With only a few days left until I arrive in France the excitement I feel, along with the bundle of fear that has been sitting in the pit of my stomach, is growing. Part of the nervousness that I feel comes from the fact that I will be away from my mom, my college friends that I finally feel comfortable around, and my long-term, long-distance boyfriend of nearly three years. I'm used to being away from my boyfriend, but California to France is a much larger distance than the one spanning from California to Texas. I'm worried about how the relationship will play out when we are half a world away from each other. Not only am I concerned about leaving my home and comfort zone, but I am also so incredibly nervous (and excited!) about actually having to use my French. Will I be able to communicate with my new family beyond just a simple "Je m'appelle Brittany"? I would hope so; after all using and improving my French is a big reason for why I'm going abroad.
Some advice I would like to give out to those going through the visa process is get everything done as early as possible and double check that you have everything. Make copies of all your documents before you send them off. And don't be afraid to ask questions and get help from the advisors from both your current school and the one you'll be studying abroad at.
My visa process went smoothly at first, as the CampusFrance online application was simple and quick to fill out. I ran into issues when they lost the Acceptance Letter from IAU that I had mailed to them. First I received a call from a French woman working at the institution asking that I call her back. Her heavy French accent made her English hard to decipher. She asked me to resend my "American" Acceptance Letter. But did that mean my home university in America or the American university I would be studying at in France? I thought I had only needed to send one letter (for those of you going through this process the letter from IAU is all you need). After trying unsuccessfully to figure out which university she was talking about, another woman got on the phone and told me it had been a mistake, they had it all figured out, and I should be receiving the confirmation email soon.
I wish that had been the end of it, but apparently the problem hadn't been fixed, as I realized once a few days had gone by and had still not received confirmation that my application had been processed. I called back, but was met with no answer and no option to leave a voicemail. After a day or so of this, and one consulate rescheduling later, I sent them a fax to their emergency number demanding my confirmation ASAP. Finally I got a response. I re-faxed my Acceptance Letter and within a few minutes I finally had my confirmation! I was ready to go to the consulate.
The consulate, despite the obnoxious drive to Houston (sorry Houstonians, but as an Austinite I've never been much of a fan), was very easy in comparison. Everything went smoothly, with only a short (though admittedly stressful because of my neurotic tendencies) trip to the post office, where I changed my visa envelope to express shipping so that I would have tracking number if my passport got lost in the mail. Within a week, I had my passport back at home complete with a shiny new visa. I was officially able to travel: how exciting!
Now the only things I have left to do are to finish up my packing. Makeup, a few of my favorite art supplies, enough clothes to last me a few weeks: check, check, check! I guess we'll see how well I've done once I start my life abroad.
In less than 72 hours I will be in France, where I will be staying with a family I have never met, for four months. And it is finally starting to feel real. There is no turning back now! I can't wait!
This is Brittany signing out.
The next time I write I'll be living in Aix-en-Provence, France.
Some advice I would like to give out to those going through the visa process is get everything done as early as possible and double check that you have everything. Make copies of all your documents before you send them off. And don't be afraid to ask questions and get help from the advisors from both your current school and the one you'll be studying abroad at.
My visa process went smoothly at first, as the CampusFrance online application was simple and quick to fill out. I ran into issues when they lost the Acceptance Letter from IAU that I had mailed to them. First I received a call from a French woman working at the institution asking that I call her back. Her heavy French accent made her English hard to decipher. She asked me to resend my "American" Acceptance Letter. But did that mean my home university in America or the American university I would be studying at in France? I thought I had only needed to send one letter (for those of you going through this process the letter from IAU is all you need). After trying unsuccessfully to figure out which university she was talking about, another woman got on the phone and told me it had been a mistake, they had it all figured out, and I should be receiving the confirmation email soon.
I wish that had been the end of it, but apparently the problem hadn't been fixed, as I realized once a few days had gone by and had still not received confirmation that my application had been processed. I called back, but was met with no answer and no option to leave a voicemail. After a day or so of this, and one consulate rescheduling later, I sent them a fax to their emergency number demanding my confirmation ASAP. Finally I got a response. I re-faxed my Acceptance Letter and within a few minutes I finally had my confirmation! I was ready to go to the consulate.
The consulate, despite the obnoxious drive to Houston (sorry Houstonians, but as an Austinite I've never been much of a fan), was very easy in comparison. Everything went smoothly, with only a short (though admittedly stressful because of my neurotic tendencies) trip to the post office, where I changed my visa envelope to express shipping so that I would have tracking number if my passport got lost in the mail. Within a week, I had my passport back at home complete with a shiny new visa. I was officially able to travel: how exciting!
Now the only things I have left to do are to finish up my packing. Makeup, a few of my favorite art supplies, enough clothes to last me a few weeks: check, check, check! I guess we'll see how well I've done once I start my life abroad.
In less than 72 hours I will be in France, where I will be staying with a family I have never met, for four months. And it is finally starting to feel real. There is no turning back now! I can't wait!
This is Brittany signing out.
The next time I write I'll be living in Aix-en-Provence, France.