One Step Closer...

Hi friends,

Today is a good day. I (well, Matt, actually) sent off my Campus France documents to D.C.! 

As soon as the OK comes back, I can begin work on my Visa documents. I can't believe France is a mere 2.5 months away. Where did the time go?

Anyways,

Thanks for reading! 

Back to Reality: Scholarship Stress

Salut mes amis,

Though I was blessed with the incredible opportunity to participate in the Moncton Explore program practically free of charge with the help of the abundantly generous FIPSE Grant, it's clear to me that such good fortunes only occur but once in a lifetime.

In fact, because of the immoderate price of my upcoming semester in France, paired with the poor USD/EUR exchange rate, I feel like I'll be paying enough for two study abroad trips this time around. My university financial aid simply can't cover it all. However, I knew I would have to work my butt off to afford the trip when I applied in the first place. After all, what price can I put on my dream?

To help cover the cost, I have applied for, myriad scholarships in the past; and recently, too, I have been applying to scholarships whose cut off dates occur late than normal on the academic calendar, such as the CEA direct awards. For some reason, though, I feel like the effort lately is especially stressful. Maybe it's because I'm finally so close to actually going. I just can't wrap my head around the crazy cost!

Have you experienced similar stress about financial aid? If so, tell me in the comments.

Thanks for reading!

Ready for Take Off

Hi everyone!

My "personal item" carry on is finally stuffed packed for Canada.

Let's take a look inside...

There's my tech stuff:

Laptop, phone, camera, chargers, extra batteries, SD card reader, thumbdrive

My girly stuff:

Dry/solid toiletries, liquids, make up case, hair accessories, allergy pills, mini emergency kit

School stuff:

Notebook, writing utensils, conjugation book

Personal stuff: 

Day planner, shoulder bag, passport and itinerary holder, sunnies, wallet

Miscellaneous stuff:

Mini umbrella, magazines, granola bars, reusable water bottle

And an extra bag for the trip back:

Easy Breezy Tote

My Osprey FlapJill Pack fits it all. I LOVE IT!

I am so ready to go!

See ya!

Update Time!

Bonjour tout le monde,

Earlier last year, I made an offer to volunteer in the WIU Office of Study Abroad this spring semester. To my surprise, they offered me an internship!

Each week I spend Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and Friday afternoons, helping in the office and learning about the study abroad process from the inside. So far I have sat in on a preadvising appointment, and started beta-testing a new software system. I've been having a really good time!                      
                                                     

Also, I have recently been promoted to President of Western's Ambassadors for Study Abroad! Hopefully we can grow the organization and further strengthen the study abroad promotion initiatives on our campus before year's end.

These experiences will certainly lend me some experience in the ways of study abroad student advising, and offer me some résumé padding for my grad school apps!

Hooray for international education!

What have you all been doing since the semester began? Let me know in the comments!

À bientôt!