Well I went to the U.S. embassy yesterday. It wasn't quite as nerve racking as I thought but it was excruciatingly boring travelling to and from Yorkshire without my iPod. I even forgot to take a book with me so I was just absently staring out of the window which was a little difficult on the way back in the dark. Even worse than that was shivering on the deserted platform at Doncaster train station for nearly an hour waiting for the last train, but I got a day off from work so it was all worth it.
I was shattered when I got home. I had to get up ridiculously early to get down there. I don't like St. Pancras station. It seems to posh for a train station, sort of like the station's looking down it's nose at it's own passengers, but that was easy remedied by the hot, dirty stuffiness of the tube, which I managed to successfully navigate by myself to Marble Arch (Susanne will be so proud!) to look for other Disney peeps and call my Mum from the pay phone. The embassy has a weird rule about not allowing any electronic equipment in the building so I didn't bother taking my mobile with me and for the first time in years I was without my iPod (Is it sad to admit I felt rather lost without it?) but there is a pharmacy named Goulds in between Oxford Street and Grosvenor Square where you can leave your phone for the handsome fee of a fiver.
Anyways, all of our appointments were at 2.30pm so by 1.30 there was a gaggle of cast members congregating in front of the embassy, probably looking mighty suspicious to all the gun-wielding American guards. We were told not to arrive any earlier than 30 minutes for the appointment but by 1.45 we were sick of waiting and joined the visa queue. I was half expecting to be told off for being early but the lady was really nice. I was a little taken aback when I realised she was English so I just sort of stared for a moment when she spoke to me. She made everyone take off any
watches or belts and put any change or keys in a little plastic baggy to go through the metal detector, at least I think that was the reason.
We then had to walk around to the side entrance of the building (maybe they save the front for the President?) where we were issued a number by another lady (American this time) just like at a deli counter and ushered into the waiting room. It was jam-packed with people filling in forms and kids climbing on the chairs. I pretty much resigned myself to a long wait when I looked around the room so I was pleasantly surprised when the Disney numbers started being called within about ten seconds of walking through the door. All I had to do was hand over all my forms at the counter. They were checked for any mistakes and anything missing (I had to fill in my email address) and then I had my fingerprints taken. I was sort of hoping to have black ink stuck to my fingers for a few hours so I could pretend to be a robber but to my dismay, it was all done electronically. Everything was so quick I was amazed, but then I was asked to take a seat and wait for my interview and it dawned on me that that was what the hoards of people were waiting for.
So the Disney crew and I plonked ourselves towards the back of the waiting room and set about getting to know each other. There were about fifteen of us in total so we probably made the most racket in the embassy but it was good to finally meet someone else going to WDW! I found a kindred One Tree Hill lover in Jonathan, defended the merits of High School Musical to the death and reported the Jacob updates. He was an absolute sweetheart. He had already had his visa interview but he came along anyway to meet people and he sat outside with Liam and Nicola's bags for two hours in the cold and the rain even though he didn't have a coat. How nice is that? We could see him
from the waiting room so we kept up to date on his adventures chatting to a Jamaican woman and being investigated by a sniffer dog!
Every so often a number would be called and put up on the screen, making us all shut up and pay attention for two whole seconds in case it was one of us. This went on for so long that when the first of our numbers were called I didn't even notice it was mine! I was pretty nervous walking around the corner to face my future. I was expecting to be walking out with a big DENIED stamp on my forehead. Fortunately I was worrying for nothing. All the guy asked me was if I had graduated from university and if I had been to the States before, both of which were a yes, and he said I'd been approved. I was so relieved but a little disappointed too. We'd been rehearsing a little speech of what to say if they ask you why you're going to America and I didn't even get to say it. They did scan my fingerprints though, just in case I'd metamorphosised in those 2 hours. After that I went back to the group to update them on what happened, hopefully calming their fears a little, and then I had to pay for the courier to bring me back my passport, which was slightly annoying. Just stick it in an envelope! The girl there (a cockney this time) told me it would probably be arriving Friday or the following Monday but I got a text this afternoon saying it will be here tomorrow morning, so I'm rather chuffed at that.
I thought I had better go keep Jacob company on the bench outside so we chatted out there about his "adventures" and Disney whilst waiting for everyone else to finish at the embassy. Eventually we were all done and went on a little walk together. By the time we got to Oxford Street some people had to go get their trains so we all said goodbye and "see you on the plane" etc until there was just six of us left. We all went for a bite to eat at a pub just off of Oxford Street so it was rather pricey, well it was to this Northern lass anyway. Perhaps I've just spent too long getting chips from the students union for a quid so I don't realise how much things cost in the real world? We spent ages talking about Disney and the interviews and all sorts until eventually we had to go too. Paul and I were the only two leaving from Kings Cross so we loitered around W H Smiths for a while together. His train was at 8 o'clock so I had half an hour waiting on my own. I decided Kings Cross suited me more than St Pancras, but it is so poorly organised it's ridiculous. I definitely like Euston best out of the London stations, which is slightly off topic but oh well, it's a little insight into what goes through mind when I don't have any music to drown out the thoughts in my head.
All in all, the entire embassy thing was pretty much a waste of time if I'm honest. There was nothing I did in London that couldn't have been done over the phone or via email! But on the plus side I got to meet some of my fellow cast members which was pretty awesome. I'm less jittery about going out there now I've actually met people in the same boat.
Less than two weeks to go now, bring it on!
"I am on my way, I can go the distance" - Hercules
see all the family before I left. My Auntie Jayne made me a yummy chocolate Cinderella cake and my (fake) Auntie Margaret made me a leaving card with Belle on it. They were both awesome!
