Wrinkles

So there were some wrinkles, of course.  Our trip to our local Immigration office was not with drama.  And I can't leave Mexico for a few more weeks.

INM first:  So we went to the INM offices this past Monday, met up with our facilitator, Eduardo, and moved to the waiting area.  There we sat for about an hour, waiting for them to call our number (#12).  While waiting we counted many times that the single clerk at the window would search for a person's application packet and eventually have to walk to the office next door to find it.  However, it wasn't a simple job of walking through a doorway or using a pass-through - no, she had to walk though the intake area (in the opposite direction), past her own office, and then into the office that had the paperwork (and the reverse trek with the paperwork).  Not a big deal, I suppose, but when she had to do this with every customer it was tiring just to watch it happen!

So we waited about an hour for them to reach our number.  While we were waiting, the person sitting next to us became ill.  The room watched in horror as she bent over the empty chair next to her, retching.  And she continued to slide until she was on all fours on the floor, retching as she descended.  The office did call the Red Cross for assistance.  We cleaned up her glasses which had fallen into the vomit so she would be able to see when she recovered and she finally was able to walk into the restroom where she waited for the Red Cross folks to check her out.  She did remain to conduct her business with the INM folks; pity, as she had a lower number than ours!

A custodian person also finally showed up to mop up the mess and clean off the chairs.  (It still smelled funny, so we stood the rest of the time in the intake area.)

They eventually called No. 12 and we went up to the window.  Of course the clerk looked in the file drawers, searched the files on the table, and then went next door to get our paperwork packets.

After signing forms carefully (it must match the signature in our passport; I almost want to sign my new passport differently so it doesn't match - but that would be silly and probably result in travel delays...) and being fingerprinted, we were all set, having paid the fees before this trip. 

However, because the office is waiting for a supply delivery, it will be next Wednesday before our cards are ready.  Luckily for us, our facilitator will pick up the cards for us and we'll meet him at Starbucks to exchange cards for cash (his fee).  One more thing taken care of - permanently, we hope.

Then on to the US Consulate's office in San Miguel.  (And we are lucky to have a local Consulate's office so we don't need to trek into Mexico City repeatedly.)  In the meanwhile, I can't leave Mexico - or enter another country - because I applied for a new passport.  The timing was a little tricky.  When we travel to the Scandinavian countries next May, my passport must be valid for an additional 6 months or the cruise line will not allow me to travel.  It expires next June.  So between now and then I needed to renew my passport.

Our current travel plans are:  fly to the US for a cruise in November; the US for a Disneyland wedding of friends in December; Cabo San Lucas for a family vacation in January; the US for a visit to New Orleans with different friends; and the aforementioned Scandinavian cruise:  29 days aboard a ship as we sail from Florida to Copenhagen via NYC, Canada, Iceland, and Oslo; then Northern European capitals in Estonia, Russia, Finland & Sweden; and finally the western Norwegian fjords before we fly back to Mexico via Iceland & Chicago.  All but the trip to Cabo will require a valid passport (Cabo still being in Mexico, I just need my Permanente card for ID).

So I decided to try and renew it before the November cruise - there was no really good time except around the year-end holidays, and Mexican government offices close for a few weeks then.  The Consulate clerk told me that it should only take three to four weeks presently, and I've allowed 6 weeks, so we should be A-OK.  A quick bus ride to the Consulate's office, service at the counter (the clerk dealt speedily with all the people ahead of me in line) and I already had the new passport pictures with me and the application filled out, and then a walk into downtown to prepay the DHL delivery charges.  When Michael did his last year, the Consulate/Embassy used a different firm that had offices just across the street from our neighborhood. 

Now I wait with my old passport which has been punched full of holes through the machine-readable numbers and stamped 'CANCELLED.'  [Hope there's no emergencies NOB or I'll find out what getting an Emergency Passport entails.]

So not going anywhere until DHL calls to tell me that my new passport has arrived and I go into downtown to pick it up.  Michael renewed his last year when we weren't traveling as often - the end of 2014 and 2015 is a crazy time for us!  Guess I should have tried to match up my next renewal with his date.  They didn't seem to care that I was renewing it 9 months in advance; what would they care about 21 months in advance?

And that's all the news that's fit to print.  There should be general rejoicing next week when we get our Residente Permanente cards!!!