Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, I've finally finished up my 5 hours of classes on the Friday before Thanksgiving and I thought it would be appropriate to have a little update Thanksgiving post. I've made some headway on the exchange front, namely the accommodation side of things which I think warrants a post....

Where to start? I think I left off saying that I had yet to apply to any residences at UQ, but I was in the process of completing applications. These past few weeks have been SUPER stressful, since I found out on Sept. 29th that online applications for my first choice in residences, International House, were due ON THE 30TH. How insane is that? I literally spent the ENTIRE night on the 29th working on this online application, which was not your usual, "name, address, age" etc etc. No, it was crazy, long essay questions, asking me all about my cultural experiences, my community involvement, academics, athletics....you name it - it was on there.

Then, once this was submitted, I had to do a bunch of additional supporting documents like activity forms and more essay questions, mail AND fax them, plus send original transcripts and 4 photos of myself. I was a bit confused about the whole photos of me thing, I mean seriously, does it come down to a beauty contest? At any rate, this past week I've visited Canada Post and UPS stores more than I wanted to.

On those lines, guess how much postage is to Australia? General air mail, at least for an envelope my size was only $4.00. However, since I was on a bit of a time restraint (supporting documents HAD to be in by October 14th) I asked about express post. Price this time? $112.00. WHAT THE?!?!?! Seriously? An increase in the price by $108? And only to save me 4 days of travel time.

What did I do? What any university student would - I stuck with regular postage. Downsides?

1. It is not guaranteed that my envelope will make it on time
2. It's not even guaranteed to make it at all. Meaning, until it is recieved by the UQ end, there is no way for Canada Post to track it or locate it. Yikes. Here's to hoping that Canada Post is more organized behind the scenes!

But honestly, was I going to spend over $100 on mailing an application for an accommodation that isn't even guaranteed? Didn't think so.

That's about all the stressful updates thus far. I've just started to look into flights and timing, since I have yet to hear back from the UQ about my offer anyways. (Wouldn't that be brilliant? Me, not getting into the University, and this whole exchange thing not happening....) I'm hoping that by the time midterms are done (3 weeks from now) that I will a) have booked flights, b) know my accommodation status and c) be a little less stressed about the whole process. At least, it's proving to be quite the exciting adventure, which always makes for great stories!

Thanks for following, and until next time,

Danielle