Here's a brief run-down of what I've done/left to do:
Do:
*Get visa....this means waiting for a certificate of good health and a "letter of financial solvency." And a trip to the cities and a five-day waiting period.
*Buy luggage. I'm debating if I should buy the cheapie kind in case it gets lost or stolen (I might decide to ride Greyhound someday) or invest in a Samsonite or equally good quality brand. I'll likely make a compromise: buy used baggage that's of good quality.
* Get a new bank account or ensure mine will work in Mx.
* Cancel my cell phone, AOL, pay my library fines, etc.
* Get addresses, phone numbers of family/friends and store in an address book so I can send gifts/request monetary donations (if need be) :]
*Keep working...my goal: enough money to not have to work while I'm down there. I don't think I can, legally, anyway.
* CLEAN MY ROOM!!!! Dammit, I don't want to come back after a year to a pig sty! It still is a month after spring semester ended.
Done:
* Received my acceptance letter
* Bough plane ticket ($419 for round-trip...the cheapest I could find)
* Doctor check-up, eye exam
* Most of the documents for my visa
Countdown: two months, exactly....Well, technically not anymore, but had I posted two hours earlier, it would've been. I'll put it this way: in two months, I'll be in a foreign place, off American soil for the first time in my life (five minutes in Canada doesn't count), trying to string together bits and phrases of a foreign language and figuring out what I got myself into...a good thing, I hope. Fingers crossed.
23 June 2006
02 June 2006
First Post
So I created this blog back in April but I keep putting off entries because I'm lazy like that. But I made it so I can detail my adventures in Mexico because I thought you'd like to know. I think Blogspot is more versatile and has a cleaner, more powerful layout than Xanga, which seems kind of amateurish, but it still fun to use.
Anyway, since I'm not really in Mexico yet, I thought I might share some stuff that I have yet to do, as well as what I've done so far to prepare.
To do:
- First and foremost, wait for my acceptance letter. Now, it's a bit late to still be speculating if I'm even accepted into the university, but I've talked to admissions and it sounds like they're accepting me. I sent my application fee ($75) about three weeks ago and they still haven't got it, but the check hasn't fallen into the wrong hands since it hasn't been cashed yet.
* Once I get the acceptance letter, I can:
~ Send a copy to my scholarship providers
~ Send a copy to MSU
~ Apply for my visa
- Buy my plane ticket. The cheapest I've found (Mpls. to Mex. City) is $413, round trip -- I'm leaving Aug. 22 and coming back Sept. 26. If I leave one day earlier it's about $50 more.
- Buy the essentials....more lenses for my camera, a new backpack, luggage, gifts for the host family/students.
- Get a doctor's check up and immunizations. Buy contacts and new glasses. Invest in a case of Pepto Bismal. Make that five.
What I've done:
- Applied. Still waiting to be officially accepted.
- Got my passport. I actually did that nearly three months ago.
- Taken the placement test (I scored at an intermediate level)
- Gotten the classes approved so I can transfer the credits
- Finished the FAFSA (one week ago !!!....but I'm not relying on grants 'cause I got hardly any last year.)
- Finished most of the financial info -- where to transfer the money, all that.
- Started this blog, just for you.
What I'm doing:
-Studying Spanish. Everyday I try to look for some way to practice my Spanish. Sometimes I study from a textbook. I listen to these Spanish lessons on my iPod. I watch Univision and Galavision (Mexicans are CRAZY fun and sometimes I think they use ecstasy by the way they dress/act on some of those talk/comedy shows.). I talk in Spanish on MSN to some Mexican friends. I switch the audio from English to Spanish -- it's funny to watch War of the Worlds like that, Dakota Fanning sounds like a mouse.
Anyway, since I'm not really in Mexico yet, I thought I might share some stuff that I have yet to do, as well as what I've done so far to prepare.
