Preparing for departure

Getting out of Missoula was enough work that it's worth relating.

I made lists, and checked things off. One of several lists is on the left. The lists for work were as bad as the ones for home.

Stuff to do before we leave town.

I'd get a little sense of accomplishment every time I ticked something off. I also learned to leave intractables like 'figure out taxes' off the list.

Here is a nasty list; the visa requirements:

• Fees payable to the appropriate South African representative office
• Prescribed form BI-84
• Medical Report BI-811
• Radiological Report BI-806
• Police Clearance Certificate from all countries where the applicant resided for 12 months or longer since 18 years.
• A vaccination certificate, if required;
• Proof of financial means in the forms of:· 
  
  
  
  • Bank statements;· 
  • Salary advices;· 
• Undertaking (commitment) by the South African host;
• Bursaries (grant awarded as part of a financial assistance package);· 
• Medical coverage;
• Cash available, including credit cards or travelers' checks to cover expenses related to the visit;
• Deposit
• Marriage and birth certificate
• Applicants traveling by air must be in possession of round trip tickets, or proof of sufficient funds or lodge a cash deposit of equivalent value to such a ticket;
• Statement and/or documentation confirming the purpose and duration of visit.

I added emphasis to the biggest hassles. I loved the medical report, I had to get my doctor to state that I was free of "mental deficiencies". So much of this experience is self-affirming. Getting the FBI to state that I had no record took some time.

All of our possessions.

Another major task was packing up the house and moving all of our possessions into the garage. A picture of all of our junk is on the right. Not bad, huh? It feels so much more manageable in a tidy little pile like that.

Zach in the empty house.

Getting everything out of the house had the effect of making our house seem much more desirable to live in. We've got a pretty nice house, who knew?

Ready to leave. Zach in yellow, Abe blue.

Finally, we took a last family photo and spent a night on our neighbor's air mattress. Thanks neighbor Julie!