El Certificado

Frustrated as I am by the bureaucracy here, I know I have kept you all well up-to-date on my bitching about registering my visa. No, that still has not been done - you might remember that I was informed last time that a bank reciept was not significant proof of deposit (!) and that I needed to get an actual certificate from an office that was not where I was at the time.

Yesterday I went on the hunt for Dirección de Migración. I took a bus from Los Shyris, making a brilliant stumbling entrance to said vehicle. I called Marie from El Jardín, since she had been to the office before, and she told me what street it was on. I found it without trouble and stood in line at Información. I told the woman there what I needed, and she gave me a number and told me I would need two copies of my passport and one of my reciept.

I walked quite a ways down the street and then back again, looking for a copy shop, before I realized that it was right next door to the office. Feeling a little silly, I had them make two copies of my passport and one of my reciept, then returned to Migración and sat down to wait. It was about twenty or twenty-five minutes before my number finally came up on the screen. I handed the guy at the window my stack of papers, told him what I needed, and was questioned as to why I had only one copy of the reciept. Mildly annoyed, I told him that the woman at Information told me I only needed one, and I was told to go make another.

I ran next door, made another copy, and came back. He sorted my papers and started putting something in the computer, then told me that we couldn't continue because someone had spelled my name wrong. He sent me upstairs to the Centro de Computo, where I waited ten minutes or so for my turn. Once I told the guy there what I needed, he told me he needed a copy of my passport. Now seriously annoyed, I ran next door for the third time and had them copy my passport again, recieving odd looks from the women working there.

I returned to the Centro de Computo, discovered it was empty, and waited some more until the guy showed up again and helped two more people. It only took him a minute or so to fix the error, and then I went back downstairs and stood in line for the original window. Fifteen minutes after that I finally had my certificate in my hand...all that hassle for one piece of paper, and that when I already had an official bank reciept.