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.

More Prep

Good news! I am healthy. Or at least I have no known life-threatening conditions. Bonus: I am up to date on all of my vaccinations, including Hepatitis B! Who knew? I definitely don't remember getting those, which I suppose is a good thing. Ehh, shots. Yuck.

In other news, these scholarship essays are the worst. I have spent hours trying to summarize my life into two pages or fewer. (I know, that definitely sounds weird, but it's right, I promise. "Less" is technically incorrect.) But I plan on slaying the terrible beast tonight after 8:30 once my sister is home. She is a genius when it comes to these sorts of things, and I can use all the help I can get.

For those of you who have no idea where Aix is, here's a map.

Getting Started

I know this is a little early to start writing about studying abroad, especially considering I was only accepted a few weeks ago, but I thought I could get a start on writing about all the preparation I get to do. I'm very excited, you know. :)

Yesterday, I sent in my formal acceptance of their acceptance of me. It's great! Everybody loves each other. At least, everybody accepts each other. It probably helps that I sent in a $500 check along with my response form. I'll let you know how our relationship develops. I don't bribe just anyone...

Now that all of that is taken care of, I get to go see a doctor next week over Spring Break to get a physical done. I know, you don't have to tell me how jealous you are. I'm sure you would all rather give up your warm, sunny Florida beach vacations to go see a doctor, but not everyone can have it all.

I already have my passport, so I don't need to worry about that. All that's really left to do is to apply for more scholarships! I love writing essays.