Road Trip from Madison to Gulf Shore (Alabama)

Day 6th in America, boyfriend took me on my first American Road Trip experience. He took me to Gulf Shore (8 hours away) before going to New Orleans (15 hours away or 4 hours away from Gulf Shore).

Get our coffee for the trip.

The owner/Barista found out that I am from Indonesia and Indonesia has a big variety of Coffee. Then out of no where, he gave us this huge bulk of Sumatran Coffee. He seemed happy that boyfriend introduced us and that I ordered cold drip.

He said he wanted to introduce me to his childhood friends. They have been friends since they were toddler up till now fully grown adults, yet they still talk passionately about games (nerds huh!?lol)

Posing in Rest Area

Their Rest Area provided us with tour booklets

8 hours was a long drive. I thought we were going to pass by an area that resembles the setting for any creepy movie like Chainsaw Massacre, Wrong Turn, and/or Psycho, Motel or something. Well, i really had no idea on what kind of roads we would have to pass through. But apparently we stayed mostly on the highway.  

We stopped by in Montgomery,AL for dinner in Japanese restaurant. Arrrrrgh it was horrible experience. I asked the waitress if they have Ramen and the waitress flipping out, rudely put the menu on my table and said "This is Japanese restaurant!Only Japanese food, not Korean!". Ramen is Japanese food! Then I found out she was actually Korean American. She thought I was asking for Ramyeon. But hey, there is no need to get upset with me! At the end of our dinner, they gave us fortune cookie. Yeah right Fortune cookie is Japanese food? And you don't know if Ramen is Japanese food? Meh!!! 

There will be a lot of changes in your life.

I was so upset that I barely eat. We decided to move to lively Mexican restaurant. We ordered Guacamole dips and chips. The waitress and the cashier was a lot nicer in this one. The Guacamole was reallly reallllllly good. 

Boyfriend's parents has several condos for rent near Gulf Shore beach. The condo was neat and pretty clean. I love the view to the beach. It has it's own swimming pool. The sands is really really white, even whiter than the so-called Pasir Putih. It was a nice spot. We were able to spot Sunset from our balcony.

First Selfie in Gulf Shore

Sunset Light

White Sands

Boyfriend's friends come over and stayed with us. They took me to Irish Pub/Restaurant for dinner, the name of the restaurant is McGuire's Irish Pub located in Pensacola, Florida.
Website
I love their decoration. Do you know the old tale about pile of money on the end of a rainbow? I think the Irish invented that saying. The color was dominated with green and they hang dollar notes on the ceiling in almost every rooms. It is like Leprechaun's luck or something.

Moneeeeeeey!!! Dollllllaarrrrr!! Gimme!!!

What to eat????

My money that we were planning to hang on the ceiling.

Good Luck Charm

The light was pretty dim there. So, I was not able to take picture of foods nicely. But the food was really good. I ordered a bean soup for only $0.18 or around Rp.2.500 yes that cheap. They said they never change the price ever since they open the restaurant. Whaatttt!!!
The Calamari that I ordered comes in a huge portion that we had to box the rest (almost or more than half of the portion) and took it home.

The Ultimate Irish Wake that will send you down memory lane but not on so-smooth ride.

Complementary Bread which was moist and fluffy on the inside but crunchy and buttered with sweets on the outside.

$0.18 bean soup with granny crackers, a comfort food for any bad day.

The next day, we had to go back to Alabama, Guntersville to stay in the cabin house there for several days. They took me to a very authentic Mexican restaurant. It was a cute and small restaurant, kinda like Bakso/Mie Ayam small restaurant with only 5 tables available. We tried the salsa dips and chips this time and I absolutely love it. The food that I miss the most now that I am back in Indonesia is the dips and chips from all those Mexican Restaurants.

Spicy Shrimp with Bean and Buttered Rice

On the way home, we stopped by in Montgomery to eat Indian food (finally a decent Indian food, compare to the one I tried in Huntsville and Madison) and to watch Shahrukh's new movie Happy New Year. There is no way I would miss his new movie. It was 3 hours drive from Madison or 4 hours from Guntersville maybe. So, we decided to watch it on our way home.

The huge Samosas for appetizer, yup not even main course yet.

It was a memorable road trip. We ate good foods, met good friends, went to great places, bought good stuffs. We had so many fun times. I would do it again with no hesitation.

