I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition

And it wasn't what I got, either. Yes, it's official, the Yanks have just been misguided enough to issue me with a US visa. It was rather anticlimactic in the end, to be honest. I got up at 4.15 a.m. to go to Tokyo, so I'm going to write this now before the veil of sleep wipes everything away.

In retrospect it was a good thing that I got there early (8:24 arrival at Tokyo station) because by the time I had got myself to the Embassy, there was quite a large queue outside, around 80 or so people waiting to get in. There were, as advertised, airport-style security measures in place so I had to go through a couple of metal detectors and bag searches to get into the place. The Embassy itself is enormous, much bigger than I had thought it would be. Sorry, no pictures - they don't take kindly to people standing around photographing everything.

Anyway, after waiting for 40 mins or so outside, I got through the checkpoints and was shown into a room with about 80 or so other people all waiting for NIV Interviews (Non-Immigrant Visa). What would happen was that people would be called four or five at a time to a first window to check who they were and then to press their left and right index fingers onto a laser fingerprinting machine, I guess to see if they were wanted in connection with anything. I was called at 10:15 on the dot, as anticipated. Bloke behind the counter was polite if not effusive...

Bloke: So, you're going to New York, huh?
Me: Yes, that's right.
Bloke: Ever been there before?
Me: Yes, yes I have actually.
Bloke: My family's from Queens actually, New York Irish, my father's from Dublin.
Me: Oh really? They're both fine cities

and then I had my fingerprints taken. I was told at this point I would have to wait about 10-15 mins for my interview. In the event it was nearer 45.

The interview itself was not the sit-down one on one affair I had imagined it would be - rather, one approached the window, much in the style of a post office. The general feel of the place was not far removed from a benefits office in the UK, or at least it would have been if not for the odd hulking uniformed US marine walking by occasionally.

Anyway, after a rather boring and unpleasant 45 mins (it was pretty hot in Tokyo today, and you're not allowed to bring food or drink into the embassy), I was called over to the window and my interview began. It wasn't very long, so I'll reproduce it below:

Me: Hey, how's it going.
Bloke: Hi, how are ya. So, why did you choose Columbia?
Me: Well, a variety of reasons, but mainly because it was the only place that accepted me.
Bloke: (laughs) yeah? What are you going to study?
Me: Um, East Asian Studies, basically Japanese literature and history.
Bloke: You studied any Japanese before?
Me: Yes, I did my BA at Oxford in Japanese, and I'll have been doing it for 8 years now in September.
Bloke: So you won't be taking any language classes then?
Me: Actually, I probably will, just to get some cheap credits.
Bloke: (laughs) You know, I did my BA in Japanese at Columbia myself.
Me: Really? When did you graduate?
Bloke: 1997.
Me: Right, cos there's a Columbia grad in Japanese in Miyagi right now, but you wouldn't know him, I guess.
Bloke: Sure. Anyway, Mr. Tuck, this all seems fine, your documents are all in order, and you should have your visa in about a week. Thanks and good luck!
Me: Thanks!

And that was it. No grilling, not even any hard questions that I might reasonably have been expected to answer, like "What are you going to do when you finish your studies?" (you're supposed to answer "go home and not take any American jobs"). Didn't give me enough rope to hang myself, really...I think the only way I could have screwed it up would have been to say something monumentally hare-brained like

Bloke: Hi, how are ya. So, why did you choose Columbia?
Me: Well, after 9/11, I figure New York is the last place they'll be expecting another large-scale terrorist attack, so it seems like a good place to get started....ah, now that was one of the things Abdul told me not to say, damn it!

I guess having the documents in order and the I-20 from a university like Columbia sealed the deal before I got started, really. Given the amount of care I had take over the app, I was rather surprised to see people filling out forms on the day or getting their photo taken at the booth in the embassy grounds...surely something like this is important enough to spend a little time getting right.

So, anyway, I got away from the Embassy around ten past eleven, and headed over to Shinjuku to meet Nick for lunch. Was starving by this point, had had a substantial breakfast around 5 but was in dire need of more. We dined at the Subway right by the Keio Plaza, so beloved of misbehaving JETs everywhere. Nick had not one, not two but three job interviews that afternoon...I trust they went well. Lunch over, I went back across town to Otemachi, where an old college acquaintance Natasha now works, for Dow Jones Newswires. She took a late lunch to catch up - had been almost exactly three years since I'd last seen her. Second lunch was a cup of clam chowder...very American, and very good too. Tokyo may be hot, overcrowded and ridiculously expensive but it does have its compensations.

Got back to Sendai about 5:30 in the end, absolutely knackered and still am. Off into Sendai to celebrate Curtis's birthday tonight, but I think I'll probably fall asleep before we can finish the nomihodai.

Signing off for today...