Have you ever found yourself having to wait for someone else to finish a meaningless task before you can get a chance to speak with them about something more important? I couldn't help but feel this way on Thursday. After months of trying to get my M visa for the country, it appears that my visa is still something to wait for. It's a bit annoying, but what really confuses me is the work done by the passport/visa office here. I have a plane ticket bought for Bangkok that is set to leave on the 26th. I also should have no trouble getting a re-entry visa. However, as I tried to make that point on Thursday, it appeared that I was not getting anywhere. We were told that if we came back on Sunday, I would have it then. Well, my goal is to get out of Bangladesh with either a re-entry visa or an exit visa. A re-entry visa would be the best, but an exit visa wouldn't be terrible. With an exit visa I could re-apply for a new visa in Bangkok and get it within a matter of days. As opposed to here where there is a song and dance for every small procedure. So can you guess what I want for Christmas? I want a visa! Granted, I'll be spending most of my day on Christmas Eve in the visa/passport office. I never would've guessed a year ago that I would find myself in this position now. My oh my how time goes by! Overall, I'm optimistic now. I was loads of fun I'm sure on Thursday night when I found myself unable to stop complaining to my friends, but overall I am better now.

On the brighter side of things, I have had a great week spent with friends and getting other stuff done for work. The youth have come back from Hebron School, which is a boarding school in India. On Wednesday a few of us went out for lunch and watched a movie at my place. It was a lot of fun to get to know some of these "new" youth. On Thursday I was taken out to eat by a family I've become pretty close with out here, the Thayers. It was fun spending time with Butch and Glenna during the day when they are both normally working and in school.