Getting There

Ok so when I say there are hoops that I had to jump through to get where I am going, I am talking about jumping through BIG fiery hoops while blindfolded, slightly intoxicated and with a gimp leg! Try doing that for about 6 months and maybe switch the fire with razor blades a few times, and you've got the painful bureaucratic process of pre study abroad craziness. I'll list out the basics for you people to get the gist but if you want specifics email me your questions.

#1: Picking the program I liked/ deciding the peoples pockets I was going to generously fill with cash so I can get my darn education!
This was the EASY part so do not get stuck on this if you are planning a study abroad. I talked with my study abroad adviser (shout out to Ms. M) and she helped me pick the right people to go with. 

#2: MONEY!  Now I'm poor, and the limbs from the tree in my back yard were used to beat me as a child so I haven't checked for money lately. So what do I do about money? I can not stress it enough that SCHOLARSHIPS saved my butt from being monkey punched and dragged in the mud from student loans! People go talk to your national scholarship office and study abroad office to get the details on scholarships you qualify for! I recommend starting to research a year in advance so you don't miss the deadlines. This is a very tedious process and it takes many attempts to perfect your essays and personal statements, so start early and get all the help you can. For about three days leading up to the deadlines, you could find me sitting in front of my laptop with a whole bottle of wine letting my creative juices flow last minute....matter of fact that may be happening now:) In the end I applied for at least a dozen scholarships and was awarded two. A special thanks to the Gilman Scholarship and the Genshaft/Greenbaum Passport Scholarship for awarding me a total of $10000!

#3: Advisers! Now this was the HARD part! There were so many people that I had to go through to get information and sign paperwork that it was a part time job that I had to bust my butt at to end up with a magical baby of a completed application! I am talking playing the he said she said game while getting the "that's not my job it's his/hers." I was dealing with at least 10 people through the whole process from advisers in financial aid to advisers in academics, study abroad, national  scholarship office, registrars office, program coordinator... the list goes on! All I can say is brace yourself for the storm of all storms like in the movie The Day After Tomorrow!

#4: Visa/Passport Expensive/Annoying! The passport I already had due to the fact that during my freshman year of college I was convinced that I'd end up dating a guy who was secretly a prince and would take me off into the sunset on hip privet jet (I think I watched too many movies as a kid lol). So for this trip all I needed was a visa. Easy right? WRONG! So for Russia apparently they have to INVITE you to even apply for a visa! So with my program coordinator working on his end to convince Russia how awesome I am, and myself getting stabbed with needles and tested like a  guinea pig, it was a very unpleasant process. But in the end it finally arrived! My personal invitation from Putin himself to go and study in the kingdom of Moscow. But then of course I had to apply for my visa and send a large amount of money for them to expedite it.

#5: Preparation/Packing. So I am a true Floridian that has never seen snow and I am about to spend a whole winter in one of the coldest places on earth! How do I prepare for that?! Well besides hiding from my boss in the walk-in freezer and the ice bucket challenge I've never been cold. So whilst I was researching and doing my shopping I tried to recall these fond memories and intensify the freeze by a hundred!! While the thought of the cold may be painful I am having a harder time with the fact that they only suggest packing ONE suitcase for the entire ten months that I am over there! I've got less than a week left and I still don't know how I am going to do it! Perhaps I'll try and wear as many outfits as I can on the plane and hire a giant to sit on my suitcase while I zip it up. I'll let you know how that turns out:)

I am so over this whole process and quite frankly even trying to recreate just a fraction of what I had to go through for you guys is stressing me out! All I can say is I hope all of it will be worth it! Next time I write will be from Russian soil so prepare yourself for some crazy jet-lagged verbiage. Oh and if any of you people are secret princes I just want you to know that I am totally cool and I have my passport;)