The Passport

Continued from “The Purse”…

Sunday, February 3 and Monday, February 4

After I realized my purse was stolen and had cried a few buckets of tears, a friend/supervisor type person called the person in the capital (where I was for the wedding) who knows the ins and outs of all things logistical.  Thankfully, she got the scoop on what to do next, because I was still in a state of tears and teeth-chattering.

The next step, after canceling my debit/credit cards (which I did that night and no one had used them yet), was getting a passport so I could fly out of the capital and ultimately out of the country.  The added complication was that I needed my purse was stolen on Saturday night and I needed to fly out of the country on Tuesday night/Wednesday in the wee hours of the morning.  I had been in the country for almost the maximum number of days allowed without an exit, so I had to get out…fast.

I called the US Embassy on Sunday morning, as well as some other people in my “Company” who are really smart about these things (seems as though I’m not the first person to get her passport stolen.)  Of course, the US Embassy wasn’t open on Sundays, but they told me I could come in on Monday morning without an appointment and get an emergency passport that same day.  She then said that I would need to go to the FRRO (Foreign Registry something or another) and get a stamp that said I could leave the country.  Obviously, I wasn’t going to get to leave the capital on Sunday, so I canceled my plane ticket back to my city and tried to enjoy the day with my friends.  I ate some delicious food (Dunkin’ Donuts and Chili’s!!) and only cried about twice, so I would say I didn’t do too bad enjoying the day, all things considered.

My friends were so nice and several of them let me borrow some money from them so that I could apply for my US emergency passport.  That was a huge blessing!!  There was also a very sweet lady in the city that opened her home to me and let me stay with her that night.

Monday morning, I went to the US Embassy with all the forms and such completed.  The guy who had his bag stolen and also needed an emergency passport met me there and we went through this process together.  Always nice to not be alone doing something I’ve never done before.

I sat for about 2.5 hours in the US Embassy for them to get everything processed, but a little after 12:30, I had my emergency passport in hand.  It is just like a regular passport, but the coloring is a little off, there are only 11 total pages (5 for visa stamps), and it is only valid for one year.  To say I was impressed with the speed and efficiency of it would be an understatement.  Oh, I was so thankful to have it!!

I tried for the exit stamp that day, but the FRRO in the capital was a zoo and they told me I could just go to the FRRO in my own city.  Having learned that, it seemed like the best thing to just fly back to my city and try to get my exit stamp on Tuesday there.  That also gave me a few extra hours in my city to back for leaving the country.

Since I didn’t have a debit card to purchase my ticket, the logistics guy in the capital graciously bought it for me and said I could repay him later.  Around 8:30 pm, I flew back to my city.  I seriously could not believe it when I landed.  I had gotten an emergency passport in one day and flew home that night.  What a miracle! 

I stayed with one of my favorite couples in the city on their side of town that night since I landed so late.  As I laid my head on their guest room pillow, I was so thankful and full of amazement at the events the Father had orchestrated thus far.

I was also gearing up for the FRRO…