Back to the U.S.A

 Its 2 am and I cant pretend to sleep any longer.  The sound of dogs roaming the streets pours into my room and hijacks any hope of sound sleep.  Lately, the thought of me standing at JFK airport on January 27^th with no jacket, flip flops, and the 20 cent hat I gleefully purchased on the street a few days back has been parading through my mind each night.  I am just warming up to the oddities of India and now I have to fly back to the cold of America. 

Late November, early December word of mouth start scattering news of Visa regulation changes.  While having dinner, a Peruvian girl I befriended shared that her three American roommates heard from a friend in Delhi that anyone on 5 or 10 year Tourist Visas will have to leave the country for a year after being here for six months.  The American girls got around it by crossing the border by foot via Nepal, but the sheer thought of that makes me cringe.  The Peruvian girl abandoned India all together and is now living in Pakistan.  My American friend in Delhi had to fly back to fix her visa and was awarded a six-month tourist visa as a conciliation prize.  Now, at the end of this month its my turn to play the game.  There is one more stipulation which was added some time in December 09- if you are on a 5 or 10 year Tourist Visa then after 3 months you have to wait 2 months to re-enter.  

So, I am coming back state side the day before my 3-month anniversary in hopes of avoiding such complications and with the intent of acquiring the coveted Entry Visa.  (The visa I initially applied for through the Chicago consulate and was denied.  The visa that all other World Partner Fellows have tucked away in their passports.  The visa that most tourists/volunteers/expats don’t know about but also happens to be the most flexible.) 

No one knows what will happen (1. I get my visa changed to Entry and fly back 2. They reject my application and I go back for another 3 months and try again 3. They say I cant re-enter for 2 months 4. I am sure some official will create yet another option by the time I make it into the embassy) because it ultimately depends on the kindness of the person stamping my passport in the airport and the individual reviewing my application in New York.

The news has covered the visa changes a little bit but Tiger Woods still wins this fight.  His many mistresses and infidelity is apparently more shocking than the sudden fluctuations in visa regulations.  But in all seriousness this change is a result of India’s commitment to fighting terrorism.  Since one of the culprits of the Mumbai attacks was flying back and forth on a 5-year tourist visa issued by the wonderful folks in Chicago- all of us that share his visa have to go.  An Indian official twittered his reaction to this change shortly after the decision was announced: “ “

News channels are now airing his twit as breaking news and hinting at resignation.  What I understand from the sparse Times of India coverage and the one English news channel is that the general feeling is that to critique the government one cannot be a civil servant.  After watching this petty war of words play out, the conundrum of how to reform government has begun to unravel- not from within, but maybe through twitter?

3 days in NY. 5 days in Omaha.  3 days in Chicago. And many hours spent in the air.  I don’t think I can recycle enough in one lifetime to make up for the environmental damage this journey is going to cause. 

I have no doubt that I will be happy to return, but I am thrilled I get to spend a few days in familiar surroundings.  I am glad I can Google things to do in each of the three cities, I am glad I can machine wash my clothes, I am happy to not have to soak my vegetables in 2 baths (one is water + lemon then the veggies are transfered into a bath of water + salt) to cleanse them of pesticides, and I am so excited to drink a glass of wine, a cup of coffee, and a mug of hot cocoa.  I am looking forward to sharing stories of my life here with people that have shared years of my life there.  Ultimately, this is the perfect time to go.  I have just started understanding the importance of my NGO and what I can do to further their mission.  Taking time away to discuss this work and answer everyone’s’ questions will help me clarify my own questions, or shape new ones, that will help structure some of my work here. 

Today we have a big meeting to rewrite our mission/vision/about us, on Tuesday we are going to an all day conference looking at media as a source of social change, on Wednesday we finalize our new website, on Thursday is the international kite fest and the rest of the week is given to enjoying the mayhem of the city when it is flooded with international teams of professional kite flyers (stay tuned to hear more about this one).  Then we have to launch our new site that will serve as a “youtube” of community media, write a book about the lives of all the people we work with and for, write a book about the impact this work has had on the communities we work with, hold a training of video and radio trainers, create a new brochure, figure out sustainable funding, launch a radio station, create more partnerships with more NGOs, etc, etc, etc…get the point? There is no shortage of work so I will be back.  I am committed to learning from this process and from the incredible people I have the privilege of working with.