Week 3: The start of my adventures!

Here in Lille, I have had so many cultural experiences, even only three weeks in. I’ve been to the braderie, I’ve made my way around town trying to familiarize myself and navigate with some sort of ease, and I’ve been engaging some locals in conversation every now and again. This week takes the cake so far though, especially in terms of travel, but even just in terms of cultural experiences in general.

Monday was my first day of classes, and my first class of the whole year was in English about American history. Too funny! Classes haven’t been too bad so far, but especially in my literature classes I’ve had a few difficulties in keeping up with the lecture. The timing and scheduling of classes hasn’t been too bad either (except for a couple of 8:00AM classes), and we’ll see how I agree with the structure of the classes themselves as the semester rolls on.

Tuesday, as some of you might have already seen on Facebook, I hopped on a train with my friend Katherine, and we went to Dunkirk for the day! We caught the train at around 10:00AM, and we were on our way to a different city for half an hour (with a few stops of the train in between). We had a great time finding the grocery store to gather materials for a lovely picnic on the beach, and in the midst of our own great conversation, we even got to speak with a local lady about her dog and the area while enjoying our lunch. We looked around for a place to eat dinner, but ended up settling on picking up sandwiches from the train station, and then it was time to head back. All in all, it was definitely the most exciting Tuesday I’ve had in a while!

Map showing Paris, Lille, Dunkirk, and London.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday brought more classes (yay for starting at 8AM), including a Master’s level class about American Civilization on Friday, and on Thursday evening all international students (including me) took a test to determine which French class we will be in for the semester. This French class is mandatory for all international students, and so even those who didn’t know French at all had to at least write their name on the test before they walked out. The listening section was a little difficult because they only played the audio sample one time, but on the whole I think I did pretty well on the test, so we’ll see what group I actually end up in. Classes in general have been going pretty well, but there are some slight differences between American and French academic culture that have been interesting to discover, and I have switched more than a few classes over the past week. Hopefully now all will work out well for getting credit at home.

After the excitement of Dunkirk combined with the slow pace of the week in classes, Saturday took off with the pace of the week. I hadn’t planned anything, so I didn’t think the weekend would be too eventful, but then Rob, Walker, Katherine and I headed to the Vélodrome in Roubaix (my first time on the metro!) to watch an international cycling competition. It was definitely interesting to experience such a big part of French culture on a new level; a lot of people in France ride bicycles as transportation, and there are even stations where you can rent a bike for 30 minutes at a time, but this was an actual international competition. There weren’t any American competitors, but there were several English cyclists, and so Katherine and I cheered along with Rob and Walker, and we all had a good time.

My first time on the metro!

Me and the guys at the Vélodrome. It was a cool cultural experience!

By lunchtime, we made it out of the vélodrome, grabbed lunch from a local grocery store, and headed to an art museum in the same city called La Piscine. It was another cool cultural experience because not only did we get to see paintings and sculptures and fashion from many different French artists, but also it’s in a building that was historically a swimming pool, and the pool still exists there today, along with the showers (although no one today can actually go swimming in the pool). So we walked around the museum for a little while and took our time appreciating French art, which was good for me, because I haven’t taken the time to just appreciate art (of any kind) for a long time.

The coolest view in the Piscine: a window that looked like the sun, with the pool below and sculptures up the sides.

A gallery of Cameo pendants and brooches.

A painting entitled "Vue de Tolède," or "View of Toledo" in English. I'll be in Toledo next semester,  so I was particularly interested in this painting!

A painting that reminded me a lot of the Weasleys' house in the Harry Potter movies!

After the museum, Katherine and I thought we were headed home, but Rob and Walker then announced that they planned to walk into Belgium. Um, excuse me, hold the phone, what?! Being from America, Katherine and I had never heard of such lax country borders, and so we were surprised to say the least that this was their plan, but since we were so close anyway, we took the metro to the end of the line and then literally walked right into Belgium.

We literally walked right into Belgium! Here's us at the border.

