Where Things Stand...

...for now, anyway.

In the ever frustrating, ongoing, and even possibly humorous saga of 'Susan and her carnet' or 'Susan and her visa extension', today I write a new episode:

Yesterday morning, Sandi tried to call Ana Rut.  It was 10:30ish, but Ana wasn't there.  Later that afternoon, Sandi called and even made contact.  In fact, Ana knew exactly who Sandi was and why she was calling within about a half second of recognizing her voice.

A short while later, I was in the school and Sandi came to talk to me.  "Well, I've got news, but I'm not sure you're going to want to hear it" was Sandi's greeting to me.  Hmmm, I immediately had images of packing my bags and hopping a bus to Costa Rica.  Thankfully, it was nothing that drastic.  I'm still not convinced that I like our interim solution, but, it is what it is.

Ana Rut, in talking to her boss about my situation and the limbo that I find myself in, told Sandi that if I would send them my passport and $40US, Ana would personally take my passport to Immigrations and get me another extension of my visa.  Sandi mention that I'm flying back to the States on April 28 for a visit and asked her if she could get my extension until that date.  "No problem" was the response.  

So, I went to my house and got my passport and $40US.  I was getting ready to go to the FedEx-equivalent office to express my passport to Ana Rut and the OIM.  We got the address, but it was a PO box, meaning that my passport would be sitting there until someone went to the post office.  

Now, I was already greatly suspect at even sending my passport.  I mean, you hear it all the time: Don't give anyone your passport.  Don't let it out of your sight or control.  And these folks want me to send/give them my passport for an indeterminate length of time?  Plus, the OIM needs to leave my passport with Immigrations for 3 days.  That would be the same Immigrations who lost the passport of an Enlaces intern a while back, only to have it show up a day or so before she was set to leave the country.  So, yes, I was more than a bit apprehensive about sending my passport to Ana Rut.

As it turns out, Erica, one of our school administrators, is heading to Tegucigalpa today and will be in the same neighborhood as the OIM office, which has moved and is now located inside the United Nations building.  She offered to bring my passport and money and hand deliver it to Ana Rut.  Whew!  That's a huge relief, especially since Erica knows how much and how long we've been dealing with this whole mess.

Sandi wrote a note to include in the envelope, reminding Ana Rut that the extension needs to be until April 28.  She even told Ana Rut that we would be willing to drive to Teguc to pick it up when she gets it back.  We'll see how that goes.  I'm hoping it will be next week, but, who knows?

If ever there was a time to say...  "I don't think I'm in Kansas anymore."