We had hoped to report to you that yesterday was a great success in our visit to the Questura. However here is our story:
We kept Samuel home from school yesterday so that we could make a family visit to pick up our permessi. Everyone must be present in order to receive these documents. We went two months ago to pick them up only to find that they printed Samuel's birth date wrong, thus unable to obtain my permesso or the kids'. Jonathan had to get his fingerprints redone for the second time and two months later his was also ready. OR so we were informed.
Our last visit and this visit were assisted by one of our coworker's neighbors who works in the Questura. Thankfully we did not have to stand in line and obtain a number. We were able to talk to our inside contact who then took us to the front of the line, probably disgruntling a few people in the process. Jonathan's permesso was completed properly and he was able to obtain his. Praise the Lord!!
However, when they asked us to look over the kids' cards for accuracy, we were a little shocked to see that Samuel had Emma's ID photo and Luca had Samuel's photo and Emma had Luca's photo. What on earth?!! All we needed was Samuel's card reprinted with the correct birth date which it now had but with the wrong photo. Unbelievable!! So that means I once again was not able to get my permesso.
What does this mean? Another two months of waiting, if the holidays don't slow down the processing. The cards will be sent back to Rome where they are printed and so we need to pray they'll get it right on 3rd try and we can get them before furlough. Thankfully our permessi are good for 2 years this time around, so there is hope I will have the card in hand for at least one year before we reapply for renewal.
We had to laugh once again!! We continue to marvel at the lack of quality control in this country and the lack of desire to perform one's job to the fullest. 10 seconds of a cross-check to make sure the card matched the computer would have saved us 2 months of more waiting and them more work and money. But hey, this is Italy...and so very typical!
Points of praise are that Jonathan at least got his permesso and can now formally enroll in the driving school and take his driving exam before we leave for furlough. Secondly, we praise the Lord we only had to spend 45 minutes of our time at the Questura instead of 5 or 6 hours to receive the above news.
Point of prayer would be obviously for mine and the kids' permesso to be completed properly in the next few months.
So that's our saga.
3 comments:
We are thankful Jon was able to get his permisso but dissapointed about the rest. Like you said you just have to laugh:) We will be praying that the corrections won't take as long as expected. Awesome news about the GIANT bag of flour and oreos! Those really are luxuries we take for granted here. We love you guys!
ah - the joys and frustrations of living overseas. glad that you're able to laugh about it, though! there are days where if you can't laugh, you'll just cry. and yay that at least your husband is legal! :) i love that even in the times of complete frustration, you can always find "points of praise" to rejoice in - i rejoice with you! and i'm also praying that all the paper work will go through smoothly and you and the kiddos will have your permessos.
when i'd have days like these, i would have to just say that at least it was a blog-worthy story to write home about. thanks for blogging about it and sharing all your italian "adventures" with us! :)
What? you cut in line? You really are Italians now!! I'm thinking we might be there just in time to stand in line again at the Questura with you Jon. That and getting my pocket picked in Rome were definately the cultural highlights of the last trip. I should be an honorary Italian for that. Love, Papa
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