Since Rob and Walker had both been in Belgium before, they weren’t as excited as we were to be there, but they were good sports about it (up to and including applauding Katherine and I as we walked across the border line). They then said that they had other plans, but that Katherine and I should stay in Belgium and try to explore and navigate as much as possible. I’ve recently found that I have a little trouble with navigation (to say the least), so this seemed a little daunting to me (to be clear, the boys’ plan had been to leave us in Belgium to fend for ourselves), but I also enjoy taking on challenges, and it is a growing-up kind of thing to do. After a little bit of discussion, Katherine and I decided to pounce on the opportunity. We had to walk about 40 minutes to make it to the city center, but we finally made it, and we said hello to Mouscron, Belgium!

The little blue dot is where we were, in Mouscron. Tourcoing, the next city to the left, is in France, and the black line through the middle is the French-Belgian border.

One of our first views of Belgium. We had been told that this is a somewhat sketchy part, so we'll be going back to experience the real deal later in the semester, but for now, we can say we've been to Belgium!

After exploring the city for a while, we happened across a lovely place to eat dinner, and we had some nice sandwiches and beer, which although it wasn’t fancy, was fine with us, as we had been getting pretty hungry. Once we picked up dessert, we made our way back to France and the metro, and we finally made it home at 10:00PM. After a nice evening of wine and card games, Katherine and I caught up with the boys, and we found out that they had gone back to the vélodrome and watched the finals for the international competition, and we all had had a wonderful day.

Pierre Alain, the pâtisserie-boulangerie where Katherine and I found dinner. We had a great time!

Back across the border - we made it!

After sleeping in this morning, I’ve had a pretty low-key day today, full of blog writing, homework, and meal planning. Nothing’s open today, so I haven’t been out very much, but I have been working on homework and such, and also thinking about what I need to do this week. I’ve been trying to get a French SIM card for my phone for a week or two, but I need a French bank card to get a SIM card, and I’ve been in the process of opening a French bank account for that time, which has been a somewhat stressful experience so far. My advice to any students who wish to study abroad in France in the future is that the first thing you should do when you get into France after settling into your accommodation is to set up your French bank account; this will enable you to more easily get a SIM card (and an Internet box if you want), and for non-European students, it’s necessary anyway to set up a French bank account for the country-mandated health insurance (called social security) that’s obligatory for all non-European students. In addition to not having my French bank account completely set up yet, I also have to consider whether I want to get an Internet box and a SIM card, or just a SIM card. Decisions, decisions… and it only makes it more difficult when most stores and businesses close for the day at around 6:00PM or 7:00PM (when I’m used to stores in the US staying open until at least 7:00PM if not later).

This next week I will hopefully be getting my bank card and then my SIM card (and possibly Internet), and my classes should all be settled, so I’ll be getting a taste of what the semester will be like. I’ve also been challenged to cook dinner for myself every night this week, and so with meal planning today and grocery shopping tomorrow, I should be able to get through it (and win!). (This challenge is a part of my growing-up experience throughout this entire year, so hopefully I’ll get a leg up on maturity, at least in that area of my life.) This week and beyond will hopefully have lots of travel and adventure in store, not to mention French culture. As I get further on into the semester, I’m starting to plan trips with friends, and so hopefully that will all pan out – I’ll of course be documenting trips as they come up. With this bright outlook in mind, I will leave you all for this week. À bientôt!

Week 2: Time flies when you're having fun!

What a jam-packed week! From going to class, to more exploring the city, to getting lost in the wonders and crowds of the braderie on Saturday and Sunday, these past six or seven days have been one wild whirlwind.

In between going to class and going to sleep, I did manage to explore the the city a little more. Some of my exploring consisted of getting lost on the way to the grocery store or the Grand'Place, but I'm slowly getting used to the city and the different ways to get to places. It is a very different experience for me, having to get around everywhere on foot in an unfamiliar city with lots of narrow streets with names that change all the time. compared to what I'm used to, which is driving around Waukesha or walking around a more navigable De Pere, having to follow an actual paper map (because I can't get internet on my phone barely at all, even with (sketchy) wifi in my dorm) is a new and often frustrating experience, especially when I'm on a schedule. Hopefully with time and practice (and maybe once I actually get internet on my phone), I'll be able to actually walk somewhere in the time Google says I will. :)

The Grand'Place in Lille. If I can find my way here, I can find my way home. Source here.

