Today I went down to Boston to apply for my visa. Whereas passports can be applied for at accepting institutions (such as the US Postal Service), visas have to be applied for in person. Yesterday I spent a good deal of time scanning documents and printing out copies in preparation. From the beginning of the visa process I had thought I was ahead of things, so when things began to go pear-shaped on the car ride down I began to become quite worried.
The problems started when I realized I did not have a passport-sized photo. I took my own passport photo because it was easier, less expensive and I had more control over the final one. Because of this it was very easy for me to print out multiple copies of my photo. But did I remember to put one of the half dozen photos in my folder for the consulate? Of course not.
I also forgot my "Attestation" from Campus France, which thankfully enough was printable by web. We were too far down I-95 to turn around so we had to deal with my forgetfulness.
Upon getting to the French Consulate I also realized that my appointment was not for today...but for tomorrow. Well done, Eva, well done.
Despite set-backs that I thought would have had mom and I back on the highway, the stars were aligned in our favor. The woman at the Consulate allowed me to apply, telling me I could go to a CVS to have my photo taken and also go to a library to print out the Attestation. Another relief was that both a CVS and a library were in close walking distance and mercifully it was not bitter cold.
On a slightly amusing (ish) note, when I was signing my name on various papers I noticed that the knuckle on my pinky finger was bleeding. A bit of blood got on the papers and the woman asked about it. I did not mention how I was literally giving my blood to step unto French soil, but in a round-about sort of way, it's the truth.
The last step is to go back down again to pick my passport and visa up. Both my Mom and my Dad were shocked to learn I had to leave my passport at the consulate, thereby technically leaving it on foreign soil. Various Bourne related scenarios have been discussed and I've heard in a bad accent I can't quite figure out "Are your papers in order?"
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