Thanks, Mom!

Today I put down my confirmation deposit, finally. It was eating away at me that it wasn't done yet because, of course, they say you can lose your spot on the program (while there are still more than two months left to apply to the program and I've only found one other person on facebook who is in the program I'm in)... but it still was.
So my mom gave me the money for my deposit, which would be why this post is a gracias to her. Now all I have to do is .. everything because I've put off a bunch of paperwork and the like.

Anyway, thanks Mom! :)
And, Argentina, here I come!

4 Months From Today...

... I will be boarding an airplane and flying through the night on my way to Argentina!

I'm really excited, but I know I have a lot of stuff to get together still. I need to find my flight and get a bunch of information for CEA approval and for the office of study abroad's approval here at USC. I don't want to think about all that paperwork right now though.

Instead, I'll tell you all how excited I am, still. Of course. It's not constantly on my mind, anymore, but it frequently appears there because a lot of course work I'm doing relates to it. In Spanish class we just did politics and social changes as a chapter, and I'm doing a presentation on one of the most famous Argentines, Evita Perón. In my conversational Spanish class, I've commonly been seen freaking out about how American I sound, etc. but my teacher has calmed my nerves because I'm starting to realize that when I'm confident about what I'm saying, I sound really good. Hopefully my time in Argentina will only improve that feeling.

So, I don't really have a lot to share - life has been AWESOME and I'm realizing how much I feel like I'll be missing out on something amazing here en los EEUU (that's the abbreviation for United States, or Estados Unidos), but I know I'll have something more amazing that I wouldn't want to give up for the world. At the same time, I just spoke today (for the first time in a while) with my friends, Stephanie and Holly, about their recent adventures; it makes me VERY jealous to hear, but I bet they'll feel the same way when I'm abroad and they aren't any longer.

For now, though, I am going to concentrate on school and watching the Olympics (Go Team USA!). I hope that when I'm in Argentina I'll become a big fútbol fan, so I at least have a sport to care about - seeing as I'll be missing out on the Red Sox!

http://traveler.nationalgeographic.com/2010/03/feature/buenos-aires-text/1
Here's a link to a very interesting article about many different aspects of life in Buenos Aires - fashion, food, nightlife, etc.

Quite a Shock

Now that I've been accepted, and it's all I've been able to mention for the past few days, I decided that I should take a good look at my pre-departure information online. As I was doing this, of course, I couldn't help but notice that in the sample budget for my program the tuition rose, and that was not the only thing. I was so shocked and upset because, essentially, the entire budgeted amount rose by about $5,000. I was so angry and upset, and I couldn't believe that this would happen to me; I had searched and searched to find an affordable program so that when I told my parents I knew what I want to do, I could tell them that it wasn't crazily out of reach. This threw a wrench into my plans. And when I looked at my bill, it said it didn't owe nearly as much as the sample budget showed, so I was severely confused. I immediately called CEA and spoke with a very friendly woman in the financial aid department about it. She explained that because I applied when I did, I was not affected by the increase in tuition to the company, but that I may have to budget more money toward general life expenses in Buenos Aires. I thanked the lady for her explanation and called my mommy, who was about to sit down to dinner. Like any good mother, however, she could tell by my voice that something wasn't right (I can't believe I'm that read-able!). Anyway, she assured me that all would be well and that I could still go to Argentina. So, for now, my trip is quite safe and I didn't start this blog in vain! Haha. I just thank my lucky stars that I applied when I did because a day or two later could have cost me a few grand. I guess I should also be thankful that I just got recruited to a new job, and I that I will be able to save myself a few hundred dollars to spend on who knows what (food) in Argentina.
Additionally, a strange thing that I learned from my pre-departure information... when Stephanie was preparing for France (http://grenobletwentyten.blogspot.com) and Holly for London (http://cttolondon.blogspot.com), they both went through somewhat complicated processes to get their visas in order. Instead of driving to Atlanta like Stephanie or having an issue with shipping like Holly, I just wait until I get to Argentina and get a tourist visa at customs. Then, when I'm at school I apply for an addition student visa, and I'm all set. Whew! So much for worrying about that one! (Although I'm sure it will be a ton of paperwork anyway, haha).

Just to finish off, I want to apologize to all the people that put up with me and my endless chatter about how awesome Argentina is going to be. When I'm procrastinating on work, it's what I google. I can sit on Wikipedia and CIA World Factbook for hours just reading about Buenos Aires and Argentina (and all the cool places I can go!). So, yeah, sorry guys! Slap me when I get annoying!

But! Fun fact: Iguazú Falls, on the borders of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, has a falling rate of 350,000-400,000 gallons per SECOND. Think about how it would feel to shower under that. Haha.

Paz y amor,
Caroline

Accepted!

I told my friends today that I wanted to start a blog now that I had completed my application for study abroad. I said, "I want to because I'm excited, but I know I'll have nothing to write." Of course, hours later, I've been accepted to my study abroad program, and I have too much energy to wait on making a blog now.

So, hello. It is February 1st, and I have until June 19th until I start my semester+ in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Yet, here I am. Anyway, I just would really like to give a grateful shout-out to CEA Global Education. I applied to my program yesterday, faxed my transcript in at about noon, and was accepted by 8:30PM. So instead of waiting for a seemingly endless period of time, I found out within 48 hours of my actual application submission (and that was on a Sunday, folks!).

I'm not going to lie, I've wanted to study abroad for a while now. It's been hard seeing 2 of my best friends leave the country this semester, and I know plenty of other people also overseas. But now it's my turn and I'm so very excited. Although, the moment my parents told me I could apply, I became nervous. 5.5 months is a very long time to spend away from the places you know and the people you love, but I know it will be worth it in the end, very worth it. When I submitted my application, I told my family, "now it's out of my hands. What happens happens!" And now that I'm accepted, I'm nervous again. Haha. But really, I don't think I would have been accepted so quickly if it wasn't really meant to be. (And that's my thought on that!)

I'm sure I'll find a few things to write about inbetween now and the week prior to departure, such as visa application and class registration. And maybe I'll even give a low-down as to why I chose CEA over all the other, I'm sure, wonderful study abroad companies. But until then, IR Theory and Poetry await!

¡Buenos noches, señores y señoritas!