Legal Paperwork Part 2

Warning: If you haven't read the February post titled "The Chronicles of the Apostrophe" this post probably won't make much sense, so go on over and read that first.

This week my birth certificate arrived via a lovely family that came to Peru and travelled all the way to Cuzco. On their way back home they had a flight through Lima in which I was to meet them at the airport to retrieve the long awaited document. To make a long story short: confusion of dates and sickness kept me from going to the airport. Javier ended up going to the airport by himself as a detour on his way to work Monday evening. And alas we have the document in hand.

Before taking my birth certificate and letter verifying I have never been married to be translated, Javier  made a stop at the mayor's office to ensure that we had all of the proper documentation. He accepted the documents, but found an error with my residency. Of course nothing in this country can be simple...

In Peru, I have to update my residency yearly to prove that I am still here working. There is also an annual fee I have to pay. Usually they put a sticker on the back of your resident card to show that you have paid and updated your status. However, the law has changed, and now it is all in the computer system. They are no longer using the stickers, but when you enter the numbers into the government system, then it shows up at that I am legally in the country.

Unfortunately, the elderly man in charge of legal weddings here where I live didn't want to take Javier's word nor the documents I had stating that I have paid and am legal. Javier tried to explain the situatoin, but the man only wanted to ee the sticker on my resident card or there would be no wedding.

Thankfully, Javier has a way with words, and he convinced the man to call the immigration office. After a short exchange, the man nodded his head in approval, and Javier was on his way to drop off my paperwork with a legal translator. We picked up the paperwork on Friday, and everything is now placed in a plastic report folder waiting to be turned in. Next we have to do medical screenings and then publish our marriage in the paper for 8 days. Then, we will finally be able to set a date for the legal ceremony.

It's been quite the exhausting, frustrating process. I've cried in the office at the municipality more than once, and I've spent a lot of time in prayer that everything would work out. At one point I even asked God if this was his sign that we shouldn't be getting married - which I later decided wasn't the reason, but that perhaps God is trying to teach me patience.

As all Peruvians say, "Por algo ." Meaning: There is a reason.

Hopefully, all of this to say, that by the end of April, I should be a legally married woman. However, we are still waiting until the "religious" (traditional) ceremony to take place before we will consider ourselves to be married.

Thank you all for your continued prayers. Let me leave you with another picture from our engagement session.

A Visit from the Doctor

I've always prided myself in never having to use Peruvian healthcare, although I knew sooner or later it was to happen. The good thing about Peru is that when one gets sick, the pharmacy almost always has an antibiotic on hand one can take without a prescription, so that is usually my go to source.

However, when I was up all night Sunday sick to my stomach I was afraid a visit with the doctor may be in my near future. Trying to be tough, I overdosed on TUMS and took imodium with me in my purse hoping to make it through a day of school. Since sick days are not given as part of my contract, in order to be absent from work one must provide a doctor's excuse meaning if I missed work I had no choice but to visit a doctor...something I was hoping not to do.

By 8:30 a.m. I felt like I was on fire and when I stood up I got so dizzy I had to sit back down. I couldn't even make it from my desk to the doorway without holding onto the wall the whole way. So I stalked down the hall to the bathroom and then into the director's office and explained my situation. She sent me to the nurse, and the nurse sent me straight home after discovering my fever was over 101F.

Everyone at school always talks about this wonderful service that our insurance provides in which a doctor comes straight to your house. I called as soon as I got home, spelled my name fifteen different times, and explained over and over that I only have one last name. (Unfortunately, I couldn't tell them I am Yesica Gutierrez like I normally do since I had to use my legal name.) After about 15 minutes I was told my insurance didn't carry this benefit, so I hung up, emailed the lady in charge of the insurance at school, and I went straight to bed.

I woke nearly 7 hours later with a fever of 103.8F, received an email from work with a different policy number, and I called the doctor again. This time after spelling my name thirteen more times and explaining several times that I only have one last name, a doctor was sent to my house. He arrived nearly 3 hours later at 9:30pm.

Now, I will say it is quite convenient to have the doctor come straight to you, but I won't say the service was the best. The doctor was nice, but he honestly didn't do much. He asked my symptoms and what my temperature  was last time I checked; then he took my blood pressure and pressed on my abdomen a few times. Finally, he wrote me a prescription for 5 different medicines (for dehydration, fever, nausea, parasites, and infection), and he was on his way out the door less than 15 minutes after he arrived. Five minutes later the pharmacy was on my doorstep with the medicine he had ordered.  And by 10:30pm I was back in bed with lots of drugs in my system.

I took Tuesday off work because there was no way I was going to play tough girl again. Javier was off, too, so he came to spend the day with me. Basically we both slept most of the day since I was sick and he had worked overnight the night before. But he made sure I had soup for dinner and that I took my medicines on time.

So while I lost my pride of no medical history in Peru, I can say I've had yet another new experience...a doctor visiting my house and medicine delivered to my door all for less than 20 US dollars.

And just in case you're wondering - Yes, I am feeling much better. After my first meal in 5 days which was Chinese food for dinner last night, tamales for breakfast this morning, and Papa Johns tonight, I'd say I am cured.

Although, now allergy and cold season is starting so my eyes are bright red and my nose doesn't stop running...

Let me leave you with one of my favorite pictures from our engagement session. :)