A Day Out

I almost forgot how good it feels to be spending the day outside. Along with two friends, Rafiee and I boarded the morning train to the seaport town of Helsingor and took a ferry crossing the sea to Helsingborg in Sweden. It wasn't so much the sight-seeing because both countries are pretty similar but it felt really refreshing to be walking down random streets and having ice-cream and milkshake while birds flying over your head. And breathing ocean air as the gentle, cool breeze brushes your face. And having picnic in the garden of blooming flowers soaking in the sun.

Four months to go.

Persist & Persevere

I had a rough week. The Ministry would take five months to process the appeal and Rafiee still has to leave the Schengen area by 10 May so they didn't recommend us to proceed. Funny how that works. The spouses have to apply for a residence permit to stay here for more than three months but they won't be able to get it if you're staying for less than 18 months. Then what's the point of paying €450 in the first place for the application? Even those getting married to a local will have to go through a stringent, ridiculous procedure like sitting for an exam of Danish history and royal family. I thought the UK was tough, obviously I couldn't be more wrong. Our landlady suggested us to talk to this Danish press she knows but I don't think it's a good idea at the moment.

So what we could do was to weight a few options we have left and I found this information yesterday:

The visa 90/180 days rule is "reset" upon a change in status, i.e. when switching from a long-term visa (for example students) to a regular visitors visa or to a visa-exempt status. The visa 90/180 days rule starts to count upon switching to the new status.

So technically Rafiee can use up his 90 days as a Hungarian resident and start a new 90-day stay as a visa-exempt Malaysian visitor. Hopefully this one works. I know there are worse things like losing your loved ones to slow, painful death but I'm not giving up in any case. When there's a will, there's always a way.

Like Albert Einstein once said, "It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer." I'm with you Albie!

Waiting for the Silver Lining

Things have been very intense lately. I've been feeling guilty that we had to spend €900 for the Danish residence & work permits just to have Rafiee's application denied since I chose Denmark for my final semester. We neved had any problems before with France, the UK and Hungary so it caught us off guard. The European Commission is taking too long so we will have to file an appeal to the Ministry of Refugee, Immigration and Integration Affairs and hope that whoever handles our application this time has a heart.

Maybe this is why I miss home so much lately. Yes, home is where you heart is but right now my heart is in Malaysia, 10,000km away. Things are so simple and comfortable there. Just now we were going to this Irish folk dance & music in a country house that was open to everyone but everyone didn't look like us. It was silly to feel like we stuck out like a sore thumb when people were just so nice but I guess when things get rough, you start scrutinising every single flaw and stop focusing on the good parts. Sigh.

One of Those Days

t.h.e n.e.w y.o.r.k.e.r

Yesterday as I was standing alone at the bus stop and the wind was so strong that the grey clouds moved with them, I closed my eyes and wished that I was somewhere else when I opened them. Of course I was still exactly where I was when the wind stopped blowing. Really naive if you ask me. I'm not 20 anymore. I can't keep running away everytime a painful problem presents itself.

Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.— Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)