Registration for classes on Thursday was a stressful and intense process. Unfortunately at my school (Lille Catholic University), there is no opportunity to register online for classes, and so all the international students crowded into a few different rooms to look at time tables and sign up. I had my pre-semester class starting at 8:00am and then registration at 9:00am, so there was a little bit of a time crunch. Thankfully I had already mapped out in advance at least most of what I would need, along with some extra courses if times conflicted. With some incompatible times preventing me from taking courses I wanted, I managed to squeeze into a schedule that will hopefully work out for all the credit I need. I still have to send my courses to the registrar at SNC to see if everything will work out, so I'm crossing my fingers that I can get credit for all the requirements I need.

My pre-semester intensive French course finished on Friday, which was a relief. It was a great class, and I'm definitely glad to have taken it before the placement test for my French class for the semester, but seven hours of French per day can get really exhausting (even with a two-hour lunch break in between!). After seven days of class work and a couple of grades, I had an oral presentation and then the final exam on Friday. The class was a great experience; I ended up meeting ten other international students, and I got a good revision of at least a few topics in French after not having taken French for an entire year. It was good to finally end the week full of work.

Finally, there was the Grande Braderie de Lille starting on Saturday with a half-marathon and 10K race, and ending low-key on Sunday evening. The word braderie comes from the verb brader, which means to sell something for cheap, so the braderie is basically a huge market (and garage sale). There's not only plenty of vendors on every street, but also people bring items down from their attics to sell on their little bit of sidewalk, restaurants put out tents to have more seating available, there's plenty of alcohol to go around (mojitos seem to be very popular here), and there are even plenty of amusement park-type rides and such in the Citadel park, which is not too far from the city center. I did end up buying a few scarves, a nice top or two, a rug, a big soup mug with spoon for 1€, and of course some souvenirs for family and friends.

A couple of my new friends were crazy enough to run the 10K even though they weren't officially signed up, and they actually finished in just over an hour! Congrats Rob and Walker!

Some of my spoils from the braderie: a few scarves and a nice rug. It was definitely an experience to remember!

The traditional dish in Lille is called moles frites, which means mussels and fries. I did get to try some, and they weren't too bad. Part of the tradition is that each restaurant collects the shells from the mussels and makes a gigantic pile on the street, and whichever restaurant has the biggest pile at the end of the night gets bragging rights for the year. This is one such pile outside one of the restaurants in the heart of the city.

The braderie in Lille is the biggest event of its kind in Europe, with over 100 kilometers of vendors and shops participating, and it sure was packed with people; more than a few times, my friends and I got stuck in a sea of people that was not moving. This was definitely the most people I have ever been around at one time in my entire life - what a crowd!

A shot of the sea of people. There were a few times when we couldn't move at all through the crowd!

After having a late FaceTime with my family the previous night and a full day at the braderie, I was exhausted, and so Saturday night was an early night, followed by sleeping in on Sunday morning. (I will make it to Mass one of these days...) Sunday consisted of a relatively short walk through the braderie to get to lunch in the city center, and then playing soccer in a local park and then ping long later on with friends.

The highlight of this week was definitely the braderie. It was a long day full of walking in endless crowds of people, but it was an amazing cultural experience, and I did end up getting some souvenirs and items I wanted. After going to class all week, which meant not being able to get errands like grocery shopping done during normal business hours, it was nice to be able to buy just about anything I wanted and to get out and experience the culture at the braderie. The week on the whole was another week of getting used to life in Lille, and I'm learning more as I go along - not just about French culture (and grammar), but also about how to live life independently.

