Today I went to the police station to apply for a passport; it took a bit over half an hour to queue! I guess it’s not much, but I kept glancing at the clock because the office was closing at 4:15. I wonder if they would’ve kicked everyone out at 4:15…

I had to ask what to fill in the field “church or population register”. Was I supposed to answer either “church” or “register”, was I supposed to specify my religious affiliation (Evangelical Lutheran — it’s by birth and I haven’t bothered to leave/resign/whatever) or write down the specific church area I belong to. The clerk wrote down the church area.

When it was time to pay, the clerk swiped my card in the machine — nothing. Swiped again and again and again — nothing. My heart was racing by now and I chuckled nervously. When they ‘ho-hummed’ I was afraid there was something seriously wrong but luckily it eventually worked. Phew. I laughed and said “I wonder how that card will work abroad…” I’ll have to look into that. Darn chip cards.

The passport will be ready in about two weeks (exciting!). I hope my picture won’t be as bad as it was on the actual photo. And I hope I won’t have an extra mole on my face! (There’s a black dot in my student ID photo.)

Next step is a Visa (or ETA) I guess… (Jeez, Tourist Visa costs a lot! ETA it is.) Why does everything have to be so ambiguous? “The ETAs available on this site are not for: (…) students.” I am a student but I’m not going there to study so I hope I’m eligible. Or maybe it’s not available for students because students are unreliable and broke? :razz:

For the whole story, see category Tourist of Oz.