ALIEN police

Let me tell you one of the worst stories you will ever hear. A throw up of communism that still exists in CR is that all foreigners have to register themselves. There are two different offices. One for EU citizens and one for everyone else... a.k.a. ME.

So, I meet Tony (one of my British co-workers) at 7am. We go to the police together. We get into line. A line to get a ticket, once you get a ticket you have to wait for your number to be called. We are waiting outside in the COLD. One of the ladies from our school office, Helena arrives. She takes Tony and Helen (other co-worker) to the EU office to sort their stuff out.

I am alone and standing in line outside with some crazy people. Mind you its around 7:30 am. Finally, I get inside and get a ticket. The time is 10:00. I stood outside for 2.5 hours. My number is 931. GREAT...

I am in a room with at least 300 other people. The room is not big enough and there aren't enough chairs for everyone. So, I stand some more. Finally around noonish I manage to get a chair. Oh, there were chairs open but people would save them for each other so they could go have a smoke. Once I got settled in my chair, I did not move.

The people in there were some crazy characters. I manged to see at least 4 other Americans in there but didn't go talk to them cause none of us wanted to loose our seats. The lady sitting next to me was sleeping and she had a mustache. The man next to me kept sneezing. I pulled out a book and started to read at one point. I felt eyes on me. Everyone around me was staring at me. Maybe cause I had showered in the past 48 hrs. I don't know.

Finally around 4:00 my number gets called. Yes, 4:00. I had been there for 9 hrs. I wanted to strangle myself for some entertainment. I had stood for 4 odd hours. I go into this giant room with desks. Mind you theres police standing around looking very angry with guns. I'm from the US. I see guns all the time. Being in a foreign country with people having guns scares me esp when I don't know the language.

I go to the desk and push my passport across the table. The lady looks at it. Starts punching things into the computer. I sigh in relief because I thought this was going to be a lot more difficult and by difficult I mean more than sitting/standing in a building for 9 hrs.

The lady looks at me. Points to my visa in my passport and starts talking in Czech. I say "ne muedvilum cesky, angliky proism" (I don't speak Czech, English please). She says "ne" (no). GREAT. THIS IS THE FOREIGN POLICE. They deal with foreigners aka people who DON'T speak Czech. This is crap. What I get out of my broken Czech she is basically saying that this is a tourist visa and I need to be on the 4th floor. I am like umm NO. I am not a tourist and I have been waiting for 9 hrs. YOU are going to help me.

She brings this other dude over. They take my passport and leave. Mind you they are smiling and laughing at me. They come back with the same answer. NO. Then this other dude comes over and acutally speaks English. Ok, I explain to him that I am employed and according to YOUR countries rules I had to get a short term visa AND a long term visa. His answer is "I'm confused". I tell him that I am too but this is his countries rules NOT mine.

All three of them leave with my passport again also while smiling and laughing at me. Finally, the lady comes back and starts speaking in Czech while pushing my passport across the table. She is telling me there is nothing she can do and I need to be on the 4th floor. Are you KIDDING ME!? I start to get a nice little tone with her and telling her that I don't understand her and she needs to go get the English speaker to explain this to me. She refuses! My last effort is I call my school. I had the phone over to her and they start going back and forth. She hands the phone back at me and my school had hung up. Great. Thanks. I call them back. Her words "Rachel, you need to come to the office tomorrow and we have to call the Czech embassy and have a special paper arranged."

ARE YOU JOKING. Seriously?!

Thats when I basically start to cry in the middle of the foreign police. Yup, I was showing emotion in public. Great. I get out of there and Tony calls me. Still crying I explain what happened and he happens to be next to the deputy head of our school (like the vice principal). I talk to him while crying. His exact words. "Rachel, go home put your stuff down and go to the pub. Drink beer, come to school tomorrow and we will work it out."

I hang up with Tony and Su calls. Tony told her what happened and she says she will be at my flat in a half an hour. She shows up with chocolate and empathy. Amazing. We go across the street for a quick bite to eat seeing how I didn't eat all day because I didn't want to loose my seat. Su is amazing. I don't know what I would have done had she not come over.

Well I still haven't gone to the office at my school because I have been way to busy at school to do anything. I will go Monday and see whats up. It was horrible and I have to go back...

Thats my sad story of the week. On the upside Jen has booked her plane ticket to come over spring break! Wo!!!