packing

time to pack! woohoo!!!!

letter of certification

i just don't know really, but there's just some sort of inefficiency in most (if not all) philippine institutions. i have been waiting for my wyd certification ever since the organizers informed us through their website that the participation certification will be released in july. i had waited until the end of the month but to no avail. i even emailed inscripciones to ask for my certification status but still have to receive a reply. one of my "email" friends have not received hers as well. another of our "friends" even called madrid to check on his certification but was only told to wait as there was a large volume of mails to be sent. so again, i was being patient.

today, i received a reply regarding the accommodation and certification. what surprised me was her reply -- it was already sent to my country's Bishop's Conference! if it was, isn't it their "duty," or shouldn't they show concern towards the people who are about to join the event, to immediately send our certifications as soon as they received it? is it just because we are not part of their official delegation that they just ignored ours and didn't think of sending it to us? for sure, there are contact details there that they can use to send us the papers we need. if they don't want to send it through post, they can contact us by phone and let us pick the document ourselves. but no -- we were not informed! nor do i think will we be informed. it's just so sad to think bad about my Bishop's Conference but the way they treat "others" like me (first, not encouraging me to join because i'm not part of a ministry and now this), it's just so disappointing.

tomorrow i will call them and i hope, truly, that they'd find my documents because if not, i truly hope i won't have a problem when i arrive at madrid and ask for my backpack!

rome - sorted

i have finally, finally sorted out my accommodations in rome. thank you to my titas sol and liza. i was beginning to get worried because the person whom i was to stay with has never replied to any of my messages and emails. i forwarded my concern to tita sol, who was the one who arranged it and after a day of waiting, and she decided that instead of her friend who was going to pick me up, her sister will. and then today, as i was getting ready to go home from the office, i was contacted by tita liza and was told that we'll just cancel the room reservation and i'll just stay with her. after all, i will only be in rome for two days before i make my way to madrid through the rest of europe.

so grateful!

it's here!

got a message from my agent yesterday. i was told that my visa and passport was sent to them. this morning, my agent's messenger arrived carrying my passport! woohoo!!!

i'm set to go now!!! :)

friends, please pray for me as i make this journey to madrid via rome, solo. may i be safe always. amen.

wyd companions

being resigned to the fact that i might be attending the wyd solo (friend's passport still not available), i have left a message at the wyd website for others who are also going solo to contact me. this way, we can form our own group and not be so out of place. it had been days since i left that first message, to a filipina living in germany (whom i never got a reply) and one coming from the philippines (whom i talked to over the phone eventually). after talking to the one coming from the home, i realized that i might not fit into their group because they are a group of high school kids. so i again looked over the website for others whom i can contact but no one replied...

until today. it was just a barrage of email (okay, it's an exaggeration -- i only got three) and it seems very more likely that this can be my group as all of them are also going solo. i now have replied to them and hopefully, we can exchange emails more and have a plan of meeting when we arrive in madrid on the 15th or 16th.

so happy that i might be able to have a group there!

THANK GOD! :)

frustrated

i shouldn't but i am. i am frustrated over the processing of my visa. it's not my fault, nor should the fault be blamed on the authorities. but i can't help but be frustrated. first, there's the minimum 12 days processing, then there's the 15, but still nothing. i just hope i'd know as soon as possible whether i'm getting the visa or not so i can cancel my airfare and still get the maximum refund, and then plan ahead for the back-up plan. i can't stand this waiting anymore.

Lord, please give me patience. Is this a test? I think I'm failing. Forgive me, please.

visa blues

so i really did have cause to worry about my passport and visa application.

as i've mentioned in my previous blog, the interviewer has written on my paper that my passport can be picked up last Tuesday but had erased it after i asked her to send it through courier to our office. unfortunately, until today, i haven't received it and i am kind of getting worried, especially since i am set to leave next friday already.

i also asked my agent to check it up with the consulate (and he said he will) but has never gotten back to me. so i took it upon myself this afternoon to call the consulates toll number to ask about the status of my application. this is what the customer agent said --

"it is still being processed, ma'am."

oh, okay. i thought it would be released last tuesday since that was what the lady said.

"who told you that?"

the lady who interviewed me.

"oh, but it's still under processing. if you'd like, please call us everyday for the next couple of days so you can be informed."

(yeah, well, i'm not sure i'd be calling as the call costs Php32/minute. maybe i'll call every other day LOL).

so how about the courier? if my passport's gonna be released, how long will it be delivered to me?

