una ciudad pequena

last night i dreamed that i landed in santiago and from the plane i could see the whole city. there was a large monument that i recognized as the center of the city, and i could also see my house. there were no mountains, and i remarked, "wow, it's a small city." then a strong feeling of shock came over me, and i realized i was really in south america, embarking on this once in a lifetime adventure.

the dream came back to me today at lunch and i laughed at the way my brain had depicted it. it made me want to look up real pictures of the city, to buy maps and brush up on my vocab; but, it also made me realize what i really will feel like when i get there, and now the first pangs of anxiety are beginning.

august 9th, 10 am
i will have a visa.
(hopefully).

my passport is in there

$25 later (on mom's credit card) my visa application is on its way to the consulate via federal express.

the federal government and my attempts at negotiating it

after several weeks of emailing the fbi asking for my background check i uncovered a west virginia number that i could call to check on the progress. the woman told me there was a four month backlog of work and that they would do their best to get it to me on time.
a week passed and this morning i called senator cardin's office to get a little help. the lady on the other end, joyce, took my information and assured me they would look into it.
an hour later i get a phone call from my mom,
"what does your fbi thing look like? because there's this thing here with your fingerprints and on the back there's a stamp that says, 'no criminal record'."

i had to call joyce back and leave her a voicemail telling her to call off the investigation. when i return home next week i will collect my things and head to the chilean consulate in dc to apply in person for my visa.

one step closer to santiago.