Getting US Tourist VISA for Indonesian (Part 2)

Read The First Part: Here
I thought US Embassy will probably need my Bank statement, copy of KK, copy of Graduation Certificate (Ijazah), Employment record, Recommendation Letter, Invitation Letter, Invitee's Bank Record, etc.

For months I have been trying to gather all of that before actually applying for it on their website.
I cried a lot during the last week of the preparation. Things didn't really go the way I wanted it and I was on my PMS.

1. I tried to get bank statement from BNI. But they said I have to brink my saving book which I already lose it a long time ago. Plus I just found out that my BNI atm card will be expired soon. They said the only way to get the new card is to go to the bank where I issued my check which was in Jatinangor when I was a college student. I get cranky because I have no other option. So I have to move all my not-so-much money to my BCA account which I usually used for monthly/daily expenses. Now, I have to be really careful with my money. Because I put both my expenses and saving money on the same account.

2. I went to BCA in Senayan City. The teller was giving me the wrong information about the Bank Log Book (rekening koran). They said they could help with my Bank Statement Letter, but to get the Log Book, I have to go to the bank where I issued it which is all the way in Pancoran and I am working in Senayan.
So I go all the way there to find out that it can actually be done in any bank as long as I bring the book. What the.....

3. Applying on the website was not such a big deal. Their website is pretty user friendly. It has so many words, but it was actually important information for first timer like me. I print out the deposit slip.

4. And I went to Permata Bank:
Head Office
PermataBank, WTC II
Jl. Jend. Sudirman Kav. 29 - 31, Jakarta 12920
Telepon: +62 21 523 7788
Fax: +62 21 523 7253

PermataTel
500111 dari fixed line
63399 dari mobile phone

The process went smoothly. Till later that day when i couldn't put the 8 digits number on the interview schedule website even after 7 hours. I tried to call their Customer Service (bad service, btw). They keep telling me what to do and I already did. Then somehow they hang up on me. Then I tried to call again. I called like 3 times with no obvious result. Then I tried to call the bank where I went to. None answer the call. So I decided to go back to the bank. But traffic was so bad on friday. I spent 1 hour on the car for nothing because when I reached the bank, it was already close. So I went back to the office with the same taxi. I paid like 100.000 rupiah for taxi and it was for nothing. I reached my patient peak, I cried on the taxi while calling boyfriend on Line Chat. He felt sorry for me.
I decided to go back to the Bank on Monday. They told me there is nothing they could do. So, they only gave me the email to the US Embassy. I did email them and the problem was fixed immediately. Should have done that on Friday. But the Customer Service told me to visit the Bank again. Meh, next time just visit Standard Chartered. Hope they will give better service.

5. Scheduling my interview to Friday that week. I got 7am. The US Embassy website told me that if my appointment is around 7am, then I would be the first batch. I should come between 6.30am-8.30am. If I was late, I will have to move my schedule.

6. On the day of the interview, I woke up early around 5am. I went there around 6am and I reached the Embassy around 6.20am. My oh my, the line is already long. There were like 50 people ahead of me. I waited for 30 minutes till I reached the gate. I didn't bring cellphone, charger, mp3, or any electronic device. So it didn't take long for me on the gate. I went inside and an Indonesian officer from the Embassy helped me out with my file. He asked for my 5X5 Photo, Bank Slip, and DS 160 Confirmation paper. I only have to wait for a while there till someone in the locket check my files (Passport, DS 160 Confirmation, and Bank Slip) Move along to another line, waiting before they let us in to the consular office for 15 minutes. In the consular office, we all have to get our finger print scanned. It was sooo crowded inside. I got group number 15. After the finger print scanned, I went to wait for the interview with the consular.

