Despite the awful weather, today started off relatively well. I was able to pay my rent, change my sheets, get to the bus, and get to work (almost) on time because of traffic delays, and get myself settled into the office before the barage of women from the Foreign Chambers of Commerce came here for a meeting about the Annual Garden Party we are hosting in June.
I set up the conference room with some cookies and salted nuts, prepared a LOT of boiled water for coffee/tea, and got ready to take orders. Things went smoothly, and I was able to answer emails, do damage control for tomorrow's event in Kosice (Eastern Slovakia) and update our registry for our British Business Breakfast with the Minister of Transport next week.
I had gotten a call from Petra earlier in the day asking me if I could meet her at 11:00am at the Foreign Police station (Oh no! Not that again!) to pick up my temporary residence permit because it was ready. Thank goodness. At least now I am a legal resident of this (sometimes) deliberately difficult country. Little did I know.
I researched the bus connections, bundled up, put on my hat, and left the office at 10:31 so I could make the 10:41 connection of the 88 bus at Novy Most. Worst mistake I've made here so far. I got on the bus like normal, sat down in the front, which I usually don't do, and waited. As the bus got moving, a man started walking through the bus and showing people his badge. He was a Transport Controller. Ok, no big deal, I get my pass out. I hadn't had time to recharge it earlier, but I was fairly certain that it wasn't expired yet, since I didn't actually get the pass until 1 or 2 weeks after arriving here. (April 11th marked my 3 month milestone of living here) So when he got to me, I wasn't nervous when I gave him my card.
Apparently I should have been.
Instead of emitting the pleasant "Beep Beep!", my card set off an alarm on his machine. At that point, I was screwed. He showed me the device, and it said that my card had expired on 15 April...YESTERDAY!!!!!!! I swore under my breath, because I knew what was coming. I had to pay the guy 1400 Sk. The problem? I don't usually carry around that much cash with me, especially now that I have vouchers for food. So, I had to get off at the next stop, and walk with him until we found an ATM.
As soon as I stepped off the bus, I started to cry. Not only did I have to pay a hefty fine, I was also going to miss all of my connections in order to get to the Police station! The worst part was that I couldn't remember the new pin number to my Slovak ATM card, so I had to use my American account...something that I have been trying not to do. The whole experience was a disaster. I finally just handed him the cash, and he gave me the change, and I left. I walked as fast as I could because I didn't want to be anywhere near him. I know he was just doing his job, but my pass had expired 11 hours earlier!!! Could he not give me a break?!?!? I am poor, and do not have the time to stand in line at the Transport office. I have a schedule...a VERY busy one. There was nothing I could do about though, so I just resigned myself to paying him the money without argument.
When I got back to the bus station, I tried to purchase a ticket for 30 minutes so that I didn't have to go through that whole ordeal again. However, the machine seemed to have a vendetta against me, because it took over 10 minutes to finally get the ticket I wanted because the machine would not accept all of my coins at once. It would take one, but then not the next one, I would try again, and then it would cancel my order and shoot out all of the coins I had successfully entered. This caused me to miss a close connection.
I finally was able to buy a ticket (18 Sk...should have done that earlier...saved myself some drama) and waited for the next bus.
In case you forgot, this all happened in the rain.
I finally got to the station, met Petra and Jakub, walked into the office to try and explain what we needed (we had missed the call of our number because I was late), and then Petra realized that she didn't have the piece of paper that confirmed that we had been the the station already and registered all of the documents.
Road Trip!
We had to go back to the Economic University, pick up the paper, and then drive back...hopefully before the policewomen broke for lunch.
We got there at 11:53. Lunch is at 12:00. Too close for comfort.
We made it in however, got my document (which is now pasted into my passport), received the information that I now have to go get a health exam, and left.
After Petra and Jakub dropped me off in the center, I immediately went to the bank and withdrew 1600 Sk so I could buy my Transport Pass. I was already out of the office, so I figured it would be a good time to go anyhow because the line would be shorter.
After getting the money I met my lovely Danish friend Inge for lunch, and we griped about life together, and I felt much better afterward. She told me that you couldn't tell that I had been crying, and that my makeup was not smeared. Bless her heart.
After lunch, I trudged (still in the rain mind you) to the Transport Office, and got my pass renewed. I am NOT in the mood for any more fines. I will fight the next person who attempts to try and assign me one.
I think my evolving maturity is showing as there was not ONE colorful choice word in that story.
The end.
1 hour ago
2 comments:
Ah, those important lessons in life. We live in a regulated, ordered world, with rules, deadlines and other annoyances. Yesterday, for example, was tax day in the US. Your return was filed long ago (by a very caring and dutiful father), but the front page of today's paper featured a picture of those procrastinators who waited until the last minute (i.e., just before midnight) to deliver theirs to the Post Office. The penalty for late filing? 25% of the tax due! That can be a serious problem!
I am so sorry you had to experience the difficulty of the "bus pass police," but in the end, it's only money, and you are young, bright and extremely capable, and you'll make more. And the perspectives you are gaining are invaluable. They will teach you patience, and tolerance, and understanding - things we all need in order to survive in this crazy world.
You can also reflect on what else you could be doing at this point in your life. Even though you are a graduate of a wonderful university, you could be mired in a dead-end job in a land-that-time-forgot place, working with mindless and spiritless people on tasks that are forgotten the minute they leave your desk. Instead, you are in a new and different place, one that is emerging from decades of socialist policies and experiencing the growing pains of transitioning to a free market economy while its people shake off the vestiges of their former way of life and work. That, my dear, is an exciting and fascinating place to be.
And you are doing it beautifully.
My baby, my baby. Thank goodness you keep a level head and manage. No wonder that I was sick all week. Bethany and I are certain that we are so closely connected that we feel eachother's pain before it is communicated. I have come to realize that I cannot protect or save you when you are so far away. But I hope the prayers and love that surrounds you, help you to face any adversity. OK and that good Cornell education helps. Do you think Daddy was talking about his job?
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