Airplanes and Orientation

Last weekend was my Outbound Scholar Orientation. It was so wonderful to finally meet other people who have been going through the same mess of paperwork, who understand what it's like trying to communicate with your university, host counselors, etc. We learned so much more about Rotary, and our scholarships. And the Rotarians who were there helping us were especially delightful. And very helpful.

The orientation really reminded us all of how soon we'll be leaving. It really pushed me into gear. I've already set up a speech for before I leave (an entire program, not just my "intro" speech!). And I'll probably have another set for my sponsor club before I leave. Today I bought my plane ticket! Instead of buying a round trip with a return date that I'd need to pay to change later, I found a great price on a one-way flight on STATravel.com. I don't know yet if I'll fly home during my year. My mom is visiting in December, so in theory, we could travel home together for Christmas, but it's really expensive. We'll have to see.

I also bought my ticket to International Student Orientation today. For about $300, I'll have six days accommodation, meals, and will get to attend a bunch of events with all the other international students. We even take a day trip to Oxford! And, included in the price is the pickup from Heathrow- so I won't have to deal with my two big bags all by myself! Hooray!

Now I just need to figure out the visa... and insurance, and a couple other pieces of paperwork. OK, that's a lot. But I can't do the visa yet- I'm waiting on a "Certificate of Acceptance" that Coventry has mailed to me, just hasn't arrived yet. Oh- and I'm waiting for Coventry to figure out how to fix their Accommodation website. That's where I have to go to find out what apartment building I'll be in. I was supposed to know last Wednesday, but apparently they are experiencing a technical problem that they can't figure out how to solve. And by now, it's late Friday night, so I'm sure I won't know anything until at least mid-day Monday England time. Bummer!

76 days till I leave!