Invited to Leave

Do you remember the early days of the pandemic, when everything you thought was stable felt suddenly uncertain? Do you remember how suddenly you couldn’t buy toilet paper and things began shutting down in your community? Do you recall the fear for your aging parents and grandparents, wondering if they might get the virus? Do you remember questioning whether the virus lingered on your clothes, or if you should be disinfecting your groceries? When you felt that first scratchy throat, did panic set in, wondering if it was COVID? Did you worry, too, that once exposed, you or a loved one might die? Do you remember wondering how long the lockdowns would last, and whether you’d ever return to normal?

Or perhaps there was a time—maybe during the pandemic—when your employer started laying off people. Did you worry that you might be among the ones let go? Were you already thinking ahead, trying to figure out where you would apply next if it happened to you? And when you finally found out you were laid off, did it feel like your world was falling apart? Were you overwhelmed, fixated on whether you’d have enough money to cover your bills?"

Now with some of those unsettling thoughts in mind, imagine a new scenario with me. 

Imagine your state decides there are too many people living there. They come up with an "ejection lottery.” The state will plan to select some unfortunate folks and kindly invite them “to leave the state and never come back.” You hear a blurb about this on the news and understand they’re mostly looking for illegal immigrants and maybe some criminals whom they will invite to leave. 

An acquaintance of yours, Bob Miller, and his family, have lived in the state for 15 years. They have been law abiding citizens, serving and developing your community. Your community is better because they’re there. Bob and the family are packed and ready to go on their annual beach vacation. They hit the interstate. Just as they’re approaching the state line, they run into road block where police are checking everyone’s driver licenses. Bob hands over his license and after an inspection, the police asks Bob to get out of the car.  As he does, Bob asks the officer if there is a problem. The officer tells him that he has been selected for his state’s “lottery.” Bob tries to understand what he is hearing. “Why me?” he asks. The officer replies that he is viewed as a criminal and he will never be allowed to enter the state again. Bob begins to push back insisting there must be a mixup. He doesn’t even have as much as a speeding ticket on his record. “Perhaps you mean a different Bob Miller,” he says. 

The police officer snaps back at him. “Mr. Miller, you have one of two choices. Either you can leave the state immediately or I can take you to jail for an unspecified amount of time.

This encounter occurs right outside of his car. His wife and children are watching and hearing everything that is happening. They watch with horror as their father is escorted across the state line. The mom and kids sit in the car in stunned silence. The mom, having her wits about her slides over into the driver’s seat, turns the car around and gets away from the state line and the potential for her to “win the lottery” as well. Once she’s safely away from the state line, she calls her husband. They go into task mode trying to pick up the pieces of their destroyed life. They hire a lawyer to see if they can appeal the decision. They try but the appeal is denied. They spend another month without Bob around. She begins the process of selling their house and wrapping up their life in that state.

You heard about Bob’s experience through a mutual friend. His story is a little unsettling but you move on with your day. The next day you hear of 10 more acquaintances who were traveling and learned they had won the “lottery.” A couple of families encountered the road block as they were returning to their home state. The police officers would not let them cross the state line, no matter that their house, school, pets are in the state. “Tough luck” says the officers. The families with the homes are now homeless.

Over the next week you hear of three others who received text messages telling them they have been selected for the eviction lottery. They are told they have ten days to leave the state or they will be jailed. 

You begin hearing rumors of police checks at mall entrances and at the local park. People are learning they have been “selected” to get the heck out of the state. Your whole world feels unstable. You’re grieving for Bob’s family. You’re feeling heavy because a kid’s family on your son’s soccer team has been ejected. 

Much like the pandemic, there are no clear indicators of who will be the unfortunate ones. You’re wondering if you’re already “carrying this ejection virus?” Is your best friend? Does a family member have it? If all of these get ejected how can you continue to stay without their support? You have a business trip in the next state scheduled for next month. Should you go? You’re worried you might be next. If you get ejected, where will you go? How will you sell your house and pack up your stuff in only ten short days?

