Opposite?

                                                      March 28, 2013 (9:02 P.M.)

Let me start this post off by thanking my father. If you didn’t force me to purchase a manual car when I was seventeen years old, I most likely would not have learned and therefore would have missed out on today. The skill has come in handy too many times to count and I cannot thank you enough teaching me.

My day began at 2:45 a.m. this morning because my aquarium shift this week ran from 3 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. As I woke up in the middle of the night, oddly awake for only having four hours of sleep, I started to mentally prepare myself for what this day would bring. It was going to be a long day, but if I played my cards right, a great day.

For those of you unaware of my current circumstances, I have been going through the tedious and time-consuming process of obtaining all the necessary documents to apply for a volunteer visa. For a person staying in South Africa for less than 90 days, no visa is required. Since I was originally only planning on staying in the country for two months, I obviously did not bother applying for a visa. Although my employment offer was an amazing opportunity and being able to move right from intern to field specialist was extremely convenient, they did not warn me of the hassles involved with obtaining the necessary paperwork whilst in the country you’re applying to stay in.

For the past two weeks, I have been gathering all the materials needed to apply for my visa and it has not been easy. A few of the documents required are passport, medical report, radiological report, proof of financial means, return ticket home, letters from organization, etc. It has been quite frustrating gathering all the papers. Plus, I needed everything collected and ready to turn in 30 days before the need for a visa or expiration of a current visa. That date for me would be April 1.

With the help of my parents and Oceans Research, I was able to get everything I needed for the application. I had all my documents in a folder and ready to turn in; or so I thought. But before I go into that, let me start with the happy memories.

After organizing my ride to the Department of Affairs in George, South Africa – a 40 minute drive – all I had to do was leave from my aquarium shift and jump in the car toward George. With tomorrow being a public holiday here in South Africa and the office being closed, today was my last day to turn in the application. My thought process was to go to the office early in the morning with everything I needed. Hopefully it would work out and I would not need to return, but if by some chance I did need something, I would have the opportunity to drive back to Oceans and get the necessary paperwork before it closed.

When I was dropped off after my aquarium shift, no one was there. I waited for more than an hour before I heard the “bad” news. My ride had fallen through and would not be able to take me. Initially I was worried. This was the last day I could go to the office and it took me up until this morning to gather everything I needed. How was I going to get there? No one would want to drive 40 minutes to wait in the department of home affairs.

But then the question was asked.

“Do you know how to drive stick?”

Thank you Dad! Looks like I would be making it after all. There was just one little problem.

The gear shift was now on the left instead of the right and the steering wheel was opposite as well. Of course, people drive on the left side of the road here too, but it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out? To top it all off, this would be my first time driving in South Africa and I would be doing it alone for a scenic 40-minute drive to an unknown town in which my only directions are some quickly scribbled notes on a piece of notepad paper.

At least the peddles were the same!

I could handle it. I just needed to remember ”tight lefts” and “wide rights” and I would be fine. I figured the stick shift nonsense would cause a little bit of initial problems, but it would be nothing I couldn’t pick up easily enough; the gears stilled followed the same pattern. Plus I really had no choice: I had to turn in my application today.

With a confident smile, I replied with a yes and took the keys. My first mistake, I walked to the left side of the car. Oops. I tried to play it off, but my mistake was pretty obvious. The only thing I could do was look back and reply “old habits.” I spent a couple minutes familiarizing myself with the car and peddles, but everything seemed straightforward. I could drive a manual after all. As I backed out, I felt oddly comfortable; as if I was meant to be driving this way my whole life. I got on the road and started off with ease. It was no problem at all! My left hand started switching gears as if it had been doing it for years. My feet quickly remembered what to do and I was off.

I was focused the whole time, but I felt great. I had to keep reminding myself to stay on the left during roundabouts and intersections, but other than a random reminder now and then – something I’m sure will go away with time – I had no difficulty whatsoever. Once I got on the highway it was even easier and I was able to enjoy the view. It was especially nice to see my cruise control comfortably resting at 120 kilometers – always nice to see the speedometer resting in the hundred’s column.

The whole drive to George was through mountains and along the coast. With the windows down and my right arm out the window, I kept smiling and thinking how I’d gotten here. The whole thing seemed surreal. Looking back six months from now, who would have thought I would be driving down a highway in Africa? Stuff like that can’t help but make you feel enjoyment. It’s not the kind of stuff people get to enjoy every day.

Unfortunately for me, my happiness would be short lived; even though I did get a parking spot directly in front of the home affairs office. With all my papers ready, I made my way into the building, convinced that a good attitude and friendly smile might give me a little leeway if I ended up being short a document or two. I was highly mistaken. As I walked up, an older gentleman asked for my paperwork without even making eye contact. He started checking off documents and at one point I thought I was in the clear.

As he was checking the legitimacy of each of the papers, I happened to glance down at the checklist. I knew for a fact I had everyone of the necessary papers with me. The second-to-last checkpoint was a police clearance from the state of New Jersey – something my parents were fortunately able to collect and send to me. Without hesitation, he picked up all my papers and handed them back to me; somehow pleased with himself. You would have thought he wanted me to fail. When I asked what the problem was, he explained how my police clearance form had to be the original; not a copy.

I tried to explain my case, informing him the original was in the U.S. and I needed these papers in today. There would be no way I could get the document mailed in time to reach my deadline. He didn’t even listen. He just kept repeating the phrase, “original document.” It was one of the most frustrating experiences I’d ever endured. I asked if he could even potentially approve my other material on a probationary status, temporary allowing the copy to be approved until the original was shipped over. I could have it on record as me turning everything in with a sort of asterisk, but he refused to listen to anything I had to say.

Eventually I went over his head and asked for another person to speak with. Fortunately this person was a little more helpful. He said he couldn’t accept the copy but he could record on file my attempt to turn in the documents. As long as I got everything in by April 30, the expiration of my visit, I would be allowed to remain in the country for an additional five months. It was painful, but at least I was able to accomplish something. I left annoyed, but it could have been worse.

Over the next couple of hours, my sleep would have to be delayed. I would drive back to Oceans, run a couple errands for my new boss and then start work. I barely had enough time to eat lunch before starting my next shift at two. By the time I was free to sleep, I was beyond exhausted but there was no reason to go to sleep at this point. I might as well wait until later and get a proper night’s rest. I cannot wait.