I'm fucked. Maybe. Hopefully not, but from what I've read I'm practically staring at a "burner" waiting for Tiger to text me back with a room number. I've been living in Germany for about 70 days, that means I have 20 left on my tourist visa. You can legally visit Europe for 90 days at a crack, after that you gotta go home and tell you friends the same stories that they've already read on your blog for 3 months before you can go back.
The problem is I like Tiff a LOT and I don't want to go back to the states without her. My dog and all my hats and shoes are here too, and I like them almost as much, so leaving is the last resort. There are 3 ways this can go:
1) I get a job, which grants me a work visa....I've been looking for a job, believe me. But to get a job here isn't so easy. I speak rudimentary German at best. I can get a beer;
"Eins Bier, Danke"
and get rid of it, "Toilette?"
But after that I'm seriously just learning, and unless I find a company that speaks mainly English I'm kinda looking for a paddle.
2) I have an appointment with the Alien's Office to get a Resident Visa. I have a job back in the states and I saved enough cash to get me in some SERIOUS trouble in Mexico and from what I've read it's a pretty simple process, show them that you have:
a)Money
b)Insurance
c)A place to live
d)A reason to be here
If you can prove all this they can approve you for up to a year at which time they will probably renew it no questions axed as long as you still fit the requirements.
This sounds fine and/or dandy but they don't say how much dough you need. I remember when I was 18 I worked as a mechanic and I was about to go on my first vacation, the guy who owned the shop asked me how much I had with me for my trip and I thought I was rich.
"I've got 6 hundred bones saved up"
"how long you goin' for?"
"a week"
"shit, I keep more in my pocket when I take my kids to Chuck E. Cheese" and he pulled out a knot to prove the point. The concept of "rich" is subject to interpretation, folks.
The other thing is they can just say no. I could have all the insurance, Carlos Slim money, a place to put my head and all that stuff but they can just say no, stamp my paper, close my file and say "Tschüs" and that scares me.
Option number 3) Just stay. But never be able to come back. If I don't leave the EU, they'll never have a reason to check my passport. If I don't do anything dumb I won't have to deal with cops. But when we leave, that's it. Europe is closed.
You got ideas? I got 20 days and I'm listenin'
I've had less stressful months.
