Sometime last week,
I was summoned at the U.S. Dept. of H. S.
For a biometrics appointment,
to renew my documents in staying here.

So anyway, as I got there,

you get to fill out this one page form,
with your information.

I must have filled out a hundred of these,
so I just breezed through it, and submitted it,
in a span of, not even 5 minutes.

As I sit in the waiting area,
for God knows how long,
I noticed all the other people
having a hard time
filling out the exact same form I filled out.

First, I felt sorry for them,
since not very many countries practice the English language.
These people grew up in a whole different world,
with their own language and culture.
So it really isn’t their fault if they are having difficulties
speaking and understanding the language.

And in a way,
I felt very lucky
since English is our second language back in the Philippines.
And it’s been a part of our school curriculum as well.
Everyone there understands it.

But as the hours pass,
waiting in that room for so long,
my patience wasn’t as good as when I walked in.
I noticed more and more people keep making mistakes
filling out the form, and they are being called back
again and again, to fill out the form correctly.

Now I am freakin’ annoyed.
Since every time someone gets called back to fix their mistake,
the waiting time takes longer and longer.
Why can’t people just read the instructions
and answer it correctly the first time.

I have been waiting for hours and I am freakin’ hungry!

Then my turn came.
As soon as they called my number,
I literally jogged towards the room where they do the stuff,
wanting to finish my session as soon as I can,
knowing it would only take a minute.

They told me to sit, as they take my picture,
while the lady who does the processing,
reads my form and enters my information into their database.

A couple of minutes have passed,
the smile on that lady’s face had disappeared,
and she kept a concentrated stare at her monitor.

Then,
looking frustrated,
She asked me,

“Where exactly is Manila?”

I answered quite gleefully, “It’s in the Philippines.”

“Oh! Philippines.” She sighed, as she grabs the paper,
punching different keys on her keyboard,
and told me,

“You were supposed to put the COUNTRY of birth.”

Apparently, I put the CITY.
And apparently,
I can’t follow instructions.

So that makes me,
apparently,
An idiot!