immigration: including irony and indian food

i forgot to detail the immigration saga we got to experience a week and a half ago, mostly because i was so frustrated and tired and all-around insane after spending too many consecutive days sitting in the immigration office, trying to apply for our one-year visa extensions before they expired (in the end, a goof on the part of the lady who processed our forms got us cleared with hours to spare, so we're good...) to even consider revisiting the experience for the benefit and collective humor of our internet audience. man, i do like me some run-ons now and again.

plus, i couldn't really handle the embarrassment of whining about how hard thais make it for altruistic english-speakers to get legal jobs providing a much-desired service in their country when a) we don't actually fit into that category, b) neither do most people here; usually they're more on the creepy hooker-hungry side of the spectrum, and c) i had finished reading this book THE DAY BEFORE our little saga took off.

seriously, elyssa? are you really going to swear at the meanie bureaucrat who's talking to you like he would to a first grader? seriously? sometimes i embarrass myself. why couldn't i just be grateful that he wasn't wielding a machete over my head?

big thanks to morguini for the much-needed perspective (and the mail! you win!). not that i should need it, seeing as over half of my current students are immigrants dealing with very similar issues as those of enrique and his family. immigration policies are something i have huge beefs with that i will not go into in this post, seeing as my usual goal is to tell some story that results in everyone tilting their heads and saying, "aw, aren't the morrills dumb. but i'm pretty jealous of their sweet lives!" (yeah, that's right), and i'd rather not turn this into a serious, political, informative, focused, or in any way useful blog, thank you very much. at least not today.

which is why i will end this very random rant with the bullet-point summary of what i'd like everyone to take away today:

• immigration week was a nightmare
• but it wasn't as bad as it would've been if we weren't white and had been trying to get papers anywhere in the west
  
• and we ended up getting those fancy stickers that make us sort of legal (cough)
• so we celebrated by splurging on the indian restaurant that we've been eyeing for months and were comforted by the standard components of indian restaurants all over the world: garlic naan, paneer, bold paint color choices, and the nice man who stood over our table almost the whole time telling us of his "many heartbreaks and many joys." look for the book i plan to write about him next year.
• that is all. bless you for your fortitude on this one.