Visas

Last week I paid a visit to the US Consulate to get pages added to my passport. I'll take it as a good sign that I am running out of space and that our trip is quickly approaching. The consulate is such an interesting place. Believe it or not there weren't too many Americans there. The waiting room was filled with nervous energy of people who wanted visas to enter America for various reasons.

I eavesdropped on the conversation of two young German women as they discussed their interviews. While I know getting a visa into the US is no walk in the park, the interview was a lot of nervousness for nothing, which I realized after also overhearing that. Both of the women were going to work as au pairs. I could sense the excitement and only hope their fascination with America didn't quickly end with whiney over indulged kids. I'd really love to know what aspects of American culture will shock and intrigue them.

Of course no trip to the consulate is complete without checking out the nearby Eisbach surfers.

Soon I too will be waiting for visas for various countries. I also have a bit of nervous energy and excitement in not knowing what we will encounter.

I've been researching the different visa requirements for Germans and Americans to enter various countries. Next is getting to the doctor's office for the numerous vaccines we'll need. Hopefully we can finalize our route within the next week or two. We know where we'd like to go - both dates and routes, but we need the go ahead from the airlines. These are the somewhat straight forward issues.

I'm trying, in every way possible, to be educated on a variety of situations. For some reason I cannot stop watching 'I Shouldn't be Alive' on the Discovery channel. I'm sure there is a part of me that thinks if I were to end up in a situation like this, I want to know how people made it out.

Just the other night I was lying in bed and said to Stefan, "You know what else I should pack for our trip? A belt, because it could be used as a tourniquet if need be." There's nothing worse than not being prepared - although I hope there never is a need for a tourniquet or learning about another country's medical system.