"within 24 hours, ma'am."

okay, that's a relief.


so folks, i am really worried but not as worried and restless as i was the last couple of days. at least now, i have a reason to ponder on instead of being clueless, worrying that the courier might get lost, or worst, my passport's landed on evil hands and it's now being used to steal my identity! LOL. i know, my imagination's running wild. so my dear readers, please help me pray that i may be able to get my visa and passport this week.

preparation

i know i should prepare some of my stuff now, or just plan on what and how much cash i need to bring for the trip, or to finalize my city itineraries, but as long as my passport and visa, aren't here yet, i'm not in the mood. i just hope it wouldn't be photo-finish again for me. there's a little over two weeks left before i leave!

oh God, please help me.

but oh! Lord, i thank you for all the blessings i've been receiving lately. You are so kind, You are my best provider. Thank you.

a wait and a pay

after my interview at the consulate, i was informed that my passport will be ready for pick-up on july 19. however, i chose to have it delivered to my office address since i couldn't go that day. now, it's been two days since the announced date and no messenger/courier has arrived to deliver my passport. as most of my friends know, little things like that make me worry. unlike what most people would think, not all follow the "filipino time," which is always late. maybe i was expecting too much, or maybe i just got spoiled with the swift delivery of my passport when i applied for my uk visa.

what adds to the worry is that i've already sent my payment for the airfare today. i know, i should have made sure that my visa is already here before purchasing the ticket but my agent is so positive about me getting that visa. he had been advising me to buy the ticket now or else it would be more expensive as we near august. everytime my office phone rings now, i jump, hoping that it would be the courier, delivering my passport with visa.

oh visa! come to me now!

so sorry to be so impatient...

agent stressful

today was a stressful day with regard to my agent. all the while, i thought that i was the one supposed to harass my agent regarding my travel plans but in this case, it's the other way around. my agent is stressing me! i don't know if it's just because he's an old man or just because he cares deeply for my trip. either way today, i feel stressed.

he'd been bugging me to finalize the booking of my tickets and i wasn't ready to do that yet since i haven't received my passport yet. also, i told him that i didn't want to leave on the fourth since i wanted to maximize the time i had with my sister. the other reason is because i don't want to ruin my schedule. i called him and told him that he should look for a flight that leaves on the 5th. okay, he said. when asked how much will it cost me additional, he replied, "additional 30USD". what?! he was bugging me just because my ticket will cost me 30USD more?! argh! i was imagining the worst case scenario -- a few hundred dollars more!


so anyway, we came to an agreement that i'd wait for a new booking the next day, one that will still be relatively cheap. that same night, i also looked online and saw that etihad and kuwait may be able to give me a cheaper fare. i even had a friend of mine who works at etihad to look into it for me. when i mentioned it to my agent the next day (which was yesterday), he said that it was more expensive, and via Switzerland. i said "no, the one going through Munich is cheaper," and he replied, "no, it's expensive!" when asked how expensive, he just answered me back, "expensive." well, i guess my agent is really old. :P

later that day, i was told that he had confirmed me in one of my previous choices, a qatar flight that will have me stay in doha for 9 hours before my connecting flight. i really don't like this flight but i'm just not up to arguing with him. i'll just take a nap at the airport, anyway. also, it is way within my budget so i guess i'll take it.

so next week, i'm going to pay him, just in time for the delivery of my passport and visa.

consulate interview

today is my schengen visa application interview at the spanish consulate.

i was met by my agent's person and after a thirty minute wait after my interview schedule, i was ushered to the small consulate office. here, the only things we were allowed to bring were our documents and ID. upon entering their office, those who are applying for a visa were made to sit on a separate set of chairs from those who carry spanish passports and other business. it was just really a small receiving area with a couple of chairs, a tv and several windows for the interviewees. before me were a family, a couple of individuals, two brothers (who were accompanied by parents), a very old couple (who by the way are so makulit), and two seamen. i realized then that for all embassies, the appointment time is not necessarily the time at which they are going to interview you but it is the time that you need to be there. it will be very unfortunate for you if the person ahead of you takes a long time at the interview and there's only a few consuls available to get your application.

on the other corner, there was this old spanish woman who really looks like our floor mother at my freshman dorm, ms. luna, and she was talking to the consul in spanish. i didn't mean to listen but i cannot help it. the old lady was asking for the consul to speak louder because she couldn't hear in one ear after getting into an accident. they were talking for a long time because she needed to have a new passport. there was also this other middle-aged spanish lady who didn't realize that there was a queue and proceeded to the counter. when she was told by the consul that there was a queue, she looked behind her, saw us, looked back and said, 'but i'm a spanish citizen.' okay, no arguments there. it was just nice because the guy whose turn it was was cool and just said "es pasa nada."

when my turn came, i was asked a lot (?) of questions. sure enough, i was asked the question that, although expected, i didn't prepare for: why aren't you going with a group? so i told her the short version of the long story -- that i  couldn't join my parish because they prioritized the ministry members. then i was asked if i called the ecy and i said that yes, i did call ecy and the diocese but they all told me to talk to my parish. since that wasn't going anywhere, i decided to go on my own. i think that answer appeased the interviewer but i guess the interviewer at the other window was also listening (while waiting for the old couple in front of her to produce their documents) and asked in spanish why i wasn't in a group and my interviewer told her that my parish didn't take me in.  

