Getting Ready!!

The moment is finally here! I have been looking forward to starting this semester for what seems like an eternity and I can't believe I leave in just a few short days! My friend, Emily (also doing this program), told me about OTS during the fall semester of my sophomore year. I didn't really listen to her for a while because I thought she was talking about the global health program, which I wasn't interested in. She finally convinced me to read the program description and I realized that it was the perfect program for me.  I had a few meetings with the global education office, read every available resource about the program online, and talked to some friends who had previously done this program. I was 100% convinced and started my application immediately- and then started to tell my family and friends (no one was very keen on the idea at first). I turned in my application during the first week of November and was accepted about a week later. I was ecstatic (to say the least), but then I realized I still had to wait a very long time. As my sophomore year continued, I realized that A LOT of my friends were applying to this program- which was great because I could share my excitement with them.

This was 9 months ago. Around May, I booked my flights, started filling out the visa application forms and sent them in at the beginning of the summer. I ended up having a few problems getting my visa- which turned into a temporary residency and frantic end of summer scramble to get some extra forms in, but it all worked out!

I think I've gotten everything that I need together- the first thing I bought was a hat (which I then wore around the house all the time and to study for my final exam for my summer class). Here's a picture of me trying it on- my younger brother was not as excited as I was...

Getting my stuff together:

Anyways, I'm very, very, very excited for this semester and can't wait to get the adventure started! I head back to Raleigh on Wednesday and from there will fly to London and on to Johannesburg. Check out the other pages on this blog for some other information, a timeline, and an awesome map that I put together that shows the different places I'll be visiting.

That's all for now!