My Visa Adventure, and Other Last Minute Preparations!

Now that I finally have my visa in my possession...I think I can tell my story. I was told right after Thanksgiving break (in writing) that students who live in New York State can apply for their visas in person at the NYC consulate or by mail. Obviously I wanted to apply by mail in order to avoid a hectic trip to NYC. So...on December 22rd, we shipped out my materials in an overnight FedEx package to the consulate. The next day, as I was visiting my grandmothers with my boyfriend Michael, I received an angry phone call from a woman at the consulate. She explained that it was against the consulate's policies to accept applications for visas by mail. This information was obviously news to me, so I was unsure how to react. To make a long story short, my dad had to make an appointment to go down to NYC. Luckily, Allie, Kelsey, and I were able to get appointments on the same day. However, the process of getting the correct paperwork was extremely stressful. We were all so nervous that we would be denied after traveling all the way down there.

Our adventure began at 4:30 AM on a Thursday morning after my plane arrived the night before from Orlando after visiting my grandfather at 10 PM. Kelsey and Allie stayed over at my house so that we could get an early start. My dad was kind enough to drive us the entire way (obviously he didn't trust me to drive in the middle of Manhattan). It was a dark, rainy ride and we stumbled upon several delays and accidents, but we managed to arrive by 10 AM. My appointment was at 11, so it's a good thing we arrived an hour early, because the consulate also stressed the fact that if you were only a couple minutes late for your appointment, it would be cancelled. This only increased our stress! We found a parking garage and made our way to the consulate building....well the tiny door that led to the building. You had to be let in by a buzzer...so I buzzed in and explained that I had an appt at 11, but the woman on the other end proceeded to tell me to come back at 11. So....we struggled to find a place with a bathroom because we were all dying. We had to ask a native, and we eventually came across a tiny diner with the smallest bathroom I've ever seen. Major struggle. Then we made our way back to the consulate, and I made my way downstairs to the "holding tank." I sat with my ticket # until I was called up to the plexiglas. I'm still not quite sure why they needed to see me in person, because all I did was pass my materials through a little slot to the woman that worked there. She then handed me a receipt and said it would be ready on the 19th. Luckily....they were ready in time. What a whirlwind of an experience!

I can't believe that tomorrow is my last full day at home! My mom cooked one of my favorite meals tonight for dinner: sirloin steak, garlic smashed potatoes, salad, bread, and a special jello/cream cheese/pretzel treat! SO GOOD! I've been trying to strategize with my packing and figuring out how to make everything fit without going overweight. Packing/unpacking is probably one of my least favorite tasks...so attempting to pack for 3.5 months is rather challenging for me. So far so good...everything is falling into place. Tonight, my packing was interrupted by an incredible GIANTS game against the San Francisco 49ers. The Giants have been my family's team for as long as I can remember. I realized at the end of the victory that I'm going to need to find an Italian pub where I can watch the Super Bowl on February 5th (I hope the Italians won't mind my intense loyalty to the Big Blue).

Well....I'm off to bed. Stay tuned!