Yes, I finally have my visa!! It makes me feel as though everything is official. Made a weekend out of the required trip to Chicago and stopped in Iowa to see some college friends. Everyone is in various states of "goodness." It was fun to see new homes, new men, old men, new bars, old personalities, etc. Got to see a friend in the hospital and she's still working through some things, so if you're reading this, please send out some good healing energy up to Iowa for her. Spent Sunday night in Chicago at a hotel right off Michigan. Didn't want to deal with traffic for my 9 AM appointment on Monday, so it was nice to be able to walk to the consulate in the morning.
Getting the visa was a bit of an experience for me. I am told that I will need to get used to the Latin way of doing things, and I think the trip to the consulate was definitely a reflection of that. The lady on the phone scheduled an appointment with me for 9 AM on Monday. When I got there at 8:55 (punctuality!!!) I was accompanied by 20 other people who had evidently been to be there at 9 AM on Monday, too...SO, we signed in and I began to fill out the forms they gave me. BUT, they were all in Spanish. Luckily the people waiting with me were friendly, encouraging, helpful, and bilingual! They helped me out big time and if they are a reflection of the Colombian people, I will be in good hands.
Finally around 11, after bugging the lady behind the glass, I was taking back into the office of the head lady, who, after a quick glance at all my paperwork that I had spent MONTHS diligently copying, labeling, organizing, asked me how long I would be staying in Colombia, typed it into her computer, and printed off my Visa. She stuck it in my passport, Elmer's glued my picture on top, and handed my passport back to me with a smile and "Congratulations, you have been approved for a Colombian Visa." That was it! Easy and painless, besides the 2 hour wait.
So, it's official. I can work in Colombia! Less than 2 weeks to go...and I am SOOOO ready!
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