The next day you wake up to news that your good pal Peter and his wife Sarah were “chosen” to leave and never return. They were lucky to find out before crossing the state line. They immediately hired a lawyer to contest the injunction and to buy them some time to pick up the pieces of their now shattered life. You were heavy about Bob’s news. You’re absolutely gutted after Pete and Sarah’s news. 

You have heard that some people have had a heads up about if they have been chosen by going to a government website and checking your profile page. You’ve heard that a green checkmark by your profile picture likely means you won’t be “invited” to leave. A question mark beside it is cause for serious worry. You log in and find an X beside yours. Uh-oh. You worry you’re next. You had planned to run into the grocery store to grab a few things. You decide not to. If you wake up to a text requiring an exit within 10 days, it would be a waste of money. You call the customer service of the website and ask about the X. They explain there is no problem with you in their system, it’s probably just a clerical error. You feel a bit relieved at this news. At least for today it seems you’ve been spared. Who knows what tomorrow may bring. 

That night, you lay awake in the middle of the night and begin thinking about contingency plans. You're trying to find something to grab onto to help bring some stability. But your world is in a tailspin. Really the only way you can know if you’re allowed to stay is to try crossing the state line. But then that might lead to the point of no return. 

Psalm 90:15 Make Us Glad

Fall of 2023 was full of challenges, hurdles and disappointments. I feel like every turn ended with a door slammed in my face. The tide began to turn in February when my student visa application was approved within two days. As I have written in my last few posts, returning to my host country, starting school, finding a house and applying for a residence permit were all filled with challenges. 

I think my friend Hannah coming to visit was another turning point. The week before she came, I had a pity party wondering how I was going to get my house unpacked and desperately feeling like I needed someone to take care of me. She made the last minute decision to come and really took care of me in so many ways. 

Finally after a long, hard, seemingly impossible climb, so many blessings began flowing my way. I want to chronicle the blessings since I have chronicled the hardships. Psalm 90:15 was my actual experience. He made me glad in proportion to my afflictions.

"Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us..."

So here I'm listing WHAT WENT RIGHT:

-Visa came in two days.

-No problems re-entering the country after an entry ban

-University money transfer arrived before I paid twice.

-An English proficiency exam the evening I came to the university allowed me to take it in time to register for classes.

-I registered for classes despite the email block.

-Welcoming classmates.

-I was able to get electricity in my name. Usually this can’t be done without a residence permit and yet I needed a utility in my name to get a residence permit. God provided this miracle.

-A quiet and peaceful home/complex and it makes me happy each time I return home.

-Getting everything on my moving wish list!

-My house is so close to the Suiters.

-My house is right across from a grocery store, pharmacy, tailor, hair salon.

-I walk two minutes and get on a bus that will take me to the university.

-I only had two items break from my stuff being moved twice.

-I had a healthy new nephew arrive.

-I have large built-in closets to store stuff.

-Tenth floor views.

-Three layers of security to get to my house.

-I couldn't get the gas turned on without a residence permit but I had hot water from the centralized building system.

-The dryer people hauled off my old dryer for me.

-A cute old man to put in new window screens for me.

-Residence permit approval!

-My sweet neighbor bringing me a cake to celebrate Easter.

-Class being much easier than I expected with high school level work in a graduate level class.

-Classmates encouraging me and affirming my research topic.

-Accidentally becoming a good anthropologist.

I put this sticker on my laptop as I arrived
back in country. I needed the reminder
to hope and believe good things were
coming and they did.

Tenth floor views

My new bedroom

My new nephew

One of the layers of security. I can see who
is at my building trying to get in.

Easter cake from my sweet neighbor.

The Last Hard Stretch

As I wrote in my last post, I registered for classes. I then started school three days later. I was also simultaneously trying to find an apartment.

On the first day of the hunt, I called eight places. Seven of them were nos, four had already been rented or had an offer made, one wanted to rent only to a family and two didn’t want foreigners. That left one that was willing for me look at the place. I took videos of each place so I could remember the details of that place. As I rewatched the video of this place, I heard myself take big, sad sighs three times. That didn't seem like a good sign.