"aah... es muy complicado!" -- but these words weren't for me but for the old couple at the other window. the guy had been presenting for a long time documents that he had amassed to prove that this person was so and so, and his wife confirming it. it was a very long story but the consul was so experienced that she got right to the heart of the matter -- the couple just wants to visit spain! "aah, es muy complicado!" and what i'm impressed about is this lady speaks spanish, english and tagalog! :)

so back to my story. i was also asked how much i am earning, how long i've been on the job, whom do i live with, do i support anyone, do i know anyone in spain. standard questions, i guess. after that, i was asked to pay the Php3760 fee and that was it. i only had to wait for 12 days for them to release my passport.

yipee!!!

 

waiting

finally sent my schengen visa application to my agent and it has been eight calendar days since that day. let's just see what happens. lately, i have been having doubts about doing this travel thing to europe and the wyd because of the budget constraints. it seems that i have a lot of expenses through the end of the year, stuff that should precede this travel but have been unexpected nevertheless. i'm beginning to get scared that i might come back really broke and without an income for the next three months (will be taking a leave from work to finish my thesis). but i have also been thinking that if i don't do this now, i am not sure if i'll be able to do it anymore. it just seems that there are a lot of people who have already put in an effort towards this trip, like myself, my friends who gave their time to advice me, my agent and most especially God. i feel that He has been guiding me towards this trip little by little and it seems that if I don't do it, it would just disappoint Him. well, let's just see. after all, the schengen visa isn't with me yet. i'll know if i'm going when i receive it (or don't) soon.

please pray for me. thank you.

roma accommodation

i am really grateful for my sister's boyfriend's mom for arranging a place for my stay in roma. from my current budget of E95/night, it went down to E30/night. now i've got an extra to be able to buy an Italia shirt :) what's also good about this is that the proprietor is a friend of hers so i am relatively safe, knowing that they can be trusted and can guide me, and make sure that i'll be safe on the first leg of my trip.

one down, one to go

FINALLY got my UK visa today! whew, that was fast!

submitted my visa application and documents last friday at the vfs office at pasong tamo. later, i got a txt message saying that it has been dispatched to the British Embassy. on monday, i got an email from the UKBA that my visa will be despatched shortly. the next day, i received another txt message and email from the vfs saying that my passport had been returned and will be sent to me through aboitiz2go. this afternoon, WOW! i finally got it. not even a week and it's already here! so excited.

next step: schengen visa

uk visa application appointment

had set my appointment for may 6, early morning but the rains, my lost voice and fever, made me re-schedule it for friday next week.... fast forward to may 13...

had set my appointment at 0915 hrs. from their appointment form, i was informed that i must be at the vfs office ten minutes before my appointment time and i read somewhere in their website that they will only allot around 20 mins waiting time for those who are late. so naturally, i went early to find myself being assigned a number (#xx batch 2) once i've given my name to the guard. my bag was checked before being given a tag number, and then was ushered inside with only my wallet and documents in tow.

upon entering the holding area, i was astonished to see a lot of people waiting inside. at first, i thought they were the ones without appointments then later, when 915 came, i realized that these people also made appointments! i was so frustrated because i have expected that at 915, my name will be called. unfortunately, it seems that for every batch (they were still calling numbers at around 50 for batch 1 at this time), there are 100 applicants. i was really frustrated (because i was already really, really late for work) but i couldn't do anything so i just sat there waiting for my turn. i'd get up from time to time looking for a paste because i realized that i haven't pasted my picture yet! later, i got up again when i saw that the first page of my application form was missing! i was really nervous and had to go back outside to get to my bag. fortunately, the first page was amongst the papers in my folder. so again, i waited. my name was called at around 10am. since everything was in order, i was there for less than ten minutes. i ordered for my passport to be sent through courier and had already prepared the exact amount for it (Php330) but when charged, i was asked to pay Php440. i was a bit confused at first and then the lady said that it includes the SMS tracking service of my application. i walked away feeling bewildered because i didn't really ask for the SMS thing (since there's an online tracking system which was free of charge) and i didn't even fill out the piece of paper they handed out for that kind of thing. but oh well... what's the fuss, right? it had already been paid.

next was waiting for my name to be called again for the biometrics. it was not that long a wait but still, it's a wait. when i was called, i had to "pose" for the camera and have my fingerprints scanned. after this procedure, i was done. when i left the building, it was already 1030am.

