Finally!

I write daily, sometimes a little... sometimes pages full. I carry a little notebook around with me for just that purpose. The trouble is that much of my writing lately has been about something I couldn't share... yet. Jurgis made me 'sign' a pact of silence until we had confirmation. We've had too many false alarms in the past.

We've, once again, been in a mess of paperwork. I applied for a visa and was rejected. I can't tell you what a blow that was. I went around for a day quite literally not able to breathe. It seemed as though I was doomed to spend my life dreading red tape of any sort.

Being stubborn and determined, I reapplied. Until the moment the passport and related visa was in our hands, I had no idea if I was approved or not and we were running out of time. It was monumental. I had to take the risk and buy our tickets in advance (what if I wasn't approved??). I had to prove conclusively that I had no intention of living illegally in England. That is not as easy as it sounds when you have no 'real' job and no real family ties to keep you in a country. Luckily, my wonderful students came through for me with letters of reference and confirmation of my work - some were even really flattering. I'm saving them all, of course! Some are in a position to pack quite a political punch.. whew! They were brilliant! I will miss them terribly. Just when I had the nicest group of students a teacher could wish for, I'm moving on.

I've been approved! The visa arrived today, delivered by DHL. Thank goodness the crowd at the British consulate used their heads. We've been terrified, as the local postal service has been on strike for more than a month now and the visa... with all my original documents... had to be shipped from Rio de Janeiro. Talk about nail-biting. To get to Rio, 6 hours drive away, took more than 2 weeks and our flight is booked for next week!

We're going up to the UK, specifically Wales. Yes, I imagine we'll spend quite a while trying to pronounce the place we're in. The farm is in the beautiful Brecon Beacons National Park in South Wales. Green. We'll be surrounded by green and we laugh that the worst traffic we'll have to deal with is a tractor blocking the road. Ah bliss!! The photos above are taken from the farm house. We'll be in a log cabin near the farm house. It's brand spanking new. We've watched the building in photos. Those who've known me long will know my longing to live in a log cabin.

Tatiana has taken some time off and will be with us for the first 10 days of our stay there. I'm beyond excited. I've missed that girl so, so much!!! We'll be together at Christmas too... and New Year... and... I'm getting all worked up again!

So... we fly on Sunday, October 9th. Our trip is already planned down to the last detail... except for the piles. I'm surrounded by piles of STUFF. Where did all this stuff come from??? We have a couple of cases packed. This weekend, we'll finish packing. This week is my last week teaching before I go. I'm excited beyond words... but at the same time a little heart-sore. As I said, my current students are amazing. I'll miss them. I hope they'll stick around as friends. I have an idea they might just do that. For now, I go down streets and think, "This is the last time I'll.... "

Ends and beginnings... changes...

Countries South Africans can travel to without a visa

http://www.travelwithoutvisas.com/
So.... these are the places where I'll get a fuss-free welcome (kinda). Just figures. Now that I've been through the hullabaloo to get to Brazil, if I were coming here now, I wouldn't need a travel visa.

Argh!

An article in Wiki....

"In July 2008, South African passport holders were amongst those singled out by the United Kingdom during a global review[17] as likely to require visas by the end of 2008 unless the countries in question take measures to reduce the perceived risk they pose to the UK. This finding came after the uncovering a major multi-national people smuggling operation involving the fraudulent issuing of genuine South African travel documents to foreign nationals. During two trials that concluded in July 2007 and January 2008 in the United Kingdom, it was revealed that at least 89 Indian citizens had been issued with South African passports by corrupt officials in South Africa's Department of Home Affairs, and that these passports were subsequently used by those Indian citizens to enter Britain illegally. During the trial, a witness testified that one of the scheme's ring leaders boasted of bringing 6000 illegal immigrants into the United Kingdom on fraudulently issued South African passports[18][19][20]. The United Kingdom introduced new visa requirements for South Africans on 3 March 2009. From 3 March 2009 to 1 July 2009, South African citizens who had previously entered the United Kingdom and had evidence of their visit in their current passport (i.e. a UK entry stamp) were exempted from the new visa requirements. As of 1 July 2009, all South African passport holders require a visa to enter or transit through the UK.[21]"

Let's just say that makes me a little more than mad... So that's why we no longer have free travel to the UK! I did wonder.