7. I saw 5 lockets and only 4 open. There was this lady on locket number 6. She made me nervous. Her line was soooo long. She took longer time examining all the applicants and asking them questions. I was hoping I would get they guy from locket number 8. He was very quick in examining the applicant. I thought my chance is good with him. But then the guy from locket 9 called out group number 15. I was second on the line. There were like 7 people in my group. The guy who was going to interview me looks really tall. I was starting to get nervous. I tried to calm myself. Here goes the interview;
Consular: What's your name?
Me: Suci Park
Consular: Why is your reason to visit US?
Me: for Holiday and visiting my Boyfriend and his family.
Consular: How long have you been dating?
Me: 2 years.
Consular: How do you met him?
Me: Starbucks. Eh are you asking like how do I met him like from where? or how?
Consular: How?
Me: Online
Consular: So he came to visit you here?
Me: He was already here.
Consular: He is still here? How often does he came here?
Me: Pretty often, like every 3 to 6 months, he has family here.
Consular: Oh I see. Are you going to marry him?
Me: Not yet. We haven't talk about it yet.
Consular: What is your occupation?
Me: I work for bla bla bla company.
Consular: What is that?
Me: Here I have the letter.
Consular was checking on my Recommendation Letter from the office.
Consular: Why only spending 2 weeks when you got 3 months there in the US?
Me: I can't. The office only gave me 2 weeks.
Consular: Okay. Your Visa is approved. However, if you plan to get married. You have to get a different Visa.
Me: Sure. Thank you.

8. And It was done. The interview took only 5 minutes and maybe less. This guy did ask a lot of question, mostly about my boyfriend. Because BF pay for my trip and I think the Embassy worried that I would come to the States, marry him and stay there. But I have always been honest with him. He saw it. So he gave me the Visa. 

I will be going to the States next October. I am excited for my first trip to America. Especially because I am going to spend Halloween there. I love Halloween. I like dressing up and put on costume. I so want to do that trick or treating. But I am probably too old for that. So, I am just gonna knock on Bf's house and asking for lots of candies and chocolates. Hey, I am a zombie who came all the way from Indonesia. Give me more candies and chocolates!!!

Suci Park

Getting US Tourist VISA for Indonesian

Boyfriend has been asking me to apply for Visa since last year and even more. But I got so discouraged by so many news and gossips about how hard it was to get Visa Approval for Indonesian citizen. It took me a year to finally muster up my courage and apply for Tourist VISA. It wasn't like I don't wanna go to The States. I just think it would be too much trouble for me to get the Visa. What if they reject me, what if my name is too 'Islamic' to get Visa, what if the amount of money I have in Bank won't be enough for them, and so many other what if-s.

I am not very good at saving money, but for this Visa, I save money for almost a year. So I will have enough money on my bank account. As I heard that the Embassy will check how much money do I have. I feel like I will be judge for my bad habit of not saving money and spending money for shopping.

Then his parents invited me to come. They even send me a letter to my email. So, I decided to get it done. Also, I wanna see boyfriend's baby niece while she is still small. I don't wanna miss out too much of her growing up.

I hope, this can be helpful for those looking for Visa Information. Most of the information here, you can find on their website. This will be based on my first time experience which was 2 weeks ago.

1. Check Jakarta US Embassy to find out what kind of Visa do you need. Here
     You can check it on Immigrant Visa or Non-Immigrant Visa. If you wanna go to US for holiday, then your visa is B1/B2.

2. Pay for your Visa in Permata bank or Standard Chartered Bank. Only on those 2 banks.
Here is the information for your Visa payment. Follow the step carefully and make sure you keep the slip from the bank. You are gonna use it again to make an interview schedule with US Consular.

Print out this slip first, because Bank will only proceed your Visa payment if you bring this slip. Make sure to pay attention to the date shown above. You have to transfer the payment before the expiration date. You can print it from Here
Pick the correct deposit slip. if you are going to pay for tourist visa, then you may click on "Deposit Slip - $160 MRV Fee"

3. Visit the nearest Permata or StanChart Bank. Told the security that you are going to pay for US Visa. They will give you a bank form for you to fill out. Keep the slip given by the bank. You will use the code to get the interview schedule. There will be 10 digits of code, for example: US12345678. Only insert the number on the interview website which is 12345678

4. Fill out DS 160 form Here
Pay close attention to all of the question and make sure you answer correctly. Save your work often and you can always come back to work on it.

Important: Before You Start

1. Learn about Types of Visas
2. List of Documents and Information you will need
3. Browser Requirements (Mozilla and Google Chrome work best for this)
4. How to complete the application

5. Schedule your appointment Here
You have to sign up first then you can put the 8 digits from your bank slip on the website. Pay attention to the time schedule and what time you have to come there.

Those will be the steps you need to do. But I will post my exact experience on another post. Be sure to check back. Good luck and Have a safe trip.

Second Part (The Most Exciting One) VISA Part 2

Eat, Love, and Travel

Suci Park