To do:
- First and foremost, wait for my acceptance letter. Now, it's a bit late to still be speculating if I'm even accepted into the university, but I've talked to admissions and it sounds like they're accepting me. I sent my application fee ($75) about three weeks ago and they still haven't got it, but the check hasn't fallen into the wrong hands since it hasn't been cashed yet.
* Once I get the acceptance letter, I can:
~ Send a copy to my scholarship providers
~ Send a copy to MSU
~ Apply for my visa
- Buy my plane ticket. The cheapest I've found (Mpls. to Mex. City) is $413, round trip -- I'm leaving Aug. 22 and coming back Sept. 26. If I leave one day earlier it's about $50 more.
- Buy the essentials....more lenses for my camera, a new backpack, luggage, gifts for the host family/students.
- Get a doctor's check up and immunizations. Buy contacts and new glasses. Invest in a case of Pepto Bismal. Make that five.
What I've done:
- Applied. Still waiting to be officially accepted.
- Got my passport. I actually did that nearly three months ago.
- Taken the placement test (I scored at an intermediate level)
- Gotten the classes approved so I can transfer the credits
- Finished the FAFSA (one week ago !!!....but I'm not relying on grants 'cause I got hardly any last year.)
- Finished most of the financial info -- where to transfer the money, all that.
- Started this blog, just for you.
What I'm doing:
-Studying Spanish. Everyday I try to look for some way to practice my Spanish. Sometimes I study from a textbook. I listen to these Spanish lessons on my iPod. I watch Univision and Galavision (Mexicans are CRAZY fun and sometimes I think they use ecstasy by the way they dress/act on some of those talk/comedy shows.). I talk in Spanish on MSN to some Mexican friends. I switch the audio from English to Spanish -- it's funny to watch War of the Worlds like that, Dakota Fanning sounds like a mouse.
- But the thing is, I need more face-to-face interaction. All of the above help in some ways, but it's still mostly just one-ended communication. So I'm trying to find some Hispanics who will help me with my Spanish. If only I knew as many Latinos as I did Nepalis. :|
- Waiting. Not knowing whether I'm accepted, if I'll get grants, if I'll have enough money...that's what kills me.
- Working. Like mad. I'm thinking I'll be working at least 30 hours weekly this summer (add another 15 for the internship), as well as the occasional freelancing. I might also sell my body on the corner...I hear that makes pretty good money. No old geezers though.
Stuff.
I'm not sure how often I'll update this blog during the summer...I s'pose whenever something big happens, like when I get the acceptance letter, or when I realize I've become so fluent in the language that I'll run for president of Mexico (the election is this year, and incumbency is not an option for presidents.)
But one thing I hope to do: update it regularly when I get down to the Mex. With pictures, maybe even short video clips. I don't know how to do that, but I should, right? And this blog will be available to not just you faithful followers (the Xanga crowd) but to family, professors, MSU friends, and your mom.
Anyway, if you think I should add some sort of feature (ie, "Mexican icon of the week" or "Cultural difference of the day" then you should tell me. Hey, there's two ideas right there.)
COUNTDOWN: 91 days
- Working. Like mad. I'm thinking I'll be working at least 30 hours weekly this summer (add another 15 for the internship), as well as the occasional freelancing. I might also sell my body on the corner...I hear that makes pretty good money. No old geezers though.
Stuff.
I'm not sure how often I'll update this blog during the summer...I s'pose whenever something big happens, like when I get the acceptance letter, or when I realize I've become so fluent in the language that I'll run for president of Mexico (the election is this year, and incumbency is not an option for presidents.)
But one thing I hope to do: update it regularly when I get down to the Mex. With pictures, maybe even short video clips. I don't know how to do that, but I should, right? And this blog will be available to not just you faithful followers (the Xanga crowd) but to family, professors, MSU friends, and your mom.
Anyway, if you think I should add some sort of feature (ie, "Mexican icon of the week" or "Cultural difference of the day" then you should tell me. Hey, there's two ideas right there.)
COUNTDOWN: 91 days
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