What a week it's been! A regular rollercoaster. I finished school on Friday 12 August thinking that I would be in Belgium the following week. True, I didn't have my passport or visa, but I had airline tickets and faith.
On Friday afternoon in response to my emails, I heard from Sharon at Orbit that they were expecting my visa to come through on Monday and it would then be Fed Ex (whatever that means) to Wellington and then couriered up to me in Auckland on the Wednesday ready for the flight to Brussels on the Thursday.
I zipped around doing last minute things in the weekend and farewelling friends. There was a family farewell planned for the Sunday but those plans went awry due to the 50 year snowfall! The last minute trip to the dentist also had to be abandonned. (Hope that I don't have cause to regret that - all that chocolate etc). The airport was closed in Dunedin and this was indeed a sign of things to come.
Monday came and went - no visa! I realised that this meant I wouldn't be leaving Dunedin on Wednesday. On the positive side, I had an email from Françoise, a Belgian friend Marie had made while on her LIA. She sounded warm and friendly so that lifted my spirits.
On Tuesday, came the official news that I was in limbo until my visa came through and nobody knew when that would be. After an initial "My goodness me - c'est incroyable!", I resolved to 'go with flow' as I didn't have many other options. Wednesday brought no news about the visa but excellent news about a homestay family. (As part of the LIA, I am supposed to be homestayed for the first 4-6 weeks.) I have been emailing Chantal and her family ever since.
So now it's Sunday 22 August and here I am chez papa in Broad Bay. I have been inundated with emails and texts from friends and relations wanting to know if I've heard anything. Honestly, I have an idea of what it must be like to be pregnant and overdue, with everyone wanting to know if you've had the baby yet. ( I do appreciate your concern though :))
I will certainly be texting and emailing thick and fast when the visa comes through.
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