When I finally arrived at The Rocksboro, which is located on R Street in downtown Washington, D.C., it was close to midnight.

Jasmine Wiggins, fellow recipient of the Frances L. Phillips Travel Scholarship, and her boyfriend, Kevin Edwards, both accompanied me on my four-hour drive to the capital. Wiggins and Edwards are both traveling to Brazil, among other countries, and our paths will cross for a week or two at most in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Since we all needed to apply for a Brazilian visa in person at the Consulate General of Brazil, we decided to go together.

By the time I met my Airbnb host, Lauren, at her apartment, it was already late into the night, and I decided to sleep after a long cruise along the East Coast.

The next morning, I walked with Wiggins and Edwards to the Consulate, stressing and feeling anxious because I kept believing the application process was going to be long and excruciating. We walked inside, received our number, mine was R504, and sat down. Not too many people were there on that Friday morning, and when they opened at 9 a.m., R500 was the first number called up.

The line was moving quickly, and when my turn came, I approached the counter, hoping I had all of the necessary documents, papers, etc. needed for a smooth, quick process.

I did, and the process was faster than what I had previously imagined. Wiggins and Edwards also had a smooth, fast process, and we were all able to walk around the city before leaving at approximately noon.

I will now wait until the visa is processed, which usually takes one week, and hopefully, I did everything correctly.

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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 you applied for a Brazilian visa? How was your experience?

Share your thoughts below.