visa

I just got my visa today at the French consulate in Los Angeles on Wilshire Blvd. My appointment was this morning, and Dad took me. We first got breakfast at this place he used to frequent when he was still working. It's called Grinder or The Grinder, and it's on Figueroa and 28th. I had an omelette, and it was tasty. Dad had pancakes.

We arrived pretty late, but it was okay. I walked to the visa section, which was behind this door that had a window, but it was covered up, and I don't know why, but I was scared. I really had no reason to be because behind it were all these chairs and some people, and even one of my classmates, Lucia! We saw each other, and I was all, "Hey!!!" And then I piped down because everyone looked at me, and even the visa ladies behind the glass heard me.

She was ahead of me in line. The girl, she was young and had an accent, called me up, and I gave her my passport and application. She asked me if I spoke French, and I said, "Un peu." Which means "a little". She was really happy though that I spoke French, I think, because after that she was really nice and sweet. I paid and waited for the other French lady to call me up.

When she did, she was really curt and asked for all my papers, and "where's this?" and "do you have that?". After she had everything, she finally took a good look at me, and I was just all smiles because I was so happy about how smoothly this was going. And she said in a light accent, "You stay away from French boys!"

And I laughed and said sure. It felt like a compliment. I told her that I won't even look at them. She added, "French boys are more aggressive than the American ones." And I said probably. She told me what to do when I get to France. She gave me back my passport and even Lucia's and bid me farewell, and I said merci.

Then Lucia said when I sat back down next to her, "She was so nice to you!" And I just shrugged. We exchanged numbers and might hang out together before we both leave for Paris.

Afterwards, Dad and I just drove around LA. It was nice. He wanted to drive by his work, and we did. Then we headed home.

So I'm done with the most important stuffs. I saw my doctor, and I'm healthy. I saw my dentist, and she said I'll get my wisdom teeth out when I get back next summer. Now I need to see my optometrist. Today, I'm going to go get my international driver's license. Yay!

finally finally

My passport came in the mail today. Yes! It came by Fedex. I actually paid for the USPS express mail envelope for when it comes back to me, but they sent it Fedex. So that $16.25 is gone. Maybe I can get a refund.
The one on the left is my old one, and the one on the right is the new one. That little square on the bottom of the new one is the new microchip logo that makes processing in the airports easier. Supposedly. We'll see.

Anyway, I'm just so happy it came, and I can leave this country. I immediately went online and made an appointment with the French consulate to get my visa. Usually you can get your visa the same day. Mine will be in the first week of August. I'm really happy that I'm getting mine here in LA. I heard that it's pretty bad in SF. Appointments start after the day I leave, which is the 23rd.

Yay!!! It's finally coming together. I was looking through my new passport, and it has all these great quotes whenever I turn the top of the visa pages where I'll get stamped whenever I visit a new country:

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty." -- John F. Kennedy.

I saw quotes like this with every turn of the page, and it made me want to cry. Because I thought it ironic that these quotes are in my passport, the one thing that ables me to leave my country that I honestly love and explore new ones.

And for the second time in my life, I felt so happy, so proud to be an American. So lucky to be born in this great nation to amazing parents who are willing to let their daughter go and explore and find herself in a place far from home. Thanks Mom and Dad. Thank you Kuya. This is the best gift I'll ever receive.

passeport

I absolutely detest the whole passport process.

Really, it's my fault. I turned in the wrong form, the DS 82, which is for renewals. I thought I'd be able to renew. But it's really the DS 11 that I needed to do. I called the passport people, and they told me that they were sorry for not letting me know that I did the wrong form, but that as soon as I send in the new one, they'll get my passport out to me. Argh!

I can't make an appointment with the French consulate for my visa without my passport. So until then, I'm still in passport visa limbo.

I'm in LA right now, just getting loads of stuff done and hanging out with family and friends. Tomorrow, I'm going to REI with Kuya (my older brother) so that I can check out their backpacks. I plan to travel with a suitcase and a backpack. It's weird that I'm packing or a year. I don't plan on bringing a lot anyway. Bare essentials.

I found my old packing list for when I went to Cambridge University for their study abroad program. Brings back old memories. I took a class on Alfred Hitchhock and one for War and Chivalry. It was lots of fun, and I prefer Cambridge over Oxford. I didn't pack that much for that trip either.

Here are the packs I like so far and fit my budget:
The North Face Woman's Terra 40:

The North Face Woman's Akila 40:

bonnes nouvelles

Finally some good news. This has been a good week, mail-wise. I got an email from CampusFrance, and they told me that I can apply for my visa without my passport number: no problem. So that's out of the way, except there's some stuff on the forms that I need to clarify with them so that I don't do it wrong. So that's great. Also in the form of an email, a student who studied film where I want to study sent me some great advice about what film's like over there and how I should go about and all. He told me to bring a camera if I plan to make a movie there. I probably will. He told me not to be scared of the French. I probably will.

Now, if I could get my passport, all my dreams will come true. Come on, good old-fashioned postal service. Do me this one thing before my birthday.

So, my roommate Morgan gave me some great, amazing, wonderful advice whilst on our bike ride to school that I hope I heed. She told me that when I'm in Paris, I should seriously get out and explore the city and not be a studying homebody hermit like I am here. She's completely right. When will I ever live in Paris again? San Francisco I really take for granted. I've barely been in the city for more than ten times this past year, it seems. So busy working on my films, studying, and being a hermit. It's really lame. I can't do that next year in Paris. God, if I am, hit me, hit me with a really stale baguette. And when I come back to San Francisco for my last year, the year I graduate, I better live it up. Live like I was in Paris (if I play my cards straight and not stay a hermit). Cuz after that, it's over. I'm not going to be a student anymore, and I'm not going to be in San Francisco anymore.

Gosh, life lessons, here and there.

J'attends encore

I'm still waiting for my stupid passport. I think it's going to be okay since I had a dream last night where I asked a bunch of people if their passports came already, and they said no, and I felt really relieved in the dream, so naturally I feel very relieved now.

Went on a little excursion to Sin City: Las Vegas. My parents wanted to go. As I am still 20 but will be 21 in a few days, I had nothing cool to do like gamble and waste money. Instead, I wasted money at the shops. Either way, Vegas always wins. Did a lot of people watching which I enjoy, but most of these people were senior citizens, and it got a bit repetitive.



Saw Paris, Je T'aime with my best friend in So Cal. It was lovely. Some of the shorts were better than the others, but all in all it gave me a great sense of the city and its possibilities. Afterwards, my friend was all, "You might find him there." The "him" being my soul mate, my perfect other, my first [gasp!] boyfriend. Yes, I am 20 years old, days close to 21, and I've never had a boyfriend before. I'm a busy, indie girl. I'm also picky and anti-social. But it's very true, I could find a boy there that I fancy and who fancies me, a strange American girl. He doesn't have to be French. I did meet people at the study abroad orientation who did find their boy/girlfriend, and they were foriegners and American. So it just might happen that I find a cool American boy abroad. You never know, and I'm entirely open to it, especially in a city such as Paris.