CampusFrance Attestation

Wow I am extremely relieved because I got my CampusFrance attestation e-mail about 5 minutes ago, meaning I am officially ready for my consulate appointment. I set this for Monday the 11th of July.... *deep breath* I can't wait to finally have my student visa.... Other than that it is just a phenomenally beautiful day here in Oxford, Ohio so when David gets back from playing golf we might just have to go and play some tennis.

I can see!

Hey, just an update that has very little to do with study abroad except that it is going to help me enjoy my experience; I just got contacts so I can see super well and I don't need to wear glasses. I just thought that everyone should know this fantastic news.

Today gets a fantastic 98 because the weather is perfect, I don't have to work, and I am excited about my contacts. The only reason it is not perfect is that I can't figure out exactly what else to get David for his birthday, which is in 10 days.

Les Lettres d'Acceptation

Well, today is a hallmark day in my study abroad experience as I received both of the acceptance letters from my upcoming host institutions. Although, I will most likely wait until I receive the hard copies in the mail to schedule my Chicago consulate appointment, as I want to make sure that my documentation is accepted. However, I am still extremely contented to have received these electronic forms today. The only thing that is left irking me is that Richard Menard, my study abroad advisor, still has not responded to my inquisitory e-mail regarding a paperwork question... grrr.

Emotional Contentedness Meter

As an experiment during my time abroad, I plan on cataloging my duly named "emotional contentedness" on a scale of 1 to 100. Each day that I fill out a blog post, I will try to insert the meter you see below which displays my current level of emotional satisfaction. My goal is to keep you, my readers, in tune with my feelings, but also to be able to create a chart at the end of these ten months abroad which shows my average emotional contentedness per week throughout the duration of my study aborad experience. I am told to expect a high, then a super low (as I become homesick or fed up with the new culture, then I will level out again. Finally, upon my return to the United States I will have reverse culture shock which will start very briefly with excitement for being home, followed by aggravation, caused by my inability to "fit in", or my want of friends left behind. Anyway, we'll see if all goes according to plan. Also, I added my parents and my husband to my "e-mailed when I post list", so they should all be reading this post.

Today I marked my EC as 90, because I am excited about study abroad, I got a good amount of apartment packing done, and I feel like my applications and general paperwork are in fairly good array. A little below perfect because I am sweltering hot yet the sun hasn't shown in days and I am waiting to hear back from my advisor about the status of some documents - so I suppose there is a little anxiety.

Faire les Valises?

Who needs boring old suitcases for travel? Ok... everyone, but why not spice it up with a flashy carry-on? I am pleased to present my newest piece of "luggage" my vera bradley duffel. This item is most literally going to be my life saver. It is pictured here (I just think it is so beautiful) It is the "Watercolor" variety.

Because I am going for such an extended amount of time, I realized it would be crucial to have a large enough yet small enough travel bag to hold the necessities for a weekend or a night of travel, so I didn't need to tote around my basically massive suitcase every time I went anywhere. For help with your own packing, check out my page entitled Packing Tips.

CampusFrance Problems

I had sent out my acceptance letters and my money order nearly a full four weeks ago, expecting that by now I would be receiving my letter/confirmation thing from them so that I could schedule my appointment with the Chicago consulate. I find out yesterday that my "acceptance letters" were not what they were looking for because they were from ISEP, not my host institutions. Well that's just great - I haven't received anything from either Le Havre or Savoie, and I haven't even been contacted by Savoie! Within a month I have to have scheduled and had my consulate appointment so that I have the 6-week buffer that they recommend for me to get my student visa in the mail. Luckily the CampusFrance institution said they would make an exception for me on their end because I have a split study abroad placement. However, it is imperative that I get those acceptance letters pronto so I can get everything else I need done, done.

If you have questions about either CampusFrance, or preparing student visas in general, check out my blog page, Student Visas.

Gilman Scholarship

Well guys, I did it. I received a Gilman Scholarship! Thanks for your prayers because they most certainly were answered. I just sent in my award documentation and filled out the online documentation  which will hopefully be processed without any mistakes so that I can soon receive the financial aid. If you are interested in applying for the Gilman Scholarship, or have received a Gilman scholarship and are interested in learning more about this fantastic award and what you have to do to submit your documentation, make sure to check out the page under my "Useful Info" tab entitiled The Gilman Scholarship. Good luck to you, as this certainly made all the difference in my study abroad career.