When one embarks on a journey…
My nature definitely does not lean toward structure and order. I cope quite well with this in everyday life, not least because I am quite aware of my strengths and weaknesses. Or rather, my weaknesses. I use the term weaknesses not because I myself perceive these characteristics as weaknesses, but because they are perceived as such by social norms. My preference for creative chaos is less about ability or inability and more about the fact that I am determined to learn skills and abilities in this area. The fact that I don’t pay much attention to events that lie further in the future doesn’t necessarily help when dealing with the US immigration authorities. The odyssey began at Frankfurt Airport. There I discovered that it is no longer common practice to talk to people in order to check in your luggage and get your boarding pass. Paul and I first had to ask around to find out where we could talk to someone, because modern technology can’t handle the fact that I have a middle name, so I couldn’t use the unmanned check-in even if I wanted to. For my trip, I booked a round-trip flight to and from the US. In total, I will not be spending more than ten days there. Of the connecting flights, I had only booked the one to Haiti so far, also to be open to events that might arise along the way. I did not want to disclose my trip to Haiti to the authorities in America. In Frankfurt, the lady at the counter pointed out that my residence permit was not valid for long enough. “You must book an earlier return flight immediately.” In order to explain to the lady that I had no intention of spending time in America, I had to show her an earlier departure ticket from the USA before she would even hand me my ticket. Anyone who has been paying attention will realize that this also laid the foundation for a complicated entry into the US. Since we will be working as journalists in Haiti and wanted to save ourselves the trouble of entering the country, I stated that I had tourist reasons for my trip. Well, okay. The flight was relaxed, and it was only in the last hour that it occurred to me that now that the lady had entered my trip to Haiti into the system, I would probably have to explain why I was traveling to a crisis area as a “tourist.” It was far from certain that I would actually be allowed to enter the country. The border control officer at Miami Airport had the final say on entry into the US. After a ten-hour flight – which lasted well into the evening German time and left me on the verge of illness – my mental capacities were severely reduced. Paul and I had deliberately separated from each other for immigration and stated that we were traveling alone so that neither of us would be affected by the other. Paul had already gone through by the time I stepped up to the counter. The man at the counter was nice and asked me only a few questions. He didn’t even want to see my entry permit and just filled out a small piece of paper and stuck it to my passport. For a moment, I thought that was it and I had successfully entered the country. Just as I was about to take my passport back from the counter, an officer came up to me and the man at the counter told me I had to follow the officer and that I would get my passport back there. I immediately realized that I would now have to explain myself in more detail, although I couldn’t figure out at what point in my conversation the man at the counter had decided that this was necessary. I was led into a separate room with two other people, which was behind two secure doors and could only be exited with the correct code. Several rows of seats were lined up behind each other and faced a yellowed wall with a screen showing the 7news channel. Behind them were four counters, each manned by a border control officer. I got my passport back and was told to wait until I was called. When I was called, I had to answer all sorts of questions. When are you flying back? Are you employed in Germany? Can you prove that you have a regular income? Can you show me your flight to Mexico? – Do you have a hotel reservation you can show me? As I said, I didn’t want to talk about Haiti, so I avoided it at first. The fact that I work as a freelance artist on an invoice basis and have only been doing so since this year, and that I didn’t have a business card or website, didn’t make things any easier. The answer “No, I only have irregular income” did not improve my status either. The fact that I had not yet booked my ticket to Mexico and did not have a hotel reservation because I wanted to look around first did not help the officer either. “You’re really not helping your case here. How can I be sure that you’re not here to stay?” After I showed the officer my online banking, I was asked to take a seat again and a second officer was called in. During this time, I realized that, on the one hand, border control had no idea about my trip to Haiti, but on the other hand, I would have no choice but to disclose it. The second time, my officer asked me straight out if I had received a commission for a sculpture here in America. After I denied this as well, his colleague asked me if I had already booked a connecting flight and where I intended to stay in America. The situation then relaxed because I was able to show my flight to Haiti and explain to the officer that I intended to visit the Magnolia Zen Center here in Florida, whose monk I had already met twice in Germany. After apologizing that I was only accompanying a journalist on my trip to Haiti and would simply be there out of interest, I had to wait again until the two had discussed it and typed all the data into their computer. The officer could have seen from the beginning of my approved entry permit that I wanted to go to the Magnolia Zen Center, but until that point, no one in Miami had even wanted to see it. On the third attempt, I finally got my passport back and the officer granted me entry on the condition that my luggage be thoroughly inspected again and checked by the officers waiting for me outside the quarantine room. When the baggage department asked me again where I was flying to next, I became a little indignant and pointed out that I had already explained everything and was really tired. The luggage was then simply scanned again, and I successfully entered the United States. However, my plan to quit smoking was now out the window for the duration of my stay in Miami. 😉
Good night!