Day Nine

A picture perfect moment - Brenda with her papers in the office of Dr. Eduardo Lopez Argueta, Yesenia and Brenda's lawyer in El Salvador.
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D-DAY!!!!  More details tomorrow but for now - a picture is worth several thousand words.   g'nite  Lynn & Brenda

Saturday Morning in response to requests for more info:

First from Brenda:

Another full day for us, but a very successful and great day! We woke up around 7 and we got ready and we had breakfast. We left earlier than we needed to go to the embassy because we went and picked up my aunt and my cousin at the bus terminal.  We went to the lawyer and we left them there because we had our appointment at 11.  Once we arrived at the embassy we had to go through some guards and once we were inside the building they called Elizabeth Zelle. She came out 2 minutes later and she handed us the papers (yay!) and said that's it! I was surprise that I didn't have to sign anything or wait, certainly a great thing. After that we went to pick up my aunt and my cousin and we headed to Galerias where my aunt applied for her passport. We had to wait so during that time we had lunch in the food court of the mall Galerias. After lunch we went back and got her passport and headed to the crafts place once again. We stayed for about an hour and then we had to drop off my aunt  back at the bus terminal.  My cousin stayed with us for the night since we were going to my grandma's the next day. Our next stop was a dessert place called la panetiere. After eating our dessert we headed to the hotel and we ate at the hotel restaurant. We met with Paola who is the concierge's (Jocelyn) daughter. After dinner we came up to the hotel and we stayed up until 12 or so.

Brenda, Aunt Marisol and Cousin Marilu at the bus station
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Lynn's added comments:  Friday turned out to be a wonderful, sunny day full of many adventures.  We got up and dressed and had our usual lovely breakfast upstairs.  We answered the cell phone and the girls' aunt told us she was almost to the capital on the bus her oldest daughter, Marilu.  We invited them to join us for the day and  Marilu to sleep over since we were going to return to Chalchuapa on Saturday and could bring her home.

After leaving Marisol and Marilu at the lawyer's office, (see below if interested), we drove to the Embassy.  We left double the time needed to get there and that was a good thing.  The traffic was very congested and here "very congested" is an experience like being at the bumper cars at an aggressive amusement park site.  We go there right on time, went to the door indicated and began the lengthy process of getting inside.

Imagine a country of contrasts - just outside the 20th century bus station, the 21st century cell phone company TIGO and a man cutting the grass with a hand-made short scythe from the 19th century.
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There are two entrances, one for applying for visas that I described previously.  Today we went to the Diplomatic entrance to the Chancery to meet with Elizabeth A. Zelle (Bess), the Vice Consul who shepherded us through the process.  She has been so wonderful to me - patient with my anxiety about everything.  She even did an additional check for me with the CDC.  I didn't want Brenda to get a certain vaccine until she went off to college - she is so petite still - they wanted to give it to her now.  I got a letter from our doctor in Atlanta, via e-mail attachment, saying she thought we should wait.  Bess used the letter and checked.  Only those under age 10 and those whose life would be threatened by the vaccine are exempt.  So Tuesday we returned to the doctor and Brenda got her vaccine.  The nurse said -"Don't worry it won't hurt at all."  She was right!     It didn't hurt her at all but Brenda was uncomfortable for a few hours with the old sore arm routine.

Lynn with Brenda and Marilu at the bus station ...
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Back to Friday and at the guard post.  I have done this several times already.  The list at the guard checkpoint is always different than the person inside says it will be. I am not comfortable arguing with the guards to get inside.  They have their job to do - I understand that - but I also understand that every time I am at the gate - I have my job to do as well.  Well and good that one's name is on the list, but the guards are so diligent, when I got to the door, I wanted to have something written this time.

The view from the pastry shop in the"ZONA ROSA"...
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Last time with Yesenia, they had written down the wrong time and wanted me to wait an hour more outside.  I hate being insistent with people whose job is at risk if they make a mistake.  It is their livelihood but I also have my schedule.  I certainly didn't want Mark Matthews, the person who worked on Yesenia's case to think we were late!

So this time,I asked Bess for a letter which she send attached to an e-mail.  I printed it out at the hotel on a system called "PRINTME" (see below if interested). Letter in hand, I approached the "caseta"(it is like a small windowed room) with the guard outside, one on the door, one at the desk.  The one at the door asks in a firm way why you are there.  After answering him, he summons the guard at the inside of the "caseta" small entrance building.  He asks why you are there and after giving him an ID, he shuts the door on you and goes back inside to check and see if your name is on the appointment list.  Some time later, her returns and lets you in.  Well, us anyway, maybe some people don't have an appointment verified never get in  ...

