I Got My Passport!



You see the little gold flag looking image on the bottom.
That is where the new microchip is. How crazy!

 I am so excited! I got my passport! I was really worried I was going to have to wait longer. I got it in a shorter amount of time than expected...yes!

It's crazy they have a microchip in it now. Probably to track down the passport in case it has been stolen. Pretty cool/ creepy.

I still can't believe I am going to France! I am actually starting to get really nervous/scared about going to a foreign country. I have never been outside of the United States.

It is really hard to comprehend that I will be soon leaving on a plane to France!

It is Official!

I got my fees taken care of yesterday for the trip! I am so excited.

I was a little nervous because I got a call this morning tell me that my fees were not taken care of. That had me panicked. I of course began running around like a crazy person. Apparently everything was okay, it was just some confusion between the regular school fees and the study abroad fees. Oh PSCC how you make things challenging.

Doesn't matter though, because everything is fine and taken care of and I am going to France! I can't believe it! I am really going! I never thought I would go overseas before I was in my 30s. I know that sounds so young, but I remember hearing about in the olden days how when a girl comes of age the thing to do is go to Europe. Usually a girl "comes of age" when she is in her late teens, but for me I'm glad I am going now.

I feel that I have really developed as a person and have experienced a lot of my life. I am working very hard, I am accomplishing a lot, and I am succeeding.

I only have 2 concerns now: Orientation and my passport. I have not heard a thing about my passport. I know it takes a while, but I hope everything is working out with it.

As for Orientation I have to drive to far, far away (more like 2 hours, but still).

I will just have to call the passport services and ask them how things are going. Fingers Crossed.

Going to France

Okay I am very excited I have never been out of the United States before. This is a new experience for me and all thanks to my parents and a scholarship from the TnCIS program.

Back in February I applied for TnCIS program which stands for Tennessee Consortium for International Students. Soon after I applied for the Scholarship as well. I had orignially applied to go to Ireland, but because they were no longer offering the classes I could take, I decided to go to France instead.

After that I got all the paperwork together and getting it notarized. There is a lot of it. There is so much going into getting ready for this trip.

I had to take care of health paperwork, and all the other paperwork saying that I will behave on the trip and be a good representative not just of the TnCIS Program, but also as a US citizen.

Finally the passport. Getting that was interesting. Hopefully things will work out with that cause there were some issues.

 People may be surprised that I didn't apply for a passport sooner, but the reason I didn't is because it's about $150! That's a lot of money and I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to go. I'm not going to get a passport and than not find out I can't go. I don't want to waste money.

So it has been a little stressful getting ready for this trip to France. Besides all of that I am very excited and it really hasn't hit me yet that I will be leaving the United States.