A few days later I called some other apartment listings and those were willing to let me view the spaces. I visited one apartment and thought the space itself was decent and doable even if it would be much smaller than my previous home. The realtor wanted to show me around the complex and to show me a community garden the complex had begun. I remember having a good sigh as we walked around the quiet complex seeing green and hearing birds chirp. 

I slept on it and decided to make an offer on the good-sigh house. The landlord accepted it and we signed the contract the following day. The contract signing wasn’t without hurdles. I didn’t have enough cash on me to pay for the notary fees. Luckily my co-signer did. Also the landlord’s husband wanted my co-signer to sign saying he would vouch for the money for FIVE YEARS! The co-signer refused. My landlord told her husband he was being ridiculous and he stormed off and the problem went away. 

I spent the next week working on getting all the necessary paperwork for my residence permit application and figuring out life as a student. I finally got everything submitted to the university so they could go to the Immigration Office and get my residence permit application approved. As I dropped off the paperwork, they told me my rental contract format was incorrect and they wanted me to get the correct one. Dun dun dunnnn. There were FIVE people involved in the signing the first time. It seemed nearly impossible that I could easily get all those people together.

I asked if they couldn’t just submit it as is and if the Immigration Office didn’t accept it, then I would get the correct one. Besides, I told them, I was heading out of the country in a couple of hours and didn't have time to get a revised rental contract. They said I shouldn’t try to leave the country as it could potentially cancel my application. I assured them that I had asked the Immigration Office if I would have problems leaving and reentering the country and they assured me I would not. The university said it was ultimately my call but they wouldn’t advise an exit.

When I got to the airport, I decided to go by the Immigration desk before passport control. There I learned that if I left, I would have to pay another fine. I tried to ask why and I couldn’t understand the why only that I would be fined. Upon returning to the country, I’d have to have an approved residence permit in hand within ten days or I’d be banned again. Knowing how long things take here, it wasn’t a risk I was willing to take. I had worked so hard, literally months of hitting closed door after closed door, to let it slip through. I decided to stay put.

This is was the point in the saga that things finally turned for the better. Not leaving the country for the conference turned out to be so good for me. A friend decided to come at the last minute to help me unpack my things into my new apartment. She almost didn’t come since I had the conference but at the last minute she decided to come anyway. She would have some R&R by the pool while I was in meetings. We would return and have two days to focus on unpacking. 

After I made the decision to forego the conference, she told me she was so glad and had been stressed about my going. We sat in the airport as she made calls cancelling her flights and hotel getting the entirety of her money back! She cancelled her flight 90 minutes before take off!

Because I hadn’t gone to the meeting, I was able to get 90% of my house unpacked and livable. It also meant that we had some time in the evenings to play a game or watch something funny on tv. And it meant that we had some extra time to take her to do some touristy things in the city. Had I gone to the meeting, I would have returned to a disaster of a house, exhausted from the busyness of a conference and needing to keep working hard to get my new apartment livable. She was such a blessing to me that week. 

Needless to say it was a busy month. Here’s a timeline of what happened upon my return to the country.

Feb 14 - I landed back in my country

Feb 20 - Called 8 apartment listings

Feb 21 - Viewed 1 apartment listing

Feb 22 - I took the English proficiency exam

Feb 23 - I sorted out university payments and registered for classes

Feb 26 - First day of graduate classes ANT 526

Feb 27 - Looked at apartments

Feb 28 - Made an offer on an apartment

Feb 29 - Signed the rental agreement/first day of ANT 504

Mar 1 - Got electricity and internet turned on

Mar 4 - Class/Gathered documents for residence permit 

Mar 5 - Paid taxes for residence permit

Mar 6 - Had my stuff moved into my apartment from storage

Mar 7 - Class and unpacking

Mar 8 - Did fingerprinting at the Immigration Office

Mar 9 - Unpacking, welcomed a friend from the US.

