My dad said that he had some business to do in Boston and asked if I wanted to tag along. Up for a crazy adventure, I said YESSSS! The reason he had to go was because he needed to sign a Haitian vehicle over to this guy named Franceli (who is in Haiti.) My dad talked to a “man” on the phone who said that all he had to do was come in, and sign this document at the Consulat d’Haiti.
After about 3 hours in the car (thanks to traffic; my dad INSISTED on driving into the city… bad idea) we got to Boston. It took a while to find a parking spot. But once we did, we see that it is a parking meter, which is always how you pay to park. We look at each other, “did you bring change?” “No, did you?” … “no.” So we scrounge around in the car and dig up three quarters. “That ought to be enough” …or so we thought.
We walk about 6 blocks to the Haitian Consulate. We made it in perfect timing because it was just starting to drizzle out. We go up the elevator to the second door and walk into the office, which is about the size of two practice rooms. Turns out the “man” was actually a woman who had like a baritone voice. WHOOPS! Anywho, Dad walks into the office ready to sign a paper and be done with it. Of course, that would have been too easy. “Oh you can’t do this, you need a seal from the state office.” The lady said that we had to go to the State House to get that done. Well, after all the arguing and attempting to comprehend what the other person was saying, we walked back to the car so that we could drive to the state house. We barely had enough time from the meter. We walked fairly quickly also because it was lightly showering.
Using Bwadley, the 5 yea owd voice on the gps, we negotiated the streets of Boston. We found the state house and when we got there we asked a guy where a parking garage was. (yelling) “YOU TAKE A WRIIITE AND A WRIIITEE AND THAT’S PUBLIC PAAKKING” okeedokee. So, we took a right and a right and made it to the parking garage. Once out of the parking garage, we had to find our way to the building again. We were walking along the street, and a guy in a little hut pointed us where we needed to go. I couldn’t figure out what his job was, it was fully stocked with computer equipment and a desk, but on the outside it looked like wooden kids’ playhouse. We followed his instructions, and walked up the hill to the building. I thought it had stopped raining when we got out of the car, so I only brought one umbrella. I was wrong. We walked up the main steps and as soon as we got in there I felt as if I was in an airport. We passed through many security checks and made it through drenched.
We were to go to the 17th floor, and to so and so’s office. We got into the elevator, and as the doors closed, we realized that there were only 12 floors… Apparently, we were supposed to take a different set of elevators to get to the really high floors, because it would be too easy to have one set of elevators. So we got off at the 12 floor and found the other set of elevators. We get to the 17th floor and go all the way down a REALLY long hallway to see a lady with a really interesting perm.
“Hello, may we please get a seal for this document?” (and when I say document I really mean a little thing about the size of a large index card) The lady takes it, looks at it, looks at us and says no. “This is registered from New Hampshire. You need a notary so that it can have a seal from the State of Massachusetts” Because, it would be much too easy to have it just get sealed. I ask, “So where can we get a notary?” My dad looks at me funny and tells me, “oh, well I am sure that they do that right in the building” Because, after all it is a government building. “Oh you can’t get a notary here! You have to go to the courthouse to do that.” And she said that you can take a right after a couple blocks, then another right.
SO THEN, we take a right and a right and get to the courthouse. Before walking through more security, Dad was smart in thinking that we should ask the guard if they even do notaries in the building. This really large black guy leaps out of his chair and walks outside, and motions us to join him. “No, we don’t do notaries, but there is another courthouse that might. See that bent parking sign? Take a right, head down those stairs and make another right? Okay?! Good luck folks!” It would be too easy to have notaries at the closest courthouse. He walked back into the building. By now it is POURING rain and we have this one tiinyyy tinyyy umbrella that is covering both Dad and I and the bricks are suuper slippery and we slipped a few times haha.
We get to the next courthouse and walk in. There is yet another large black man at a security post. Following the example Dad set earlier, I asked if there were notaries in the building. “No.” Because that would be too easy. He pointed us right and right to get to the Bank of America. We walk in, and asked Michael, “Do you have notaries here? We have been everywhere, in the pouring rain and…” “Yes, of course we do notaries!” Good ol’ Michael took the document, notarized us and gave us directions to get back to the state house. Apparently we walked about a mile and a half away! So, back to the state house we went. Through security again, and up to the twelfth floor, then the seventeenth floor down to the end of the hall and back to the lady with the interesting perm. We showed her the notary and she told us, oh you need to pay for the seal first… which was ALL the way at the end of this really long hallway. I was pooped and sat down while I made him go do that cause I am lazy lol.
He came back got the seal and it was time to go back to the Consulat d’Haiti. Of course, Dad didn’t want to go get the car because there weren’t any parking spaces by the consulate and besides, we had no quarters! He thought it was close by… =P It was NOT close by… We walked over two miles through Boston in the pouring rain in nice clothes. But, it was fun =) We got back and of course, the lady we had to meet with was on her lunch break =P Because it would be too easy if she weren’t. Once she came back, Dad went into her office and I stayed out in a chair to wait. While I was waiting, a Haitian man came in and sat down next to me. So, friendly little me decided to be friendly. I said hello, and asked if it was still raining. He said yes, a couple other things in English and then I couldn’t understand a single word he was saying. I think that he was trying to speak English, but it came out in Creole or maybe even French, I have no idea. He was going on and on, probably telling me a story. I just nodded my head and listened politely. Then he asked me a question, which I didn’t have a clue on how to answer. So I said yupp, my Dad and I just walked about 5 or 6 miles through Boston in the rain. And he sat there with a puzzled look on his face and thank goodness my Dad came out and it was time to go, the papers were signed! This little tiny sheet of paper had about 6 like indented seal type thingies, one being the notary and the seal, 2 stickery things, and about 5 signatures. We walked away praying that the other half of the vehicle transferring in Haiti works.
We walk out of the building, I have blisters on my feet from my wet converse rubbing on the back of my heels, it is still down pouring and the car was 2 miles away. Since the camp was paying for our trip, I begged Dad to let us take a taxi. AND WE DID! It was my first taxi experience. It was really entertaining. This man was Slovakian, he is from the err Soviet Union, you know you know err Russia. He was telling us “Me? I no have rrregular job. My seester, my wife, my brrother. They all have rrregular job. Me, no have rrregular job.” Then he showed us where John Kerry lives lol. It was hysterical, you would have loved him =) He dropped us off at the parking garage and we went home and I went to bed. Then a couple days later, I wrote you a letter!
