study . live . teach
It’s finally time to close out the chapter on our 2011 transition to Slovakia. Of all the overseas transitions that Jana and I have experienced in moving from Slovakia to the US (1995), from the US to Slovakia (2001), back from Slovakia to the US (2005), and now from the US to Slovakia again, this was by far the most challenging. [Read more…]
Well, well, well. I made an inquiry into my visa situation at a non-government organization that helps foreigners in Slovakia with their visas. Specifically, I asked them how long this process usually takes.
I sure do appreciate everyone’s prayers.
I felt kind of sure that the foreign police would handle my case this past week but it’s the end of the day on Friday and we’ve still received no word. I can’t imagine it will take any longer than the beginning of next week.
Unfortunately, last week I couldn’t have imagined it taking longer than this week.
In the meantime, some interesting things have happened.
9:30 am on Wednesday, September 7th at the foreign police office in Banská Bystrica, the police officer is rolling her eyes in disbelief and sighs with a sense of compassion.
Foreign Police Officer (FPO): So close. It’s too bad it didn’t come sooner.
Todd: It’ll be here tomorrow, I’ve got it set up for official translation tomorrow night and we can have it in your office first thing on Friday.
cc licensed flickr photo shared by Paolo Rosa
As usual, the visa process is coming down to the wire. It never fails. There is always something about it that brings you face to face with the barbarous beast of bureaucracy. You might remember I called it Kafkaesque. It turns out that’s actually a word.
Kafkaesque: Marked by a senseless, disorienting, often menacing complexity.
Yesterday I spent a good part of the day reading the Slovak law about visa requirements and searching for websites that could possibly help explain the process of applying for a visa. [Read more…]
