It's Friday morning, December 23rd, 2011. Two sleeps until children the world over wait for the fat man in the suit to come down the chimney and bring them the gifts they have been planning for since January, or in my case, overindulging and perhaps being a little too merry while spending cherished time with family and loved ones.
The usual Christmas chaos is going on around me with people organising last minute gifts, getting food preparations ready and a cleaning frenzy in my house for the Christmas Day lunch. This year, I rename the silly season the clinically insane season, for along with this madness, I am due to leave for Colombia in a mere eight days. Eight days... I can't quite believe that it's come up so quickly. When I look at what I have to do in those eight days, I almost have a small heart attack. Along with trying to catch up with friends and family before leaving and celebrating the festive season, I also have to organise my life for the next year and here's the clincher- I still don't have my Colombian visa. Yes that's right, eight days out, Christmas time, and I still don't have my visa, or for that matter, passport (which is sitting on someone's desk at the Embassy of Colombia in Canberra.)
How does this happen you ask? Let's wind back to November. As WorldTeach is an American organisation, the application process has been slightly different for me as an Australian. I had the option of sending my passport off to the U.S.A. to have my visa processed there with the other volunteers', however I didn't think there would be sufficient time to get my visa back from the States before my departure. I thought it safer to apply for the visa in Australia, with less risk of my passport getting lost/delayed in trans-Pacific postal system. I didn't however, bank on my supporting documents (needed to support my application) taking more than three weeks to get to Australia. Gotta love Christmas mail. With twelve working days until departure, I was accosting the postman on a daily basis with no sign of any documents in sight. As I was also becoming increasingly stressed and sleep deprived, WorldTeach and I arranged for the documents to be re-issued and urgently re-sent directly to the Embassy of Colombia in Australia via FedEx, and I would send my part of the application separately. Problem solved you say? Not quite.
In prior communication with the Embassy, I was assured that the visa takes no more than five working days to issue. Knowing that Colombians are not particularly known for their efficiency with administrative matters, I made it quite clear that it was very important that this information was accurate and the visa be issued in this period of time. I was repeatedly told that, providing my documents were all in order, this would not be a problem. They perhaps should have included a clause that said 'Providing your documents are in order, and the visa people in Colombia are contactable, this will not be a problem.' Unfortunately, the people who authorise the visas in Colombia are not answering emails or phone calls, and hence the Embassy in Canberra cannot issue my visa without passing this bureaucratic red tape. So as we are yet to hear back from Colombia, I have to wait until December 29th to find out whether my visa will be issued or not, leaving one working day to get my passport back from Canberra either with or without visa. Let's hope it's the former.
So as I sit down to enjoy my Christmas lunch, see my friends and family and try to enjoy the festive season, I will have to try and forget about the worry and uncertainty that I am faced with. As my parents keep telling me, I've done all I can now and it's in fate's hands. Send your positive thoughts my way and let's hope for a Christmas miracle (of Colombian efficiency.)
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