LET THE COUNT DOWN BEGIN!

My life is so important that obviously I need to write about it and share it to my friends, family and acquaintances. Over the past few months a lot has happened. The Olympics where Michael Phelps did his things, my family and I had adventures, and I started preparing for my impending travels for grad school. 

There is an entire section of the internet and book stores dedicated to travel and how to prepare for it. The stress has probably given me my first gray hair. I haven't looked, to be honest, I don't really care. Gray can be really dignified and is really trendy right so I would "in".

The visa has been my biggest issue. I had to wait for my CAS.  

C -Confirmation

of

A- Acceptance

for

S-Studies

Basically it is the institution saying"Yes, we are having Sara come study. No, she isn't pretending."

In order to receive a CAS, one must have an unconditional offer from the institution they are planning on attending. My unconditional offer required an FBI background check. It takes forever. 

(If you need one by a certain date make sure you submit your paperwork at least 5 months in advance. It takes 11 weeks before you can even check if they received your application.) After my university processes the background check, the rest of the planning was fairly uneventful... until I had to apply for my visa. 

My school didn't email me telling me the required documents for my visa until two weeks ago. That in and of itself made me anxious. Most visas take a while to process. I complied the documents and went to the post office and mailed them. Upon returning home I found I forgot three pages of documents. The next day I overnight-ed them. Two days after that I had an email that told me I had the wrong type of return label and that I needed to pay for the online PDF return label. I wanted to rip my hair out. 

Today was a glorious day. I have heard back, my visa has been granted. My passport will be returned early next week. My airplane tickets are purchased. Hotel is taken care of for when I arrive.

 

I will be leaving the U.S. for the United Kingdom, where I will be living, in Wales, for the next year. I am so excited for this next adventure.

Planning, Packing and 100 Last Minute Details

So I leave in 40 hours and 40 minutes! I have a lot to do before I leave. The list feels like its growing and not shrinking. I found these two lists to be able to pack more effectively. My first step with packing is always figuring out where I am going. This trip is China. I, then, check the weather and climate. Don't bring strappy sandals and a white dress to a place in monsoon season. It will be miserable and uncomfortable. I found this first list for my carry on bag. This will all be able to fit in carry on no problem.

As a person who likes to shop I leave with all of my things fitting into a backpack or a carry on. Now I know the stereotype for women is that they over pack, I am no longer one of those women. I did a 7 week study abroad and only brought 9 days worth of clothes, which all fit in my backpack. I came home with 15 pounds of chocolate and gifts for about 25 people.
Now I won't bring everything on this list, for example, I strongly dislike umbrellas. I won't be bringing one. I will instead have a raincoat. I will not be bringing a lap top either. My basic rule is that keep all things you absolutely need to have. For example, glasses, contacts, travel size contact solutions, my passport and my boarding passes without question will be in my pursue or carry on.
I believe that all international flights give you a checked bag. I usually check an empty bag so I have something to bring my treasures back in.


This second list is for long trips for clothes and other things to bring. This will be the list I will use to pack for graduate school. It has an extensive list for all occasions. I should be able to fit this in a checked bag or two and have everything I need.

Now I just need to pack and organize everything. While I was doing my undergrad, I always wash my sheets before a trip. It is so nice to come home to a clean room and freshly washed sheets.

I am so excited this is going to an adventure. And this is where the name of my blog comes from:There is no such Thing as Being Lost Only Adventuring. I will be adventuring in the very near future.

I will be blogging while I am gone, so I hope to keep everyone up to date on my adventure.