it was really no fuss at all but the waiting was really long! *sigh*

so now, i'll just have to wait for that SMS thing to work! :)

uk online visa application

yey! so i am finally done with the uk online visa application and have already set up an appointment with the visa application center (vac) on friday. this is where visa applications for the uk are submitted and where they will take the fingerprints for the biometric data.

you might be wondering why, when i've been preparing so long for this, have i only finished my online application now. this is because, according to the website and vac, applications are only accepted three months before the scheduled date of departure. i could have submitted my forms for the schengen though, but my agent advised that it is better to apply for the uk visa first.

here's hoping for a good application this coming friday! :)

pertinent websites you might find helpful if you're also planning to go to the uk--

UK visa online application website: http://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk/
Philippine fee for general visitor (up to 6 mos): Php5700
Philippine Visa Application Center: http://www.vfs-uk-ph.com/index.aspx

*****

on another note, my travel companion whom i had mentioned in previous blogs, will only be able to submit her application for passport renewal on may 5. makes me wonder how being, or having, a "computerized" system made the dfa's service less efficient. when they were doing passports by handwriting, one can just go directly to the dfa, submit their forms, and get it in just a week's time for only around ~Php700 (~Php1200 for expedited passports). it's just kind of weird, don't you think?

just another update: passports

been very busy the past couple of weeks especially now that march is coming to an end and the classes are finally over. i have been really stressing over my penalty class where i don't think i did well in the exam and where i still have to submit all my exercises! so not much has been done to our planning except...

we are really now decided to apply as tourists and not a WYD participant in our local Spanish consulate because we want to get ahead of those official delegates in getting our visas (they can only submit their documents on may 6 onwards). also, those who are "getting" their visa through the official organizers still need to fill out forms where there is an item there that needs (again!) the parish priest's endorsement and signature. since we already had a problem getting our parish to endorse us (ministry people first according to them), we didn't want to walk that path again.

also, i only found out this weekend that my companion had to apply for a passport renewal. this is because the said passport is already within the last six months of its validity. unfortunately for us, the DFA's service wasn't as it was before where you can get your new passport within a week. now, my companion had to apply at a provincial office, wait until may 5 to have the passport taken back in and another two weeks to get the new one. as it is, we are now pressed for time. this made me decide to apply for my Schengen visa first because I will still need my passport as soon as possible for the visa application to the UK. hopefully, these visas will be granted at the same time that my companion's passport is in and the visa application granted. after that, we need to purchase our Eurail tickets by the first week of June so that it gets delivered here before we leave for the WYD and Europe tour on August.

here's keeping our fingers crossed and may the Lord guide us always :)

keeping you posted

so much has happened since my last post. basically, the person i was to go with backed out on me at early december. the second friend i asked backed out early in january. but through all the holiday madness last december, during a quiet lunch with a friend, i suddenly found someone who was as excited as me to go to the wyd and do a european tour! thank God for her! He answered my prayer.

beginning of january saw me contacting all people i can talk to regarding application to the official delegation of the country to the WYD. i contacted four parishes, but only one (not my parish) was willing to take us in for an interview provided that we pay our own way. i also contacted the youth conference and my diocese, all of which were kind of not too helpful after finding out that i am not a member of any ministry of my church. second, they were asking me for an endorsement from my parish priest. unfortunately, my parish priest doesn't know me and i couldn't find the time to leave work for an interview with him. so sorry, no endorsement there. there was also this all women group that would like to take us in but they had a fixed itinerary so we guessed we are already out because my friend and i are planning something else before the event. going back to the parish that was willing to interview us, we didn't hear from them again (because we didn't have a priest's endorsement).

so, because of this, my friend and i decided to go on our own. so this march, we finally registered ourselves at the official website of the WYD and had successfully paid our dues! :)

but while i was doing all those things i mentioned above, i realized that sometimes, it sucks to have countrymen who doesn't think of others, only themselves. people have told me that there's all these interviews for the delegation because in the previous years, others do not come back home anymore! this just makes it harder for those who have pure intentions, being railroaded because of what they did. i hope they grow up!

second, i realized that sometimes, it's unfair that just because you're not a member of any ministry, you would just be delegated at the bottom of a list and do not get noticed by the people trying to run the show. i thought there was equality in the Church because we are all children of God? well, just a thought.

nevertheless, my heart is set on going so i wouldn't let anybody get in the way. so here we are now, registered and paid! :D

******

regarding our european tour, i finally started working on an "official" itinerary. this is the one we are going to submit to the Spanish Embassy for our visa application. and speaking of visas, i was reminded today that i really do need to prepare all necessary documents. i know of some people going for pope john paul's beatification in italy being denied visas. hopefully, we can submit all our documents by the end of march or first week of april. necessary papers will include: certificate of employment, proof of financial capability, approved leave forms, and itinerary.

the first leg of my trip will be in the uk. i have just finished arranging all my accommodations at my friends' both in london and belfast. yipeee!!!!