3...2..1... Take Off!

I am posting my last blog post for about 36 hours at least as I embark on my 22 straight hours of travel to Chicago, then Paris, then Le Havre. Just as a note to all those who want tips on mentally preparing for this sort of a trip, I recommend thoroughly studying the information concerning your flights and your trains, and sticking to your plan if you're meeting up with someone. That way you at least have peace of mind concerning your journey. Gaahhh! I am so excited! I leave in 24 minutes for the airport! Woot!

Countdown: 1 Day!

Well folks, this is it. I leave for France tomorrow!!!! Today was my last whole day designated to packing (which roughly translates into "somewhat organized violent cramming" of last-minute items) and preparation. I bought snack food for the flight, which includes life savers of course, and decided that I was going to bring along my pillow because then I wouldn't have to buy one in France and I would have it for sleeping on the plane. Other than that, I am settling down to enjoy the last few hours I have left with my husband before we spend 3 and half months apart.

I rated today a 95 because I spent the first half of this day completely elated with excitement, but realized tonight that I was going to have to say good-bye to my husband tomorrow, something I never like doing, so I got a little sad. Plus, there is a little bit of stress and worry about everything going smoothly tomorrow. However, I am so so so excited, it is definitely still a 95.

Countdown: 9 Days

Wow, am I ever getting excited about leaving for France! Even though I am working all this next week, I am only 9 days away from my departure into the exciting unknown! At this point I have packed my suitcase (which I no longer dare to look at for fear of it exploding, or exceeding the weight limit of 50 pounds) and it is ready to go at 49.8 pounds. I have also completely packed my duffel, except my cosmetic bag, and set it aside. My purse is looking ready to go, and is currently housing all of my important papers, a book, umbrella, my laptop, my wallet, some school notebooks, my glasses, and three sticks of chapstick - and probably something else that I am not remembering off the top of my head. I also have decided on the bottom half of my travel outfit... still not sure about what shirt I'm going to wear, but that is ok because it is one more item that I will get to remove from my duffel as opposed to shove-in last second. (= 

Relaxation Before Departure

Right now I am with my family in Florida on Little Gasparilla Island enjoying the bright sun, the ocean, and our local, private pool. Life has been almost nothing but pure relaxation and games. My family ate out at Rum Bay restaurant, the only restaurant on the island and took the picture you see here.

Additionally, I am pleased to announce that David and I bought our round-trip plane tickets yesterday, and we are a mere $2200 poorer. It seems like a lot of money now, but it will be well worth the 10 months in France and Europe. Anyway, I'm excited because now I can start solidifying my plans because I know the exact date and time of my arrival at Charles de Gaulle airport. Woot. Also, I connected with a fellow Miami student who will be studying at Le Havre with me, so we are working out travel arrangements which means I have a traveling buddy! This is important in terms of travel efficiency - finding your way around in an unfamiliar place is always easier with a second set of eyes - but also personal security, because prior to this hook-up I will most literally be unable to go to the bathroom because my luggage would be unattended (unless of course I can shove all of it into the bathroom stall with me). Anyway, things are panning out for my study abroad trip, but I'll keep you closer as my departure nears.... AUGUST 30th!!!

Mon Visa Etudiant

I got it!!! I am officially 100% ready for my study abroad trip, except that I am probably only about 50% packed, and when I say "packed" I mean I am 50% of the way through thinking about what I am going to pack.... oh well. I am just happy to have my visa!

My Visit to the Chicago Consulate

The drive to Chicago was not that bad, but I never ever ever ever ever again want to deal with city traffic like that again. My visit to the third largest city in the US was completely overwhelming when it came to dealing with the traffic - it was unbelievable. Luckily, once we got to our hotel we took advantage of the public transportation and bussed everywhere we needed to go. I successfully got to the consulate and turned in all of my documentation and am now going to patiently await the arrival of my passport with my temporary visa stamp so I am ready to officially enter France.

