First blog post in what I hope will be many as I am
preparing to live in another country for two years! I have always been a blog
enthusiast, but never really got the hang of blogging myself so we will see how
this goes. I’m posting in tumblr for those who have tumblr accounts under “Living
the Expat Life” and in Blogspot at livingtheexpatlif3.blogspot.com. Since you
are reading this, you probably have one of them, but in case you prefer the
other, there’s the information. I am very excited to attend school in another
country on a more permanent basis than a study abroad program and I am very
excited for the program type since I feel studying Peace, Conflict and
Development will be intellectually stimulating and rewarding! If you are
interested in learning more, here is the program site at http://www.epd.uji.es/web/en/index.html
I’m a little nervous still, but I feel it’ll be a great experience.
<<< I own a lot of orange apparel I realized.
Great adventures always begin with one aspect that no one
likes to do; a ton of preparations. That is what the month of August has been
for me. I’ve been excited to get ready to live in Spain for two years and I
can’t wait to be able to be immersed in the culture again, but before that, I
have a huge list of things to do. I have even bought a little so that
I can keep the master list with all of my daily lists as well. Yes, it is that
exciting. I have been pretty consistent
on my lists, only falling about a week behind, but I am hoping to be caught up
by this weekend and I think I have gotten quite a few hurdles out of the way.
What does this list entail, may you ask? Some examples would be…
moleskin
- Figure out what is shipped, what is stored, what is sold and what is donated
- Store keepsakes in labeled boxes in one closet space
- Donate excess clothes to Goodwill
- Sell…a lot such as furniture, bike, car, essentially any assets I have which is not much
- Buy clothes that I need to complete my wardrobe…surprisingly this became a necessity because I realized I have always wanted certain things like a brown cardigan, but never got around to getting it
- Prepare for part time job (for me tutoring English)
- Prepare computer for the worst with back-up system and photos organized
- And it goes on…
<<< Here is my work station with all of the essentials at my sister's house.
Here is my visa >>>
I have been
having fun with most of these little adventures which makes them go by quicker,
but some are just downright cantankerous. One example: getting my student visa.
That is one of the first things I had to do when I decided to attend this
graduate school in Spain and it took FOREVER to get all the required documents.
First, I had to renew my passport. Why? Well, not because it was expired. No,
it wasn’t going to expire for another 2 years, but because it was only valid
for another FIVE months after I will graduate in 2015. What’s wrong with that?
It needs to be valid for SIX months after I graduate in 2015 in order to get a
visa. I did that in March. Then there was the paperwork which I started in
April where I had to get apostilles on every sheet of official paperwork. An
apostille is a stamp that needs to be issues by the Secretary of State of the
state you received the paperwork in (so for me, Colorado and Wisconsin) or the office
of Secretary of State of the US government, as in John Kerry. An apostille is also known as bureaucracy at
its best; there was a time I had to do a stamp on a stamp on a stamp with my
medical document saying I was fit; first the MD signed it, than a notary
verified the MDs credentials, and then the Secretary of State of Colorado
verified that the notary was real. That was time consuming and expensive.
Luckily all of my papers were perfectly in order, my 160 euros paid, and I was
approved in a record breaking 3.5 weeks for a visa after using normal
processing. It was August 12th by the time I got the visa so it
still took 4+ months to get all the paperwork in line, hand in visa, get it
approved AND pick it up in person. It shouldn’t have been a surprise since I
already received a student visa before, but I was still nervous that I did
something wrong with the paperwork. It didn’t seem so intensive when I did it
my sophomore year of college, but at least it’s done.
<<< My Grandpa Don as a child. He was a cute baby!
Beyond
preparations, August has gone by rather quickly due to some unfortunate events.
My grandfather, Don Rostowfske, passed away on August 9th, 2013,
which was bittersweet. My grandpa was
struggling with health issues for quite some time so it wasn’t a surprise when
he passed, but it’s still sad that he is no longer on earth. I’m happy to know
that now he is at peace where he doesn’t have to suffer anymore and I’ll
definitely miss him. Here is a link to his obituary which quite a charming
picture of him when he was younger. http://host.madison.com/news/local/obituaries/rostowfske-donald-j/article_0f1b6cfe-73fb-5d97-b847-f19d3c07999e.html
Besides that sad news, it has been nice to spend extra time with my family and
friends in Wisconsin. I have had 4 weeks already with my parents and less than
4 weeks before I leave! I am glad that I have this time because I know that
once I leave, it’ll be 3 months before I’m back for Christmas, possibly 6-7
months for a summer vacation hopefully and then repeat for another year. It’ll be
weird to not be home for family events like birthdays and weddings as often as
I’d like, but I hope that I’ll get used to it soon! 
My mom and I at the Wisconsin State Fair on August 1st >>>
<<<A cream puff that was magnificent!
That is all
for today! And in case I don’t see you, good afternoon, good evening and good
night!
>>>My faithful friend for when I'm doing things at my parent's house Macy Mae, or as my parents say Dougie the Destroyer because she is like Doug from Up except she destroys things when she's nervous.
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