Space Bags

Best packing invention ever.

That is all.

(17 Days)

2 checks off the to-do list, and I'm all set to go.

When my alarm went off at 4:30 this morning, I asked myself, "Why would I wake myself up at this ungodly hour?!"  Then I remembered that class registration was at 5.  In the morning.  Luckily, I wasn't alone, because between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m., facebook chat populated with the other Oregon Staters traveling to Austria.  In the end, I registered for 7 classes with the intent of dropping 2 once I figure some stuff out, and I was one of the fortunate ones to get into all of my classes.  Registration started at 5:00.  I was finished by 5:01.  By 5:01:30, classes were full.  RIDICULOUS!

Register for classes: CHECK!

Needless to say, I immediately went back to bed.  It's my summer vacation!  Of course I'm going to oversleep!

I awoke to my mother tossing a FedEx envelope at me.  HELLO, PASSPORT!  How I've missed you!  My Visa packet came back, with a lovely page of my passport dedicated to my Schengen Visa.  Thank goodness I don't have to worry about that anymore.  Here's the story with my passport/visa:

Toward the end of the school year, I may or may not have attempted to jimmie open a door with my drivers license.  Bad idea.  That card now has a chunk missing from the side, rendering it "tampered with" and therefore invalid.  My Military ID expired the day before my 21st birthday - also invalid, and cannot be renewed.  What does that leave me for legal identification?  My passport.  And I had to fly to San Francisco for training for my internship.

While everyone else got their visas back toward the end of July, I was just sending mine off.  Then, I get a call from my mom saying I got a letter back from the consulate, and, guess what - I definitely forgot to sign my visa application.  And include my insurance letter.  I am a mess.  So I sent it back in, and had a mild panic attack that I wouldn't get it back in time for my flight.  Usually, my panic attacks are for nothing.  Case in point: Visa is back.

Obtain Visa and Passport: CHECK!

All that's left to do now is wait for my departure date to roll around.  That, and learn a few German phrases.  And plan my first month of travels, including how to navigate public transportation and hostels.  No big deal.

(20 days)

Movies will do that to you.

I watched Eat, Pray, Love last night and SOOOO want to go to Italy now!  Add that to the list of 10!

I also discovered a little something about myself: Going to the movies is usually a social thing - you go with your friends, you take your significant other if you have one - but I really enjoy going to the movies by myself.  It's like my me-time.  The point?  This may be a little something to help me with culture shock and homesickness, I think.  We'll see how that works.

I desperately need to get a German Phrasebook and a German-English dictionary.  Luckily, I'm heading to coffee with a friend at Bridgeport today.  Hello, Borders!

(The countdown continues - 22 days)

24 days and counting...

So, here's the deal:  In 24 short days, my ass is on a plane to Vienna, Austria for 4 months of studying abroad at Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien, a.k.a. WU, a.k.a. Vienna University of Economics and Business.  I am SO EXCITED. 

I've been in Portland all summer interning at an accounting firm.  Internship just ended yesterday, with a very good ending, and now I'm heading back home for a week, hitting up Hawaii for a week, visiting my best friend since 3rd grade for 4 days, retreating with my fellow Beta Alpha Psi officers, and then I'm off.  Damn.  Whirlwind.  Keeping all of this packing for different trips thing organized is going to be an adventure all in itself.

The Goal: 10 countries in 4 months.  Definitely do-able...well, we'll see. 

Essentially, I've established this blog to:

• Keep me sane while I'm abroad - just in case it gets overwhelming and such.  Apparently, this is supposed to help.
• Share my experiences with friends and family back home!  Because I can't Skype all of you every day and tell you what I'm up to (that would get real annoying for all of us), you can just check in and see what's going down in Europe whenever you feel like it.  Or not.  I don't care either way.
• Serve as a reminder of the crazy adventures I'm about to embark on.  That way, when I do come back and will just want to talk nonstop about studying abroad and tell everyone everything about everything, even though I'm sure you'll only want to hear about the first hour and then you will be thinking "JEEZ, Kelly, ENOUGH already", I can just turn to this.  And save your ears.
• Ok, so keeping a journal or something equivalent may or may not be a requirement for me to get my international degree.  The truth comes out.

Watch for photos.  And crazy stories.  And maybe even a song of the day, if I feel like it.  And whatever ridiculous stuff I decide to throw in here as well.  I have a feeling this will be updated sporadically, and will be full of random paraphernalia that I find interesting, entertaining, boring, whatever I feel like writing about at the time. 

In the meantime:  I'm still waiting on my Visa from the Consulate.  Kill me.  Here's the thing: I could probably get into the country without my Visa and just get it mailed to me.  Definitely couldn't get in without my passport.  Fingers crossed it's here before I leave for Hawaii, so I can REALLY relax over there.

Later!