This is a story about a passport. A passport may seem completely innocuous, but when it is missing or out of your personal control it is a destroyer of plans and can induce anxiety.
After learning that I would be heading to India for a two month internship, it became apparent that I would need to mail my passport from my current location, The Netherlands, to San Francisco, California. Unlike many other countries across the globe, India does not allow non-Dutch citizens to apply for the requisite visa via The Netherlands but instead requires you to apply via your country and even region of origin. The idea of sending my passport thousands of miles through the mail made me nervous, but because it was required in order to make my trip to India I acquiesced. Luckily I have been issued a Dutch ID card for the duration of my time here so I knew I would not be completely without ID and could still safely travel by train within the Schengen zone.
My passport departed The Netherlands at the end of March. I had sent it with the Dutch mail system TNT Post, but I paid the extra money to send it with tracking. Tracking with TNT Post is a joke. You are able to track a given package within The Netherlands, but as soon as it leaves The Netherlands the status on the website reads something like, "Your package has left The Netherlands and is in the destination country." The website never updates beyond this status and so you are left to wonder whether it is actually going to arrive. The package will also take much longer than the 3 - 5 business days that they promise you.
But despite not knowing where my passport was, my passport finally arrived at Travisa, the Indian Consulate's visa outsourcing service (yes, Indian Embassies and Consulates have outsourced their visa processing and this company happens to be American.). It was processed in about two weeks and mailed off to my parents (as a US address was required for the return). Travisa was smart enough to send the passport using FedEx. During the entire two days it was in transit from California to Montana I knew exactly where it was.
After its arrival to Montana, my Dad placed it in the mail. Unfortunately, despite my request that it be sent with tracking, it was sent via regular post. On the same day that my Dad sent the passport, he also placed a different package to me in the mail. One package arrived exactly one week after it was mailed, but it was not the package with the passport.
At that point I was still calm. The passport had only been in transit for one week and I knew that the different envelopes were probably sorted differently. Days passed. And more days passed. Each afternoon I would walk to the mailbox and each afternoon my heart would sink a bit at the realization that my passport was not there.
At exactly the three week point I broke down. At that point I felt the passport would never arrive. I was still willing to wait another week but I began to implement a contingency plan. I made an appointment at the American Consulate to obtain a replacement passport. I contacted the law firm in India that I will be interning for and asked to postpone my internship while I worked to obtain a replacement passport and a replacement visa. I also learned during this time that the only way to obtain a replacement visa would be to fly to San Francisco and have a new visa processed. Even though the visa had already been issued, the Indian Embassy in The Netherlands was not capable of contacting San Francisco and providing a replacement.
Things were looking a bit grim for about two days, but then I started to come to terms with the fact that I would be making a brief return to the US. The process of replacing the passport and visa was never appealing, but there were other things to look forward to. I could extend my internship at the ICTY while I waited for the new passport, I was offered an interview in the US (for a job to commence after I graduate in 2012) that I otherwise could not attend, and I would have the chance to see some friends that I have not seen for 5 months. It was a happy sad time. Flash forward to Thursday, May 26th. This is the date that I had set as a cutoff for when the passport could arrive (my appointment at the Consulate was scheduled for May 27th). At about 2:30 p.m. I ran home to check the mail. I wanted to be able to let my team of supervisors at the ICTY know whether I would be extending my internship or not. The mailbox was empty. I returned to the ICTY and committed to staying an additional week. Things were looking good. General Mladic (the most-wanted alleged war criminal from the Bosnian war) was captured and it appeared he may be making an initial appearance within the next few days (which translates to a lot of excitement at work as a new trial will be beginning).
I finished the day and headed home. I arrived home just after 6 p.m. and decided to head across the street to the police station to file a police report on my missing passport (it is recommended that you file a police report because of the risk of identity theft). Since I pass the mailboxes on the way out the door, I decided to look one more time. I opened the mailbox and what should appear but a small padded envelope with a passport inside. My passport had arrived! At the very last possible minute it arrived - better late than never I guess.
Although the passport finally arrived, I think the moral of this story is to use FedEx or UPS. The package or envelope stays in control of one entity the entire time, it arrives quickly, and it can be tracked!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Nearly Over
It's May 21 and my time here in The Hague is nearly over. I'm supposed to finish work at the ICTY this coming Friday, May 27th and then head to Delhi, India for a two month internship on Monday, May 30th. I say "supposed to finish" because my plans might be changing ever so slightly. Due to some current passport troubles (for those of you who don't know, my passport with requisite visa for India is currently lost in the mail) I might end up spending a few more weeks in The Hague. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my passport arrives by Thursday!
