Montreal interview Feb. 7

[BexandDavid 0]

I wasn't terribly impressed by Montreal. Everyone I talked to said, "oh, you'll love Montreal, it's so great." I wasn't that thrilled. It probably doesn't help that it was winter and effing cold while we were there, but our hotel seemed to be in a pretty seedy area of downtown. It was dirty, graffiti'd, and full of sex shops and strip clubs. We stayed at the Econo Lodge on Rue Saint-Dominique. It was pretty cheap, only $60 a night, but if you want a good impression of Montreal I don't recommend it. However it was really close to the consulate. Only a 15 minute walk.

We woke early on the 7th. It took about 15 minutes to walk to the embassy from the hotel. The walk had a death march feel to it. We were both pretty nervous. I know I had a few stomach flips. We got to the embassy at about 7:15am and were third in line. We were behind this Iraqi man who said he'd been there since 6am. CRAZY. It was frikken cold. That poor guy was really unlucky though. He should have been first in the door, but he (for some stupid reason) thought he could bring his book bag in with him. It said very clearly in the letter we received from the embassy, NO BAGS or weapons or electronics or food. So he had to leave to find a place to stash it and we got to be first through security. Security is pretty tight there, understandably. We were lucky though, we got the nice security guard. The other guy seemed to be grouchy and was rather rude to the poor Asian people he was checking in. Our guy was this All-American, pretty boy, patriotic military guy. He was like something out of a propaganda magazine. He almost had that glossy look to him. It was a little creepy. I didn't think people like that actually existed. They made us take our coats off and empty every pocket. Then we went through the metal detector and had the wand.

We had to wait in a room for them to escort us up to the 19th floor. I think they brought us up early before they were supposed to, because we went up alone and then about 20 minutes later everyone else came up at the same time. It was so early that the cashier wasn't even there yet, so we had to wait for her to arrive before we could pay the fee. At window 9 we talked to this lady who was behind some thick glass with a slot for passing things through. She took care of our paperwork, then we went over to the cashier (who we had to wait several minutes for), paid, and then went back to window 9. She took our payment reciept and told us to wait to be called in for the interview.

We waited about 20 minutes and they called me to room 7. We went in to this little cubicle-like room with thick glass at one end with a man sitting behind it. Everything about this man was calming and pleasant. I've never seen anyone like him before. He made me feel incredibly relaxed and welcome. He asked us how we met and a couple of other things I can't remember. I wish I could remember all the questions he asked, but I wasn't worried about them to begin with and he was so pleasant that they didn't seem like a big deal. Oh ya, he asked David what he was doing for work now that he didn't have a full time job anymore. He said that he could ask us more questions, but our paperwork was very complete and straightforward so he didn't think it was necessary. It was really worth it to spend as much time as I did making sure everything was in order and organized to be as efficient as possible. He took our Xpresspost envelope, verified the address, and congratulated us. *SQEEEEE* He took a big approved stamp and smacked our application with a resounding thud. Well he didn't actually do that, that's just the way it felt. There was nothing so obvious as that, but he did say congratulations and I would receive the visa in a few business days.

David and I walked out of the 'cubicle' with huge grins on our faces. Several people in the waiting room congratulated us. Since everyone was there for similar reasons they were very sincere in their happiness for us. We were first to leave the consulate and we walked back to the hotel with an overwhelming sense of relief. It was like a big weight was lifted and the sun was appropriately shinning for us.

I wish the same good luck for everyone

[riblet 0]

Congratulations!!! I love Montreal, but it is RIDICULOUS in the winter Much much nicer in the summer.

Thanks for the review, I'm starting to get really excited since Michael will hopefully have one by late this spring or early summer

[CutienPurg 0]

Super news .......Congrats!!!!!!

[Flames9_RN 358]

Congrats

[together2love 0]

Congrats! Movin' on up!

[Augustajim 0]

Congrats!!!

[KoshkaMoshka 0]

Congratulations!!!!!

[MissStacey 1]

That is awesome! Congrats!

[Amanda-Lise 0]

awesome! congrats!

[Autumnchik 6]

Great news! Congrats

[Mephys 2]

Congrats!

[Jersey Girl 2]

Great! Glad to hear you have the visa. Now. The next time you're in one of the most romantic cities in the world, spend the extra $40 bucks for a hotel with a deep tub, fragrant shampoo, and 600-thread count sheets, so you can celebrate in style! In fact, celebrate "Visa Day" every year as an anniversary.

[mozplay 29]

Congrats! And yes.. go visit again in the summer. It really is lovely.

Mo

[Buttons 0]

Congrats !!!!!!!!!!!!

[Peggy 1]

Congrats