The Most Difficult Part: My Visa

      For anyone who decides to study abroad in France for any period of time longer than three months, be prepared for the most complicated procedure of your life.  I have rescheduled my appointment three times because the necessary documents either have not arrived from my host university, or I was unable to fill out my CAMPUS FRANCE form with ease.  Here is a general outline of the process i have gone through thus far.

Step One:  Navigate the French Consulate Website.  Because of my location, I was assigned to the Consulate in Boston, Mass.  Simply click "Anglais" at the top of the page to turn the page into English.

Step Two:  Make a Campus France Account.  Honestly, there is only one easy way to do this, and it is described in the following video.  CLICK HERE to check out a video which allowed me to register my Campus France Account entirely.  

Step Three:  Send a Money order along with your acceptance letters.  I still haven't gotten to this part yet, and I should probably get on it.  

Step Four:  Make an appointment through the PASTEL system.  Beware!  The appointments constantly change.  You are signing up for an appointment in person!

Step Five:  Show up to your appointment with all of the necessary documentation, which can be found on the Consulate website.  

      Is this simple?  No.  Actually I think I would rather take my Mathematical Analysis and Topology II class again rather than apply for another Visa.  For anyone who actually knew me over the span of this time period, you would understand that it was a terrible, terrible time during which I was stressed out to the max.  This is WORSE.

My Journey Thus Far

      Everyone has this misconception that studying abroad is an absolutely amazing experience right from the start, but what people fail to realize is that the amount of work that goes into getting overseas is simply overwhelming.  Was I originally supposed to attend University at Grenoble?  Not at all!  Here is an overview of the process I have gone through thus far to get to the point in my preparations that I am today.

       Originally, I was supposed to be studying here:

  Above is a picture of the forest surround the Université de Technologie de Compiègne.  I had been planning on going to this university for nearly a year, since it is a technology university, and I was interested in studying some math abroad as well.  However, after filling out all of the paperwork, my plans fell through.  I had been given the wrong due dates for the application.  Unfortunately, I had to scratch choice number one off of my list.

    So then, the next thought was here:

 Above is a picture of the city of Rennes.  After speaking with an adviser at my university, I found that this was the next best option.  But once again, the stars hadn't exactly aligned in my favor.  

      Next, I found myself nearly certain that I was going here:

 Caen, France.  I was scheduled to study at the Université de Caen, and I had all of the paperwork in order.  Everything seemed to be going in my favor, until I received that horrible phone call saying that the program had been canceled due to lack of enrollment.  Could anything else go wrong?  

      Finally, I ended up going here:

GRENOBLE!  FINALEMENT!

      It is official.  My paperwork is in, and I have received my FRENCH letter of acceptance.  Now all I must do is attend my VISA appointment, which is a story for another day...

And So It Begins...

Hello everyone!

      So I have just decided now to begin messing around with a blog for my studies in Grenoble, France.  I will be staying from September 3rd, 2012 until December 22nd, 2012, studying at the Université Stendhal -Grenoble III to finish my Bachelors Degree in French.  I have taken French for nearly 7 years now, and the only way I can expect to become fluent is to throw myself into the language.

      There are a few things you should know before you even decide to read this blog.  For now, these posts are in English, seeing as I am only testing the blog out.  BE WARNED.  Once I am in France, many of these posts will be in French.  Not all of them, but the majority will be.  What better way to practice my French writing?  This blog is geared towards anyone with the ability to read it!

      So now, here are a few fun facts about me that the world doesn't necessarily need to know, but I'll put them here anyways:

      - I am currently  studying both Mathematics and French in University.


      - Mathematics is my primary major.


      - I love to sing and play the guitar. 


      - Often I rant in French just to get some practice in.


      - I am an avid reader and writer.  I use my books and the books of others to escape Math.


      - I am a procrastinator.  Not the best thing in the world, but I always manage to get things done!


      With that being said, Bienvenue à mon blog!