Lynn and the girls before ordering dinner ...
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Anyway, you go in one at a time and go through a metal detector. Only non-electronic items can be brought inside the Embassy with you at the Diplomatic entrance.  At the visa entrance - nothing except papers and your money!   This time the one behind the desk checked my wallet to see if I had a flash drive hidden in it!  So we "checked in" the phone and went on in.  Not my first rodeo, so I only brought the wallet to pay any fees and the phone to call the driver when we were through.

Paula who came to meet Brenda ...
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Then we walked through a beautiful garden area up to the building, reaching another guard checkpoint at the door.  Our situation is so far from the usual that every time we had to encounter the guards, they were very anxious.  Even though I had a letter, even though our name was on the appointment list, I turn around and there is the street-side guard coming up to explain why he let us in to the door guard!  The door guard again checked all our possessions and then let us pass one at a time through another metal detector.

Street-scene ...
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Inside, I went to the reception window and asked to see Bess Zelle, our paperwork angel.  The woman on duty called her and we sat on the sofa to wait.  In a minute or tow, she came out of a door, smiled at us, said, "Well - here are your papers and good luck."  A wonderful moment AND very anti-climactic.  She explained that she was very busy due to others being out sick and she had to run.  So there we were - more time to get in than it took to talk to Bess.  We thanked her (profusely) and left.  As you go through a subway style barrs that revolve exit, a guard pops out a drawer like a bank drive-in, you put in the claim check, they pull the drawer in and return your phone.  No human contact at all on the way out!

At the bus station ...
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So we went back to the lawyer and picked up Brenda's family and went to a mall called GALERIAS.  The Salvadoran passport office was there and Brenda's aunt MArisol applied for her passport.  We all went to an American style food court to have lunch and then back to the office to get her passport.  From there we went to the ARTISANS market and had a lot of fun.  They enjoyed seeing the native crafts on display there. In fact, when I asked Brenda's cousin Marilu what was the best part of her trip, she said it was the artisan's market.  (Her worst part was elevators - her first encounter with them and with escalators which she liked even less!)

On to the bus station so her mom could go home and we could go get  sweet.  We went to a bakery where the waiters all wore French style berets and we each selected something different for our pre-dinner dessert.  Brenda had carrot cake ( yes - she did ) and Marilu had one of those slices of chocolate cake that never seem to end.  I had gelato - half lemon and half blackberry!  MMMM good. Then we went back to the hotel.  We hung out watching tv until dinner time and went down to the bar restaurant - not a big formal meal - I had a mini steak sandwich which I shared with Marilu and Brenda had a chicken ceasar salad.  Paula Patrino, daughter of the concierge, Jocelyn, joined us for dinner.  She is a year older than Brenda and a year younger than her cousin, Marilu.  Brenda and Paula got along very well - in English and Spanish - and Paula invited Brenda to go to the movies with her on Saturday night.   Unfortunately, we would be getting back too late but they traded e-mail addresses and hope to see each other again some day.

Upstairs after dinner, we did our usual, watching tv with Lynn doing the needlepoint and, this night, also Marilu doing some embroidery.  And to sleep - perchance to dream ...

Side note: Brenda's Aunt Marisol:  Interestingly, we helped their aunt get started getting citizenship papers for her children.  They were born in Guatemala and since their mother is a citizen of El Salvador and they live here now, she can get them dual citizenship.  She signed a power of attorney giving the lawyer the right to act in her interests.  He needs to have an official government ID with him to process the paperwork and she only had her "DUI".  The countries of Central America agreed to have a common ID known as Documento Unico de Identidad or the famous DUI, pronounced as "dew-ee".  El Salvador has it but not all countries have adopted it yet.  As it stands, just like in the US, no papers, no DUI which serves as a work ID.  No DUI no Job.

So Lawyer Argueta will shepherd her through the steps and then all six will have papers for Salvadoran identity and be able to get their DUI when they are of age.  Marilu and Yesenia were born one day in June 1988 apart so she had to sign for herself since they are both 20 now.

We all went to the Salvador passport office to get a passport for the girl's aunt, Marisol, because she had to leave an official document with the lawyer and could not give up her DUI as that is also the ID at a bank or for anything one needs to do officially in her home town about 2 hours away from the capital city.  It is called "EL REFUGIO" or the refuge and is near Chalchuapa.  Interesting system, any bank accepts the $12.00 for the passport and then one brings the bank receipt to the passport office.  They accept the receipt as payment and there you are - get in line - take your picture and come back in one hour to pick it up.  Just like any other government office anywhere! Side note: PRINTME:  A website that the hotel uses so that guests can send a document they want printed.  It goes to the web site and you get a document number.  Call the desk and for $0.50 they print it out and it is waiting for you when you get downstairs.  Really helpful for me on this trip.  I used it to print out the doctor's letter in color and the letter to get into the Embassy as well.

That's it from Lynn!!