so many pieces of paper ..

it's that time of year again ..
visa excitement!
that's right .. waiting .. and rushing. and waiting .. and rushing .. and waiting .. and waiting ..
you know. the usual.

yesterday i paid the taxes.
three of them.
two of which were less than $1.
but i got to visit three different buildings.
and stand in three different lines.
and hand my passport to three different people.
and walk across a plaza from the first to the second building.
and walk a mile to the third building.
but .. getting there and accomplishing this
and getting home took about two hours.
which is better than i expected.

a few more things checked off the visa-list ..
just one more big one to go ..
the first time i did this process,
a teammate made the comment
that you have to really want to stay in this country.
they don't make it easy.
but it's true ..
i'm confident this is where i'm supposed to be
for now
so it's worth all the hassle and energy and frustration.

at least this time i speak the language well enough
to know what is going on.
and why the various offices i have to visit
don't always have the happiest workers ..
i can even to explain myself, if i have to.
and ask questions that get the answers i need!