There are only 100 days left until I step foot in Brazil, but there is still plenty to do before I land in Rio de Janeiro.

I bought my round-trip plane ticket through Delta and have booked an apartment near Copacabana beach with the help of Airbnb, but my work to travel is only getting started.

Because the United States forces Brazilians to acquire a visa in order to enter the States, I must attain one in order to travel there. In April, I will travel to Washington D.C. and present lots of paperwork and personal information to the Consulate General of Brazil.

Depending on your state of residency, you may travel to a different consulate, but North Carolinians, such as myself, must apply for a visa in Washington D.C.

The consulate is only open during weekdays, and I must arrive before 12 p.m. on any given weekday in order to request a visa from them. I am a full-time university student, and so, I may have to miss a day’s worth of lectures to travel.

Luckily, I have no Friday lectures, so I am planning on driving to Washington D.C. one Thursday evening and renting a room or booking a hotel. Otherwise, my only other option would be to wake up extremely early one Friday morning and make the almost five-hour drive to Washington D.C.

Besides the trip to D.C., I also am debating the idea of having a yellow fever vaccination. I will be traveling to Manaus while in Brazil, and the city is in a region that recommends the vaccination for all visitors.

There are still 100 days left until I visit Brazil, but I will be spending each and every day preparing for its arrival, May 21, 2015.

This is an ongoing series of journal entries, in which I will explain and document my preparation for travel and travel through Brazil in May through August of 2015. You can read each journal entry on The Orange Traveler or on ojogobonito.weebly.com where they will initially be published.

Have any tips for traveling through Brazil? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.