Chicago, Chicago, Chicago! I have been tirelessly trying to get things in order, at least mentally, for my great return to America in T-minus five or so months with this gorgeous kittyman in tow! Sadie & Brian were kind enough to give me a pet carrier (AKA cat box) that is the correct size & has the correct dimensions for taking a cat on a plane.
Here's what needs to happen, as I understand it... Because Chicago is due for his shots in April, & because I will be going to UB in April for the COS (Closure of Service) conference anyway, the vet there said I could simply pick up the shots & bring them back to administer to Chicago myself, since I won't be bringing him to the city with me. (Read: The local vet here in my village will be asked to give him the shot, not I!) After I pick up the materials from the vet's office & the assistants update Chicago's passport, I must then trek to the Peace Corps office. Here, I need to scan in Chicago's passport (& print several copies, just in case), scan in my passport (& print several copies, just in case), as well as get these items notarized. Where on earth can I find a notary?
Then, there's a little bit of trickiness that comes into play. I must go to the travel agency to book my Korean Air flight to America for sometime in early June (granted my early COS request is approved prior to these April endeavors). To book the ticket, I have to check, recheck, & re-recheck with the Peace Corps office that if I buy a ticket for a certain day, that the office can have me processed & my end-of-service doodads stamped & completed before that day happens. Of course, months before all of this, my parents will have sent me my new Visa credit & debit cards in the mail, because they are set to expire in April, so I re-ordered them early.
Now, after I book my ticket, I must then call Korean Air & say something to the effect of "Howdy ya'll, I gots me a cat!" just to make sure that they're aware. According to Sadie & Brian, there may be a limit on how many pets a certain flight can have, & though they have never had an issue with this, it's good to let the airline know as soon as possible. I will also mention the cat at the time of purchasing my ticket, but you never can be too careful. After several more words & a double check with the airline, I'll traverse to Peace Corps once more. Now, I must type up a letter of request (in English with certain necessary Mongolian-isms added as illustrated in the example letter that the vet emailed me) stating my name, that I would like to take Chicago back to America with me, what my address is in Mongolia, what my address is in America, where I will be flying from, where I will be flying to, when, & then sign away either my soul or first-born child. (This is, of course, a rough outline of what will transpire.)
Check, check, check, now I go to an ATM & withdraw an exorbitant amount of money (well, in Peace Corps Volunteer terms), roughly 75,000T (perhaps about $67). I will take said money, said photocopies, & said letter to the veterinary clinic once again where I will thrust all of these materials eagerly upon them, several of my business cards haphazardly paper clipped to everything, & then I will probably be asked to fill out some paperwork for the office records. Bada-bing, I should now be able to sleep a little better at night knowing that the veterinary clinic will take care of all the necessary forms, translation requirements, & whatnot.
When I go to UB in June (presumably June 1st or 2nd, depending on plane tickets, a stressor in & of itself because Peace Corps likes to play the procrastination game), I will have to fly EZ-nis will all of my luggage to go to America (thusly, a small box suitcase, a large travel backpack, a shoulder bag with all my technology inside, plus things to return to Peace Corps like my water filter, smoke detector, electric heater, & whatever else I'm forgetting ---plus cat), & Chicago will sadly be put into cargo. Somewhere before this time, I will definitely have to contact the EZ-nis people & tell them about the cat plus all the additional luggage I will have (this I learned from the COS handbook!).
Then, I get myself a swanky private room at Mongol Steppe 1 or Mongol Steppe 2, rush on over to the veterinary clinic (they're open til 6 on Saturdays!), get Chi-town his final check-up, check, recheck, re-recheck, double check, & re-double check that everything is in order, & perhaps find a moment to take a deep breath. Then I have to go to Peace Corps, do paperwork, do more paperwork, get the thingy signed by the person who just so happened to decide to go on vacation this week, do the other thing, interview with the country director, possibly do some more stuff that needs more signing by more baikhgui people, spin around in a circle three times, do ten jumping jacks, draw a red X next to a green circle, fold a piece of paper in half, & then maybe I can enjoy a last supper or two at a Peace Corps hotspot (à la American Burger & Fries).
My concerns now? I need to find someone to notarize the documents I've already mentioned. I am also awaiting the arrival of my credit & debit cards in the mail (both Visa & MasterCard as a matter of fact, since they all expire). Lastly, I need to purchase (perhaps on Amazon for my parents to mail here ASAP) a large shoulder bag in which to carry my regular-sized laptop, my small laptop, a mouse, all the accompanying cords, my Kindle & its cord, my digital camera, my MP3 player, & an envelope with various computer discs inside as well as SD cards & jump drives. Once this is in order, the worry still does not quite cease, because I don't now whether or not it is actually possible to take both Chicago on the plane (his cat box can go under the seat) as well as my bag of expensive technological toys, though I can't concede either of these to the cargo hold. (For the sake of the mental health of my poor cat, & for my own sake of mind to not have to stress over whether or not my computers will get smashed to bits!)
I am nothing if not a meticulous planner.
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