Hectic is an understatement.

This is probably going to be the first time that I actually blog on Paper first, and then publish it on the internet whenever I get the chance. Because I have no internet connection, remember?

I'm sitting outside my college's library (which I'm sure is my college now, but I wasn't too sure about an hour ago), and I feel much better now than I did, about an hour ago.
Remember my last post where I described my problem with registering for classes and getting a bank account? If not;

[ Apart from that, I haven't have been able to even get a bank account, and check this out; I need a Bank Account, so my Dad can send me money to register for classes, right? And for a Bank Account, I need a legit College ID. And how do I get a college ID? I can't unless I register for classes... I know, right? ]

And, not being able to come around that problem, I had to ask my dad to send me 6500 Dollars, through Western Union. Running with scissors, and micro-waving aluminium was next on my list. And that too, on the day that I had to actually Pay my complete semester fee in cold hearted Cash. Today!!!

So, I got up at around 12 (mind you, I couldn't sleep all night due to anxiety and got shut eye at about 5 in the morning). I got out of bed, and was brushing my teeth, when I get a call from my Dad, telling me he could only send 5000 dollars, that too through connections, due to laws in Saudi Arabia, preventing Pakistanis to send more than a 1000 dollars And preventing Sudi Nationals to send more than 5000.

So I said OK, maybe I'l lthink of something else and without even having breakfast, stopmed out for a Western Union. And I've slapped myself for deciding to go to the Western Union branch that was actually open in a supermarket. With a man at the front desk, who was most definately having mid-age crisis, graying hair, probably a dry streak in bed, and a very low IQ level.

Imagine my delight, when the dumbass at the counter informs me I'm going to need my passport (which I had) AND ANOTHER ID to get ANY money at all. That too, after he told me they wouldn't have the amount of 5000$ in cash. And get this. He wanted to give me some money first? The amount that I could, without any other ID? BUT, Then the brain-washing thanks to George W. Bush and traditional human stupidity kicked in, and he probably assumed I was going to fund a terrorist organization or something. So he didn't. He completely ignored the fact that he said he could give me 500 dollars a minute ago, and said "Sorry, I can't do anything anymore". And I swear, I think I only imagined it, but I could see a sweat drop behind his left eyebrow and a twitching-stuttering feeling in his speech and movement. I told him, I need to pay my damn college fee today! TODAY you ASSWIPE. But I also assume he doesn't know how a college works. Or what it is, for that matter.

Right then, the three bold letters, in caps all of them, going through my head were : WTF?!? (including those exclamation and question marks)

So I said, OK, fine (again) and walked out tearing up the WUnion form I had filled in (you should've seen it, it was so melodramatic, even the world melodramatic doesn't being to describe it) and decided that the best thing to do now would to take a leap of faith, and try to reason with the college authorities. How bad would it be? I just had no money for college tuition. And I needed to register in 2 hours. That's it, right? No biggie, right?

I made way to the college, hours before I was scheduled to, and met the International Students Advisor that I couldn't meet with even once, the numerous times I had actually been to the college the past month!

And Thank God, for her. As I sit outside the library right now, she has put my fee. on a hold for another week (and even apologized for all the trouble I had to go through), I'm going to go register for classes in about half an hour, come back tomorrow and get my ID made, open up a bank account, retrieve the 5000 dollars from the Western Union, and celebrate victory.

To sum up my feelings when I got so many bad news at once; Misery and Frustration.

To sum up all that I had that kept me going to achieve content; Just a little hope.

UPDATE: I write this part of this post, later that night as I am about to hit bed (because I had to copy the blog post from paper to my laptop) and I'm adding this update for some even better news: I SCORED THE HIGHEST ON MY PLACEMENT TEST. THEY JUMPED ME STRAIGHT TO BEING A REGULAR COLLEGE STUDENT, INSTEAD OF AN ESL STUDENT LIKE THE OTHER 20+ STUDENTS THAT TOOK THE TEST WITH ME. EVEN THE AUTHORITIES DIDN'T BELIEVE IT AT FIRST! YAY!!! AND JUST ME, TOO, EVERYONE ELSE HAD TO SIT THROUGH AN ORIENTATION WHILE I ACTUALLY MET WITH A SEPERATE COUNSELLOR 30 MINUTES BEFORE ANYONE ELSE GOT TO =D.
Oh, and I met some people after the registration was done? A pakistani chick, who's been living here for 4 years, and this other dude that's also a non-native student, and they were both amazed that I actually spoke English, because I was pakistani. And so good at that, that I actually got directly to English 101 while everyone else had to take starter courses. Even before English 101. Starter with a capital S. The pakistani girl, her mouth literally turned into the shape of the letter O when I told her I'm from Pakistan and got into America a week or two ago. Literally. The questions I got after droping that surprise on them? "How is your accent american, and how did you score so much better??"

Low expectations from Pakistanis much, or just stupid Pakistanis not rly setting the bar any high anywhere in the world?

I think the latter, and then the former as a reaction to the very stupid action. But then again, I don't think we even have a bar to begin with, placing it anywhere is just outlandish then.

- Danish