1st Day Craziness

A wonderful morning... About 75 degrees at 9am, fresh smelling greens and a very comfortable hammock... Well, our day was the complete opposite of the calming picture of the hammock.

We (my mom, Derek and I) started our day with a very refreshing breakfast at our house. Our plan for the day was to get as much paperwork done as possible for our wedding application. The main place to visit was the US Consulate, then the next step was our health check (blood and TB tests) and the last task for the day was the first fitting of my wedding gown.

So we left home at 10am to start the rounds!

First stop - US CONSULATE:

We drove up to the Consulate and dropped Derek off. Since they are very strict with entry to the consulate, I didn't even try to go with him. Instead we gave him a cell phone and hoped that he would get done quickly. Meanwhile we parked the car to a close by location so that we would be able to wait for him without being kicked away by the security guards in the Consulate. Well... even before we had the chance to turn off the engine Derek walked out - with NO additional paper work. The Consulate was closed! Guess why? MEMORIAL DAY!!!! Some how both Derek and I totally forgot about it. No wonder the area was all empty.

Second stop - PICTURES:

After our failure at the Consulate, we drove back to our neighborhood district to get at least our health checks taken care of. However, on our way, we decided to get our passaport pictures taken for the applications. (We needed 6 pictures each). We found a parking spot right in front of the store. It was easy and painless. The took the pictures right away and they told us that the pictures would be printed in 10 minutes. Therefore we walked to the water front and enjoyed our tea while waiting. After about 15 minutes we went back to the store to find out that their machine broke so they processed the pictures somewhere else. Luckily, the pictures came in about 5 minutes. Close call... But at least we completed ONE task.

Third stop - HEALTH CLINIC:

(All wedding procedures need to be completed and submitted at the districts that I permanently reside, which is my parent's house. Therefore we can only get our blood work and TB tests done in certified Health Clinics that are within my district.)

After about 10 minutes of looking for parking we finally found a nice spot and we walked to the Health Clinic. Once we got there, we were amazed with the emptiness of the place. Well... It was closed! At least, they were only at lunch break. So we decided to come back after the break. However, meanwhile we decided to get my "Proof of Recidency" document from the Supervisor's Office.

Forth stop - DISTRICT SUPERVISOR'S oFFICE:

Yet another quiet office... Only one person was in - a very friendly lady. She told us that the Supervisor was at a long lunch break. (We were then informed that the Supervisor was dealing with the office's electricity bill.) We initially thought of waiting for him but then realized that it would have been way too long of a wait. However, during our decision making process we realized that the District Supervisor's Office also had a Health Clinic. We decided to get our blood work done right there. Well... yet again, we failled. The nurse told us the procedure and encouraged us to wait until the next day.

Last stop - WEDDING GOWN FITTING:

This was our second success of the day (the pictures being the first one). The gown looks like it will turn out to be beautiful. Still not totally ready but we will see it on Thursday for a more finished fitting...

Basically, our first day was filled with driving from one place to another. One advantage was that it helped us to plan our tomorrow.

So now tomorrow's plan is:

1. Get the blood test done

2. Get the TB films taken

3. Go to the Consulate

4. Go to the Governor's office to get Derek's paperwork verified

5. Get the health results

6. Get my proof of recidency

and finally... Apply to get married! :)

Yet another full day will be waiting for us.