It all started yesterday when we went to talk to the academic counselor for the high school. We learned that in order for Ben to return to Aquinas as a sophomore next year he would be required to have six credits from an accredited institution (which I am not). So yesterday afternoon we quickly enrolled him in an accredited home school program. We are now waiting on books and materials to arrive. We thought that was a big monkey wrench. But we took care of the problem and thought we were moving forward as planned. That turned out to be the little problem!
I will begin this next part by saying that the Fulbright program expects that the host university will assist award recipients with all that needs to be done. They even have a term for the go to person, a "shepherd," who will walk us through everything. That has not been our experience. Myles has barely heard from them at all and when we do hear from them, they are unable or unprepared to help with what we need to do. So Myles handled finding, negotiating and setting up the lease for our rental house. He has researched and researched all aspects of this journey. That said, this is all new to us and we are learning as we go.
Well, when I came home last evening from a school function Myles said, "I think we have a problem." He was under the impression that he would obtain a work visa once he got to Poland. It turns out that one needs to obtain the work visa prior to leaving the US. When you get off the plane and they ask you at customs what your business in Poland is, of course Myles would say to teach (work) in Poland. If he got there without a work visa it is a major problem.
There are two Polish Consulates here in the US. One is in New York City and the other one (whose jurisdiction Kansas is under) is in Chicago. So early this morning, Myles got on a plane to head to the Polish Consulate in Chicago to see what could be done. The office does not open until noon on Thursdays (which we knew from reading the web site last night). So he gets there and the lobby is filled with people having business with the Consulate. He waits his turn in line for four hours. He just called me to say that he will get his visa and his passport back by September 13th. And there is no way to get it any sooner.
He had planned to leave on the 8th. So now we need to change his flight...I hope that does not cost too much! And we need to get in touch with our landlord and let him know that he will not be arriving until the next week and that we still want the house! Tomorrow we will see about wiring the money (first month's rent and deposit) to the landlord to make sure we keep him happy and to show that we are serious and intend to keep our word.
This is not the end of the world, but it does make Myles very strapped for time. He has to be in Warsaw on the 15th for orientation that begins on the 16th. And we really want to claim our house in Gdansk as soon as possible.
So now we wait for all the documentation to arrive so we can move forward.
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