Chapter Thirteen
After returning to John’s house from the service, she walked into the room she would be using for the rest of the summer.
As wonderful as the community was, she wasn’t sure she could do everything she needed to do to qualify for her visa here.
No consulate or embassy building was within fifty miles, and she would need one to do anything about the visa.
She wondered what her parents had done about these things because they had lived in America shortly after they were married.
They’d returned to England when they learned they were expecting her because they didn’t want to risk incurring debt.
They’d never be able to get home then, they’d shared.
When she was finally able to sit down without feeling like she was going to burst, she decided to write her parents a letter.
They deserved to know what she was doing and why.
They also deserved to know that she was considering a different kind of visa so that she could stay in the States permanently.
She knew that it would need to be renewed now and then, and that could be arranged with permission once she explained to the bishop.
She hoped.
Dear Mom and Dad,
I’ve met John and Olivia. They’re some of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. I wish I had been able to meet them long ago, but I suppose that’s what happens when there’s an ocean between you and distant family members.
Their Amish community is also quite quaint.
It’s beautiful. It’s also one of the most peaceful places I’ve ever been.
I don’t know how they manage it, Dad. It’s so integral to what they believe, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone else manage to get so many people to be so peaceful, kind, and sweet all at once.
Of course, there is the odd grump in the group, but even the odd grump has been at least sweet enough to warn me that there is a chance I may not like their attitude.
All of this is to say that I’m not sure what I plan to do with my life now.
I think I’m going to spend the rest of the summer in the community with John.
Then I’ll return to school for the next semester since it’s all been paid for.
But after that, I don’t know what I want to do.
Part of me wants to return to the Amish community, and part of me wants to see all of you again.
I feel so stuck, but I know it’s just because I don’t know what I want to do.
I remember feeling this way when I wasn’t sure which university to attend after I got all my acceptance letters back.
I’ll navigate it now as I did then, and my first issue to figure out is this: if I wanted to stay in the United States, how would I go about getting a visa that isn’t issued to students?
Is it possible to do that and switch from a student visa to a different visa so soon?
What has been your experience with this?
Love,
Hannah
She sealed the letter in an envelope and addressed it.
She decided to have it sent home to her dorm room for now because she was sure that it would take her parents a while to get the letter.
They had decided to go to France for part of the summer but hadn’t been able to afford the expensive flights to come see her during the summer, either. It was a summer of bad prices.
Once that was all done, Hannah lay down on the bed. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do right now, but she did know this: something about the Amish community was pulling her closer to it than anything else in her life. Perhaps it was the simplicity of life here. Perhaps it was the people.
Whatever the case, she wasn’t sure how she was going to reconcile what her heart wanted with what her brain was telling her: that anything less than finishing her degree was a failure of time.
While her parents had always drilled into her that school was important, they had also been strong proponents of following your heart.
She hadn’t always known, but they had always given her deadlines for each thing she wanted to do and made it clear that if she hadn’t decided by then, she was going to miss out.
She had missed out on some things, but other things were so important to her that she had done her best to meet those deadlines.
It had all worked out for the best. And she was sure that this would work out for the best, too.
And besides, her plan right now was to figure it out as she attended school anyway.
That would at least let her feel like she wasn’t just throwing her parents’ money right into the dumpster.
A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts. Olivia came in as she sat up.
“Penny for your thoughts, Hannah?”
“I think it’s just a lot for me to take in,” Hannah replied. “I talked to the bishop about what I would need to do to be able to consider staying here for the rest of my life… and it was a lot. I just need some time to think. Perhaps until dinner?”
Olivia nodded and walked out of the room. At least she seemed to understand what was being asked of her. It then occurred to her that she didn’t know if Olivia had even been born Amish.