So, how does one get oneself deported from a country? Pull up a carpet square for story time... My first year in Argentina (2011) was with the Fulbright commission. Issuing visas were apparently a new thing for them at the time and they requested the visas for a period of just eight months. This would not have been a problem except for the fact that they needed us in Buenos Aires for a full week before our eight month grant periods actually started. Thus, when the end of the year arrived, I opted to pay a (measly) 300 peso fine for having overstayed my visa a week or two. No big deal. It was either pay the fine or pay 600 pesos plus other time-consuming paperwork to get my visa extended for the extra couple weeks. What would you have done? Every Argentine I had talked to said that it was no big deal, that they knew people who had overstayed their visas and had never encountered any problems, etc.
I returned to Argentina in January 2012 after being home for Christmas in 2011 and encountered a couple questions at passport control but was stamped 'tourist' and ushered in without any further questioning or fines. I cannot believe how fast the year flew. With multiple jobs and, let's be honest, living a more "normal" life that didn't include a Fulbright grant salary and schedule, I was swimming in work for the entire year. I loved it at times and wasn't sure to do with all the accompanying stress and confusion at others, but it really became home in that time. Thankfully, too, the end of the year and rest eventually arrived. Again, can't emphasize how many individuals, colleagues, friends said to me that I needn't worry about encountering roadblocks in returning, despite the fact that I had overstayed my visa in 2012.
German had acquired his passport and a tourist visa for the United States, which is no simple process, and I, again, paid a fee to leave the country with an expired visa, still 99% convinced that I wouldn't encounter any problems passing through Migrations and Passport Control. Fast forward through some fantastic moments at Christmas, New Years and spending time with folks that I love here in the U.S. and we arrive to German and I's return to Buenos Aires. To make a long story short (and avoid a "he said, I said" retelling of what happened): yes, my heart sank when I realized a red flag had been raised with my passport activity; yes, just like you see in a movie they put you in a little room to wait a long time to process paperwork and decide what to do with you; yes, I am convinced as ever of Argentina's general disorganization after having this behind-the-scenes look at Migrations. As an outsider looking in and reflecting back, you have full liberty to be of the opinion that 'she should have known better,' 'she should have been proactive about the situation,' etc., or you can sympathize, or you can do both. My overwhelming present struggle is to do neither of the two as I can neither live in the past, nor make immediate, hurried changes in the present.
Yesterday's the past, tomorrow's the future, but today is a gift.
That's why it's called the present. -Bil Keane
Which leads me to the present and my ongoing saga of navigating the visa process. What a ____________ (you fill in the blank). Just as I never would have imagined myself in Argentina just four short years ago, now I can't imagine myself not being there. Yet, it's this crazy dream that's actually happening. God is teaching me a lot about patience, thankfulness, and graciousness right now, and everyone, especially my parents, has been incredibly supportive. Some days though the doubts and the desperateness to be back in South America is just blisteringly overwhelming. The visa pursuit will continue to surge, or trod, forward and meanwhile, I will continue to serve, work and develop relationships where God opens doors. Oh, and more writing in store-- soon.
