Yeah, so much for the whole, "I might throw in some posts while I'm in Ghana." David and I got so carried away with hanging out and doing normal married-people things that I didn't have any desire to really think about updating anyone about anything.
We did go to the Canadian High Commission the first week that I was there. First, I went to register myself as being in the country, with my fancy new Canadian passport. However, Canadians abroad apparently don't register in person anymore; we're required to do it online (which I never actually did because accessing the website to register involved installing at least one program onto my computer). So I merely demanded that the receptionist make a copy of my passport and Ghanaian entry visa. Yes, I demanded. I was a Canadian citizen in a Canadian High Commission in a foreign country whose main purpose is to serve Canadian citizens in that foreign country. And I was out to get everything I wanted that day. That attitude did me well until I hit the Immigration and Visa office.
After returning back to the main reception, I received a form to fill out requesting information from the Immigration section, and then proceeded to write out a cover letter for submitting the copies of my passport and visa, a copy of my itinerary, and the 7 boarding passes I had so carefully hoarded all the way from Grande Prairie to Accra. We submitted all of that to the main reception as the Immigration section doesn't open until 1:00, then went for an early lunch to pass the time. Returning just after 1:00, we were permitted to actually enter into the Visa Office itself, where I spoke with a lovely French woman who said a lot, but didn't really give us any information that we didn't already know. She did, however, tell us that the documents David submitted in June, refuting the concerns that were raised in the CAIPS notes we received, were still "in queue" (that term is quite popular with the Accra office and there is some speculation as to exactly how many "queues" there actually are. I just envision stacks and stacks of documents lined up, waiting for one thing or another) to be reviewed, but that usually "only takes three months or so." I'd like to take some of those people away from their spouses for three months and see how "only" that is for them. But I'm trying to keep a positive attitude towards the poor souls who work for Immigration Canada. We were given hope that we will hear something from Accra by the end of September, and if we don't, the lovely French woman actually GAVE me permission to enquire. Which I shall use to its fullest potential, trust me.
Other than that, we were not able to get anything out of our visit to the High Commission. I requested an appointment with either an Immigration officer or the head of the Immigration section, but apparently those people are locked in solitary confinement because "that's not how these things work. Immigration staff doesn't meet with the public."
So we went home, not seeing the point in another visit there during my stay as it looked like it would just be a waste of transport money and time. And then, we contacted a producer at Radio Gold, whose headquarters is actually just up the road from where David lives. We sat down with him, told him our situation, and asked if he could help us out by putting some kind of information program on the station regarding Ghanaians immigrating to Canada, what they're told to expect and what really happens, and give our story, plus details of others in the same situation as us that we've met during this process. He got really excited, which actually got me more excited, excited enough that I didn't collapse at the idea of going live on national radio. After some delays (this is still Ghana!), we finally scheduled an appointment to talk with him a few days before the show was supposed to happen, and he told us he was going to call the High Commission for their input the day after talking to us. We showed up for our appointment and he was, conveniently, out. We tried calling and emailing and dropping by again, but no producer to hear our story. Now, I try not to make speculations, but it seems really suspicious that a producer who was that excited about doing this program suddenly dropped it without even trying to reschedule, just after talking to the High Commission. I leave you to make your own speculations....
That was the extent of anything Immigration related while I was in Ghana, other than forcing ourselves to take pictures so that we would have something to send to Immigration afterwards as proof that I was there and we were together and look, we're smiling, so we must still enjoy each other's company.
Things got a little stressful when I got sick (malaria with a nasty case of food poisoning on top that resulted in some minor dehydration and a 24 hour stay in the hospital on IV) and we had to move my return trip back, which the travel agent ended up cancelling, then running off with the money, so I then had two days to find another flight back on my own. That stress managed to push any Immigration-related thought out of my mind.
Overall, it was a wonderful trip. David and I clicked as if we'd never been apart (need I remind you that it was 16 months between us seeing each other?) and got to spend a lot of time just hanging out and doing normal stuff, which is incredible when it's not actually normal to us. It was horrible to leave him; I think it was even harder this time than last time, which doesn't make sense, but it was.
I am fully recovered after being sick, a lot of people are asking about that. I had some problems getting caught up on sleep and energy after getting back to Canada, but am now pretty much feeling normal again. We're just trying to patiently wait for some news or the end of September to come so we can start bugging Immigration again. And trying to keep the refreshed feeling we had while together.
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