Bureaucracy...

So today I spent about six hours accomplishing relatively little. Not that Turkey is really all that bad concerning bureaucracy compared to a lot of countries, but still, it was an adventure that unfortunately will continue next week...

After getting things done at home (Turkish study, laundry, etc.) I left the house around noon first to go and pay some bills, one was the gas bill (about a 20 min walk away) the second was the phone bill which has to be paid at the post office (about 5 min from the gas place). After that I hopped on a minibus to a more central neighbourhood to get a bus ticket to Ankara for Sunday.

After that I headed to an exchange office to get some dollars to deposit into the bank account I was planning to open.

Next stop was the bank. I need to try to apply for a residence permit soon (save me all these visa renewal exits) and in order to get one I need to prove that I have enough money to last me for the length of the visa I'm applying for (and do a few more things!). To prove that I have enough money I need to have a bank statement with that amount on it. In order to have a bank statement with that amount, I need to have a local bank account. So off I went to a bank with all that I was told I would need, a passport and some dollars to deposit (I need a dollar account).

I had to take a number when I came in. The fun part was that the machine had a couple different buttons to press, so you had to look on the wall first to see which services were connected to which button. (It's the same at the post office here.) So I figured out which button to press, got my number, and waited, and waited...going on 2 hours, I finally got called. Only to be told that in order to open this account I needed a tax number. But my friend opened an account without one, I explained. He must not have been a foreigner. He is, he's Canadian too. You need a tax number madam. Where might I get one? At the 'Vergi Dairesi' (like a tax building). Do you happen to know where that is? Ask the security guard at the door, he can direct you.

After getting directions from the security guard and then a couple of convenience store clerks along the way I finally made it to the tax building. In order to get a tax number I needed a photocopy of my passport, no my actual passport was not what they wanted. So, off to a photocopy place to get a copy of my passport. Upon return, I was directed to the first floor and the right window. I got my tax number, headed back to the bank, and was informed that yes, I would have to take another number.

After waiting another 40 min, the bank was beginning to close, graciously they let me be the final customer. I joyfully handed them my tax number and passport and told them I wanted to open a dollar account. They began to enter my info only to inform me that the system wasn't accepting my info, I didn't fully understand what they were telling me, except that it was something like the system had to get used to my tax number??? They took a photo copy of my number and asked if I could come back Monday morning!!! That the system should have no problem accepting my info by then.

All that, and still no bank account. After a quick grocery stop, I finally arrived home around 6:30. And this is only the first of the things I need to do to get my residence permit...oh joy. I don't how people who have full-time jobs get their bills paid or get to the banks here!!