The Visa: As If Everything Else Wasn't Hard Enough

After sending in my visa application 3 separate times, calling the Ecuadorian consulate in Phoenix countless times (because they never answer their phones), waiting weeks to hear back from them, many, many stressed out conversations with the AFS staff, a hastily rescheduled in-person appointment, and a 24 hour trip to Phoenix, I have a visa. I guess Life decided that I wasn't stressed out enough by everything else.

After having been to various orientations and lots of potlucks with AFS, I've heard my fair share of exchange student horror stories and things that have gone wrong. There are things that I know will be hard, and I know I'll be able to deal with them when they come up, but I've never heard of anyone having the visa process be a nightmare. That was unexpected.

We sent in my visa application, for the first time, about six weeks ago, figuring that gave us plenty of time. Then we didn't hear back from the consulate for a week, until we got an email saying that the documents we sent weren't attached in the correct order. So we sent it again, and a third time after that, only to hear that there were other documents that they needed, or that there was actually a different order for the documents. I was getting pretty panicky when it was already August, and I still didn't even have an appointment with the consulate, much less any sort of documentation to get me to Ecuador. Then finally, just before all hell was going to break loose, my dad got through to the consulate, only for them to tell us that they had us scheduled for an appointment in a couple of days. I guess it never crossed their minds to let us know, so that we could show up. My dad got them to give us an appointment the following week, so that we'd have time to buy plane tickets and arrange everything. And so it came to pass that this last Monday night, I got on a plane to Phoenix with my dad, and showed up to the Ecuadorian consulate the next morning.

The whole reason that they ask you to show up in person for your visa is so that they can conduct and interview. I was nervous about that, because I can speak pretty good Spanish, but I don't do very well on the spot. Turns out I didn't need to be worried, the consul asked me all of three questions, and then spent fifteen of twenty minutes talking about Ecuador and all of the great things you can do there. It was good information, but it seemed to me that we had gone to great lengths to get there in person for a relatively unimportant interview. But here's the thing: when you run out of options, you can't be picky. At all.

So now I have a visa. It's in my passport, all official and everything. I'm happy about that, despite the fiasco it was to get it, because it means I can get on the plane to Ecuador. That's the really important part, that I can get on the plane, because that's the first big step on my gran adventure.

Hasta Luego,

Elisa