Brown Girl in London

8 days to go...

On Monday I received email notification from the British High Commission in Ottawa that my application and supporting documentation was received. From that point it will take 10 days to process, provided everything is straightforward. So that means there's 8 days to go. No phone calls yet, so I think everything must be in order. It's nerve-wracking, this waiting, but like pain there's no choice but to go through it.

We express our anxieties in different ways. I suppose mine is just to dwell, then keep busy, and tell myself that whatever happens something will work out. HD, on the other hand, told me she's going to hold off on buying anymore toiletries until she gets the visa - because she doesn't want to be left holding a bag full of toothpaste and deoderant if she doesn't get through. I think that's funny. I haven't bought anymore toiletries only because I haven't checked the flyers for good deals yet, but I did spend some money today on a new pair of dress pants, a blue top, and a black sweater. (All things that I can use in both London and, more depressingly, at work here.)

Oh, and today's bizarre encounter goes as follows: I'm on the subway on my way to work, listening to my iPod, Juliet's Avalon remixed by Jacques Le Conte to be exact, and this guy sits beside me. Blonde, scruffy, and ugly. He asks me if I'm Indian. I said, "what?" He said, "are you Indian?" I said, "no." He said "where are you from?" I said "Canada." He shakes his head as if he's exasperated, "what's your background?" I said "Trinidad." He said "Trinidad." I said "yes." He said, "I watched this movie last night about this Indian girl who married some guy and her father killed her." I said "hmm." He said, "yeah, he just slit her throat at the end." I said, "hmm, that's bad." He said, "I don't have anything against the Indian culture or anything but man, that's just wrong." Finally, it's my stop and I said, "yeah that's crazy, gotta go."

Are people going to do this to me in England? Most likely, but I probably won't understand what they're saying. Hmm.

posted by RC @ 9:27 PM