Kathirundhu kathirundhu...

Seri naamalum konjam oor suthi parkalam (ahem!) appadi-nu decide panni Europe-la enga pogalam-nu thedi Italy-a kandupidichen. March easter hols-la poradhuku Dec-lerndhe trip plan panni, ella bookings-um mudichu I had the complete itinerary ready by Jan end.

Ofcourse, poradhuku visa venumla, adhanala Italian embassy-la I booked an appointment for the 29th of Feb. Nammadhan oorai parka poga sonna cheri-ya parkara sect ache, 29th feb appointment miss panniten successful-a :D coz I was in India then. Seri, agents-ku call pannalamna avan avan £46 worth visa-ku £150+la rate solran! Naamale try panna vendiyadhudhan-tu I checked the Italian and French websites, ellam totally booked. But vidiya vidiya Ghajini padam parthuttu muyarchi pannama vidalama-nu I tried on the French website, and luckily every Thursday additional appointments release panra nalla pazhakkam embassy-ku appadinradhala I managed to get an appointment for the very next day.

Appa, ippadi oru experience kidaichadhe illa enaku...I had asked for a 1 hr permission to go to the embassy thinking it won't take long. Ada, Belgium embassy-la kaalaila application form submit pannina adutha naal madhiyam visa kidaikum, and I expected the same thing here. Nalla thedu thedunu thedi consulate-a kandupidichu poi serndha...there was this looooooong queue outside. Poi oruthanai ketten, "enga enaku 11:30 appointment, ulla pogalama" nu, adhuku andha paavapatta jeevan said that he has the same hr appointment and was in the queue for that.

Ennada nagaruku vandha sodhanai, 1 hrdhane kettutu vandhomnu I stood in the queue, and eventually we were let inside after a 15 min wait. Ulla pona...mudhalla security check-nu oru queue, adhu mudinju oru token vangittu thirumba cashierkaga oru queue. Seri cashier kitta pay pannita udane forms vangippanganu ninaicha, we were made to wait in another queue for checking applications!! Seri applications check panra idathula documents vangippanga-nu ninaichu kitta pona, they gave me yet another token for the interview! Ada pavigalanu hall-la partha sema kootam, and the token that was being called was 840. Namakku enna-nu ninaikareenga, it was 905!

Indha embassyla enna clause-na, you are supposed to wait and collect your visa instead of coming back after some time. Clear-a doorla otti vachirukan, "No re-admission"-nu. There were 2 counters open when I walked in, and after 840 one counter closed. Ivalo kootathai vachitu just 1 counter?-nu yosichitrukumpodhu one more counter opened. Appada-nu oru relief-oda partha, it processed one form, and closed. Ippadiye konja neram counter magic kattindhanga...there was no consistency in the number of counters or the opening/closing of counters. This minute oru 3 counters irundha next minute adhu 2-avum maralam, 4-avum maralam. And the time they take for an interview totally depends on your luck, either it is 5 mins or a whole 1 hr, which means you can't get an estimate of when you'd be called. Hannibal Lecter madhiri namma moolaiya self-service kodainju eduthu saptukaranga ;)

Enakku mandai kanju crack vittu brainquake vandhutta nilamai, erkanave vacation 1.5 weeks extend pannen, ippo indha 1 hr permission-ayum extend pannina nammalai velaiya vitte thookiduvangale-nra bayam vera...so I messaged my boss that it is getting delayed promising to make up for the delay. Finally oru 3:15ku (I had walked in by 11:45), en token-ai kooptanga.

I went and submitted my docs, and theriyathanama multiple entry visa kidaikkuma-nu kettuten. Avalodhan, I got a long lecture on people expecting multiple entry from French embassy and visiting other countries, and how german embassy does not give visa or something like that...thevaiya enaku? Ponoma passport-ayum docs-ayum koduthomanu irukalamla?

Interview-va mudichuttomnu partha she gave me another token (?!) to collect my passport. Adhukum konja neram wait pantu vaanginen. By now the time was 4:00 PM. Iraiva!! oru visa vangardhuku 5-6 hrs embassy-la irundha velai enna aradhu? Even my US visa didn't take this long!! Andha idathula vending machine kooda wait panna vaikudhuna parunga. I tried getting a Mars bar from the vending machine, and it took the money from me but Mars tharala! Ore oru thadavai peruku rotate pantu, cliffhanger madhiri orama nikkudhu. Seri help pannunga-na, external vendor machine idhu, we don't have the keys-nranunga!

Inimel life-la French embassy pakkam naan pora madhiriye illa, neenga yaravadhu poneengana office-ku leave pottutu inniku day nammaldhillanu oru manapakkuvathoda ponga :))