I went to Greyhound station (thankfully it was close to my place, around 10minutes walking) because my bus to LA was scheduled on May 15, 2018 at 10.55pm. So I left home around 10.15pm. There were not so many people, but I wasn’t surprised, that’s how it usually was at night, for the bus to LA. It was 10.55pm but the bus hadn’t arrived. Well, ok, sometimes it happened. Then a bus came, but it wasn’t going to LA, it’s going to Texas. Well, ok. Apparently, my bus was 2hours late! Instead of leaving at 10.55pm as scheduled, we left for LA at 1ish a.m. So while it was originally arrived at 9.25am in LA, it actually arrived around 12ish p.m. I thought to myself, I was still lucky because the appointment was at 2pm and from the station to the embassy took 1.5 hour-ish by bus so I wouldn’t be late. I was still thankful. So I bought one-day pass to ride Metro buses. I still had my TAP card from my last visit in LA so I only needed to pay in cash on the bus and tap the card. I went to the embassy. On the bus, I ran into a nice Pakistani guy who greeted me. He said he loved Indonesia. That’s what I love about riding public buses. I saw different kind of people, black, Hispanic, Asian (Indian, Chinese, etc.), so I really don’t get why the Whites should segregate themselves. They could mingle with these people and get along with them. But, well, it might not be as simple as I thought. But anyway, I arrived around 1.40ish p.m. Honestly, I still thought of going to either the beach or NSync star. It would take only a few minutes, right?
I went into the building, but the lady I met said I should go outside because, apparently, the visa section (Suit 115) was on the other side of the building, near the parking lot. So I went there. I rang the bell because that’s what’s said near the door, i.e. I had to ring the bell and a security guard would answer and I’d be called individually. But, well, when I rang the bell, they said they were still closed and would reopen at 2pm. Well, I expected that. Google told me :p So I waited. Some people came one by one, apparently for different purposes. The lady after me rang the bell but there was no answer. I told her that they’re closed and would reopen at 2. Then it’s 2pm. I rang the bell again. No answer. Then a security guard from the other door walked out and asked us. I told him I had an appointment at 2 and he said that maybe they’d come back five minutes or so. I told him that I was fine; I just didn’t want them to think that I was late and he laughed saying they wouldn’t think so. WELL, IT’S BECAUSE ON THE APPOINTMENT RECEIPT THEY SAID IF I WAS LATE I WOULDN’T BE ADMITTED AND WOULD HAVE TO RESCHEDULE. WELL, AFTER I WENT A LONG THE WAY FROM TUCSON, ARIZONA? HELL, NO! Sorry for the capslock, I just had to do it.
Then it’s 2.20pm. Well, the lady after me was actually scheduled to have the appointment at 2.20p.m. That would mean her schedule would be delayed too. Well. Then the same guard came and they reopened -_- I was admitted first. There were only two people, a lady and a guy. The guy seemed occupied and so I came to the lady. I showed her all of my documents. I even labelled them at home to help them check each document, but, well, again, something did not always go as smoothly as planned. She asked about a document that showed that I was an active student, enrolled in classes, etc. Well, they didn’t mention it, so I didn’t print out my Proof of Enrollment or my Transcript. (I still had them from when I applied for UK visa, thought. But I didn’t bring them to LA because I thought I wouldn’t need them. STUPID ME!) But, well, I showed her my student ID card. Then she asked why I only provided the hotel accommodation in France but not in other countries. I said because when I asked the embassy via email they said it was okay to provide only accmodation in France as long as it showed that I’d stay the longest in France. I even printed my daily itinerary showing just that. I even showed the lady the email they sent as a reply to my inquiry. I even explained that the web said that it was okay not to provide accommodation details as long as I had enough money in my bank statement that would suffice the days of my stay there. She wouldn’t budge. She said she’s afraid that it wouldn’t do. I’m not blaming the lady here, as the reviews have said, she’s really nice. She’s just trying to help me so that my application can be approved by her “whatsocalled boss”. I understood, but I panicked already. She knew that I came far away from Tucson. She told me that, she didn’t know how but, if I could provide some other accommodations to show that France would be the country I stayed the longest, I could go back before they closed at 4.30pm. Well, I tried to be calm. I had booking dot com app in my phone. I could book it in an instant. But where should I print them? It’s not as if I knew every corner of LA. Should I go to KJRI? It’s ridiculous and took time, but who knows? Well, I told her my concerns about the printing issue. She told me I could print them at the other office (where the security guard came out from earlier). I was relieved.
