The cedula renewal saga continues

A few weeks ago, Kevin and I went to San Jose to renew our cedula (residency card). Kevin's paperwork went quickly, but you might remember that our heath card had the wrong expiry date on it and I had to make another appointment the following week. And, then I was a whole day late for my appointment (mistakenly, of course) and had to run around getting my friend to help me call the residency hotline to make yet another appointment for the next day. It was stressful, but everything went well and without incident.

Now, initially, we were told which documents to bring with us and to print two photocopies of each set of documents. We did that. However, when we were in the bank the first time and then me, on my own the following week, each clerk (different banks, different clerks) only asked for our health card, our current cedula, our fingerprints, take a new photo, and payment. Neither asked us for our financial statements, as requested by the man on the phone when we first made the appointment. We had all the documents. We were ready. But the financials never came up. We figured the man on the phone was giving us a list of what 'they might ask for', but obviously not necessarily. We didn't question it too much because Costa Rica can be quirky like this sometimes. When we left the first appointment, the clerk gave Kevin a receipt and told him his cedula would be delivered at the San Marcos post office on Friday, Sept 18. Perfect. Mine is due in San Marcos on Sept 28.

So, on Friday we went to pick up Kevin's cedula. He was handed a clear plastic envelope with a letter, but no cedula. His application was denied because information was missing. Oh, really? You don't say? I wonder if they're looking for our financial statements... hmmm. In this letter, it said that he has an appointment at the Immigration Office in San Jose, Monday, Sept 21 at 11 am. Good thing we picked up the letter on Friday! So, here we go again. We're assuming that my application will also be denied, if indeed this is the issue. We're hoping they will be able to process both our cedulas at the same time. If not, chances are we'll be doing this whole process again next week. Costa Rica, baby! It's really not that big of a deal, especially when we're prepared. The key word being "prepared". Then you just have to go with the flow.

Since we'll be in San Jose tomorrow, we're going to see if we can also renew our driver's licenses. In Costa Rica, one must get a physical to get a license... and then again to renew. Right after picking up Kevin's cedula letter, we decided to get our physical. We went to the same clinic we went to last year and the doctor was available. She took us in right away, no waiting! Woot! Blood pressure - normal. Reflexes - normal. Eyesight - we could both recite the bottom line on the chart. She asked us if we smoked, how old we both were, then asked if we were on any medication. When we answered that neither of us was on any medication, she was visibly surprised. "Verdad? Muy bien!" (which means "Really? Very good!"). I guess all that fresh food and active lifestyle is keeping us healthy! Nice. Now that we have our medical report, we should be able to renew our driver's licenses tomorrow, if we have time. The driver's license office is only 2 km down the same road as the Immigration office, which is also a bonus. It's nice when we can bundle tasks.