Been awhile

I am sorry that it has been awhile since I last posted its been busy I had break which I stood in my flat I did not travel at all. Then term started and hell began. I feel I am now fully intergrated in the english society i feel as this is home now fries are now chips, 10/2/2012 is now feburary 10th 2012 and I now know which way the cars go. I am no longer as home sick but I am home sick the most. This is a weird period I almost feel bad that my flat mates Luke Billy and James are going to be getting housing without me next year I love those three they may be my best friends I have ever had James the ginger and disappears randomly and is in a band Billy my neighbor messy and well a very mean british swear word that isn't all that bad here he is absolutely hilarious. and Luke just a hero and a legend OOOOO NOOOO haha hes from newcastle with a Gordie accent you wouldn't think he is an asshole but he chips away at you all year and now its just pure comedy. I will miss them once I leave and will hate it they are like my brothers and I think we will someday reunite be it in america this time so I can show them americana. But I am also ready to go back to america I miss my girlfriend and I miss getting good grades the education system is well different here and they grade like nazis and I have never missed homework as much as I do here. I defiantly set my self back a year but you know what it was worth it I have also had they chance to play american football again and done so much yet so much is still to do like I will go to paris rome and athens at the end of march and that will be incredible. but I have about 4 months left and i dont know I want to stay even tho I cant but I also couldn't handle their education system its just too different but I could work here and live with my flatmates but its just not good for my life, my life is in america the food and family and pets. One thing I have learned so far is that to be flexible with life because if you try and have a pointed arrow path then its not going to work you wont have fun sure have i set my self back a year yea but you know what it was worth it because I have had this experience and I had it while I was young so I could enjoy it and that is worth it. I will try and make another post at the end of February.  

break

So all my americans went home a week ago saturday and it seems like im the only american left so that adds some isolation but in a weird way its starting to feel like home I almost wish out of highschool I came here in the first place for a 3 year degree instead of having to go back yea I missed thanksgiving and Ill miss christmas with family but im having fun playing football and hanging out this is truly the college experience. I know as soon as this year is done its back to the grind and refocussing on school because no matter what they tell you if you study abroad for a year you will be set back a semester or more but its okay my football coach from back home told me, "What makes life, life is the adventure you took to get there not how fast." so If I take an extra year to finish then so be it I will have these memories for ever I think its only getting better the food still sucks but im losing weight so take that for what its worth. I also dislike the education system they are very strict with classes and when you can take them and the teaching is more self learning than the professor directing you and giving you tests and all the tests are in june so thats all kinds of odd. but its the extra freedom that makes it more fun and challenging at the same time I cant wait for next semester to come because thats even closer to when I can do my traveling to rome athens paris and possibly salou and barcelona spain.

1 month in

I am starting to count the days till I can go home and the count is 225. I never thought I would miss home as much as I do and become as patriotic as I have been. Dont get me wrong its been a blast here. I have met loads of new people and learned alot and have some good friends many of which are better than the ones back home, but I miss home I miss ranch dressing football food the complacency of just being home and wondering what it is like to see the world. The accents at first were a novelty and now they are getting really old really fast. I am also sick of arguing the whole language thing the z and the zed center and centre humor and humour. I feel like  I am not learning here because there is no homework assigned and its all more about self learning. which I do well with just doing over homework helps it stick. I am enjoying playing football here, we already have more wins in 2 weeks than they did in all of last season so im proud to be apart of that and proud to be a blade. I love this college in every way so much better than NAU. I enjoy being here alot if only I could transplant this college into america it would be close to perfect. I know that can never happen and I am living in the best year of my life but I dont feel that way I feel homesick and I know come june 27th when I am sitting in the airport I will be  dam where did time go I want to go back but nope not right now I want time to fly. It also seems that every american that I have met will be leaving after this semester and back to there day to day lives of being an uncultured ignorant american. I know I will adjust but its a matter of when I have already been in england for over two months and dam have I done and seen alot but it still doesnt replace the pit I have that just misses being on american soil. I think instead of just missing america and missing home I will just truly embrace the culture but then I think I cant I dont like so many things and so many things are just strange and I really dont like the sense of humor anyway the biggest lesson I have learned is to just live it and go with it. Till next time

couple weeks in

I have fairly settled in now still getting used to the words and the minor differences, but life is becoming normal again. I really miss home and america right now England is nice but the USA is better. I am almost finished with the first 2 weeks of lectures and they are all really easy however there is not a lot of homework involved just show up to class that is the only thing. People here are friendly like i get along great with the people in my flat we are now sharing pretty much all our food and all of our dishes and do really well at keeping it all clean. I was told we have one of the cleanest flats and I think that is because we all get along really really well. one strange thing here is there is alot of parties during the weekdays which is strange and you can drink on campus here its the norm. next time i will post pics of my flat and the campus. oh and bird is one of my favorite words here look it up haha.

