Como Illegal Immigrat

So last Tuesday, my 90 day visa expired. A day later than I had planned, (Wednesday) I left the country headed San Salvador. At the border on the Guatemalan side, I attempted to obtain a stamp saying that I left the country. He told me that I didn't need it and could return to Guatemala on the same visa even two weeks later. I figured he didn't know what he was talking about, I'd visit El Salvador, and get a new stamp returning from there. (My espanol isn't great, but I figured I knew enough to explain that I had left the country for a few days.)

Upon heading back for Guatemala having spent the requisite 72 hours out of the country - albeit barely - I was pulled off the bus on both sides of the border. Migration in El Salvador seemed totally losts. About a mile before the border, they have an official board the bus to check documents. The woman made me fill out an exit paper that I had earlier been told by the guy working on the bus (not the driver) I didn't need. She gave him my name, and he signaled for me to come to the front of the bus. At the border, he handed me over to another immigration official who couldn't seem to understand what the problem was. This was quite a coincidence since I had no idea what the problem was either. He spoke with one of his colleagues and justs told me to get back on the bus.

On the Guatemalan side, I was again told to get off and that I needed a new stamp in my passport. I was extremely happy to learn that someone knew what they were doing. But when I headed into the office into which she had directed me, I was told that they don't issue new visas at that border crossing. Momentarily I thought that I wasn't going to be permitted to enter the country, but was then told to go to the Migration office in Guate (Guatemala City) on Monday. That conflicted with my travel plans, especially since nobody likes it. So now I'm in Antigua - semi-illegally - waiting for a response from the American embassy, which I e-mailed last night. If nothing else, it's quite consoling to know that foreign governments are as bureaucratic and inept as the American one.

San Salvador was a nice break from Guatemala. Though still short, it is fairly modern and busy. Without a guidebook, I had kind of a tough time orienting myself since those who planned the city were quite obviously more interested in confusing tourists than creating a workable grid. It wasn't just me - a taxi driver I had got pretty lost too.

As confusing as things were, I managed to visit the two churches, a military museum, the city center, and the largest mall in Central America (yes, that is bigger than it sounds). One of the churches looked as though it had been raised in the West while it was still being settled. The other was small and haphazardly finished. I could tell you why, but I've heard differing accounts myself. The military museum was interesting, even though the tour was en espanol, and I don't yet have the vocabulary of killing people and breaking things (at least not on a large scale). One section was dedicated to their participation in the Coalition of the Willing, and the guide was happy to point out the uniform of a US Marine. He also wrote down my poor translation of a plaque that had been given to a company of the Salvadoran military by the US as a thank you for their participation in Operation Iraqi Freedom. It was a small consolation after I had spent the previous hour rather confused by his explinations of how various weapons were used.

Finally, a few of you loyal readers (all three of you) have asked for a translation of "Cesi do toho". "Go Czechs". For future reference, search engines can be very helpful in finding something like that out. (How you people survive without me I'll never know.) Incidentally, since the Czechs and the US went out withing five minutes of each other, I'm now left rooting only for the teams playing France and england.