While I've been dealing with my missing passport and saying goodbye to many of the good friends I've made (people have been leaving slowly - one-by-one) I have not updated my blog. So here is the long overdue report of my life over the past (gulp!) two months! This report will only be about my life outside of work as I plan on writing a reflection on my whole time at the ICTY upon completion of my internship.
Bike Trip to Leiden:
One Saturday I set off for an approximately 40 km round trip bike ride with two of my friends. We left The Hague and biked through the dunes (see picture below) to Leiden. Leiden is a cute little university town with picturesque canals and a windmill. It is also the sight of some of the best Dutch pancakes. After riding the nearly 25 km to Leiden, we rewarded ourselves with some delicious Dutch pancakes. There were 3 of us so we purchased three different pancakes and shared. The pancakes arrive on large Delft pottery platters and they did not disappoint. We ordered a veggie pancake, an apple/bacon/gouda pancake, and an "apple strudel" pancake.
After feasting on pancakes we toured around the city of Leiden and then biked home (although this time we took the shorter route and omitted the journey through the dunes.
Weekend Visit to Duisburg, Düsseldorf, and Köln:
I wrote a lot about Duisburg, Düsseldorf, and Köln on this blog when I lived in the area in 2007 - 2008. So to avoid redundancy I won't write much more here. It was pleasant to go back and see the familiar places and spend time with my German family. Plus this time around I took my roommate, Becky, along.
Weekend Road Trip to Salzburg, Austria:
Over Easter Weekend I took a road trip with my friend Henry to Salzburg, Austria (where we had studied abroad in 2004 - 2005). Henry drove over from England in his mini cooper and the two of us headed off to Austria. We stopped briefly in Köln and in Herzogenerauch (where Adidas is headquartered). This was my first time back to Salzburg since leaving in May 2005 and it was as beautiful as I remember it. On Saturday, Henry and I hiked the Untersberg. It was basically a climb straight up the mountain...Austria apparently does not really believe in switchbacks. During the climb I was battling a bit of allergies and the change in altitude so it was a big challenge. Luckily I was not sore the next day. Henry hiked back up the Untersberg the next day with his sister, but I opted not to participate. Instead I finished reading a book and then went and toured the Stiegl Museum (Stiegl is an Austrian beer). By the time I finished with the museum, Henry had returned so we enjoyed some burgers at Stiegl. Then we headed back into the city for a visit to the Augustinerbrau and a walk around the city. Sadly my favorite apple strudel place is now closed, but we went to a different cafe and I was able to try rhubarb strudel.
Tulip-mania:
The Netherlands are famous for tulips. In fact the Dutch are responsible for 70% of the world's flower market. My friend Terra and I set off for a day adventure at the Keukenhof - a famous garden where you can see TONS of tulips. The Keukenhof is one of the most photographed places on earth and it is well-deserved because it is truly gorgeous. Each year they have a theme and this year the theme was "Germany" so many of the flower displays were made to honor Germany and there were random statues of German composers and blurbs about famous Germans. The downside to the Keukenhof is that it is incredibly touristy and quite busy. When you first enter the park you are greeted by a pipe organ playing unusual renditions of the "Macarena" and Queen songs. But despite the pipe organ and the crowds it is a truly wonderful sight to behold.
Queen's Day:
April 30th is the day that the Dutch take to the streets dressed in orange. The purpose is to celebrate their Queen. Queen's Day starts on the evening of the 29th and The Hague is the best place to be as there is an open air festival and music stages are interspersed throughout the city. On the 30th, the best places to be are either Amsterdam or the random town the Queen happens to be visiting that year. In Amsterdam, it seems that everyone is outside in the streets either listening to live music or selling stuff - the whole city becomes a giant flea market. A large group of us decided to properly celebrate Queen's Day so we went out in The Hague on the 29th and then headed to Amsterdam on the 30th.
Having celebrated Karneval in Germany, I was expecting Amsterdam (and the trains going there) to be mass chaos. Surprisingly it was not as bad as I had anticipated. We arrived in Amsterdam and immediately set off to wander the city - first stop Vondelpark and then some random neighborhoods. You are greeted by a sea of orange, people everywhere are dressed in the color. Wanting to blend in, I decided to purchase an orange hat and an orange boa. We spent an enjoyable day in the sunshine wandering around, listening to music, eating, drinking and being merry.
