Empty-Handed

I returned empty handed from the Haitian Embassy today.

After arriving a few minutes early for my appointment to pick up my authenticated documents, I was told that the secretary had not yet arrived and to return in about 30 minutes. Thirty minutes later, I returned and she was still not there; she arrived soon after. I later learned that she was on her last day of vacation and the ambassador had told her to come in just to do the authentications!

I thought all was well until the subject of money came up. The ambassador did not know how much authentications cost, so he asked me on my previous visit how much the Chilean ones had been. Surprisingly, they cost nothing! He assured me that the Haitian embassy would have to charge for theirs but also promised to give us something of a break on the cost because of it being for an adoption of two Haitian children.

Sixty US dollars a stamp.

Fifteen hundred dollars for the documents I had left to be authenticated.

Only, they weren't authenticated because I hadn't paid ... and I couldn't pay, not today. I had a total of around $350 US dollars on me, thinking that would be plenty since I have been told that in the States our entire dossier would probably only cost $500 in Haitian authentications.

I almost cried. I did cry, on the way home, empty handed. I had thought today was the day when we would finally have all of our documents done, ready to be sent on to our agency in the States and the dossier completely assembled in the next couple of weeks.

Tomorrow I am supposed to speak with the secretary again to see if the ambassador agreed to lower the per stamp fee, hopefully to $40/page, perhaps to $50/page. She told me that since the dollar is so weak, he may not be willing to lower it as much as he has in the past.

I hate money.