move in day

Yesterday I finally moved on campus after being here nearly a month. I have met people already from at least 15 different countries. It has been fun in the little time I have been on campus There is not really much to say that has not already been said. This week is pretty much the party week on campus and the English drink way to much alcohol this is insane. The classes start next week and I have some study abroad meetings this week but everyone seems friendly enough here.

first week

Wow the first week so much to say so much that i have done. Getting off the plane was one of the best feelings in the world I thought I was never going to get off the plane. The train was very confusing but the locals were nice. However getting off the train and making my way to the underground (subway) that was a whole other story that was awful so hard and so confusing but a week later I am now navigating it like a pro. The sites of london are spectacular seeing everything makes it seem surreal. Note everything is extremely expensive here 10$ for a load of laundry and about 14-20 per meal for fast food. the accents are also fairly hard for me to understand and the way people drive here is ridiculous ive almost died 8 times because they drive on the wrong side fo the road to us. i dont really know what else to type i am in london for another 10 days and then I am off to colchester. 

Boarding the plane

So I am leaving a week early and I am sitting at the airport. I recommend doing the precheck in it saved so much time it was almost like I was first class. Anyway this is really hard alot harder than I thought but there is no time like the present pictures will follow when I land and this I know is short but I am a biomed major not an english major

The waiting game

Sorry it has been about a month since I last posted but all is well. I received my visa and the 3 week waiting period was probably one of the more stressful times because I thought I was not going to get it and I am just glad its over. I am allowed to be in the UK from sept 6 2011 to sept 22 2012. Right now I am waiting another week to buy my plane ticket use kayak.com to search for flights the site is very useful. For the money issue actually use western union they give you a fair rate it cost 30$ to send the money over there it takes 3 days and and the rate would be 1.68 usd equals 1 gpb  that is only 5 cents on the dollar compared to 10 cents + else where like aaa or banks. Now I just wait will be heading over to the uk around sept 15th and I will most likely post before I board the plane or a few days after and then I will try and post once a week to keep my scholarship people happy. Take care

Visa

Well wow this visa process is difficult and annoying and it has not even begun yet. They closed down the LA office so now the only place is new york but you dont have to go down to new york to get the visa and the good news is now there is no online interview. The visa costs 433 $ and you need to pay that before you confirm your biometric scanning ( which is mandatory) I will be paying that in 2 days and going next week sometime to las vegas to do the scan. There is some online paper work to be done before hand but that takes all of ten minutes. I hired a travel agent and on monday we are going to sit down and make sure I have all my paper work (yes theres more) filled out before I go so I can give it to the people when I go down. You need your passport your Birth records transcripts college and high school your immunization records stamped but not notarized bank statements and proof that you can afford to go  which is where i am stressing out after tution paid you need

inner london full course fees  800 pounds for each month under nine total months
outside inner london FCFs 600 pounds < 9 months
IL FCFS 7200 pounds > nine months
OIL FCFs 5400 pounds > nine months

well the issue is I am using financial aid to pay for the trip and I will have plenty of money its that It seems that the UK gov. is making you have that money before you depart I will have half the money on aug 21st and half jan 6th I dont think that will be much of a problem but you never know.

other notes buy a guide book they are really really helpful and about the money I recommend when you go over just to take as much money as you can out at the bank to avoid extra fees what I will do is take my debit card go to a bank and it will be a 3-9$ out of atm and international fee to use the atm and then another 1-3% conversion fee so when I take out 6000 for the first semester  the I would essentially lose out on around 63$ to 189$ so beware of that but the conversion fee is in your native currency for usa it would be in dollars not pounds and also the currency rate is 1usd ~ 1.62 GBP     any way I will update again once i get my visa so end of july beginning of august

travel agent

Well last week I met with a travel agent named Pam Blackwood from http://cruisentravel.com/ and she is a local travel agent in kingman. I was a little weary of travel agents and to be honest I didnt know that they still had jobs. She was able to give me alot of extra information about England and what to expect. Another reason I met with her was I was told that they make life simple to travel for a price of course so I went and say down with her and she said she charges 25$ a ticket she books but that is only for plane because rail tickets give her commision so she doesnt need money from us and the most helpful part of the meeting was that for 50$ she will make sure i get my visa and handle everything she can and make sure i dont run into any bumps along the way and if any of you have ever gotten a visa but it already looks complicating and something that for 50 bucks can make your life way less uncomplicated is worth it. She will also be able to organize everything i need to know and do once i arrive in london and get me to colchester as well as any other travel needs plus WHEN something goes wrong i can call a real person. I really recommend getting a travel agent as it will save you alot of hassle in the long run. Any way i just thought i would blurt that out there and update and the next update probably wont be until mid july as now i am just waiting on my CAS code and then the visa process starts july 2nd. let me know if you have any questions.

