New Year's Eve in America: Tale of a Lost Passport

If you're on my Facebook friend list, your newsfeed might've been flooded with rants about me being stuck here in the U.S. If you've been feeling bad about how 2014 has turned out for you, I can assure you that reading this will make you feel better. It also happens to be the reason why I'm still here in the U.S. celebrating Christmas, and now, New Year's Eve all alone. As much as I'd love to believe that what I'm about to tell you is made-up, it's truly one of the most embarrassing and messed up things in my life.

On a Friday about a month ago, I went to Walmart with a friend of mine. I wasn't having a particularly good day, so I decided that going shopping would cheer me up. After buying a top or two, we decided to go to Walmart because that's what people do to cheer themselves up...I guess. I bought a lot of random items like tanning oil and one really pretty but cheap art piece. I should also mention that because I'm in a foreign country, I felt it would be safer to carry my passport with me. I realize now that it was a stupid idea. Bare in mind, though, that the passport had been in my backpack for several months and it had always been there. At Walmart, I took it out to show the cashier.

Pre-Christmas in Fayetteville

I went back to my dorm room and went to watch at a movie at my friend's room. The next few days, I went on with my routines: classes, piano practice, yucky cafeteria food... On Tuesday night, I packed for my trip to Washington D.C. to attend a workshop as a part of my exchange program. After finishing packing, it never crossed my mind that I should check for my passport. My flight was at 7 a.m. the next day. As I scrambled out to the airport in the early hour of the day, I thought about my passport. I checked my backpack for my passport so I could leave to the taxi that was waiting. Guess what? It wasn't there. It. Was. Not. There. 

I didn't panic at first. I mean how can you lose something that you'd just seen five days ago? My dorm room is tiny, so I searched everywhere. Nope. My passport had disappeared. I was baffled. I didn't have much time to look thoroughly in every possible place, so I went to the airport with a copy of my passport and I.D. I never really thought that I'd lost my passport. I honestly thought it would be somewhere in my room. Even as I'm writing this right now, I still can't believe that it's nowhere to be found. I'm in Fayetteville, Arkansas, for crying out loud. This is probably one of the safest towns I've ever been in my life. Of course, I was living in a city of about 2 million, so that doesn't say much. 

When you have limited food supply

Upon my arrival back in Fayetteville after the workshop, it seemed that the airport had misplaced my carry-on luggage during one of the connecting flights. If you're wondering why they took away my carry-on, it was because I was told by a crew that they "didn't have any space for carry-on." I am starting to think that maybe I should do more good deeds in my life. Unfortunately, my laptop was in my luggage. Fortunately, they returned it two days later. Unfortunately, I searched every single spot in my room, even inside all of my books and folders, but my passport really had magically disappeared. And yes, I even called Walmart. I checked at every single lost-and-found office on campus. I even called the local police station.

At that point, the panic still hadn't hit full-swing. I went to the Cambodia Embassy when I was in Washington D.C. After calling them for about 20 times (I'm not exaggerating), they finally picked up. The embassy was basically a living room with one television and two staff. I was told that the process of getting me out of the country without a passport was a pretty easy one. One of the staff gave me his personal number. I guess it's because he knew that no one really picked up the phone. That should've been a huge, in-the-face red flag for me.

Empty campus -- this is a ghost town

When I got back to Fayetteville, I made a report to the local police. They didn't know how to make reports on lost properties, so they had to google it. Yes, they googled it. I finally got the police report and sent all my documents to the embassy. I called them a few days later to see if they'd gotten it. The staff said yes. I asked if I could get my travel document before my departure on Dec. 20. He said it would only take 10 days at most. He said I should send a pre-paid priority envelop to speed up the process. I did as I was told.

Empty street leading to Dickson Street, the entertainment district

Fast forward to a few days before my departure, I called the embassy again. It turned out that the ministry in Cambodia hadn't approved of my travel document. They tried to get the ambassador to approve of my travel document, but he was "attending a party," so he couldn't do it. It must've been one heck of a party. Good news, though, because my adviser told me that I could travel with only the documents that I have. 

A day before I was supposed to leave, my adviser called and said because one of my connecting flight is in South Korea, I would have trouble there because I didn't have my passport or any travel document. My flight was cancelled. She had to pull a lot of strings (as did the U.S. embassy back home) to speed up the Cambodia Embassy. They issued me the travel document the next day. The staff told me I would get it in a few days. Again, I should not have believed him.

Fast fast fast forward, the travel document is now stuck in Maryland for some reason. It's been there since Dec. 20. Apparently, either the embassy sent the document to the wrong address, or they told me the wrong tracking number. I still haven't received anything, so I doubt it was the latter. The question is: how do you send a package to the wrong address when someone sent you a pre-paid envelop with the address on it. All they had to do was stick the document in there and drop the envelop off. That was it. I have never seen anyone so incompetent in my entire life. 

Empty path to Old Main

It's New Year's Eve now. I'm sitting on my bed, writing a blog post about the saddest and most messed up thing in my life. The town is dead. There are probably three other people in my dorm. The buses are not running. I triggered a fire alarm because I tried to microwave some bread the other day. My life is just peaches and cream right now. Not only did I have to spend $300 to delay my flight to Bali, Indonesia, with my boyfriend, but I also have to delay my New Year's Eve plan to Sihanoukville, Cambodia. Need I mention that I spent a miserable Christmas while my family was continents away? 

At this point, I don't know when I'll see my travel document or when I'll leave the U.S. I had always thought that I wouldn't want to leave the U.S. if I ever got to come here. Oh, the irony. I barely go outside anymore. I am having cabin fever. My mood swings are crazier than Cambodia's politics. If I wasn't on meds, I would probably be in a psych ward right now. But with that aside, I just want to share my misery on New Year's Eve, hoping that A. I would have a better December next year. It is (or used to be) my favorite time of the year. And B. I would make you feel better about your life, because well, you're not stuck in a dorm in a dead town with nothing to do on Christmas and New Year. 

Anyway, I hope you're having a good one with your family. And even if your situation is as bad as mine, at least we can be miserable together! Happy New Year, everyone!

Love, Catherine

XOXO