German Cut: Vis-a-vis

This is the second in a series of posts chronicling my quest to go out of the country for the first time. My first post regarding this is here: http://gorilla.multiply.com/journal/item/322. It was about my passport. This is about the VISA.


I had to take the long walk from the Language Center to the Embassy. It was hot out. Maybe that explains why I'm now deliriously running a fever. It's either that or the ZONROX I almost swallowed yesterday or the copious amounts of Elmer's Glue I huffed in high school have all come back to haunt me.

Seems there was something wrong with my VISA photo. Seems my passport photo with blue background won't do. The VISA photo had to have a white or light background. I had the photos taken at a photo place in SM Southmall the day before so I wasn't expecting any trouble.


Ma'am Lorie had asked me to personally hand-carry the photos to Ma'am Sherry just to make sure it gets to be included in my papers.
 
The embassy was located a couple of stone's throws away from the Languager Center (think 5 to 10 olympic javelin throws). It was at the 24th floor of one of the buildings in Makati. The place was well lit and had decent airconditioning. The wait was tedious, definitely nothing to write home about, though. I had been waiting for about 30 minutes for counter 4 to open when my number came up over the PA system.
 
His name was Derrick. He was wearing a tight green shirt. From what I can see, it was nippy at his side of the bulletproof glass which separated applicant from Embassy staff. The counter had a one-way drawer which is only open from either side of the glass. It's either open on your side, or his side only. You drop your documents, he pulls a lever to close the drawer and it opens on his side. Viola! Your documents are at his perusal. The drawer openned at my side and he instructed me to drop in my photos.
 
"What's your name?" he asked. I answered. "And your birthday?" I answered again.

After a couple of seconds of fiddling with the keyboard he looks at me and says, "We have no record of your VISA application with us. Are you sure you submitted it already?"

I explained to him that Ma'am Lorie of the Language Center had asked me to personally hand-carry the photos to Ma'am Sherry.

"Why are you coursing your application through the Language Center?" he asked, obviously peeved. "If it's a VISA application it should be coursed directly here, at the Embassy." I could only nod.

"Do you know where the word VISA comes from?" he asked. "It's from the french word vis-à-vis which literally means 'face to face'," he said as one of his eyebrows started to raise. So did one of mine. "It's the government's way of seeing you face-to-face, an agreement or contract of trust that you won't do anything stupid in our country," he opined. "But," I started to butt in, "I'm going to Germany, not France." He paused... "Sabagay." 

He dropped a piece of paper into his side of the drawer then pulled a lever. I took that paper when the drawer opened at my side. "Write your name, please. Sit down for a moment, I'll ask Ma'am Sherry about this."

After a few minutes he returned.

"Is this really you?" he asked, looking intently at my VISA photo. I nodded. "It doesn't look like you." I executed my patented smile. "Ahhh.... It is you."


After writing down some notes he looked at me again with a questioning look. "Aren't you Cody Havoline of the P3 boyband of the 90's?" he asked. I nodded again. "Boy, were you guys good. Walang panama sina David Archuleta at Adam Glambert sa inyo kung noon sila sumikat at nakipagsabayan sa inyo." I could only smile.

"How are the others?" he queried.

"Well, Brad Barbula and Dodong Diesel are now married. Not to each other, though," I said, starting to reminisce the good ole times. "Saver, the wonder dog, our front act, died some time ago. We miss him. Our biggest fan Roger still keeps a blog about our exploits somewhere. And Vince Valvolene, formerly Ryan Rev-X, is still out there, still his old philandering self. He's never been the same since that incident with the Music Mag Source reporter Rafael Anthony Saguid."

"So what have you been up to lately?" he asked as he propped his chin on his hands.

"Well, I'm still doing stuff for the Bipolar Bears and Behind the Crimson Door. The Bipolar Bears will be releasing Nocturnal Journal any time soon." A deafening buzzer jolted both of us back to reality. His supervisor, as it turned out it was Ma'am Sherry, started to approach. After looking at Derrick's monitor she looked at me and smiled. "Oh, it's Sir Cody." She looked at Derrick, "Make sure his papers go through. His visit to our country will definitely be a feather in the cap for international relations," she said, smiled and walked away.

"Can I ask about quarantine? Will we be quarantined when we get there?" I started to ask. "Coz it seems that when I return I'd have to go on self-quarantine for a week." Derrick looked at me then answered, without even batting an eyelash, "C'mon, A(H1N1) is just a simple flu which has you squealing like a pig when your fever reaches 40 degrees. I don't think you have anything to worry about. You filipinos just have a way of being overacting sometimes." He did some encoding for a while then paused.

"Okay sir, I think your papers will be in order some time soon. Just leave these photos with me," he assured. "Thank you," I said, gratefully.   

"Oh, by the way," Derrick said over the PA system as I was walking away. "Do you have an extra photo?" I was fumbling through my pockets as I made my way back to the counter. "My niece is a big fan of yours. Can you sign it for her?"

"How old is your niece?" I asked. "She's 42," he answered. "Actually I'm a bit confused if she's my niece or my aunt or both." Oooookay... Too much information...

I gladly signed one of my extra photos and dropped it in the counter drawer. "Do you have another one? I'd like to have one for my own, bragging rights, you know," he asked coyly.

I fished out another photo and signed it for him. It had a simple message: Derrick, hope our paths will cross again. With Love, Cody Havoline. P3.

I smiled, dropped it into the drawer too and made my way out of the embassy as I saw Derrick neatly tucking away my photo in his wallet.

Good times.
 
I wonder what Germany has in store for me.