In order to apply for a visa to Ecuador, you need to complete an application online. Sounds easy, right? Wrong.
Things slowly began to go downhill when I tried to create an account on the consulate website. I couldn't seem to find the right form (mainly because everything was in Spanish) and when I did find it, I kept getting an error message.
Disregarding my "Generation Y" aversion to calling someone on the phone, I dialed the consulate in Chicago and asked for help. I explained that I was unable to apply using their website and asked if I could just bring all my documents into the office instead.
"Sure!" she said.
"Great, I'll see you tomorrow."
Fast forward to the next day, I was on my way to Chicago with plans to meet a friend for lunch at noon. I actually said the words "I can't imagine this will take more than 30 minutes."
Oh, Kelly...
As I drove into the city, my anxiety was already through the roof. Anyone who has ever driven with me knows that I am TERRIBLE with directions. Even using my phone's GPS, I was completely overwhelmed.
As I drove into the city, my anxiety was already through the roof. Anyone who has ever driven with me knows that I am TERRIBLE with directions. Even using my phone's GPS, I was completely overwhelmed.
Siri and I have a long-term love-hate relationship. She loves that I need her and I hate that she is a useless pile of garbage. Siri's many talents include getting lost, finding the most dangerous neighborhood within 100 miles, and demanding that I make U-turns on one-way streets. One time, I was driving to a movie theater in Mequon and at 60 miles an hour, she told me to pull over, park, and walk to my destination. I wish I were kidding. In Siri's defense, the movie theater was on the other side of the highway, I just wasn't mentally prepared to scale a wall to get there. Quitter.
Anyway, I digress. I arrived at the consulate and presented my papers. The ambassador, let's call him J, looked very confused and said I had to apply online. Perfect.
When I told him I couldn't get the website to work and that I had all of my documentation with me, he directed me to a small room with a computer and said I should apply there. To my dismay, everything on the computer was in Spanish. Everything.
To put things into perspective, imagine going to the DMV and applying for a specialty driver's license, but all the paperwork is in a language you don't fluently speak. For all I knew, I could have been applying for a marriage license.
Thank God for Google Translate. After about 30 minutes of putzing around on the computer, I was finally ready to scan my documents. Sure enough, the scanner didn't work. While I wasn't quite sure what it said, the "error message" symbol is fairly universal. I found J and asked if he could help.
J was clearly annoyed and left the room to find help. 10 minutes later he returned with a younger, presumably tech savvy coworker, and between the two of them, they were able to diagnose that the scanner was indeed, not working.
I looked to J for what to do next.
"Do you have a camera on your phone?" he asked.
"...yes...?" I replied.
"Just take pictures of your documents with your phone and e-mail them to yourself."
Despite all logic, I began taking photos of my documents and sent them to myself in an e-mail. When it was finally time to upload the pictures into the website, I soon found out that the files had to be in PDF form, not JPG. I went to go find J's tech savvy coworker and he told me to convert the files into the correct format using a website called "PDF Converter." It reminded me a lot of a website I used in the 90's to convert Youtube videos into iTunes files.
Again, everything was in Spanish.
Not surprisingly, once my "high quality phone photos" were uploaded, they were so illegible that I went to find J to ask if I could even use them.
"It doesn't really matter, it's just so we have it in our system. It's a technicality."
Sounds legitimate.
But after I showed him the blurry photos, even he had to admit they wouldn't suffice. J informed me that this was the only scanner in the office and that there was a Staples store "down the block" where I could scan my documents.
Apparently, "down the block" means anywhere between 1-3 miles.
As I walked to Staples with my laptop, passport, birth certificate, and basically every legitimate form of identification that would ever be used to confirm my existence on this earth, I couldn't help but laugh because this entire situation would literally only happen to me.
The kind woman at Staples clearly saw that I was stressed and scanned my documents for free. THANK YOU ANGEL OF STAPLES, I SHALL REMEMBER YOU FOREVER!
With my documents scanned, I walked the mile back to the consulate and tried to upload them to the website. Again, no such luck. J and tech savvy coworker informed me that the website had to be reset and that the only person that could do that was their IT person in Ecuador.
30 minutes later, the website was reset and I was ready to pay for my visa. My wallet was about 3 inches out of my purse when J quickly informed me that they do not take cash, checks, or credit.
Perfect, it just so happens that I have $500 in Monopoly money RIGHT HERE!
J handed me a deposit slip and told me that I had to go "down the block" to the Bank of America and complete a money order. At this point, I had been there for about 4 hours so I was willing to do anything. I walked down the block over a mile to the Bank of America and attempted to withdraw $450 from the ATM.
Declined.
Apparently, even MasterCard thought this whole exchange was shady.
