Monday, July 13, 2009

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.

4 comments:

Utopia Munich said...

Hi Emily,
You're about to take off again!In Thai we have a saying that people who travel often have 'pulse in their shoes,' or something similar like that ^_^

You know what, I've never stopped by Eisbach. I'll try this week as the weather is nice ;-)

OOm

Emily said...

Oom...
I definitely do have the pulse in my shoes. What a fun saying.

The Eisbach is very entertaining. It's just strange to be standing at an entrance to the English Garden and see people surfing. I also love the tourists reactions.

Cait said...

Ah, visas, I'm dreading that job - it's not so much the fear of not getting the visa, more the hours of queuing involved, especially as I'll be doing it in London.

As for medical emergencies or any problems, maybe you need this book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rough-Guide-Travel-Survival-Reference/dp/1843534061/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247845600&sr=8-1

Emily said...

Cait...
At least you'll get to enjoy it all once it's said and done! Thanks for the book recommendation. Hopefully I can track down a copy or Hugendubel can order it.