The application process while you are in school.

Well if you are interested in abroad you should go to and info fair or set up a meeting with a study abroad advisor and that is how you begin. Below is my list of requirements  please ask any questions you have in the comment I will do my best to answer.

Please submit online the Confirmation of Enrollment Form.

  Submit a copy of your flight itinerary to studyabroad@nau.edu. 

 
Please submit a copy of the page in your passport that has your information and photo.

Download the Health Questionnaire. Once completed, please submit the document to the CIE.

Please go to your online application system and enter the courses you intend to take abroad. Keep in mind that you will need to do research of the classes you intend to take abroad and meet with your academic advisor to complete this section. If you have any questions, please contact your study abroad advisor.

Please download the FERPA Release Form. Once completed, please submit the document to the CIE.

Please read and submit online the Financial Aid Understanding Form.

Please provide an official NAU transcript, in a sealed envelope, to the CIE. You may get a transcript at the Registrar''s Office. In addition, if you transferred from another school to NAU and have less than 24 credit hours, please submit the official transcript of the previous institution as well.

Please submit 4 passport-sized pictures. You can get these at the CIE (2 for $7) or at any Walgreen''s. You must submit these even if you already have a passport.

Download the Study Abroad Reference Form. Once completed, please submit the document to the CIE.

Download the Risk & Release Form. Once completed, please submit the document to the CIE.

Please submit a 2-page, double-spaced statement of purpose, as a Microsoft Word document attachment, to studyabroad@nau.edu. The statement of purpose should outline the expectations of your study abroad experience (what you expect to learn from it, what goals you help to achieve and/or how will this particular program and location will help you meet these goals). Make sure you include your name and the program (country) you are applying for in the top right corner of your statement.

All students will automatically be enrolled in the NAU International Health Insurance Plan provided by HTH Worldwide, and billed directly to your student account. The cost for the insurance varies depending on your days abroad. Therefore, most students will have different amounts billed to their accounts. Once enrolled, you will receive a letter stating that you have been enrolled. However, if you need a letter for visa purposes, please contact your study abroad advisor.

Download the University of Essex Admission Application. Once completed, please submit the document to the CIE. 

Please make a copy of the page that has your picture and passport information.

You will be provided housing information and application forms once you have been admitted by the school.

Your study abroad reference forms must be completed by two academic sources (i.e. professors or academic advisors, not job supervisors, etc.)

Download the Study Abroad Reference Form. Once completed, please submit the document to the CIE.

Also a recap on current events I finally got my housing information and instead of mailing it I decided to fax it at staples and oh wow 4 pages = 15 dollars  to fax internationally but it is worth it for the time. I was also expecting my CAS code in the paper work but they will send that later but I still got information to keep me happy for now and just more waiting. This whole process is a lot of hurry up and wait. I also learned that you cant move in early to get adjusted to the time difference I am allowed to be there 4 days before classes that that first week will be rough. Something I found to help you before you arrive is a website all-unied.com (pronounced All you need) and you can purchase packs that  I think are really nifty and really helpful they give you everything you need to get started for a price of course but they are really cheap compared to getting them all seperatly and they also deliver not only to your flat they place it in your room for you which will be really nice once i get there. Also go here this might be the single most helpful website I have found.

http://www.all-unied.com/acatalog/advice.html

Any way until next time take care and please feel free to ask any questions.

Introduction

Hello this is my first post and first time blogging. My name is Micheal Baca. I am a Biomedical science major at NAU and I will be studying abroad to the University of Essex in Colchester, England. I am creating the blog for the GO scholarship and to help other people that may want to study abroad. I will try and post at least once a week once I get to England  if not more please don't tar and feather me if I get busy. The dates of the school year are from Oct. 2nd to June 29th but I will try and get there as soon as the visa will allow. I am also starting the blog now so I can let you know what I know as I know it. I wish I had a blog to look at as I start to go through the visa process and I will also let you know the study abroad application process and how that works and tips. Im not sure how blogs work and I dont know if you can leave comments but if you can I will answer any questions for you all if not i will give my email address and I will respond to any questions. I will also post pictures when I can and feel free to ask for specific pics if you are curious about anything.


Any way it is the day after the "rapture" and we are all still here and I am still waiting for the housing information from Essex but I already know I want to live in the towers. So far every one I have met over facebook from Essex has been extremely nice and more than willing to answer any questions. You have to wait until at least 3 months before your program starts to start applying for the visa but it already looks like its going to be a pain. Next time im bored I will go through the study abroad application process and list any updates this was just more of a introduction so until next time.