Avignon and some updates

Okay, so. We're here. In Avignon. In France. It's 93 degrees, we have nowhere to go, and I miss home a lot right now.

Really, Avignon isn't all it's cracked up to be. I mean, it has the Palais des Papes (the Pope's Palace) and a bridge. But... that's it. And the Pope's Palace is kind of a bust. It's 15 Euros just to get in, and then once you're in, all you do is stare at bare walls while a headset dictates very specific architectural terms without giving any history of the place. So disappointing! There's nothing inside. Oh! Except there is a weird artist who decided to have some sort of exhibition in the Palais. Seriously, it's weird. On one of the statues, the face had broken off, and I guess this artist decided that it would be a good idea to strap a deer skull on instead. Not a good idea, my friend. Not at all.

So that's what we've done today! We drove from Lyon to Avignon in our Passat without any mishaps along the way, which we were all grateful for. And all along the drive we kept seeing the coolest crops. We saw pear tree farms and a couple different types of sunflower farms, vineyards, apple orchards, peaches, and a whole bunch of stuff. It was really neat! We're in Provence now, so everything is really picturesque as you drive.

As far as my financial aid goes, I'm still waiting on IU to process the check that IPFW sent to them. Once that's done, all of that should be taken care of. And as far as legal concerns go, I'm in the country now, so I have my visa and all of the required papers. I just have to make sure I check in with Immigrations with the rest of my classmates.

I'm going to go down to the pool and swim off some of this heat. It's so hot!

Visa: Complete

Well, after a little misadventure concerning the whereabouts of my undelivered visa, I finally have it! So now I have all of the legal issues taken care of, which is a really big relief.

Now, I just need to make sure that the office of Financial Aid has been doing its job, which actually, has been somewhat of an issue. But other than that, I've really only got the typical travel stuff to worry about: packing, money, waiting, etc.

Visa update

So, a week after having gone to Chicago to get my visa processed (the processing time for visas is 3 weeks), I received a notice in our mailbox that because no one was home, the mail carrier could not deliver an Express mail parcel addressed to me. At 8am.

First, what mail carrier delivers mail at 8am? Answer: Ours. Apparently.

Second, people were home. I was gone running at the Y at that point, though, but it seems that our deliverer did not want to give my visa Deliverance. Well, maybe just deliverance. But perhaps no one was awake? I do not know.

Third, I'm not sure now if he will try to deliver it again, or if I have to go downtown to pick it up from the main post office branch. I wish I knew! I'll keep you updated.

Fourth, did you catch that? One week--and the processing time is three weeks. I really hope nothing went wrong!

EDIT: For those of you that don't know what the difference between a passport and a visa is, I'll explain. A passport is a document you get from your country of origin (for me, the US) that allows you entrance back into the country after you have left it. In some instances, it also allows you access to friendly countries (i.e. Canada and Mexico before the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004--which really didn't take effect until 2009 anyway).

A visa, on the other hand, allows entrance to the country you will be visiting. For short visits--less than 90 days for France--one does not need a visa. For anything longer than that, it's probably a good idea to get a visa because most countries these days aren't too happy to have squatters on their territory.

There are a few different types of visas for France. The type of visa I will be getting is a long-stay visa; I will be there for somewhere around 10 months, although I think it will actually be closer to 11. For any normal, non-millionaire, this is a long period of time. Naturally, it makes sense that my visa is the long-stay kind.

Any questions?

Visa time!

Well, I've heard back from all of my scholarships now, and today I'm heading up to La Porte, Indiana, to visit my aunt there. My mom and I are staying with her tonight before we head up to Chicago tomorrow. I've got my visa appointment at the French consulate at 11:20am. Hopefully everything goes smoothly!

I can't believe how quickly everything has been happening lately. I have a month and a half before I leave for France! One of my friends just went to London this past weekend, and helping her get ready has really been putting things into perspective for me. Packing for 10 months is going to be killer. Seriously. No idea how I'm going to handle that.

More Scholarships and Travel Plans

Well, no one ever said this would be easy. I received an email today informing me that I need to schedule my plane trip to France soon, and they attached a form that I need to fill out that will tell them whether or not I'll be there by the required date. One problem: they still haven't told us when they need us there. So I don't know if I'll be able to be there by the required date. Thinking I had missed something, I called the Overseas Study office and asked if they could tell me the exact dates, and all I got was someone's voicemail when they transferred me to someone who would actually know. Great. Now all I can do is wait.

I'm no good at waiting.

I'm currently filling out my last scholarship application. It feels liberating, but at the same time, I know I have a lot of work to do still. So until I can get this done completely (6000 characters--including spaces--to go!), I'm still swamped with work. Ugh! It will all be worth it in six months, though.