good surge protector for our computers for when we arrive

We didn't have enough large suitcases for this move.  I hated to spend a lot of money on luggage that we wouldn't use again.  I researched on a great web site; www.ebags.com to see what they offered.  I found the Kelty XL duffel bag.  It is made of strong polyester and reinforced bottom and the cost was reasonable.  I bought six of them!

Yesterday was a very productive day for me.  I had bought lots of bubble wrap for all the breakables items.  I got about 80% of all the stuffed packed into one box, one large suitcase and two Kelty Duffel bags.  I marked the duffel bags with our name and a number on each one.  As I was packing each bag I made a complete inventory of the contents.  I printed off the list so I would know what each bag held. 



 

It now feels like this journey is becoming real to me.  I kept waiting for that to happen and it just took some serious packing!  Ed has the other big hard sided suitcase with him in Montana and I needed it to pack the other 20%.  I still have two of my favorite pictures to pack in that one.  They are double wrapped in bubble wrap and then in a large bath towel.  I feel they have a good chance to making it down there. 

 

The other project that I wanted to work on is getting my receipts put in order.  I am scanning only my favorite recipes into the computer for the trip.  Yesterday, I went through hundreds of recipes and sorted them all out.  Now, I have a stack of the ones that will be scanned.  Another project is getting under control.

 

I also got two other boxes packed and mailed yesterday.  The first box was to my cousin.  It contained two items from my grandmother, an old plate and vase.  I had found them while I was getting organized for our estate sale.  The second box was to my brother-in-law.  Ed had an old film camera with a zoom lens and flash that he wanted to give Jim. Yup, a productive day!.......

 

 

A New Sign

 

 

All my friends know that I have gypsy blood and have moved all my life.  I have never in my whole life lived in any house as long as the one we just sold.  We lived in this in Sun City Center, Florida home for six years.  Recently, I was reminded by dear friends that lived two doors down that I told them that they would have to carry out of that house.  "I will not move again!" were my exact words to them.  Oops, that statement turned out to be false.  Can a gypsy ever really put down forever roots?  Now, if I think closely about it, they kinda did carry me out... piece by piece...during our estate sale.  I watched 44 years of travel treasures going to new homes.

 

I have talked about this new journey that we are about to take and it not feeling real to me yet.  It is sorta of dream or plan we talk about but not real.  I do keep moving forward and doing all the things to make our move possible.  I have gotten rid of all our possessions, sold our home, moved into a friends condo (just blocks away from our old house). I am knee deep in getting all our documents collected for our residency.  But, still with all that it just feels like a plan and not real yet.  It is something we are just 'talking' about.

 

Yesterday, I had to drop off a card table and chairs to our old neighbors that lived directly across the street.  I looked across the street to our old house and remembered many great parties we hosted there.  We lived on a great street with 18 other homes and we all got along, how unique is that?  The thing that really caught my eye was the new name sign on the lamp post.  The new owner's name was up and it's now their home.  That seemed to remind me that is journey is really happening and in the very near future.  We are just three weeks away from wheels up.....

 

It's funny how the very little things seem to really matter.  A simple name sign hanging on our old lamp post reminds me of all the changes that are happening in my life...."a sign of change"!

 

Do you take time to notice the small changes in your life?  What are they telling you?