Mar 10 - Bedroom set up

Mar 11 - Took finalized paperwork to the university for official appointment at the Immigration Office/Attempted to leave country for a conference abroad/Kitchen set up

Mar 12 - Bought a dryer and oven

Mar 13 - Living room set up/Ordered screens for my house

First day of school

Keys to my new apartment

First sunset view from apartment

Unpacking

A fun touristy thing with this sweet friend/guest

Puzzling University Process

 

Figuring out how to handle all of my university stuff was a challenge. I tried emailing folks at the university but wasn’t getting any replies. I looked online for information about how to proceed. I found something on the website saying that students could not register for classes until the tuition was paid. Before I left the States, I initiated a wire transfer. The funds were set to arrive a week later. A couple days before the funds were set to transfer, I received a message saying there was a hang up with my funds. From what I found online it seemed that this transfer would most likely be canceled. Knowing I was running out of time, I began pulling out money from my American account and depositing it into my American account. It took several days to pull out enough for the tuition. 

After my last trip to an ATM, I went home to make the online transfer. I was in the process of making sure I had all of the correct information when I received a notification that my initial transfer had gone through! I was literally two minutes away from paying for tuition twice. What a close call!

Once the payment was made, I kept checking my email for instructions on how to register for classes. I also emailed a couple of my university contacts. I heard nothing. Finally on the Thursday before classes began on Monday, I decided to go to the university to see if they would let me on to get some face to face information. I went to the office and tried to explain my situation. I told them I had paid but needed to know how to register. The department secretary was confused as to how I had been able to pay. She said I wasn’t yet, in fact, an official student. She was perplexed as to how my payment had even been accepted. She went on to say that the reason I hadn’t yet been approved as an official student was because they needed proof that I could handle the program in English. They had emailed me about this she explained. I never received such an email. 

I explained that English is my first language and all my education up to this point had been in English. “Yes,” she said, “but your diploma doesn’t specifically say you studied in English.” Uhhhh… It’s implied. She told me in order to officially accept me they either needed a letter from my university declaring I had in fact studied in English or else I needed to do an English proficiency exam. It just so happened they had an English exam that evening and that might be the quickest course of action. So I hung around to do take the asinine English proficiency exam. 

While I waited, I tried to familiarize myself with the campus. I spent some time praying and I got an early dinner there. I forgot to grab some silverware. While I left my food for a few seconds to get said silverware, a dang bird came and was eating off my plate! Stinking birds. 

Campus Map

Just after the bird stole some food

A quiet, sunny place to pray before the exam

Sunset sea view from the testing room

I took the English test and guess what? It turns out I’m proficient in English. I might have even found some grammatical errors on the English test! 

The secretary had told me that the test results should be in by 11:00 at the latest at which point she would email and let me know how to register. At 11:30 when I still hadn’t received anything from her, I emailed her. She wrote back with this message:

“You can contact Financial Affairs and get your financial approval based on the email you received from our Student Affairs office.”

What email? I had no emails. I replied, “I’m trying to understand this process. I don’t yet have an email from Student Affairs. My first step is that this email came to me. The second is to contact Financial Affairs. Have I understood correctly?”

The secretary, clearly thinking I’m an idiot, sent another email in English saying “I sent the information again.” 

Oh, I thought, she must have meant her reply to my first email. I replied asking if this is what she meant. She replied again, “Yes, please see Financial Affairs and show them the receipt from where you have already paid.” 

At this point it was about 2:30 on a Friday and the offices were supposed to close at 5:30. I quickly got ready and took a taxi to the university. I went to Financial Affairs. Again the worker was so confused as to how I had been able to pay without actually being a student. I shrugged my shoulders. She took my receipt and gave me my student number.

I took the student number to the department secretary and asked how I was supposed to register for classes. She told me to login with the username and password in the email I received. What email? I checked my email, checked my spam, there was no email. It all became clear in that moment that my email provider had flat out blocked all the emails originating from the university. The only time I could receive an email was if I had contacted them first. I have no idea why my email provider decided to block these emails but it does shed light onto why I was so clueless about everything. I used a different email address and got the login information. I registered for classes just in time. Phew! 

This puzzle was a good reflection of how I felt trying to
figure out the university process without having access
to key information.