Visa Fun! (3-28)

Chile really has been an adventure. The many new experiences help us be more understanding and appreciative. Our visas and "identity" in Chile has been a source of much "learning"!!!! Deb was delayed in arriving to Chile because the embassy made recommendations concerning her contract in several steps instead of all at once. Paper work for her identity number has been lost, resulting in beginning anew. Getting a bank account, car insurance, and telephone service depend on whether you have an identity number. If you don't have an "identity" you can't get these things. We've been counting on Deb's identity to get all these things.

Well. I recently started the process. I took a day off from school and went downtown to get my visa AND my identity number. Chile has a very beaurocratic process for just about everything. (IE, it takes about two weeks for you to get a bank account where you pay $70 a year and get no interest.) With instruction from a Lincoln staff member, I went to the first office to begin the process. Unfortunately, I was informed there that I had been misguided and they couldn't help me. (Figures!)

So I walked 6 blocks to the Immigration office to wait in line for information on what I needed to do to get my visa and identity number. I was given the number 78, they were on 27. But, there was some luck in this! A lady went up for a turn just before me. She wanted to renew a visa, but couldn't speak any Spanish. When I arrive at the station right next to her, they were just beginning to realize the desperate need for a translator. When they learned that I could speak English and Spanish, they asked me to translate for the lady who couldn't speak Spanish. In no time the delema was solved and they happily and patiently aided me with my questions. I discovered that I couldn't apply for both a visa and an identity number at the same time. I did need a paper from the first office to complete my request for a visa. And that I could apply by mail if I had all the documents.

So I went back to the first office and kindly, but directly, asked for what I needed. They completed the documento de ingresar and I went home to complete the application. So now I wait to here from the office about my visa. They said it would take 20 days. And I have been instructed to call after 10 to make sure they have everything they need. Wouldn't it just be ironic if I got my identity number card before Deb?!?!