Prepping, Planning, and Preparing Part II

Its been a bit since I have posted, mainly because so many things have been happening and I figured that, rather than have a ton of short entries, I should just sum it all up in one! But then it became daunting so I kept putting it off. But now its time!

Where to start, where to start. Hm, ok yes- with getting my visa! So way back on the 18th I had my appointment to get my fingerprints and face digitally scanned for my visa- they call it getting your "biometrics." It was a really interesting experience- a. because I didn't even know Boise had a Homeland Security Office and b. because there was a citizenship ceremony going on when I arrived! It was really cool to see such a wide group of people all smiles and holding little American flags. Unfortunately, the place where I was supposed to drop my paper off was also the very front of where the ceremony was taking place. I told the officer I would wait until the ceremony was over, but he insisted that I go "put my paper in box 1." So I awkwardly waited for a little pause in the excitement (the actual ceremony hadn't quite begun yet) and ran up to put my paper where I belonged. Then I went and stood on the edge of the room where I had a good view of everything that was going on without being in the way. The ceremony began with everyone saying the pledge of allegiance- it was really really cool to see the whole room so proud to be American. Soon a guy came and grabbed my paper out of box 1 and somehow knew exactly who I was and stared me down until I noticed and realized I was going to have to march right up to the front of the ceremony! So I scurried up there only to find out that the form I had had to print didn't have the bar code on it so I needed to go the library to reprint it. After that was all said and done I went back, got my fingerprints and face scanned and was all ready to go - right as everyone was saying their citizenship oath. The guy told me to just go, but I said I would wait- no way was I going to interrupt people becoming citizens. It was interesting to me to see how disenfranchised the employees had become with something that, although routine to them, is still a very big deal!

From there I went to get a passport picture taken. Who knew it costs $10 a pop nowadays! And I had to get two because apparently you're not allowed to smile in the photos and the first one I took actually looked like a mug shot- a bad mug shot. Then I went to mail the stuff out. I opted not to pay $30 to overnight it like recommended- and it was a good thing too. I paid $16 to get it there within 4 days and it arrived in New York the following morning! When I first got the email saying it had arrived I was worried it was a scam! Mostly because the British visa websites have ridiculously fake names like Visa4you.com. But I checked the tracking I had placed on the package and it really had just arrived super quick! Soon I got the email saying my visa had been approved- which meant I could FINALLY buy my tickets!

I have been looking at ticket prices forever. I had figured out that it was cheapest to fly out of Boston on British Airways. And since I have a free Southwest Flight I am going to use that to get to Boston. On the day I was finally going to purchase my ticket I was more than frustrated to find out that the price of the ticket I had been tracking for the past two months went up $300- not cool! This little setback came after I had spent hours on the phone trying to get my loan figured out and I was not pleased. But I was able to make some calls, talk to a rude Irish man, and find a flight on Delta that was only $150 more expensive than the original flight- which in the grand scheme of things isn't really that much (or so I keep trying to convince myself- which became decidedly more difficult when learned how many places I could get round trip in Europe for only $50!) From there I needed to figure out the best way to get to Boston- which was a process in and of itself because we are using a combination of a free ticket from the old Southwest rewards program, a leftover credit from a canceled flight, and points from the new Southwest rewards program. I had thought for a moment that I was going to get to stay a night with my cousins in Phoenix on my way out- but that fell through. In the end my schedule is as following-


Aug 12th
     -4:55pm - Leave Boise
     -6:50pm- Arrive in Denver
     -8:50pm- Leave Denver
     -12:20am- Arrive in Chicago
      -spend the night in the Chicago Airport

Aug 13th
     -6:10am- Leave Chicago
     -9:20am- Arrive in Boston
     -find something to do all day in Boston
     -7:52pm- Leave Boston
     -9:20pm Arrive in New York
     -11:00pm- Leave New York
     -Overnight Flight


Aug 14th
     -11:05am- ARRIVE IN LONDON! :-)

Its definitely going to be a LONG trip over- but it saved me a bunch of money and will be a fun adventure I'm sure- I'm thinking it will remind me of all my crazy Spanish flying adventures! Needless to say I am really really excited. When we arrive we are met by people from Mountbatten (the program that organizes everything) and taken to the temporary housing (were staying in a hotel the first week for orientation and stuff) which looks awesome! http://www.thistle.com/en/hotels/united_kingdom/london/thistle_city_barbican/hotel_facilities/otium_health__leisure_club.html

Pretty sure this pool is my favorite part. Dealing with jetlag and recovering from the long trip can't be too bad if this is where I will be doing it!

