I woke up early in the morning. I was pretty crabby, because it was my first schoolday at the EC San Diego. To brighten up my day a bit I took a longish shower. I finally got dressed, had breakfast rushed back to my room to brush my teeth and then Michael and I were ready for school. We caught the bus at 7:48.
We met some of our friends on the bus. Silas and Salvatore were there and after a few minutes, Dominik and Remo B. boarded the bus. On the way to school we had a lot of fun, because there were just students in the bus. The weather was awesome and we enjoyed our first bustrip through San Diego.
After half an hour, we arrived at school. I had a coffee and then school started. We all had to take an entry test which I luckily finished within the time given. Later the director gave us some information. Then the teachers checked our passports, the I-20 forms and our health insurance cards. And then Paolo, a Swiss-American EC staff member, took us on a walking tour around La Jolla.
I was pretty hungry and ready for lunch. The school offered sandwiches and drinks. After lunch we got our passports and cards back. I put the documents in Salvatore's bag, and this was the beginning of our doom.
We wanted to go to Pacific beach, so we took the bus at 1 p.m. After a few minutes we left the bus. We were totally excited to see the beach for the first time and ready to jump into the Pacific Ocean. All of a sudden, Salvatore screamed: 'MY BAG!!!. My bag's gone!'
He speeded back to the bus stop and when he came back he was in black dispair. He didn't know what to do now. He took my cellphone and called the bus company. My only thought was: 'Luckily not me...' But this thought was crushed when Salvatore told me, that my passport was also in his bag. I couldn't believe it. I began to shout 'F***.'
Without passports, we both were lost. We asked each and every bus driver who came to the bus stop and checked every bus, but the bag and our documents were gone. We were waiting for three long hours in the sun of California. I got a great sunburn. At 6 o'clock we went home, knowing that we are in big doodoo.
The next morning, we went to Mr. Hediger, our English teacher and told him about our mishap. He seemed quite shocked but tried to calm us and promised to find a solution. He went to Mrs. Delgadillo, the head of school, and she began to make a few phone calls. She first called the lost and found office which is downtown San Diego. There was no schoolbag and no passports. Then she called the Swiss Embassy in San Francisco. She was told that we would have to come to Los Angeles to get a temporary passport. I was relieved and really happy to have the chance to see Los Angeles. So far so good. But Salvatore is Italian and therefore, the Swiss Embassy couldn't do anything for him.
The Italian Embassy told Mrs. Delgadillo that it would take eight (!) weeks to get a new passport. Eight weeks!!! Unbelievable but somehow typical for Italy, innit?
After a few more phone calls she tried the lost and found office again. And hurray! There was Salvatore's bag. Mr. Hediger gave us a lift and we went downtown to get the bag and our documents. On top of that he offered us a free sightseeing tour around downtown San Diego.
Everyone was really relieved and that night I sleept very nicely.
Remo Kälin, Schwyz (PET course)
AWESOME xD
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