Bought Tickets!!!

So I am finally getting closer to having things ready! Everyone out there who is or will be studying abroad one day, don't get discouraged by all the hoops you have to go through before you can actually leave to study abroad. It seems like it's just one thing after another, but when its all done you have this amazing accomplished feeling.

I semi finished my campus France debacle and I finally turned in my grant application, so things are looking pretty good. Over the weekend we (Eric and I) bought the tickets for our trip to Venice in September! It sounds like we're millionaires jet setting across the world, but really our money is very limited. So we are staying with people that we know in all the cities we're going to except for Nice. We also bought our airline tickets on ryanair for only about $40! Anyone studying abroad in Europe in the future, look at ryanair or myair because they have amazing deals if you want to explore different countries. Also getting a rail pass might also be useful if you want to go to a lot of countries.

Well now I just have to make an appointment with the French Consulate to get my visa. I can't wait until the moment they hand me my visa, it will be like the gates of Europe Heaven are opening to me! Ok well I'll update on any new events as soon as they come my way!

Here's a picture (a pretty good one if I do so say myself) I took of the Eiffel Tower, the last and first time I was in France two years ago.

A little less than two months to go!

OK so I am officially going crazy! I have less than two months before I leave and I still have everything left to do! I still have to get my visa, which is proving to be 100 times harder than originally I thought, but oh well I'm trying to think of all the fun and excitement that's coming soon! For those of you who don't know, I am going to be studying in Nancy, France for six months, starting this fall and winter. My name is Evangelia and I go to the University of Cincinnati. I'm a junior and am a psych major, but in France I'm only working towards my minor which as you may have guessed is French. I am also going with my boyfriend Eric who actually already studied abroad in France when he was in high school (he's a little better at French than me, but I think I have a better accent :) ). Anyway we are both so excited, and we decided to do a little bit of travelling before we start classes, so we're off to explore Europe in September! Fortunately we have places to stay in most of the cities we're visiting, because we wouldn't be able to afford it otherwise, the euro is skyrocketing farther and farther above the dollar! Oh well even if we're poor it will be an adventure!

I have no idea how I am going to pack for six months, especially since most of those months will be as cold as Siberia! I think I am going to send a box of my things ahead to my cousins who live in France, so I won't be lugging around things like my winter coat. I probably won't even start packing until a few weeks before I leave! But I'm going to try to be good and start putting aside my designated France clothes. I went to Pittsburgh last week and my mom bought me a few outfits for France, I mean I don't want to completely stick out as an American :) . I'm so excited, but also a little bit nervous. Will I fit in at the University? What if I get completely stuck and only remember how to say something in Spanish! Will I have enough money for everything? I guess there's no way to know until I'm actually there. Ok well I'll be back to fill everyone in on my next installment!!