Well, here I am in my “killing time” phase. Hey, wassup. I’m just killing time.

One of the biggest parts of this trip is I have to apply for a Student Visa from Austria. I need it to be allowed to study at the university. The process involves collecting lots of paperwork and filling out a bunch of forms. I also had to fly to Ottawa to the Austrian Embassy for an interview in which I would hand over all my visa documents and cross my fingers that they would approve me.

I live in Calgary, which is on the other side of the country. So I had to fly across the country for a short interview for my Visa. Which already isn’t super ideal, but if I want to study abroad, a Visa is pretty mandatory. So it had to be done.

The embassy only does Visa meetings on Tuesday/Thursday mornings, and you have to book a time slot in advance. The plan was that I would fly to Ottawa on Wednesday night, stay in a hotel overnight, go to my meeting in the morning, and then fly home that afternoon. It would be a short trip, leaving little room for any other activities. Which was fine – I had been to Ottawa before, so I had seen most of the touristy things of the city.

I left on Wednesday at 6:00 am from Calgary, and landed in the Winnipeg Airport around 10 o’clock. There was 1 hour time difference in Winnipeg from home, but its not like that’s a big deal. So I hung around the Winnipeg airport for a couple hours and then got on another plane to Ottawa. In Ottawa, I took a taxi to my motel, where I promptly fell asleep for about 4 hours (oops).

The motel provided shampoo (no conditioner?) and lotion, both of which were not full bottles? They did have makeup remover, which was nice, and soap and stuff. In the morning, they had a free continental breakfast. They had one of those waffle iron things, with 2 different kinds of mix – blueberry and original. So obviously I used both. And that was great. They had other bread and muffins, but they seemed dry and not so good. But the waffles were good. Because this trip was already expensive and out of the way, I picked a hotel closest to the embassy, and it way pretty cheap, so I expected what I got. Everything was fine – I don’t need much to be content haha. I slept fine, had hot water, and breakfast. That’s good enough for me!

I got up really early to get ready for my meeting – showered, dried my hair, curled my hair, did my makeup, got dressed in nice professional clothes, and set off to the embassy around 9:30 (my meeting was at 10). The embassy was about 4 blocks away, so I walked.

I was very prepared. I had all my original paperwork plus 2 additional scanned copies, just in case. I had 3 filefolders with paperwork, all numbered and organized (thanks to my Dad, the most organized person I know). So when Ii got to the embassy, I was more than ready.

The embassy looks just like a big house.

When you go inside, there’s a little waiting room. On the far side of this waiting room is a glass window with a computer monitor mounted on the wall next to it. On the other side of the glass there was a lady with a desk, photocopier, etc. and she would speak with a microphone and a speaker on the wall. There was also a tray that was accessible to both sides of the glass, similar to one’s you would see at a bank when you exchange money or things like that.

When I walked in, I went up to the lady at the glass, and after confirming that I was the 10 o’clock appointment, she asked to look at my application package, which was fine. I assumed she wanted to look at it before my meeting to make sure I had everything, or something like that. After going through it, she proceeded to scan my fingerprints and take my picture for my file. She handed me back a few unnecessary papers, gave me back change for my Visa fee, and then told me I was done.

I assumed she meant that I was done with the initial screening or whatever, so I asked her if I was supposed to wait for my meeting in the waiting room. She said “Um, no? You’re good to go.”

……………………………………………………………………………..

Well okay then.

She told me my passport would be mailed back to me in 10-15 business days, and sent me on my way.

So I spent hundreds of dollars for 10 minutes. And the lady didn’t even really talk to me during the whole exchange.

I had to checkout of my motel at noon, but my flight out of Ottawa wasn’t until 5:30. So I sat at the airport for a LONG time.

Watched a lot of Netflix. Got a smoothie. I also bought a coloring book because I was getting bored and needed something to keep me occupied.

I flew from Ottawa to Toronto, which was about 45 minutes from take off to landing. I was in a BIG plane – a 7 seat across plane, that you would generally take on international flights across an ocean. I had an empty seat next to me – the plane was pretty empty – so I tried to take advantage of that and stretch out for a nap. A 45 minute flight is super short, so it was hard to get comfortable, and then I had to get ready to land. So that was kind of annoying.

I spent another 2 hours in the Toronto airport. Because Toronto is actually much bigger than other airports, and BY FAR the biggest one I had been in on this trip thus far, I was able to eat something other than Tim Hortons. I had sushi, actually, which was super nice. And then I had a 4 hour flight to Calgary, getting in around 11:30 pm.

Man, I slept well that night.

 

I did the math, and in the 48 hour trip, I spent only 20 hours not in an airport or airplane.

 

 

BUT its worth it… right?

Yes, yes it is. I can’t study in Austria without my Visa.So no matter what, I couldn’t do this trip or have this experience without my Visa. So those 10 minutes are some of the more important minutes I’ll have in my life. That’s pretty crazy to think about..

 

So that was the story of my 48 hour trip to Ottawa. Just another step on my way to Austria.

I leave February 17th everyone. It’s almost here.

 

~ miss emma.k