WHAT'S IT GONNA BE?

Ok folks, so I am here again and trying hard to figure out how to make the transition from a blog about a chick with no papers and her bitter battle to a blog about a chick with papers and her current life.
 

I guess that happens a lot, kind of like how Cougar Town show with Courtney Cox got stuck with the name “Cougar Town” even thought Courtney Cox’s character has been dating someone her own age for the majority of the show.
 

My DH says I should just write, talk and talk about anything and everything that happens to me and put it on the blog…a blog about everything and nothing. Not surprising he is a Seinfeld fan.  I need a little bit more structure and to be honest with you I don’t think I am that interesting. He thinks I can make anything interesting, which is terribly flattering and also untrue.
 

My life currently consists of getting up an hour before I have to run to work, eat breakfast, feel sleepy and miserable until I finish my coffee, work for ten hours, go back home and hang out with husband, eat dinner (which most nights is popcorn, hummus, cheese and wine) read some books or watch Korean soap operas and then go to sleep to start the process all over again.
 

Kinda hard to write about that fascinating topic that is my routine.

But I do want to try to write more, to have a commitment, all those who have kept with me all these years know that I have a hard time making commitments and keeping promises I keep to myself, (I’m looking at you New Year’s Resolutions!)  I want to write everyday and maybe the flame will ignite again.
 

So I am going to go and tell you what has happened in my life these past few months and go from there, maybe all the writing will turn into something worth reading, even if the purpose of the blog isn’t what it used to be.
 

I traveled, kind reader, I actually left U.S. soil two months ago.  I fulfilled my lifelong dream of going to Europe, and you know what? It was even better than I imagined.  In two weeks I visited 6 European cities with DH, we walked until we got blisters, ate until we felt sick, drank until…well we actually never stopped drinking, we drank A LOT.
   

As you know I am a Colombian Citizen and therefore cannot go ANYWHERE without applying for a visa, so pretty much the first half of the year was spent with me filling applications to go to the UK, making itineraries, making copies of my bank statements, getting international health insurance, getting letters from my employers and copying paystubs, all so I could spend five days in London.
 

I cannot explain how excited I was when I got the UK Tourist Visa stamped on my passport. I looked so pretty in the picture too! Then I had to go to the Italian Consulate in Miami so I could apply for the Schengen visa.
 

For those of you who are Americans, or Canadians or simply are from pretty much everywhere else in the world and don’t require a promise of donation of a kidney or a first child to visit another country, a Schengen visa is a permit given to enter the Schengen Area after a treaty with 26 countries allows the carrier to enter said countries without a visa on their passport.
 

Since I wanted to go to Italy, Germany, Czech Republic and France and they all belong to the treaty that meant I only had to go to one Consulate to apply for the visa, instead of having to go to four.  We were spending the longest time in Italy so I applied for the visa there. It took one morning and reservations to hotels, planes, cars, trains, etc and pretty much the same that was required from the UK Consulate to be approved.

 With both visas in hand I was ready to go.
 

I love DH but I must confess I was a bit resentful that he gets to enter all the countries in the world without suspicion, without that country expecting the worst from him, without assuming that they are there to stay. I mean I did stay here when I came, but that is not the point!

 England and USA have been at war before, and France and the US have had some skirmishes, and Italy was one of the Axis Powers and the Czech Republic used to be communist and Germany was THE main Axis…what beef can any of them have with Colombia? Why deny its citizens entry unless jumping every hoop in the book? Even now when the EU is trying to lift the requirements for Colombian citizens Germany is refusing to sign up on the idea. I don't appreciate your dizzing Germany!
 

Whatever man!

Anyway, after all the paperwork and the saving and the booking and the reviewing the day finally came. I was all ready with my happy pills (Xanax for the flight), my autumn outfits carefully planned, my steps by step itineraries made on Excel, printed and tucked away in the suitcase. Research was done, money exchange rates checked, tickets for museums purchased in advance…we were readier than MacGyver.