Like I said before, I am SO excited to go and can't wait for my adventure to start, but I am also starting to realize just how long a year really is. I know parts of it will fly by, but I just think about how I won't really be able to make my flat a home during that whole time. It doesn't make since to buy "homey touches" since it will just cost to bring them back, but I wonder what it will be like.

On the flip side of that a year seems too short when I look at all the places I want to visit while I am there! I went on Skyscanner and found out just how cheap flying over there is. For example- here is the list of prices for roundtrip tickets- given, some of these prices aren't what it costs to get to the big tourist destinations, but it gives you an idea.

  I also got my school schedule- which isn't well organized and I have some questions about- so I should be able to start planning some trips in my free time. The first thing on the agenda so far- GRANDPA'S VISIT!! Gpa J will be visiting for a long weekend in mid-September and I am stoked. If our trip in Barcelona is any indication of how awesome this visit will be then I am in for a treat. He had already rattled off a grocery list of things we must do while he is there!

Ok- I don't think I have covered everything, but I also know that I have probably covered more than most of you want to know (but hey- I want to be able to look back and remember all this stuff!!!) The next time I write will likely be from across the pond (or maybe while I am bored in an airport somewhere :-) ) so until then- (dang I wanted to insert a good British saying here but all I can think of is Piss Off Boger hahaha) byeeeee :-)

<3 Lindsay Claire

Prepping, Planning and Preparing

Welp- things are in full swing. I'm getting emails on the daily (at least) and the to-do list just keeps growing. Three emails about getting my visa, two about money/loans and one about registering for school. Add that to researching to find the cheapest ticket, learning about international phones and the fact that I signed up for 6 mini classes and it pretty much equals a full time job.

Speaking of those mini classes- haven't looked at them all yet, but I did get started on Quantitative Methods. Turns out it is a compilation of all of the math classes you have ever had- and never paid attention to. Algebra, Stats and Calc should never all be in the same syllabus- especially for a voluntary class... we'll see how long I last.  I am, however, enjoying learning about IT concepts. Some of it is a bit confusing, and online classes really make you appreciate the value of the ability to ask questions face to face, but overall the material is interesting.

On the 4th of July my mom and I took advantage of the holiday sales and went to town working on my new business wardrobe (don't worry, my mom got some new stuff too!) Seeing as neither my mom or I is a shopaholic we decided to adopt the method of buying anything that fit well enough the first time and then trying it on again at home and returning a bunch of stuff. Overall it was a pretty successful day and I think I got some good stuff!

Well thats pretty much as far as the updates go for now! More later!

And so the adventure beings...

     Although this journey technically began in mid-February when I stumbled across the Mountbatten website, today is the day I am officially, for sure, headed to London for a year. And now that its official I can start writing this blog without fear of having to embarrassingly explain to all of my soon-to-be loyal followers that it didn't work out after all.

       A lot of you are probably pretty confused by now- which is understandable since I spent days telling any and everyone that I got into the London program back on April 27th 2011 when I got my acceptance letter. But, you see, the thing is, it's a two step process. First you have to get into the Mountbatten Program and then they send your resume and cover letter to a bunch of potential employers and you have to sit and wait for a company to want to interview you. And man-o-man does that waiting suck.

      That's why, two days ago on June 29th, while I was covering a receptionist job for my mom's office, I was so elated to finally get an interview offer. I can't lie though, when I first read the job description and company profile for the Sanders Lifestyle Footwear Sales and Marketing Executive position I was more than a little hesitant. One of the things that drew me to the Mountbatten Institute was the opportunity to network internationally- and seeing as Sanders only has 5 employees that didn't seem to be much of an option. But I also knew that being small could have distinct advantages- more responsibility and training for example. Keeping this in mind I decided to go through the interview and it was scheduled for 7:00am this morning.

     I woke up bright and early at 5:30 so that I could chug tea and review my notes before the interview. (Keep in mind- caffeine makes me crazy- so I was well awake by 7:00.) A little confusion and a realization that the interview was scheduled for Pacific Time later I had an extra hour on my hands. The interview went really well, I was able to talk the the intern currently working at Sanders and all of my qualms were calmed. At the end of the interview I knew I wanted the internship. And lucky for me I didn't have to wait long this time. Three and a half hours later I received the call offering me the position and I was STOKED. No more waiting and not knowing- now it was set. I'M GOING TO LONDON!!!

    I spent the rest of the day notifying family and facebook and working on setting up this blog. The next couple of weeks are going to be jam packed with planning- getting a visa, buying a ticket, finding the right kind of phone, shopping for an appropriate wardrobe- and always with studying. I signed up for 6 mini classes through Mountbatten and Harvard- Finance, Financial Accounting, IT, Spreadsheets, Math for Management and Quantitative Methods. All in all I think I'll have enough to keep me busy between now and August 13th 2011!!!!!