While I've been dealing with my missing passport and saying goodbye to many of the good friends I've made (people have been leaving slowly - one-by-one) I have not updated my blog. So here is the long overdue report of my life over the past (gulp!) two months! This report will only be about my life outside of work as I plan on writing a reflection on my whole time at the ICTY upon completion of my internship.
Bike Trip to Leiden:
One Saturday I set off for an approximately 40 km round trip bike ride with two of my friends. We left The Hague and biked through the dunes (see picture below) to Leiden. Leiden is a cute little university town with picturesque canals and a windmill. It is also the sight of some of the best Dutch pancakes. After riding the nearly 25 km to Leiden, we rewarded ourselves with some delicious Dutch pancakes. There were 3 of us so we purchased three different pancakes and shared. The pancakes arrive on large Delft pottery platters and they did not disappoint. We ordered a veggie pancake, an apple/bacon/gouda pancake, and an "apple strudel" pancake.
After feasting on pancakes we toured around the city of Leiden and then biked home (although this time we took the shorter route and omitted the journey through the dunes.
Weekend Visit to Duisburg, Düsseldorf, and Köln:
I wrote a lot about Duisburg, Düsseldorf, and Köln on this blog when I lived in the area in 2007 - 2008. So to avoid redundancy I won't write much more here. It was pleasant to go back and see the familiar places and spend time with my German family. Plus this time around I took my roommate, Becky, along.
Weekend Road Trip to Salzburg, Austria:
Over Easter Weekend I took a road trip with my friend Henry to Salzburg, Austria (where we had studied abroad in 2004 - 2005). Henry drove over from England in his mini cooper and the two of us headed off to Austria. We stopped briefly in Köln and in Herzogenerauch (where Adidas is headquartered). This was my first time back to Salzburg since leaving in May 2005 and it was as beautiful as I remember it. On Saturday, Henry and I hiked the Untersberg. It was basically a climb straight up the mountain...Austria apparently does not really believe in switchbacks. During the climb I was battling a bit of allergies and the change in altitude so it was a big challenge. Luckily I was not sore the next day. Henry hiked back up the Untersberg the next day with his sister, but I opted not to participate. Instead I finished reading a book and then went and toured the Stiegl Museum (Stiegl is an Austrian beer). By the time I finished with the museum, Henry had returned so we enjoyed some burgers at Stiegl. Then we headed back into the city for a visit to the Augustinerbrau and a walk around the city. Sadly my favorite apple strudel place is now closed, but we went to a different cafe and I was able to try rhubarb strudel.
Tulip-mania:
The Netherlands are famous for tulips. In fact the Dutch are responsible for 70% of the world's flower market. My friend Terra and I set off for a day adventure at the Keukenhof - a famous garden where you can see TONS of tulips. The Keukenhof is one of the most photographed places on earth and it is well-deserved because it is truly gorgeous. Each year they have a theme and this year the theme was "Germany" so many of the flower displays were made to honor Germany and there were random statues of German composers and blurbs about famous Germans. The downside to the Keukenhof is that it is incredibly touristy and quite busy. When you first enter the park you are greeted by a pipe organ playing unusual renditions of the "Macarena" and Queen songs. But despite the pipe organ and the crowds it is a truly wonderful sight to behold.
Queen's Day:
April 30th is the day that the Dutch take to the streets dressed in orange. The purpose is to celebrate their Queen. Queen's Day starts on the evening of the 29th and The Hague is the best place to be as there is an open air festival and music stages are interspersed throughout the city. On the 30th, the best places to be are either Amsterdam or the random town the Queen happens to be visiting that year. In Amsterdam, it seems that everyone is outside in the streets either listening to live music or selling stuff - the whole city becomes a giant flea market. A large group of us decided to properly celebrate Queen's Day so we went out in The Hague on the 29th and then headed to Amsterdam on the 30th.
Having celebrated Karneval in Germany, I was expecting Amsterdam (and the trains going there) to be mass chaos. Surprisingly it was not as bad as I had anticipated. We arrived in Amsterdam and immediately set off to wander the city - first stop Vondelpark and then some random neighborhoods. You are greeted by a sea of orange, people everywhere are dressed in the color. Wanting to blend in, I decided to purchase an orange hat and an orange boa. We spent an enjoyable day in the sunshine wandering around, listening to music, eating, drinking and being merry.
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