Visas, passport pictures, and more.

A few days ago, we started the quest for my visa to be in India for six months. The whole process seemed simple enough: fill out this form online, print it, then mail it to the consulate in San Francisco (the closest consulate to Denver, apparently). That being said, it was of course not easy.

I started off the day by working at 5:30 AM. Waking up at like 4 was brutal, but once I was up it was alright. Loooong morning serving breakfast to old people, then I came home, totally beat. My mom's first suggestion was that we deal with the whole visa thing. Of course, this seemed like a good idea since I thought it would take a total of 10 minutes, running to Evergreen. I was wrong.

First, I double checked all my information against the packet that ACM sent, regarding how to answer the questions on the questionnaire. That packet turned out to be very helpful (thanks Heather!). There were what I assume are normal questions to ask while applying for a visa, but many of them were phrased strangely. I also had to enter a 5 line address for the program director in Pune, which I never would have known without it. Anyway, so after double checking all the info online, I then printed three copies (just in case), and double checked the info again as per my mom's request. Finally I checked the checklist.

Not only do I need the form, and my actual passport to be sent in (with emphasis on both being SIGNED), I need a Money Order for $150, proof of my residence, two passport-sized pictures, and a letter from my program saying I was accepted. I promptly asked my dad what a money order is, and he struggled to remember for a few minutes before telling me to google it, haha. It was the perfect reaction--who actually uses money orders these days? ... the Indian consulate.

We took care of the pictures first. We went to Walgreens, since it is close and convenient. The thing about getting your picture taken at Walgreens is this: the people act a little strange while taking your actual picture, and they don't use a flash. So I'm standing in front of this white pulldown thing, and the lady goes to take my picture. I smile, but then she says to relax my face. I try to do this, but don't really want to stop smiling. She shows the picture to me, which is very dark on the screen (especially under the white florescent lights at Walgreens), and I just accept the picture since I can't see it. We order ten copies of the picture, in 2x2 size. We need two for the visa, one for ACM, and four for the Pune Police. That leaves us with 3 extra copies that I'm sure I'll need. Anyway, so after about 10 minutes, the pictures come out. The lady shows them to me, and what has come out is a washed-out picture of me smiling in a bit of a sarcastic way. She had used the computer to lighten the image and my expression is just priceless. I hope that's the expression I can wear if I have to deal with the Pune Police... sarcastic, not terrified.

Anyway, once we had the pictures and all this nonsense assembled, we went to Mailboxes Etc. to mail the whole thing off. We thought they might do money orders there, but they didn't, so we walked a ways to King Soopers. Turns out, to get a money order (which is basically a notarized check that you don't have to wait to clear), you have to use either cash or a debit card with a pin number. I can guess that this is because they want to make sure that the money order will clear on the other side, not get bounced back to them. Long story short... my mom's card didn't work, and neither did mine. Finally, I had to try my Well's Fargo account, which I only use at school and had a whopping $1.59 in the checking account. There isn't a Wells Fargo near my house, so we had to drive to Denver to put enough money in the account so that it would clear.

Yeah.

The whole ordeal ended up taking more than two hours, but I'm glad we got the whole thing off. My mom laughed as we finally pulled into my driveway, saying this was probably just an early taste of Indian bureaucracy. She's probably right.... I can't wait!