Guess I'm Not Going to India After All

Hello everyone,

A few months ago I shared the news that I would be traveling to Chennai, India for two months to work on a research project. It seems like that is not going to happen now. I was originally scheduled to leave at the end of January and come home next week. As I am still in Nebraska, this schedule has been thrown out the door. My professors continue to hope that we will be able to make a trip before the end of the semester in May.

The issue, I still don't have a visa. The original applications were done in December and new applications done at the beginning of February. As of February 27, I've been waiting for approval of the government of India. I got an email today from the outsourcing company where I had to send my application. They will be mailing my passport back to me because my visa application is still being processed and "it is likely to take more time to obtain clearance". They want to make sure I have it in case of other travel.

If my application is ever ok-ed, I will need to send my passport back and wait for them to return it, adding another week of processing time. As there are approximately six weeks left in the semester, travel to India seems doubtful. It's unfortunate I got five vaccines and have malaria medication sitting on my living room floor. What a waste. Well, what can you do?