Waiting in line...

A lot has happened in the few weeks that I've been here, so I'll try to catch all of you up without writing a novel. There were a few things I had to get in order once I got here, like picking up my trade license (this is something that states I'm an English teacher and can be employed in more that one place), and also getting my visa looked at by the foreign police. This has to be done within 3 business days of arriving in the Czech Republic. So I went with my boss, Marek, to the foreign police office, which is kind of like the DMV, but soooo much worse. There are people waiting/sleeping inside, outside, upstairs, downstairs...how are this many people coming to the Czech Republic at the same time??!! Anyway, Marek was thinking there might be an easier way, so we tried several other offices in the building that had much shorter lines, but they all told us to go back downstairs. One woman started to help me, but she said I didn't have enough proof of insurance (I didn't get an insurance card with the travel insurance I purchased- it's all electronic). So I called the insurance company to see if they could do anything, but the best they could do is email me a letter within 48 hours stating that I had purchased the insurance. So we went back downstairs and stood in a line for the info desk. That alone took forever! When we finally got to the desk, the man told us the same thing- they couldn't do anything w/out better proof of insurance. But he gave me a number nonetheless. So we left the place and ran all over Prague trying to figure something out. I finally called my mom, she found a receipt for the insurance and scanned and emailed it to me. Then we had to find an internet cafe, pay to print the receipt, and then rush back to the foreign police. It had been 4 hours and they still hadn't called my number. We waited another hour, and when they finally did call me back they just stamped my visa, no questions asked! Didn't even look at my proof of insurance!!!! Unbelievable. But at least it worked out!!