Government Disservices

Allow me to be forthcoming for a moment. The fact that I have not had a student visa up to this point has been mostly my fault, and I don't run from my own responsibility. I had the opportunity to handle it over the summer, but was preoccupied and didn't get it done. I should have been more pushy at the international office in October, when I asked for an appointment and they told me to come back in a month when they would be less busy. And there was that business two weeks ago while my family was visiting. For those who haven't already heard, I now feel comfortable telling the whole story.

Two Sunday's ago I had another appointment with the interior ministry, at 10:40 in the morning. As I was staying at my parents hotel in Mercaz HaCarmel, Richard and I simply hopped on the Carmelit in the morning and rode the train all the way downtown. Quick, easy and painless. I got to the office with my letter from the University and my passport photos and began to fill out the application. Soon after asking for my name, address, nationality etc... the form asked for my passport number. It was at this moment that I realized my passport was not with me, rather it was in my desk at my dorm room.

Richard and I raced out of there and hopped back on the subway, with my parents and Bubbie Ruth simultaneously getting in the car to come get us at the top. We had to hurry, the wonderful government offices closed at noon that day. We got back to the top by 11:10, and up to the university by 11:30. I really thought we were going to make it. Then we got stuck in a miserable (but not surprising) traffic jam on the coastal road around Haifa, and that was it. We got back to the ministry at 12:10, and they wouldn't even let me in the front door.

I had no intention of letting another episode like that happen this morning. I needed that visa today, for two reasons. For one, my tourist visa expires today. After that, I would have been in Israel illegally. Second of all, I needed to be able to leave and re-enter the country ASAP, as tomorrow morning I am crossing the border into Jordan for a few days touring. This will be my first time in an Arab country, so it should be an interesting experience. I'll be bringing my Arabic-English dictionary along of course.

In the end I got my visa, though it was no picnic. I arrived a half hour before the office I needed was scheduled to open - they made me and a dozen other people wait outside in the cold until 8 A.M. Once I got upstairs it was smooth sailing though. I sat down at the desk, had a curt interview in Hebrew with one of the employees, paid for the service, and 15 minutes later I was walking out the door with my brand new student visa! Now that I have it, it's time to explore outside Israel. I leave for the Eilat border crossing on the midnight bus from Haifa tonight, and should be in Petra by this time tomorrow. I'll hopefully have lots of pictures and stories forthcoming!