(Warning: this post is kind of boring. Read at your own risk.)
Already onto my second post (cue the audible amazement)! As you learned in my first post, I will soon be embarking upon a journey across the pond to study abroad at the University of Leeds in England. I am very excited, though, again, as you previously learned, I am veritable ball of anxious knots. There is a lot more planning and preparation entailed in moving to a foreign country for 5 months than I had previously imagined…and I have left a bit more of that preparation than I should have to the last minute (whoops).
It’s not that I wasn’t aware of the mounting preparations, it’s more that I couldn’t bring myself to face them because that meant that everything would suddenly shift into focus, solidify, and become all too real. I’ll admit, I am kind of afraid to go abroad by myself—there’s a lot that could go wrong and that scares me, and procrastination was a way for me to look forward to all of the fun and exciting ideas of studying abroad without facing the very adult-like responsibilities that accompany that theoretical fun. Unfortunately for me, time moves forward and I had to deal with everything anyway, and goodness it is quite a lot to deal with.
As one would suspect, there is a maddening amount of paperwork to sift through before I can go abroad: everything from criminally long email chains trying to dissect charges and refunds and class registrations, to housing applications and housing contracts that rival iTunes user agreements, to little forms that ensure I’ll have sheets to sleep on and dishes to cook with and some kind soul to meet me at the airport after 13 long long hours of air travel and transfers. I’ve filled out and signed so many forms in the past few weeks that I’ve already memorized my Leeds student ID number. I’m realizing as I type this that it doesn’t seem that dramatic, so for a little perspective, it took me 6 months of use to memorize my library card number and I still have no idea what my Wellesley ID number is, aside from the fact that it starts with a “B”.
I’ve spent hours pouring over this stuff and I’m still not done. One of the last things (thank god) that I have to shuffle around is the collection of documents to apply for my visa. Now, here’s the funny thing, I could have applied for my visa 3 months ago, and of course, I did not. No, I decided to make even more paperwork for myself these last couple of weeks. And it’s not as though applying for a visa in England is that easy, no of course it isn’t. To apply for their short term study visa, I have to provide proof of my entire existence: everything from where I’m living, to how much money is in my bank account, to my latest health records. It’s crazy how much they have to know about me to let me study there for 5 measly months, and it also worries me to be carrying around so many important documents (cue invasive thoughts of just how much could go wrong).
Once I arrive and make my way through customs and immigration, I’m still in a bit of a pickle because none of my essential electronics are compatible in England. I’m not talking about hairdryers, I’m talking about my computer and my phone: two items that will be invaluable to me as a student and a solo traveler. I haven’t traveled abroad since I was in 3rd grade, and back then I didn’t have any electronics, so I always thought that it was fairly easy to pick up the converters or adapters that you required and then travel to your heart’s content. Once again, I was sorely mistaken. I have Apple electronics, and I spent the better part of today in contact with their customer service trying to ascertain whether their products are dual voltage or if they would need voltage converters. A simple enough inquiry that took 5 online customer service reps and a frustrating trip to an Apple store 40 minutes away to sort out. At the end of it all, after being told to buy several different overpriced and inconvenient Apple products, I did indeed end up with a few simple adapters, and also a red mark on my forehead from banging it against the wall.
Then, of course, there is the small issue of international phone plans. AT&T is not that generous with their international data packages I’ve found, so the answer seemed to be just change the sim card in your phone. Great. Sure. But first, you have to go through a tedious process to unlock your phone so that it allows non-AT&T sim cards (and hope that it works when you find yourself without service on the other side of the Atlantic). Then you have to find an international plan that will also allow for travel throughout Europe. I’ll admit, of the three flaming hoops in this post, the sim card was the least breakdown-inducing, but is nevertheless measurably tedious. I’ve found a promising plan, but the catch is that I have to order my sim card and plan online and wait 3-5 business days for my sim card to arrive in the mail. That will be 3-5 days, my first 3-5 days, in a foreign country without any mobile internet access or phone communication. No emergency google-mapping my way back to my dorm when I get lost coming back from the grocery store it seems. And I know, I know, people used to manage just fine when traveling to unknown locales, but it’s still a little unsettling.
Now, I know that this post is mostly just me complaining about everything that’s standing in my way before I can have all of the wonderful, new and fun experiences, believe me, I do. But that’s the very reason I’m having getting caught up in all of it, these things are the dull, dusty, black and white exposition to the endless, seemingly technicolor adventures that are waiting for me somewhere over the Atlantic.
This post was boring, yes, and I’m sorry if you trudged through it thinking that it would become entertaining at some point and found yourself here. I’m going to keep my head down, and trudge through these winds to get where I want to go, and soon enough, I’ll open my eyes and it’ll all look different because goodness knows I’m not going to be in Kansas anymore.
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