Wow. There are no words adequate enough to explain the last 4 days...but since so many of you are asking about it and what's next, I'll see what I can do.........
I think in this post, I'll just give you a fly over of the trip from my perspective, including some funny outtakes. The next post will be a more practical update on Ana Maria and what's next for us in this process.
So, I think most of you know about the delays, cancellations etc from the beginning of the trip so I'll just fast forward to the trip to Santo Domingo for the Visa appointment b/c that's the one that will forever go down in history. Ana Maria and I left Jarabacoa around 4:30 pm on Sunday to catch a bus in La Vega. We were barely out of town when a terrifying noise emerged from the smelly man sitting next to me/half on top of me: it was the loudest cock-a-doodle-doo I've ever heard in my life. Perhaps that's because I've never had the pleasure of having a rooster so close to my ear. He has two roosters in a pillowcase. Terrifying. Oh, and at this point, I didn't realize that we were only on this bus for a short time - I thought I was going to have to sit next to this for 3 hours.
So the rest of the trip was smooth. We arrived at the hotel around 8pm and had a lovely dinner. If you want to experience maybe the coolest thing on the planet, take a person who has not ventured out of her village much in her whole life and give her an evening in a nice hotel. It was precious. You would have thought we were at the Ritz. (it was a Holiday Inn) =)
So, 5:45am: Visa day. Ana Maria and I both woke up before our alarms went off, eager to get this thing started. We were out the door at 6:30 and at the Embassy at 6:45. This is when crazy gets re-defined. Our taxi driver lets us off at a gas station and the screaming begins. People everywhere. Yelling at us. In Spanish. At 6:45 IN. THE. MORNING. I had not even had coffee yet. Anyway, next thing I know is Ana Maria is telling me that we need to pay this dude who is leaning up against the gas tank 600 pesos to keep our cell phones b/c they are not allowed in the Embassy. Great, I know what this means. I also cannot take my laptop, camera, or flip video in with me either. (or hair straightener - go figure). So before I had much time to think about it, I paid the guy 600 pesos (about $15) to keep about $2100 of my valuables. Awesome. Actually, as I walked away, I said to God 'if he runs off with all of that but we get a YES today, I don't care. It'll be worth it.' And it would have been.
What happened next was nothing short of a miracle. Dominicans were standing in line. Not one line, but several very organized, straight lines. For those of you who have been to this country, you are laughing already because you know that asking Dominicans to form a line is more difficult than herding cats. I am not being critical - I want to be clear about that - because the very thing that causes Dominicans to be incapable of forming lines is the very thing that captured my heart 9 years ago and made me fall in love with this country and these people. They are warm and friendly and inclusive and loving - they form clumps, not lines. Anyway, after I picked my jaw up off the sidewalk, Ana Maria and I joined said line. We were not in it but 10 minutes or so before I was told I would not be able to go in with Ana Maria. I said 'ok, what should I do?' and they pointed across the street and said 'you can wait over there.' 'Over there' was across the very busy street, with several hundred others who were also not cool enough to go inside. So I gave Ana Maria a hug and said 'Jesus is with you' and then
risked my life made my way across the street and leaned up against the fence with all the others. This experience was kind of like being at a parade, only there's no parade. Tons of people lining the street though, all facing the same direction - and lots of street vendors. Lollipops, drinks, sunglasses, cheese, fruit, snacks of many kind were being sold. Perhaps the smartest business man out there was a guy who was renting out little stools to sit on for 40 pesos. I looked at him and thought of my dad - and how dad would have loved this man's street sense - and how he was offering something very practical but extremely important. He also had the market cornered. I looked at him, gave his offer not a second thought and handed him 50 pesos because he deserved that extra 10 for being such a smart entrepreneur.
Well, the next 5 hours (yes, I said FIVE HOURS) consisted of not much but watching the door across the street, waiting, praying, and inhaling gas fumes. I remember at one point wishing I had my phone but then realized it was a good thing because if my mom and dad knew that I was sitting alone on a street corner in the Capitol of a developing country, they might have had me airlifted out. So, I sat. And sat and sat and sat. At about 12:30 I looked up and saw Ana Maria waving to me and calling me across the street. So once again I risked my life, I mean: crossed the street. Ana Maria had also been sitting and waiting for almost 5 hours. But she had just had her interview and now the officer wanted to speak to me. Ohhhhh Lord. 'this is it' I thought. So, we made our way through the gazillion people back to window number 7, where the lovely Joanne waited. Joanne is an American and I love her. As soon as I made eye contact with her, I knew everything was going to be ok. I could tell that she had been touched by Ana Maria's spirit, as so many of us have. She really only had one question 'who is going to pay for this?' - this is when I could have lied (!) but I didn't feel that would be right :). I simply told her that we (me and you) were in the process of fund raising and I was confident that all the money we needed would come in. She said 'do you know how much you need?' DARN IT. I could've lied here too. But I said 'I don't know. They couldn't tell me. But I know we are going to get what we need.' Then, she smiled and winked and said 'I'm going to approve this because I believe her and I believe you. I am familiar with fraudulent cases and this is not one. Best of luck to you.' At this point, I may have said 'I love you' to her. If I didn't I meant to. I love you, Joanne.
So, we walked away from the window, stopped and paid a delivery fee and headed out to the bus station to go back to Pedregal. We both slept the whole way home almost.
It was a long, very tiring day. (my backside and lungs are still suffering from sitting and inhaling diesel fumes). But it was worth it. I'd do it again (I think) if it meant what it means for Ana Maria.
SO....what next?
Watch this space and I'll tell ya (probably tomorrow - it's 1:20am, I'm at my gate in Santiago and I'm seeing double).
I love you all - thank you so much for your prayers and support!
