Oh man, I'm so sorry to hear! Air-travel (flights, airports, and all things related) plus immigration are the two factors that I also agree are the worst aspects to traveling. Keeping my fingers crossed that you can find a way home without having to sell more cards. And yes, I admit I'm also looking forward to an exciting story of how the entire thing unfolds.

By the way, why I kept reading till the end? Because I know from your previous posts that you tend to include in your stories a number of well executed turns, which I just don't want to miss out on. See, the situations you take your readers on may be horrible and frustrating, yet the manner in which you deal with them are ultimately positive. So being able to relate to you is only half of it. If the reader can say in the end: "Oh, now that wasn't so bad after all." (although it was really terrible) and "I would have done the same." (Sure... are you sure?) it's a sign that your writing is captivating. Don't we all want to enjoy the thrill of being overwhelmed by outside forces, only to handle it all seemingly without a hitch?