The friendly staff at Bank of America were able to sort things out and I was able to deposit the money into the account. Knowing that if I had to walk over the bridge one more time, I would literally throw myself off it, I opted for a taxi back to the consulate.
When I finally returned with my deposit slip, the secretary said I needed to SCAN my receipt and upload it into the website.
Seeing my look of dismay, she took pity on me and offered to let me use the scanner at her desk.
Seeing my look of dismay, she took pity on me and offered to let me use the scanner at her desk.
That's right...THE SCANNER AT HER DESK.
At that point, I didn't even care. I was just ready to get out of there. She scanned my receipt and I was told to wait in the waiting room while J processed my application. I sat and waited for about 45 minutes watching the Spanish version of E-Hollywood and tried not to have a mental breakdown.
Finally, J called me into his office and said everything was complete. I was so relieved that when he reached out to shake my hand, I hugged him.
I gathered my things, bid the office workers farewell, and left forever.
Pause, NOT.
I was on the highway for all of ten minutes before I realized the mistake I had made. I grabbed my passport from the passenger seat and there it was, a visa valid from March 2016-March 2017. For those of you following along, my yearlong trip begins in August.
I called the consulate immediately but no one answered. In a very long and presumably non-coherent voicemail, I explained what happened and asked for someone to call me back. About 2 hours later, I received an e-mail that my visa had been "cancelled", or at least that's what I translated it to mean, and that I needed to report to the consulate as soon as possible.
Pause, NOT.
I was on the highway for all of ten minutes before I realized the mistake I had made. I grabbed my passport from the passenger seat and there it was, a visa valid from March 2016-March 2017. For those of you following along, my yearlong trip begins in August.
I called the consulate immediately but no one answered. In a very long and presumably non-coherent voicemail, I explained what happened and asked for someone to call me back. About 2 hours later, I received an e-mail that my visa had been "cancelled", or at least that's what I translated it to mean, and that I needed to report to the consulate as soon as possible.
Over the next four days, I tried numerous (over 30) times to get a real life person on the phone, but I wasn't having any luck. I was convinced the phone system was simply sending my calls into a black hole and the people at the consulate had no idea I was trying to reach them. Turns out, that wasn't far from the truth.
While I like to make jokes and keep things light, I am a very anxious person. Not knowing what the heck was going on was making me crazy so after four days of radio silence, I decided to head back to Chicago to figure things out.
When I arrived, I told J it was good to see him again. His response was, "really?". I guess our six hour ordeal wasn't fun for him either.
I explained what had happened and asked if he could help. He told me that I had misread the e-mail and that my visa was in fact, not cancelled. It was just a form e-mail they send during the application process. In my defense, the sentence I misinterpreted included the words "cancelacion de visas."
J also explained that even if I had specified the dates in the first place, he couldn't issue a visa for a later date and that I will just have to apply for an extension when I'm in Ecuador. Not the answer I was hoping for but at least I had an answer.
Before I left, I stopped into the front office and asked "out of curiosity" whether the secretary had received any of my voicemails or e-mails. She told me they were understaffed and that over 300 people call the office each day so if she actually listened to voicemails she wouldn't have time to "do her job." Basically, if you didn't know someone's direct line or extension number, you would probably never hear from anyone.
While I like to make jokes and keep things light, I am a very anxious person. Not knowing what the heck was going on was making me crazy so after four days of radio silence, I decided to head back to Chicago to figure things out.
When I arrived, I told J it was good to see him again. His response was, "really?". I guess our six hour ordeal wasn't fun for him either.
I explained what had happened and asked if he could help. He told me that I had misread the e-mail and that my visa was in fact, not cancelled. It was just a form e-mail they send during the application process. In my defense, the sentence I misinterpreted included the words "cancelacion de visas."
J also explained that even if I had specified the dates in the first place, he couldn't issue a visa for a later date and that I will just have to apply for an extension when I'm in Ecuador. Not the answer I was hoping for but at least I had an answer.
Before I left, I stopped into the front office and asked "out of curiosity" whether the secretary had received any of my voicemails or e-mails. She told me they were understaffed and that over 300 people call the office each day so if she actually listened to voicemails she wouldn't have time to "do her job." Basically, if you didn't know someone's direct line or extension number, you would probably never hear from anyone.
Even though the day was not what I expected, it definitely was a learning experience. People keep asking if it makes me nervous for my trip - absolutely not! I'm relieved to finally take this off my to-do list and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that buying my plane ticket will be smooth sailing. If anyone has any helpful suggestions for international airlines they particularly like/dislike, let me know!
Thank you for visiting. I hope to see you back soon!
Thank you for visiting. I hope to see you back soon!
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