One of the greatest things I'm hoping to gain from studying abroad (besides a lot of life experience in general) is the ability to be independent and face the world on my own, and from where I stand it looks like I'm gradually on my way there. As I confront more problems and overcome more obstacles, I'm becoming more confident as a young adult preparing to face real life (whatever that might mean) in a couple years. Here's hoping (and praying!) for the best in that endeavor. On that note, I have lots more little challenges to triumph over just waiting for me in the next few days to come, so I'm off to it. Classes start tomorrow and I have many more errands to run in the next few days (which include getting a French SIM card for my phone), so I should have some interesting news in a few days. Have a great week, and I'll write again on Sunday!

Week 1: What a whirlwind so far.

Bonjour à tous! Hello everyone! Today is my eighth day in Lille, and it has been a fast but amazing week.

                                   

I arrived in Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris at 9:04am local time after just about eight hours in the air. After having dinner on the plane, sleeping around four or five hours, and then having a “snack breakfast” (which included a warm croissant, of course!), I felt nervous, but excited and ready to tackle the last leg of my journey by train from Paris to Lille.

One of my first sights in France: waiting to get through customs in the airport. It actually went fast!

After a mishap with forgetting to print out a reference number so that I could get my train ticket and eventually figuring it out, I settled in on the TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse, or high-speed train) with the help of some very nice strangers to get my luggage on the train and situated. A polite and conversational British man struck up a conversation a few minutes into the ride, which helped to ease my nerves. Before I knew it, I was in the Gare de Lille-Flandres, and Louise, the exchange student coordinator who had previously been on exchange at my college at home, took me to my residence in her car. She even helped me to bring my (extremely heavy) bags up the stairs to my second-floor room, and gave me a tour of the building.

A view of my residence from the inner courtyard. It is beautiful here! (Source here)

Once I got settled in a bit, I met up with Grace, the other student here from St. Norbert (check out her blog here!), and she introduced me to some friends she had already made, Rob (from England) and Rebecca (from Taiwan). I hadn’t known most of our friend group for more than four hours when we then went to climb up the stairs of the Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville (Lille city belfry).

The view from the top of the belfry. Lots of stairs to get up here, but it was cool to see!

Since no businesses in France are open on Sundays except for some restaurants, I had to wait until the next day to get the essentials I would need for my room, so I contacted my family via Viber (a fantastic Smartphone app on which you can call and text internationally for free on wifi/internet!), and then made my bed with the sheets my mom had tossed in my suitcase at the last second, and the t-shirt quilt my grandma made me for Christmas (thank you Grandma Jurik!).

On Monday I got to go to the shopping center downtown called EuraLille, where I picked up some food, which was quite an experience. It was the first time I had ever been grocery shopping for myself, so I made some haphazard choices and ended up with enough food to sustain me for a few days. Of course, we ended up going to Carrefour (the grocery store) later the same day, to get some more stuff that we had forgotten earlier. We went out for dinner at a kebab place, which I thought would be like shish kebabs with meat and veggies and fruit on a skewer, but turned out to be basically a thicker pita pocket filled with meat and vegetables, and then of course we had fries with our meals. Lille is actually the French Fry Capital of France, and so there are actually shops where they just sell fries (called Friteries) for around a euro. After that, we got back to our residence, and I actually did go to sleep with a pillow that night, so that was exciting (and more comfortable).

Kebabs from a place just down the street. For €6, it was pretty good!

Tuesday wasn’t too eventful, except that I went to take a test for my pre-semester French intensive that would start the next day. The results would indicate which students would be in which class; there was one professor who would teach the strong students, and another professor who would teach the very strong students. (I’m in the very strong group!) The test didn’t take me too long (I took one hour in a scheduled three-hour time period), and there was also an oral interview component that wasn’t too bad either. After that was done, we all had dinner together, thanks to Rob’s wonderful cooking, and then we played some card games (for anyone who wants to know – Chinese Patience, B.S., and Rat Slap were the entertainment of the evening J).

Wednesday started my actual class, which consisted of myself and nine other international students. The professor in the morning (yeah, it was 8:00am) was very energetic and engaging. I immediately liked her class because she was confident and not afraid to make jokes, even on the first day. We were all laughing together in a matter of minutes. After a two-hour lunch break, we took a tour of Lille with our conversation professor. It was really interesting to hear about the different places and buildings in the city, and some of their historical significance.

