A new appreciation for the DMV

Having always held up the DMV as a paragon of American bureaucracy, I have recently found myself oddly longing for it while living in this young country with a rapidly changing government eager to mature and stabilize in the 21st century. It feels like the laws and heavy regulations change on a whim. They're trying to build the plane as they fly it and it is really annoying.

Last week, we got an email letting us know that as of Sunday, September 30th all cell phone numbers in the country will begin with an extra number 9. Okay, not a huge deal, but annoying to have to change all the numbers in the entire country. It took me about an hour to change the numbers in my phone and some of them are currently not working at all.

Several weeks ago the school assisted us in submitting some forms to open a local bank account.  Last week those forms were returned because they want them completed in black ink, not blue as they had preferred on last year's forms. Then we got another email from the bank today saying that we are unable to open an account without including a signed working contract. Unfortunately, despite having signed a contract upon accepting the position, it is currently not valid as the government passed a new law this summer requiring teachers to work over 200 days, which was longer then the original contract outlined. The extended school year is causing all kinds of issues for the administration and has yet to be finalized.

The rapidly changing labor laws have been having all kinds of annoying effects. I'm a big fan of laws that protect the workers, but these significant changes rapidly rolling out are just causing people stress and no one seems to know how to do the paperwork! For example, anyone that employs a maid or other house worker for more then 6 hours per week needs to contribute to their social security and health insurance. This isn't a problem for us and our 3 hour per week maid, but it is for several people I know who as foreigners are so overwhelmed, they are considering discontinuing the employment rather then deal with the paperwork and liability. Lose lose for the housekeepers!

I've participated in a Pilate's class at the school a few times. It's conducted by a friend of a teacher who comes on campus for 2 classes per week to teach 4-10 people who drop in. We pay her a few dollars per class. Unfortunately, the new laws dictate that she is unable to work "for the school" without a contract. So, that class may have to come to an end. Ugh.

Our friends had their car stolen a few weeks ago. They've been enduring mind numbing annoyances with the bank, the police department, and the insurance company to try and get everything all settled with the hope of just getting the insurance company to provide them with a check so they can get a new car. Well, they JUST found out that despite their diligence before purchasing the car, the previous owner had taken out a loan using the car as collateral in 2008 and that debt is going to invalidate their insurance and they'll probably get nothing. Awesome.

Finally, we've been here for 8 weeks now and we still don't have the right visas. That saga never seems to end. I'll keep you posted.

Anyway, I have some fun things planned for this week, so I hope to have a better/cheerier update soon.