This sign, seen at Iguazu Falls, means that you should stay on the path because there are snakes off the path. I just hoped the snakes knew to stay off the path!The good news is that according to friend of mine who's a lawyer and has experience with visas I should be able to continue to get my tourist visa renewed without difficulty. They expire after 90 days, but Uruguay is just across the Rio de la Plata and a day trip is sufficient to renew the visa (a $60 round-trip ferry ride). She actually suggests that I just let it lapse and pay the $15 fine before leaving the country, but that makes me nervous. Of course, this is the same person who told me in September that the easiest way to stay in the country indefinitely would be to get married. She recently reminded me of that, and now adds that since that clearly hasn't worked out for me, I could also just have a baby in Argentina, which would also allow me to stay here. Hmm, I think I'll be on that boat to Uruguay next month. After all, even if I pursue the baby option, that won't help me until about, oh, nine months from now (just kidding!).
The great news is that this has been a good "trusting God" experience. I am really privileged to be surrounded by people of great faith, and the day I found out that it might be "all over" in the visa process both my supervisor (who has lived through coups in Haiti) and my lawyer friend (who mixed her crazy sense of humor with encouragement from Ezra, "keep building") helped me to have perspective and to stay trusting in God. It's also been good to see the need to just keep working, not to lament all of the time and money spent in the past eleven months on something that might not ever work out, but to just keep doing the work at hand every day. That lesson is helpful in so many other areas when I don't always see fruit from my work or understand what will come of it. Today's trouble is enough for today.
Below is some beautiful sateen in our room in the hostel in Puerto Iguazu.
