Including today there are just 9 days left until I leave! That is crazy to me. I went out with my mom a few days ago and did a bunch of shopping. There are only a few more things to be sorted out. Part of what I want to get done before I go is some posts (maybe videos) about what I'm doing to get ready. I know that I have spent the last 3 or 4 months reading and watching everything I could find about study abroad and about Beijing. There are a few things that I haven't seen other videos or blogs cover so on the off chance that a future study abroad student stumbles upon this blog I'll be making some posts about those things.
Hopefully that will get done today! Now that I have just 2 or 3 little things left to get I'm going to start packing and making sure I don't need to eliminate anything from my list and that I didn't forget anything I needed. Still not sure how I am going to check the weight of my bag but maybe I'll just borrow a scale from someone.
Studying is way behind where I wanted to be so I'm spending a lot of time trying to get that done but at this point I'm reminding myself that even when I was in class I didn't remember every single character I ever learned so it's fine if I don't remember all of them now. I'm going to look pretty silly during my placement test since I'll be in too high of a group. They base your test group off of how many characters you said you knew on the application to the school and since I answered based on what I should have learned it's not going to go well. I didn't realize just how much I forgot! Oh well, I can deal with one afternoon of embarrassment and I'm sure I'll end up in the right class at the end of it.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Monday, August 19, 2013
16 days!
So not counting today (because it's pretty much over) or the day I leave (because I leave at 8 in the morning so it doesn't count) I go to China in just 16 days! That sounds like a really long time and a really short time all at once. I can't quite decide how I feel about this number.
I have pretty much finished all the things that had to be started by a certain date, ordered my glasses, sent off my passport for my visa and so on. The only other thing I still have to look into is maybe getting some shots but I just got all of them done 2 years ago so I know I don't need at least one of them. I think most of those things are good for at least 5 years. But it's best to be safe so I'm going tomorrow to ask about it.
My passport should be done on the 22nd. It was a very stressful process. We kept getting different information and were finally told "Well just send it in and we will see what they say at the embassy." I do not have time for resubmit so I'm glad that it has gone through. I figure if it was going to be rejected I would have heard something by now. It is unfortunate that you have to apply for a student visa no more than 30 days before you leave. It's good for 3 months after you arrive but if you get it more than 30 days before you go it expires. I could have dealt with this months ago but it's such a short amount of time you really can't afford for something to go wrong.
To be honest this week has been really hard. I lost a much loved pet and a very close family friend within 24 hours of each other. It was devastating and I feel bad for thinking it because obviously I would much rather have my pet and friend live long lives but I am glad that this happened before I left. It would have been so hard to deal with this during my first few days abroad. I know there is a good chance that I will have to deal with a loss while I am abroad but hopefully not this much in such a short amount of time.
My crappy week aside I'm super excited! I'm starting to work on packing. I just have a few more things to get. I still need some clothes, most of the things I own are way too thick to be worn in places with high humidity. But that's about it. It's all down to the fine details now.
I have pretty much finished all the things that had to be started by a certain date, ordered my glasses, sent off my passport for my visa and so on. The only other thing I still have to look into is maybe getting some shots but I just got all of them done 2 years ago so I know I don't need at least one of them. I think most of those things are good for at least 5 years. But it's best to be safe so I'm going tomorrow to ask about it.
My passport should be done on the 22nd. It was a very stressful process. We kept getting different information and were finally told "Well just send it in and we will see what they say at the embassy." I do not have time for resubmit so I'm glad that it has gone through. I figure if it was going to be rejected I would have heard something by now. It is unfortunate that you have to apply for a student visa no more than 30 days before you leave. It's good for 3 months after you arrive but if you get it more than 30 days before you go it expires. I could have dealt with this months ago but it's such a short amount of time you really can't afford for something to go wrong.
To be honest this week has been really hard. I lost a much loved pet and a very close family friend within 24 hours of each other. It was devastating and I feel bad for thinking it because obviously I would much rather have my pet and friend live long lives but I am glad that this happened before I left. It would have been so hard to deal with this during my first few days abroad. I know there is a good chance that I will have to deal with a loss while I am abroad but hopefully not this much in such a short amount of time.
My crappy week aside I'm super excited! I'm starting to work on packing. I just have a few more things to get. I still need some clothes, most of the things I own are way too thick to be worn in places with high humidity. But that's about it. It's all down to the fine details now.
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