Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Waiting....

We spend a lot of time waiting. Waiting for appointments, waiting for officials to sign documents, and waiting to find out what the day’s plans will be.

Yesterday we submitted our I600 forms to the embassy. We arrived at 1pm and didn’t get out of there until close to 4:00. It was a really long wait for Shanti and the other children especially since it meant they all missed their naps. The embassy personnel said they’d call this morning around 10:30 to let us know when we’ll be able to get our visa interview appointment. Because we were hoping that they might give us an appointment today, we couldn’t make any plans….just in case. 10:30… 10:45… .11:00… 11:15… 11:30. Finally at almost noon we get the call. We have an appointment tomorrow (Thursday) at 11AM. Then we wait until they give us the Visa….if no problems 2-3 days after the interview. I still have hope we might be able to leave September 21…but it’s fading fast.



Once we got the call we realized that we had the afternoon free. We walked to Thamel, on to Kathesimbhu Stupa, and finally on to Durbur Square to take a obligate photo of one of the Sadhus. We knew he would expect to get paid to take his photo, but were surprised that he wouldn’t take the 50 rupee we offered….apparently he’s a premium Sadhu and requires 100 rupee. The boys in the square flew kites made out of bits of plastic and wood and seemed to be having contests with who could get their kite the highest.

It was a lot of walking, but it felt good to be out of the hotel (even if much of it was spent dodging homicidal motorcycle drivers).
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1 comment:

Jen said...

Teryl, Curious if your agency rep in Nepal is guiding you through the steps...what to do, when, etc? Just curious how you know what governmental body you need to see and where they are located. And how are you getting around to these places? Bus, taxi, walking distance? Sorry for all the questions.(Perhaps I should be quizzing my agency on this... unfortunately, there communication hasn't been the best.)