The Visa Saga Continued
John returned to Bangkok today, as stated previously, in an attempt to repair our visa situation. . .alas, it was not to be. He was missing a critical document, a letter from the local Ministry of Education giving authorization for him to have his visa changed. The school is responsible for obtaining documents such as this and they thought they had done everything required, but they overlooked or misinterpreted this particular requirement.
The good news is, it's an easy letter to get, especially since the school recently translated a bunch of materials from Thai to English for the local Ministry of Education. It means John has to go to Bangkok AGAIN, but he also said that the immigration official he talked to was extremely helpful and seemed knowledgeable (two rare qualities among government workers worldwide, and especially in Thai Immigration). The guy even gave John his name and cell phone number, and called the school to let them know exactly what was needed. Also, when John explained that he had a very pregnant wife and a small child in Khon Kaen who also needed visas, the official said to get a doctor's note verifying my due date and he could do the visas without me actually having to go to Bangkok. Not that six hours on a bus with Trea doesn't sound like fun, but after all the amusing times we had on planes during Christmas, it just seems like a bit much. Funny, last time I went to see my doctor I needed a note to let me travel on an international flight, and now I'm going to go ask for a note saying I can't (or at least shouldn't) travel six hours by bus. But such is the nature of pregnancy that the six weeks in between visits actually justifies both notes.
On the bright side, John brought me a Subway club sandwich and a package of Milano cookies from Bangkok, so the trip wasn't a total waste.
So, the question is, as a woman of faith, do I chalk this up to being a) God's way of telling us to go home already or b) a simple matter of there being too much red tape, and not enough attention to detail?
The jury is still out. . .
The good news is, it's an easy letter to get, especially since the school recently translated a bunch of materials from Thai to English for the local Ministry of Education. It means John has to go to Bangkok AGAIN, but he also said that the immigration official he talked to was extremely helpful and seemed knowledgeable (two rare qualities among government workers worldwide, and especially in Thai Immigration). The guy even gave John his name and cell phone number, and called the school to let them know exactly what was needed. Also, when John explained that he had a very pregnant wife and a small child in Khon Kaen who also needed visas, the official said to get a doctor's note verifying my due date and he could do the visas without me actually having to go to Bangkok. Not that six hours on a bus with Trea doesn't sound like fun, but after all the amusing times we had on planes during Christmas, it just seems like a bit much. Funny, last time I went to see my doctor I needed a note to let me travel on an international flight, and now I'm going to go ask for a note saying I can't (or at least shouldn't) travel six hours by bus. But such is the nature of pregnancy that the six weeks in between visits actually justifies both notes.
On the bright side, John brought me a Subway club sandwich and a package of Milano cookies from Bangkok, so the trip wasn't a total waste.
So, the question is, as a woman of faith, do I chalk this up to being a) God's way of telling us to go home already or b) a simple matter of there being too much red tape, and not enough attention to detail?
The jury is still out. . .
Comments