As odd as it sounds, the one thing I didn’t expect when I started thinking about my trip abroad was how much planning I would have to do. I’ve planned big trips before, I have even gone on summer study abroad trips before now. But organizing this trip was on a different level entirely. I am no stranger to planning. In fact, I alwys seem to over plan. When picking my classes for the new academic year I always come up with five potential schedules. It’s a habit, one that somehow failed during the planning of this trip.
I asked for advice from people who know better—the women at the Office of International Programs have a wealth of knowledge, and I have several family members who have taken similar trips in the past. I have also talked to a few students who already study at Royal Holloway. But there are still things that aren’t concrete, like my classes.
I wish I could give you a screen shot of my desktop right now. One half of the screen is this article. The other half is a list of classes in the Criminology/Sociology department. It was sent to me today by an admissions advisor, who wrote that I needed to choose my classes again because the options have changed since last semester.
So now, less than two weeks before I fly into Heathrow, I’m still choosing classes. There is always some element of the unknown when you’re planning a trip, especially one that’s going to last for so long.
Sometimes that unknown element is okay. But sometimes that unknown is about something important. Like, oh, say, the thing that gets you into the country and allows you to take classes.
Oh, my visa. Where do I start? Getting a passport is easy – you fill out a form and send it in. A month later, you have a shiny new passport. A visa is different. There are caveats, classes, tests, and biometrics. It’s extremely difficult to figure out on your own. They can advise you and assist you with the documents you need, but the leg work you have to do yourself.
Currently, I’m in the final stages of planning, about to do my least favorite thing: packing. If you ever want to depress yourself, see how few boxes it takes to pack away your life for a year.