It’s been 7 days, 1 hour and 23 minutes since I dropped my passport into an envelope addressed to the U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt. I feel naked. I feel off-kilter.
BETH, CENTER, AND DAUGHTERS IN ABU DHABI
My passport has taken me through Germany, the Netherlands, Croatia, Portugal, the United Kingdom, France, Austria, Slovenia, Switzerland, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Belgium, Oman, the UAE, Morocco, and Spain since I left the United States in November of 2016.I have been on the road housesitting, writing, and teaching English while exploring Europe and popping in and out of Africa and the Middle East. My main objective is to make sure I am out of the Schengen Zone for 90 days out of every 180 days so that I can legally stay in Europe near my daughters while they are living over here.
But I was down to just three blank pages in my U.S. passport, and many countries require there to be two or more to gain admittance. NOT EASY TO LET GO So I filled out and printed the application, went to a photo studio for 2-inch by 2-inch photos, bought a money order and paid for return service, dropped my passport in a large envelope, and sent it off to the consulate. The website says it will take two-to-three weeks for it to be processed and returned to me. I thought about heading back to the States and taking care of it there, but it’s quicker to handle it through a U.S. consulate overseas. My youngest daughter, who is at university in Scotland, also had to renew hers and had it back in her hands in less than two weeks. In the States, even expediting the process can take up to three weeks, while standard processing can take up to six weeks. In the meantime, I wait. HOLDING MY BREATH AT THE BORDER Theoretically, I can legally leave the country because Germany is part of the Schengen Agreement. I should, in theory, be able to cross borders within the Schengen area without being subjected to a passport check. But temporary border controls have been reintroduced due to security concerns. On two recent visits to France, I have been on a bus from which passengers were removed for a lack of paperwork.
BETH IN CROATIA … A TOUGH JOB, BUT SOMEONE HAS TO DO IT
