Ok... I've Been Slacking

Ok... I've been slacking. But, between orientation, this crazy four hour french workshop everyday and the me being a freshman in freakout/socialize-with-everyone-as-much-as-possible-to-not-be-a-hermit mode it's been hard to update.

Sorry.

Posts soon! Maybe I can make some time tomorrow.

France! France! France!

(sorry this is all kinda late, was written in two different times about a day ago, edited tonight)

I am currently sitting at the gate to Reykjavik looking for wifi. Excited, nervous, and slightly sweaty.

There’s about two hour’s left before the flight leaves and I’m pretty contempt just sitting here pretentiously typing on my Macbook.

As I mentioned before, I meet up with my Forensics team early this morning, had some coffee and chatted. 

Then it was in the car to my grandparents in Denver. I had a meal cooked by my grandma and talked to my grandpa about France. He talked about the growing up in Vietnam (this was back when it was a French colony) and how he had an affinity for French bread baked by members of the French military. It’s kinda funny how things come full circle like that. 

I’m. Going. To. Paris...

I’m getting kinda stressed, both because of actually going nad not being able to find wifi.

(written later while actually on the plane) 

Ok so the flight is really not that fun. I keep getting whiffs of Indian food. (good, but very odd) There’s no food on the flight, and the entertainment is kinda boring. I tried watching 500 Days of Summer and the person in front of me reclines all the way back and then forward repeatedly making it almost impossible to even to see the movie. Not to mention that the screen is really dark (even on the highest brightness.But, thats all forgivable. Outside my window is the northern lights. Eerie green and lets be honest damn beautiful. By chance some easy listening music was on when I first lifted my window cover and saw the lights. Pure magic. I can’t seem to take a picture though, stupid window glare...4 hours till landing and I don’t see myself sleeping at all. I’ll stare at out window, and wonder if I’m the only on on this plane that see this right now. (I keep stopping mid sentence to take another peak out the window.)

Magic.

Here’s to starting anew.

P.S. Blogger is french here, like I will be using the blogging template with French words to navigate! Fun!

Leaving and Packing

Well, at 5:30 this afternoon I will be on a flight from Denver to Iceland. Then I will have one hour to go though customs and get on my flight to Paris. 

Oh my god. This is happening. 

Today I started packing. It started with me running through the house and grabbing things I think I’ll need for the next year. No list. I’ve always done it like this and have yet to forget anything important. Next, I took all the clothes that I MIGHT need for the next year and dumped everything in the living room, and started packing.

My friend Christenia was nice enough to help pack. This was near the end. 

It really looked like I had way too many clothes at at first (four laundry baskets full). But after some taking stuff I'll never really use out, folding, and compression bags (best. thing. ever.) I easily got everything in two mediums suitcases, a carry on duffle, and a backpack for my laptop and Nook. With room to spare! Here are some of the weirder things I packed: a yoga ball and pump, pastels, and three sets of dress clothes (I was feeling fancy, ok?)

Done! Quick side note: the duffle is 21 lbs while the hard side is only 35. Odd.

It’s 12:10 and I have no intention of sleeping. I’m suppose to meet up at Starbucks at 8:00 in the morning as a final speech team meet (see what I did there?)

I think I’m going to watch Amélié, and Facebook.

I Have To _____ in Paris.

Well, it’s Saturday night. I leave on Monday. I have yet to pack, or even to make a list. I still don’t think I’m going to France. Today I was playing with the idea, and reluctantly concluded that I have to live in Paris. Not just visit, live. I’ve slowly realized that I that I need to figure out ways to do certain things in a foreign country. Here’s a little list off the top of my head of what I need to figure out sooner or later.

I have to _____ in Paris.

1. Get a haircut
2. Grocery shop
3. Buy coat hangers
4. Figure out entertainment when I don’t want/can’t afford to go out
5. Figure out how not to completely foolish when I do go out
6. Find contact lens solution
7. Deal with a landlord
8. Commute across town... everyday
9. Balance school, fun, and living on my own
10. Constantly convert Euros to Dollars in my head and vice-versa
11. Figure out if I’m a raincoat, umbrella, or neither person. (Colorado is not rainy by any means)
12. Make friends
13. Figure out how to take Lactaid pills in public without getting looks
14. Find art supplies (see number 4)
15. Find a wallet with a coin purse

Theres probably more I’ll figure out later, but it’s one in the morning. I think I’ll go to bed. Oh God. I'm technically leaving tomorrow. Maybe making a list isn't such a bad idea.

Visa Process

Well, studying in France for a year generally requires a visa. Applying for one was crazy. 

In addition to just the basic passport, I had to send four passport pictures to France. Then, I had to apply online and upload another picture. Before finally going to the French Consulate to get my visa (with more passport pictures!).

Maybe, I’m just complaining, but applying for the visa seemed really bureaucratic (stupid international relations...) Between having a total of seven passport pictures processed (even though the only picture of me on the visa was taken AT the consulate), having to answer questions like “what do you expect to learn in France?”, and gathering about twenty pages worth of paper work (everything from bank statements to emails from the French embassy saying that I paid the online-application fee in full), I was frustrated.

It didn’t help that I had to fly out to LA to because there aren’t any consulates anywhere near the middle of the of the US.

Here's what I took with me to LA. The two stacks of paper on the right are copies of the fanned out stack in the middle. Notice the passport photos.

When I finally landed in LA and took a taxi to consulate, I was greeted by an attractive office building. I walked in an a nice security guard asked what I was looking for. 
“The French Consulate,” I said
“Oh that’s not in here”
“Okay, so where is it?”
“It’s out back, behind the building, just walk around and you should see a small red awning”

Out back? Behind the building!? What kind of back ally visa process is this?

The French Consulate everybody!

It gets better, this was on the other side of that wall.

Needless to say I was slightly disappointed. We had to wait outside until the security guard called us with only the ally and someone’s garage to look at. (I found out later it was because there were literally not enough chairs in the building for everyone to be inside.)

After about 30 minutes or so I finally got called in. The whole thing was only two rooms! A little security checkpoint, and a large room divided in half by glass with chairs and a television on one side consulate workers on the the other. I was behind everyone that had gone it before me. More waiting. About 45 minutes. Electronics weren’t allowed inside so no pictures. All I had to entertain me was a travel magazine, and the French equivalent of PBS.

Actually getting the visa wasn’t really exciting, just handing over some forms and getting my picture taken. The only weird thing is that the website emphasized that I needed two passport photos and they only used one on some government form. 

Anyways, I flew back later that day, and my Visa arrived, attached to my passport, in the Fedex envelope I brought with me week later (quick, considering they said it would take three to four weeks).