My Life as a Roller Coaster

Estonia and all is fine. Sorry it's so long.>

Today the happy news arrived! My invitation has come to Tyumen. Zhanna being swift and ever efficient had it scanned and to me via email before I was even awake today! So as soon as I got the email, I sprung into action! The file was copied onto my computer. I rushed back to my hotel room to copy it to my jump drive. The hotel clerk was kind enough to let me behind the desk to print the document! And he's off!

I've been tracing the route to and from the Embassy for nearly a week - so I know exactly where I'm going. I have my forms written out in duplicate, I have my photos, I have my passport (and the photocopy I made so that I still have the info when they have my passport! Here's to good thinking! ) I'm a bit under the wire as the Embassy only accepts new visa applications until 12pm. So I'm close to running across old town.

I get to the embassy and at the last minute remember that I need to use a different entrance in order to apply for my visa. So I go around the back. And I open the embassy door for the first time.

There's a metal detector of course, and a cacophony of Russian. It kinda feels like home to be honest to hear this much Russian all at once. So I go up the first window and start reading so I go to the correct one. It isn't the right one. I try the next one. And the next. Well, at the next one (it's the wrong one too) there's no one there. So I ask. Number 2.

Of course, it's the LONGEST line. So I wait and it really goes relatively quickly. I'm a bit nervous and I chatter a bit with the woman in line behind me. And finally it's my turn!

I push my paperwork toward the official and as soon as I slide my passport through, she looks up at me and says, "Вы говорите по-русски?" I'm so happy that I can answer her, that 'yes, I speak Russian, if poorly" and she says, great. Then she mumbles to herself for a moment and looks up. She says that she's sorry, but they need an original copy of the invitation. And she pushes the paperwork back to me.

That's it. I have to wait. Can you believe it? I don't know why we thought that a copy would be okay, I guess we were just hoping. I even tried to give her what was on my jump drive, but that's the same thing she said. "Wait for the original in the mail, then come back, then 3 days for processing."

To all who have been pr-ying, thank you. The invitation has been issued. To all who still have the stamina, please pr-y for a speedy delivery. I have been able to secure additional lodgings at my hotel until next Tuesday - so there's a place for Jeff to live!

I'm really doing okay. I think that there's been a huge lesson in all this. I'm not in control and it's okay. I wouldn't call myself a control freak ever, but there are those who love me and know me well, who would say that… well, probably not that I'm a control freak, but that I like things to be a certain way. And this has been an incredible lesson for me. It's not about how much I plan and how much I work… some things are really just out of our control. I think I'm going to study this in our favorite Book.