Hi everyone,
Earlier today I posted on Facebook about my upcoming stay in South Africa. Hopefully there will already be some people reading this! I meant to make my first post earlier, but my dad had motorcycle problems which interrupted the evening. At least he is back safe and sound.
Although I am not yet physically in South Africa, there are many things happening that would be fun information for the blog. I spent the past three months in meetings with my study abroad counselor and my academic advisor. I went through a long application process, and had to get at least 12 signatures from different departments from my school, Kennesaw State University, to get classes approved. When that was completed, and finals were over, I thought I could take a breath, but the next day I was accepted into the program. I will be spending the next year at Stellenbosch University in South Africa near Cape Town.
So far I have found the Visa process to be much more intense than I expected. Yesterday I was at the police station getting fingerprinted so I can get a full background check from the FBI. I also have a few upcoming medical appointments for further work and signatures for my visa. On top of that, only a few days ago South Africa's law changed and now, rather than sending in my information by mail, I have to actually fly to Washington D.C. and turn in my application in person. This is no cheap visa.
Lastly, I got my international driver's license yesterday. Now I hope to be able to rent a car and travel during school breaks while I am there.
That is all for now. I will keep this updated regularly. I hope to see people checking it out!!
May 16, 2015
Dear Georgia,
ReplyDeleteKaren and I just finished reading your post. It sounds very exciting. I though moving my Jason to Vandy was out of town! You are really going for broke aren't you! It
Will be interesting reading your future posts on this true life adventure.
Good luck getting though all the red tape you described. I was in the Coast Guard back when it was under the Treasury Dept. By the time they got though talking to my teachers, my minister, even my next door neighbors, they were all wondering what I had gotten myself into.
We will look for your new post as all this adventure unfolds. Love you, Jeff and Karen