One Month!

So as of today, I have been in Israel for one month!!!!

This weekend was nice and relaxing after a week of traveling. I managed to find the time to upload pictures from the first month.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2246480&id=122600898&l=e91e87a18f

Saturday was my convocation. I was super excited because I didn't have to go! They can now bring my degree to me, instead of me going to get it! Whose the smarter one now! ha!

As of right now, I have managed to take a step backwards in joining the army. I had gotten my 2 year visa, which I needed to extend my stay past the 3 months allowed for tourists. Everywhere I went to deal with the army I told them that I was going to Petra for one day and if that would be OK. Would I need other documentation, or is it even allowed for someone enlisting in the army to go to Jordan. It wouldn't have been a problem had I known that I needed an exit visa!!!

I show up at 7AM at the border to Jordan, and the officer looks at my passport and asks me "where are you studying". After staring at her dumbfounded, she shows me my passport that says "student visa". My first thought was oh crap, they screwed up my visa, and now I'm going to be detained or something. So I explained my situation and she tells me either I go back to Ministry of Interior in Eilat to get an exit visa and come back a different day, or she would cancel my visa and I would have to go back and get a new one.

She cancels my visa so I could go to Petra. I ended up going to the Ministry of Interior in Rehovot on Sunday and spoke to the same lady that gave me the visa the first time. After waiting 3 hours to speak to her, she says "what do you need". I open the page to the canceled visa and say that I needed the same thing again. She looks at me and says "why did you get it canceled, what did you do?". I explain to her that it was her fault that I was back here, and that she never told me I needed an exit visa to go to Jordan. She responded "Oh, I didn't know." BULLSHIT!!

She is about to issue me the visa, when she checks the computer and it says that my visa is still valid. According to the computer, I never went to Jordan, and never came back. They hadn't processed the paperwork at the border yet. She tells me to come back on Thursday to which I respond, I can't and that I'm busy. She then says, okay come back on Wednesday. Same response. I told her I can't come back until July because I'm traveling and don't have time to come back to the Ministry of Interior and sit here all day for her to issue me something that she should have done correctly the first time! She tells me to come back when I can and that I should just go up to her, and not take a number and that she would do it right away. Lady, if your reading this you better believe I'm not waiting in line to speak to you!

Moral of the story - people here are USELESS!