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One Month (And Counting)
Posted by Miz B
on
Thursday, September 09, 2010
Continued from last post. For best viewing experience, read previous post first.
I can't exactly remember where I left off, and I'm not going to go check because that would involve plugging in to the internet box, and that would involve going into the TV room. Let me quickly explain something: the TV room is long, white, and composed almost entirely of windows on one side. While it is very pretty, it does absolutely nothing for the cooling of the house. And currently, the air conditioner in that room is performing woefully beneath it's usual standards. And I just took a shower. So! I'll have to try and remember where I left off.
I'm a little pre-occupied with the future at the moment, as you can probably tell, but it's more than that. It has to do with this weird sense of time. Here I am looking back and I think 'Yeah! A whole month! Only 11 more to go!'. Obviously, somtimes this is a sad thing, but when you're really missing home, it helps to think of how soon you will be back. But at the same time, only 11 more to go. It's like my brain cannot decide if I am closer to done, or just as far from the start as makes no difference.
My whole point kind of leads back to the little worry about the End of the Honeymoon (Returns! Part 3!). I was so worried about that big fall, the roller coaster dropping at the first big hill, that I didn't really take the time to step back and evaluate my life then (when I arrived) and now (a month later). I guess I kind of accidentally remedied this when I woke up this morning with the most bizarre realization. I am getting better. Everything is getting better. I'm starting to not just survive but to really live again. Mind you, I'm not stupid. I know today was a good day. I know there will be good days and bad days. And worse days. But I also think that I hit my first rough patch, and got past it. Language is still a problem, but I no longer behave like a silent sentinel, a chair at the table that might as well be empty. I may be behaving like a barely-coherent 3 year old, yes, but at the moment I'll take anything that involves words. Food is still a problem, but now I can eat eggs and chorizo for breakfast without feeling like I'm gonna puke (some of you may know, but I have an odd problem stomaching any food at all before about 10 in the morning, which is a bit of a problem when you have to be at school at 6am and they don't feed you until 12pm).
So yeah. One month done, 11 to go.
And to answer the question tacked to the last post:
Ah. The visa. As the Bard would say "Therin lies the rub". Or whatever. I still do not have my year long student visa, and as far as I know my 30 day tourist visa had expired. BUT: after turning in a truly spectacular amount of paperwork from a bewildering set of sources, I was gifted with a single sheet of paper with a web address and several sets of numbers. When I follow the web address and type in all the numbers, I am taken to a page with all my information that behaves a bit like a Fedex package tracking site. At the moment, it says my 'problem' is 'without resolution' (in Spanish, obviously). I am to check it every morning before I go to school, to look for updates or changes. I think the problem it's talking about is the whole Ministro de Culto thing with my original visa. I guess once it's done, I will go back to the consulate and see where I am in the process, and work from there. In the meantime, my mother is not worried, I'm still allowed to come to school, and I haven't been arrested or shipped back home, so I guess we wait. Once I do finally get my visa, my avid viewers will be some of the first to know, have no fear. And Stay Tuned.
Edit:
This was all typed the night of 09 September 2010, but since our power went out (again) about 3 minutes after I finished, taking with it the lights, A/C, internet connection, and, for some reason, the flush mechanism on the toilet and the pressure on the shower (never ask me to explain Mexican plumbing to you), I decided to let it rest and post in the morning. Thank you for your patience.
I can't exactly remember where I left off, and I'm not going to go check because that would involve plugging in to the internet box, and that would involve going into the TV room. Let me quickly explain something: the TV room is long, white, and composed almost entirely of windows on one side. While it is very pretty, it does absolutely nothing for the cooling of the house. And currently, the air conditioner in that room is performing woefully beneath it's usual standards. And I just took a shower. So! I'll have to try and remember where I left off.
I'm a little pre-occupied with the future at the moment, as you can probably tell, but it's more than that. It has to do with this weird sense of time. Here I am looking back and I think 'Yeah! A whole month! Only 11 more to go!'. Obviously, somtimes this is a sad thing, but when you're really missing home, it helps to think of how soon you will be back. But at the same time, only 11 more to go. It's like my brain cannot decide if I am closer to done, or just as far from the start as makes no difference.
My whole point kind of leads back to the little worry about the End of the Honeymoon (Returns! Part 3!). I was so worried about that big fall, the roller coaster dropping at the first big hill, that I didn't really take the time to step back and evaluate my life then (when I arrived) and now (a month later). I guess I kind of accidentally remedied this when I woke up this morning with the most bizarre realization. I am getting better. Everything is getting better. I'm starting to not just survive but to really live again. Mind you, I'm not stupid. I know today was a good day. I know there will be good days and bad days. And worse days. But I also think that I hit my first rough patch, and got past it. Language is still a problem, but I no longer behave like a silent sentinel, a chair at the table that might as well be empty. I may be behaving like a barely-coherent 3 year old, yes, but at the moment I'll take anything that involves words. Food is still a problem, but now I can eat eggs and chorizo for breakfast without feeling like I'm gonna puke (some of you may know, but I have an odd problem stomaching any food at all before about 10 in the morning, which is a bit of a problem when you have to be at school at 6am and they don't feed you until 12pm).
So yeah. One month done, 11 to go.
And to answer the question tacked to the last post:
Ah. The visa. As the Bard would say "Therin lies the rub". Or whatever. I still do not have my year long student visa, and as far as I know my 30 day tourist visa had expired. BUT: after turning in a truly spectacular amount of paperwork from a bewildering set of sources, I was gifted with a single sheet of paper with a web address and several sets of numbers. When I follow the web address and type in all the numbers, I am taken to a page with all my information that behaves a bit like a Fedex package tracking site. At the moment, it says my 'problem' is 'without resolution' (in Spanish, obviously). I am to check it every morning before I go to school, to look for updates or changes. I think the problem it's talking about is the whole Ministro de Culto thing with my original visa. I guess once it's done, I will go back to the consulate and see where I am in the process, and work from there. In the meantime, my mother is not worried, I'm still allowed to come to school, and I haven't been arrested or shipped back home, so I guess we wait. Once I do finally get my visa, my avid viewers will be some of the first to know, have no fear. And Stay Tuned.
Edit:
This was all typed the night of 09 September 2010, but since our power went out (again) about 3 minutes after I finished, taking with it the lights, A/C, internet connection, and, for some reason, the flush mechanism on the toilet and the pressure on the shower (never ask me to explain Mexican plumbing to you), I decided to let it rest and post in the morning. Thank you for your patience.