In addition to businnes, David and I also made some time to sight-see and enjoy the city, including the awesome (and free!!!) Lincoln Park Zoo. I have included a picture here. It was taken just outside the zoo entrance at this pretty pond thing with the skyline in the background. Unfortunately our photographer missed the skyline. Oh well, at least David and I are in it!

Gilman Money and Life

Just FYI, I received my money from the Gilman Institute so it is in my account and ready to help pay for my study abroad expenses, of which there are plenty, I might add. Speaking of which, I am about to go spend even more money this weekend as I travel to Chicago (over 6 hours one way) for my 10 minute appointment with the consulate. What a joy. The cherry on top is most certainly the fact that I have to provide them with a flat-rate express envelope for my documents, which costs $18.30. I personally think that that is entirely ridiculous and much too expensive for a stinking envelope, but I had no choice. The good news is, however, that I officially have all my documents, except an official award letter from Miami that should  be arriving this week, for this meeting so there really is nothing I should be worried about.

Of course, my life is a little hectic because in addition to the actual act of studying abroad I am also preparing to move out of our apartment of 2 1/2 years... We have three weeks left and I just hope everything goes smoothly and remains as organized as it has up to this point. Wish me luck!

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.

Scholarship Update

I just found out that I was nominated by my professors for another departmental scholarship this year. I was really excited, but I have to admit that I was secretly hoping it would be bigger than the $200 I received the previous year. Was it ever. I got $1552.51 which I get to apply to my Miami Bursar bill next semester! That will certainly help with some of the expenses. I also have an application pending for the Gilman Scholarship, which I should hear back about in the next three weeks. I am not sure that I will qualify due to my lack of "diversity" but there is no harm in hoping... especially if it means more financial aid while I am abroad! Now I'm off to go research those expensive things called plane tickets...

Through the Rush of School

In three days I will be totally done with this semester of school, meaning I will have a lot more time for fun stuff like study abroad preparation (= After a ridiculous mix-up on the part of my ISEP coordinator (he gave me two sets of the wrong paperwork, then one of them incorrectly over again, I have had to personally kill a tree to submit all of my official ISEP acceptance stuff. When I have a yard I'll plant one to make up for it. Today I am going to send out my CampusFrance application stuff.... I am slightly nervous because it is just mega-confusing and I hope everything is there. And this is just the beginning! Later I will have to show-up in person to Chicago's Consulate with a million papers, forms, and documents to actually receive my temporary  visa which will have to be officially validated once I arrive in France. Woot.

I'm Accepted!!!!!!

I found out today that I got accepted into my study abroad program! Although I did not get accepted into my first choice (I have to admit I kind of doubted I would with it's super-difficult-to-get-in reputation) I am thrilled to say that I will most certainly be spending next semester at l'Université du Havre, in Le Havre, France. I am super excited. Unfortunately right now I have a midterm that I almost forgot about to study for so I cannot post details since I haven't had the time to research them yet! However, as soon as I know some of the explicit intracacies of my journey ahead I will blog them here. (= Check out the school with the link here: Université du Havre. à bientôt mes amis!

The Gilman Scholarship Update

It is official, as of today every part of my Gilman scholarship, including the transcripts, has been received so there is absolutely nothing left for me to do but wait and see if I get it! So get exchited for my next entry with a title "Gilman -Anything-" because it just might mean I have some more financial help for my study abroad... Other than that I am still kind of stagnate for another month until I hear from ISEP about my application and where I got accepted. Still hoping it is l'Université Paul Valéry en Montpellier... wish me luck!

Passport

Yay to the world! My passport came in the mail today! And you are never going to believe this but my picture isn't half bad; that's a first. Now I am off to make a photo-copy of the identification page to send in to CampusFrance to modify the number of my "piece of identification"... woohoo. But at least I have my passport, that is a big checkmark on the massive to-do list.

The Gilman Quest, Continued

Well my study abroad advisor got back to me about my essays; he said they were great and needed no changes at all, so that is good news. Tomorrow I will be dropping them off to be officially submitted, and I probably will not hear back about my application until a few months from now. But I'll let you know. Today I'm mostly doing normal homework so there is no exciting study abroad update for now.