Stamped, Sealed, Sent, Accepted!

I guess I need to catch up a bit here. I've been pretty busy with school (and visa stuff) so updating has been on the back burner, which is probably good. It means I have got some sense of priorities!

So, when I left off I was just about to hand in my Visa application to my "travel counsellor" who couriered it to SWAP. I was surprised to find that it didn't take that long, I think it took 3 days.
Once the application had been lodged, I needed to get a bank letter (which was super easy it turns out) and book my Visa Application Centre (VAC) appointment to get my biometrics done (fingerprints and digital photo). That was interesting....

To go to my VAC appointment I had to skip school because it was only open Monday to Friday, which meant I could only go every other Monday or Thursdays. Luckily I was able to get one the Monday after the application was lodged at 1:15.
Unfortunately the ferries do not run when I want them to run, therefore I had to catch the 9am ferry (which means leaving my house at 8, but only because I had a car...busing would have been much earlier!). That was not a problem, and even getting to the VAC from the ferry was a piece of cake. A little long, but straightforward.
I knew I was going to have some time to spare, but since the centre was downtown Vancouver I figured I could wander around a bit and grab some lunch. The weather didn't think that was such a good idea because it decided to snow/slush/rain. Oh well...
I ate a delicious bagel and went to the VAC a little early, to make sure I could find the place, and I didn't want to miss the appointment.
What a joke that was!

Taken from http://www.explainthatstuff.com/fingerprintscanners.html

When I arrived, the woman was 2 hours behind. Not kidding.
I could have gone back out, and window shopped or something I guess, but as I said, the weather wasn't particularly inviting. So I read a book while I waited, which was fine in and of itself. I just happened to be waiting for 2 and a half hours.
I finally got to go in, and it was 15 minutes. Tops. She scanned things, stamped things, shoved everything into an envelope. I put my fingers on a scanner, and sat for a picture. The end.
And then I had to go home.
But I missed the bus to the ferry (which only go every hour), so I missed the 5pm ferry. This resulted in an hour wait at the bus station in the middle of nowhere, and then another hour at the ferry terminal.
I got home at 9:30.
Such a long day, all for getting my fingerprints taken...

However, it is now Friday, and my Visa has been accepted by the British High Consulate in New York! I'm officially allowed to work in the UK for two years as of May 7th!

Other good news, is that the company I applied with to work during the Olympics would like me to come in for a training day once I'm in England. I'll need to find another job beforehand, but at least it's something!

Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Summer_Olympics

Next step: flights!