Me standing in front of the main building of the Université Catholique de Lille (Catholic University of Lille).

Thursday was more of the same, except in the afternoon; we actually had our first conversation class. I’ve been learning so much even in just three days in this class, and it’s really nice to somewhat ease into French before having to go to French lectures for actual classes. We did writing and oral exercises in the morning class, and then in the afternoon we did a few different conversation activities with partners. By the time 5:10pm rolled around, I was definitely ready to be done with French for the day, as most of my classmates were.

Friday was a pretty fun day. I still had class all day long, but once class was over, the feeling of relief took over. It was finally the weekend! I made noodles and eggs for dinner, and then I actually went out on the town for my first time, and it was really fun! Friends and a couple drinks make for a great Friday night. I came back to my room and slept for a while, because I knew I didn’t have anything to do the next day.

Noodles & eggs for dinner Friday night :)

On Saturday I didn’t do much other than my ALS Ice Bucket Challenge (see it on Facebook here!), and I did get to read a book for an essay competition I’m planning on entering (Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand). It was a low-key day; I knew I didn’t want to travel anywhere the first weekend, just so I could get used to being in Lille and not having the stress of making and following through with travel plans.

Today, I’ve actually been pretty productive. I checked over my classes for registration on Tuesday, I connected with my family on FaceTime, and I’m writing this blog post right now. I can’t promise I’ll always be this detailed in my posts, but I will definitely do my best to keep you all abreast of what’s happening here in Lille. So far, my experience has been absolutely amazing, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

August 2014: Packing and preparing

Well here I am, ready to hop on the plane, and I have so much to tell you! In lieu of the traditional packing post, I just want to describe my journey since July, and wait til the end to actually evaluate what I needed and used in Europe.

So, a lot of my summer has been spent thinking about study abroad. And since the middle of July, I've actually been slowly pulling everything together, which is pretty amazing for me, since I am usually a notorious procrastinator. When I started packing, I didn't think it would be a big deal; I had read all the posts (like this one and this one) and I thought I would know exactly what to do. So to my surprise, it took a lot more effort and thought and planning than I had imagined - which, you know, you think you could speculate how much effort and packing would go into it just by contemplating it, but you really can't. Or at least I couldn't. Anyways...

So then after many late nights, a lot of shopping, and an unbelievable amount of stress (combined with only a pinch of time!), I had my bags mostly packed. They were 35 lbs in each of my bags, I only had a relatively small amount of items left on my shopping list, and I thought I had it all together. Not until the few days leading up to today did I actually realize how much stuff I wanted/needed and how much of a hassle it would be to get it all in two big suitcases, a carry-on suitcase, and a backpack. Holy cow! Only three days ago, I wasn't quite ready to leave, especially packing-wise; now, I'm obviously ready in that department, but maybe still not so much in the getting excited department.

This trip has always been something I've told people about and they have been so impressed. My family and friends have wished me well numerous times, and I have even tried to imagine the experience in all actuality more than a few times. It's been this idea, a conceptual plan, but never a reality - not until now. I think the first time it actually really, truly, deeply sank in was just now when I was walking to the gate. I realized that I had been through security, said my goodbyes, and made it this far, all on my own. The biggest smile grew on my face, just from finally understanding, at least a little, that this is actually happening - I'm actually traveling to Europe all on my own! That was the first time I was profoundly ecstatic about the whole experience, and the first time I felt authentically excited about this adventure to come. What a rush!

So now, sitting at the gate waiting for the personnel to call zone 3 for boarding, I can say honestly that I am ready to start this adventure, which will likely be one of the biggest of my life. I've been waiting at least since middle school to get an opportunity to actually visit France, and what an opportunity this is. I am ready to get on the plane, ready for takeoff, ready to take on the world - or at least study abroad. Bon voyage, and I'll see you in France!

