Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Visas: Serious Business

"Time is too slow for those who wait..." ~Henry Van Dyke

I mailed my visa application for Mali today. I've never needed a visa for any of the international traveling I've done to date so this is new for me. Exciting stuff, except, of course, the $100 fee. Even though I just sent the paperwork out I wish I could get the visa back tomorrow. It's just one more piece of the puzzle to put in place.

When I went to take my pictures for the application, the lady told me that smiling is not allowed anymore in passport or visa pictures. Something about 9/11. The photo in my passport was taken in the 90s so it looks like a cheese convention. So I'm sitting in front of the camera with a big Kool-aid grin and she's telling me I have to stop smiling. Well, everyone who knows me knows that I always smile. And on the rare occasion when I am not smiling, it's probably best that you leave me alone. So I started thinking serious thoughts and physically pulled my cheeks toward my mouth, but every time I caught a glimpse of her waiting for me it made me laugh. Eventually I managed to stop smiling, hold back the laughter, and look somewhat serious enough for her to snap a photo that looks like I have a mouth full of food.

2 comments:

Stephen said...

But we want to see the picture, too! Why save it for just an angry, underpaid bureaucrat to see?

Barefoot Traveler said...

I didn't even think about posting the visa picture...good idea!