Don't Come Here

"How long have you been a student here?!?" exclaimed the passport inspector?
Sleep deprived and slightly giddy, we are all happy to be back from a short trip out of Israel.
"Since august," replies my Sister-in-law.
"WHAT? Why didn't you take care of this before? You have been learning on a tourist visa all this time?" The guard is bitter and remorseless.
"Well, yes. I tried getting an appointment in November, but then the Misrad Hapanim [interior ministry] went on strike. "
"They were not on strike!" She looks up at all of us. 36 hours without sleep (sure, we'll take a discount flight at 2 A.M.) has left us all with a silly smile on our faces. "I don't know why you are all smiling. There is nothing funny about this."
"I have an appointment in January," she tells the guard calmly.
"January?" The woman is now all warmed up, and is just full of bile.
"That's the earliest I could get an appiontment!" says my wife's sister.
The inspector stamps her passport without looking down at her hands. "You have one month. You better get this taken care of."

Welcome to Israel.....