P.S. This post has been published after the fact - in fact, I'm in my dorm room in France! (I will be posting another update shortly.) I did write it just before boarding the plane, but haven't had much time since when I've been able to connect to the internet and post. Enjoy! :)

June 2014: Summer is here!

Hello again, everyone! As time passes and I am now less than 60 days away from departure, I am getting more and more excited! It has certainly been a process trying to get everything together for my visa appointment at the French Consulate in Chicago, but the day finally has come and passed with my 10-minute appointment, and, after almost four weeks, I have also received my visa in the mail.

It was a harrowing hour and a half, plus travel time. It wasn't really harrowing, but there certainly were some pains that could have been avoided. I'll tell you about my experience with the French Consulate of Chicago, and how to avoid some hassles, so that you might be able to have an easier time.

Parking/traffic:

First of all, parking is ridiculously expensive in downtown Chicago (as you may have guessed). My mom and I were parked for around 67 minutes, and it ended up costing us $27. I highly recommend having someone drive you, and then just have them drive around for an hour, or finding the rare free place to park. Oh, and a word about Chicago traffic: if you’re coming from outside the city, make sure you add at least an hour to account for it!

The building:

Then, we walked over to try to find the building, but the address number (205 N Michigan Ave) was not clearly displayed, so at 8:54 (with my 9:00 appointment), we finally walked into the building. The building is a very tall black skyscraper on the corner of North Michigan Avenue and East Lake Street with a long bright red awning on the entrance (see picture), so hopefully you will have more luck finding it than we initially did.

Security:

Once we got in, we realized that I needed to wait in line for security to get a pass to go up to the 37th floor. That took at least four more minutes, and also at that time we found out that only the person applying for the visa could go up, for security reasons. So, once I got my pass, I headed up to the 37th floor, and left my mom to wait in the lobby.

Checking in:

Finally, I was in the office, at 9:04. You have to drop off either your appointment booking sheet (that you would have printed out at the time of scheduling the appointment online), or the security pass that you got at the front desk when you came in. Then you wait for the person to call your name. From what I had read on the Consulate's website, it sounded like if you were even a minute late to your appointment, they wouldn't see you. Apparently, since they're 10-minute appointments, being late just means missing it entirely, so I was okay.

Then I waited for a while, as there had been some people already waiting there when I got there. Note: the building itself opens at 7:00am, so if you're like me and schedule a 9:00am appointment (first of the day), don't be afraid to get there early - in fact, I highly encourage it, no matter how ridiculous it might seem, especially if you're on a tight schedule for the day. I ended up having my name called at around 9:35 (after watching TV5MONDE and trying not to exchange awkward glances with the other people waiting in the small room).

The appointment:

I went up to the counter, presented all my documents (11 different pieces of official documentation!), and waited as the receptionist looked through them. After she okayed almost everything, I scanned my fingerprints, which is the whole reason you have to go to the French Consulate in person in the first place. The last stumbling block I encountered was that I needed to have an actual passport photo on my visa application form (I had just scanned in a passport photo that I had from getting my passport a year ago, and then printed it out on regular printer paper). So, we had to run down to CVS on the first floor of the building, get a passport photo taken (and pay $13), and then I went all the way back up to floor 37 with my security pass and dropped off the photo. Finally! So, a word of caution to you who will be applying for a student visa in France: make sure the picture glued/stapled onto your application form is an actual passport photo.

Afterward:

Finally, we made it back to Waukesha, and the waiting games started. I waited for my passport to return via a prepaid, self-addressed envelope that I brought with me to the appointment with the visa affixed in it. This ended up taking close to four weeks (instead of two or three as suggested on the website), and they only sent the envelope after I sent the Consulate an email requesting its status. However, before I’m too hasty to condemn the Consulate’s office practices, I will note here that another student from my school going to France received her visa only four days after her appointment. Interesting how French bureaucracy works… and I hear it’s only going to get worse once I actually get there. I'll figure it out eventually.

Another waiting game is waiting to buy my round-trip plane ticket. (The drags of departing in August and wanting a round-trip ticket to return at the end of next May...) I now officially have 9 days left to wait, since I’m buying a round-trip ticket with the return flight on the very last day of May 2015. Hopefully that all goes well too.

