The next decade....what's in store?

At the embassy....

So I told you all about the one hour wait to get a live body to speak to me on the phone when I was calling to find out about making an appointment. It was evident that I was going to get nowhere then.

Anyway, I made the appointment on-line for Monday 21 June, 7:15 am. Got there around 7:00am. First thing to cuss about....

When I reach the gate, the policeman take a look at my picture and tell me they don't accept picture with glasses! Did they tell you that on the recording where they tell you what documents to bring? Of course NOT. So I have to trudge back across the road and take picture in the parking lot. Thank God for them. Excellent service for $350. I look like I was half asleep in the picture, but who cares. I got a picture within 15 minutes so I could still keep my appointment.

By the way, is you and several other people get the same appointment time!

Reach inside where you have to take off your shoes, put your back through the x-ray machine and then go round to collect it. The security guard who checks the x-ray images, says there are two bottles in my bag which he has to examine. Hand lotion and Essence of peppermint. He makes me take them out and rub them on my skin, I guess to make sure is not poison.

I'm still alive, so I guess it's not.

I go over to another man who checks my form and notes where I need to complete. Imagine me with a Masters degree can't fill out a form. Most of the places though were questions about spouse and chillun and since I have neither, I left them blank. Wrong. I shoulda put NA. Completed that then was made to sit down. There are about 100 people in front of me.

By 8:25am I had barely moved up. By 9:00am I could see that I was not going to get to the interview booth and see an official in time for me to leave there by the latest 10:45am. Why the timing was important? I had a 12:35 flight back to the Spice Isle.....

So you all wondering how I book to fly same day huh.

Well in the past, you got your passport back with the visa the same day. So I was gonna ask them for it back earlier. My sister thought I was nuts. But remember, don't take no for an answer.

Anyway, shortly after 9am, I called one of the security guards, the one who was moving people up row by row to ask him if he thinks I will get to see a person soon. Nope. I explain the situation to him. He advised me to just forfeit the interview now and make a new appointment when I get back to Jamdown. He asks an official (Jcan) to fetch my documents. She comes and explains that it is 3 working days for all visas. I told her that I had read somewhere that enough time must be allowed, like a month or two, for the student visa application to come through. She said no, 3 working days.

So in short, I wasted about US$413. What's the use crying over spilt milk? At least I was home for father's day and we all went out to dinner.

Then of course there was me getting on the earlier LIAT flight because I didn't take no for an answer. So not all doom and gloom and negative. Must look for the positives in everything.

Another positive of course is that I now know the runnings, so will be a pro when I return!

Posted by yamfoot at June 25, 2004 11:06 PM