Moving today, Flying tomorrow

Quick update because Andre's waiting for me to come back and help him finish packing up his apartment. He's stressed and nervous about moving. He asked me to call my friend Claudio to see if he could come over with his truck earlier in case we have to make to trips or we hit traffic. Compared to the moves I've made in my life, this will be a piece of cake. Looks like one truckload to me and Andre already packed most of it days ago. Wait till he sees all the stuff I have back in Santa Cruz, in my attic and Oma's attic, not to mention a houseful of furniture, dishes, clothes, stuff.

Tomorrow morning we fly at 9 a.m., so we're going to leave for the airport at 6 a.m. We'll stay the night at his best friend Junior's house in the neighborhood called Las Americas which is close to the airport. Junior's family just rented a two-bedroom apartment a few months ago. They don't have that much furniture yet, so they'll be happy to have Andre's mattress, mini-fridge and small washing machine. I find his washing machine to be more work than washing by hand, but he likes it. Just wait until he sees an American washing machine that does it all except hang the clothes.

I'm also going to call the U.S. consulate for 15 minutes and ask them a long list of questions. I had to pay 540 Dominican pesos (about $17 US) to get a PIN to make the call. They don't answer questions about visa applications for free. Andre and I don't even have a case number yet, just a receipt for our application which they got in May. My immigration lawyer still insists that she's never seen a fiance visa take longer than a year. I keep hearing here that D.R. has the longest waiting list and it can take up to 2 years. I wouldn't mind 2 years if we had an exact date. Andre and I can find another place in the world to live together, but I don't like the idea that at any minute they can notify us and we have to drop everything to run back to the D.R. If that's the case, we might have to stay in the Caribbean area. I had thought about Vancouver, then I remembered that Andre probably wouldn't be very happy there in the February cold. Maybe in April or May. But would we arrive just to find out we have to come back to Santo Domingo for the interview at the consulate?

I know I like adventures, but sometimes I like a little stability and security in my life. Either way, mi vida sigue.