SEATTLE - waiting for the Canadian Visa!!
TWO MONTHS UNPLANNED STAY IN SEATTLE
The Woes of having a South African Passport
This is the sort of thing that makes a person want to change their citizenship! One would think that being aged 73, married to a Brit (who never seems to have any visa woes) and the mother to a Canadian citizen, that getting a visa would be a doddle. NOT SO!
First applied, or attempted to while in Hong Kong, and was informed that I "might" not need a visa.....not too happy with this very ambiguous statement, but the website did not let me go any further. Could not download the application form etc. and there is absolutely NO personal contact at all. It has to be done online or in the post!
When we arrived in Seattle, per the incredible kindness of Melissa White of WWS (up to then a total stranger)we were told that we would not even be allowed to board the ferry to Victoria without one. Disaster! So we went on to the Canadian Visa website and did the whole application and sent it off. We were given a choice of an online application or postal. We went the postal route.
10 days passed and we then got the complete application back, with a note informing us that we had to fill it in on line and then send the passport and all supporting documents by mail, We did this, only to be told that the average processing time was 29 days. So we had in effect wasted 10 days. Eventually it arrived after 53 days, two days before Christmas.
Well enough rant for the day!!! Seattle has been absolutely wonderful.
America we love you
Those of you who have read our entries from Japan onwards will understand why we are so thrilled to be back on terra firma, and in particular to a country which speaks English. The people who have made this such an amazing experience are, in order of appearance:
.
Melissa White:
We flew in from Alaska where we were contacted by Melissa via the WWS closed Facebook Group and offered us accommodation in Seattle. Not only that, she came out to the Airport to pick us up at 9.30 p.m. We spent 9 wonderful days with her, getting to know the pretty suburb of Lakewood.
Judy Nasmith:
Another WWS, contact and fellow (ex) South African, has a beautiful "vacation let" apartment which she generously offered to us as our home from home for as long as we needed it. Obviously when she had paying guests we would move out but she invited us to return after her PGs left, for as long as we required.
This is the sort of generosity that we have encountered from everyone here in the USA.
Judy is a successful Yacht broker in Seattle.
Jon Scott Adams
An ex crab fisherman, who we met in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and then later at King Cove. Asked us to look him up when we finally got to USA, which we did. He and his lovely wife Alicia took us on a wonderful trip to Mount Rainier. What glorious scenery. Washington state must be one of the most scenic areas in the world.
Diane Elliott
Yet another WWS contact who has opened her home to us and we will be spending Thanksgiving with her and her husband Ed. They have been so generous in taking us on sight seeing trips in the ares. In the gallery below you will see how beautiful it is here.
Also thanks to Diane Cherry received my first drawing commission! While marking time here waiting for the visa, I have discovered that I have a small talent for drawing animals and I have had fun doing pet portraits for all our hosts/hostesses. Diane posted one of the pictures on Facebook and I was contacted by a stranger who commissioned a pastel of his beloved dog.
American Thanksgiving
Our first experience of an American Thanksgiving was an absolute joy. We were staying with Diane and Ed and were invited to join their friends for the holiday celebration. And what a celebration it was, of fun,family, friends and food. Nineteen of us sat down to a gargantuan meal, all expertly cooked and presented (these American women know how to entertain} followed by desserts like pumpkin pie, pecan pie, cherry pie, blueberry pie, apple pie and huge mousses and decadent, creamy tortes. Absolutely unbelievable. Thank you so much Ken and Jeannie, and Jill and Mitch (master turkey chef....thanks Mitch) and all your friends and family for making it such a special day for us.
,
Here follows a selection of pictures of taken around Seattle. Hope you enjoy them.
The Woes of having a South African Passport
This is the sort of thing that makes a person want to change their citizenship! One would think that being aged 73, married to a Brit (who never seems to have any visa woes) and the mother to a Canadian citizen, that getting a visa would be a doddle. NOT SO!
First applied, or attempted to while in Hong Kong, and was informed that I "might" not need a visa.....not too happy with this very ambiguous statement, but the website did not let me go any further. Could not download the application form etc. and there is absolutely NO personal contact at all. It has to be done online or in the post!
When we arrived in Seattle, per the incredible kindness of Melissa White of WWS (up to then a total stranger)we were told that we would not even be allowed to board the ferry to Victoria without one. Disaster! So we went on to the Canadian Visa website and did the whole application and sent it off. We were given a choice of an online application or postal. We went the postal route.
10 days passed and we then got the complete application back, with a note informing us that we had to fill it in on line and then send the passport and all supporting documents by mail, We did this, only to be told that the average processing time was 29 days. So we had in effect wasted 10 days. Eventually it arrived after 53 days, two days before Christmas.
Well enough rant for the day!!! Seattle has been absolutely wonderful.
America we love you
Those of you who have read our entries from Japan onwards will understand why we are so thrilled to be back on terra firma, and in particular to a country which speaks English. The people who have made this such an amazing experience are, in order of appearance:
.
Melissa White:
We flew in from Alaska where we were contacted by Melissa via the WWS closed Facebook Group and offered us accommodation in Seattle. Not only that, she came out to the Airport to pick us up at 9.30 p.m. We spent 9 wonderful days with her, getting to know the pretty suburb of Lakewood.
Judy Nasmith:
Another WWS, contact and fellow (ex) South African, has a beautiful "vacation let" apartment which she generously offered to us as our home from home for as long as we needed it. Obviously when she had paying guests we would move out but she invited us to return after her PGs left, for as long as we required.
This is the sort of generosity that we have encountered from everyone here in the USA.
Judy is a successful Yacht broker in Seattle.
Jon Scott Adams
An ex crab fisherman, who we met in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and then later at King Cove. Asked us to look him up when we finally got to USA, which we did. He and his lovely wife Alicia took us on a wonderful trip to Mount Rainier. What glorious scenery. Washington state must be one of the most scenic areas in the world.
Diane Elliott
Yet another WWS contact who has opened her home to us and we will be spending Thanksgiving with her and her husband Ed. They have been so generous in taking us on sight seeing trips in the ares. In the gallery below you will see how beautiful it is here.
Also thanks to Diane Cherry received my first drawing commission! While marking time here waiting for the visa, I have discovered that I have a small talent for drawing animals and I have had fun doing pet portraits for all our hosts/hostesses. Diane posted one of the pictures on Facebook and I was contacted by a stranger who commissioned a pastel of his beloved dog.
American Thanksgiving
Our first experience of an American Thanksgiving was an absolute joy. We were staying with Diane and Ed and were invited to join their friends for the holiday celebration. And what a celebration it was, of fun,family, friends and food. Nineteen of us sat down to a gargantuan meal, all expertly cooked and presented (these American women know how to entertain} followed by desserts like pumpkin pie, pecan pie, cherry pie, blueberry pie, apple pie and huge mousses and decadent, creamy tortes. Absolutely unbelievable. Thank you so much Ken and Jeannie, and Jill and Mitch (master turkey chef....thanks Mitch) and all your friends and family for making it such a special day for us.
,
Here follows a selection of pictures of taken around Seattle. Hope you enjoy them.
Honest Officer....I only had one glass!