The biggest waiting game of all, of course, will be passing these 57 days by with work, family, and packing. I know it will fly by, but for now, it's still 57 more days to worry about packing and preparing to the best of my ability. (My dad even set an arbitrary deadline of August 1 by which I'm supposed to be all packed up!) So, with one full-time job, a search for at least one more part-time job, and packing to fill up my summer, I will write again most likely toward the end of July. (I will hopefully be writing more frequently - once a week - once I get to Europe!)

I hope this account of my stumblings and successes with the French Consulate can help you in your study abroad process as well. If you have questions, please leave a comment. Thanks!

Next up on my list of stuff to do for study abroad (in addition to lots packing) will be buying my plane ticket and filling out my application to study in Toledo, Spain for the spring semester, a program that is hosted by the University of Minnesota. I'll let you know how all these things go in July. In the meantime, I have listed some helpful links below for students preparing to study abroad in France. À bientôt! (See you soon!)

**Helpful links**

• French Consulate website (in English):

http://www.consulfrance-chicago.org/spip.php?rubrique2

• CampusFrance website for Study Abroad or Exchange Students (in English):

http://www.usa.campusfrance.org/en/page/study-abroad-or-exchange-students

• What you need for a Long-Stay Visa for Studies (Visa de long séjour d'études) for France:

http://www.consulfrance-chicago.org/spip.php?article675

(Links current as of June 26, 2014.)

April 2014: And the (pre-departure) journey continues...

Five months, one acceptance letter, and a pre-departure orientation later, I’m even more excited and further along in the process of getting to France (and Spain)! A lot has happened in such a short amount of time. Okay, so I guess it has been a pretty long time since I last posted (four months or so), but a lot of things have definitely been flying by in almost three whole months.

In December, I met with the Study Abroad Director at SNC once before winter break. We went over what I’d all need to collect for my application to study at the Catholic University of Lille (l’Université Catholique de Lille) in the fall. It was great to have a defined list, and it didn't seem like too much trouble, so I started on collecting my application materials (in between holiday festivities with my family).

Fast-forward to the end of January, starting the spring semester at SNC, and I didn't really have too much done for my application. I wanted to start on my essay over break, but that didn't end up happening. However, I did get a few things, like an official copy of my birth certificate, ready to submit to the Study Abroad office. So, the semester started on an okay note in the area of study abroad.

Finally, at the beginning of February, I really started to get everything together. Each document I gathered, each task I completed, earned me a checked box on my list of accomplishments. Being a big procrastinator normally, I was really proud of how fast I was getting things together. Before long, I had my essay written, and all the boxes checked on my application. Time was flying by!

March 3 was the deadline for the application, and I got everything together well ahead of time. Finally, I was getting somewhere! The only thing I had left to do at that point was to wait to hear back from the university in France (after the lovely Dr. Rosemary Sands, Director of Study Abroad, sent everything out – I owe many thanks to her already!). Then, on March 26, I got an email from Rosemary with a scan of my acceptance letter attached, and it was finally official!

From here on out, my biggest priorities are budgeting, figuring out what and how to pack, and getting everything together to go get my French long-stay visa down at the French Consulate in Chicago. (For studying abroad, since it’s longer than 3 months, I need a long-stay student visa – and LOTS of documentation – so that the French authorities know my purpose there). Once I send in my materials to Campus France, an organization that facilitates and promotes higher education in France, I will be able to set up an appointment and go down to Chicago, so I can get my official visa to study in France. That will just be one more official step in this process, but it will make it all the more real to me. I can’t wait for what lies ahead!

While we wait for more news, here are a few cool links for videos that I will be watching about studying abroad!

http://www.youtube.com/user/SNCstudyabroad - SNC Study Abroad YouTube Channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20BGpWxugmI - “Study Abroad: 5 Things You Will Love & Hate”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvzZb3XAafk - “Study Abroad France: Before You Leave”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5n1Xk1uDPI - “My Year in Spain: Packing Do’s and Don’ts”