Key To A Whole New World

Finally! My passport arrived today! What a relief! I knew that I would be able to go even if it didn't arrive - I was going to find a way - but now that it is here, I don't have that unnecessary stress. Having a passport just makes this trip that much more tangible - it's my key to a whole new world of experiences that I cannot wait to have.

Edit: Funny mom quote: "It's so pretty. Why would anyone want to mess it up by putting stamps in there?"

Good Ol' Bureaucracy

The United States government never ceases to surprise me. I hope to serve in national office some day; on the top of my to do list will be to draft legislation to reduce ridiculous bureaucratic nonsense.

While I was still in Maryland, the Department of State sent me a letter informing me that my passport application needed to be supplemented by additional documentation. For some unknown reason, my California birth certificate and driver's license were not sufficient. I called the 1-800 number for the passport agency, and they were not able to tell me why my application was flagged - I will probably never know why. There are only two possible reasons that I can think of.

First, all my documentation says California, but I applied in Maryland. I don't think that should rally matter though. A passport agency is a passport agency; why should the government care where you apply? The standards for an application are the same for everyone, regardless of what state they are from or where they apply.

Second, if you've ever seen my California driver's license picture, you know that it looks nothing like me anymore. The picture was taken when I was in high school - I think it is the picture that was on my learner's permit. I had the opportunity to take another photo when I turned 24, but I dread the DMV. The DMV is the 7th circle of bureaucratic hell. There are not enough people working there, everyone is miserable for having to be there and would much rather be doing something else, and I venture to guess that most actually do have something better to be doing with their day.

So, while not knowing why I need to provide all of this extra documentation, I started working on what documentation I could provide. I must say though, California's certainly get screwed in the amount of documents that they are able to provide. For example, one of the documents the passport agency accepts is voter registration cards, which California does not issue or require. Moreover, a lot of the documentation is very specific, such as welfare cards, professional licenses, and union cards. And then there is some documentation that they requested, which I found downright comical - high school yearbooks, newspaper articles, and publicity features. Really, a high school yearbook? I can only imagine a bunch of passport issuers sitting around the office having a drink flipping through old yearbooks at a bar and giggling about people's hair styles or clothing. Maybe they turned it into a drinking game - every time someone has a bad mustache you have to take a shot. Or maybe if the person was voted the class clown they have to tell a bad knock-knock joke. There can't be any good reason for requesting the yearbook.

It will take me a few days to figure out what to send them, but for now I'm just in shock that my "required" documentation wasn't enough. Has anyone else ever heard of someone having this problem?

32 days until I start work in South Africa.

New Assignment

Today, I received an email from the coordinator at the SALRC informing me that, in addition to working on the Hindu marriages project, I will also be working on the project relating to adult prostitution. I also received the various policy and methodology documents so I can be prepared on day 1 to start working on these projects. I'm excited for the opportunity to work on two projects and delve even further into a foreign legal system than I would have already.

I also heard about the dress code for the commission. Monday through Thursday men dress "smart casual." This means suit, but no tie. And on Fridays I can wear jeans and a t-shirt. The only time I will have to wear a tie is if I'm going to a meeting or a conference. That's my kind of dress code! (Anyone who has had to wear a tie can tell you they aren't the most comfortable things in the world. And while ties do look nice, I don't know anyone that would choose to wear one if they did not need to.)

I'm still working on a place to live and waiting for my passport to arrive.