Preparing for Calgary...

Okay so a lot has happened since last posted.

1. I got my results meaning I passed the year and can go abroad.
2. I booked my flights (a return cost me just over £700, no stops)
3. My visa/study permit came through.
4. My mentor got in touch with me
5. I managed to sign up for courses...mainly...

So a few things to expand on that brief list. Firstly flights get more expensive the closer you get to travelling (pretty basic I know) but that means BOOK EARLY! Especially if like me you want to come home for Christmas because those flights get super expensive. Search around, use a flight checker to see where you can get them cheapest. While there are some with extra stops for cheaper when it's 3 stops for only £20 less think to yourself if it really is worth the hassle! Also think about arrival times: I'm getting in at half 3 in the afternoon because then it gives me time to move into my halls and go shopping for pots/pans and all the other stuff I'm going to need. There is no point arriving at 11 at night if you're then going to be struggling to get stuff.

Second, the study permit came through in just 20 days which I think is pretty impressive. It's just an email which you then print off and take with you. I'm going to take all my supporting documents with me too as apparently it gets you through quicker.

Third, I decided to sign up for the mentoring programme as what have you got to lose? Even if I don't get on with her it'll be nice knowing there's someone I can contact with any questions/queries I may have.

Finally courses. The head of linguistics contacted me asking to talk through my course choices with me. Now of course the issue is when you've chosen your courses to apply you're often looking at last year's schedule. This was the case for me. A couple of courses had been dropped and a few give majors priorities. However after a few emails (all responded to very promptly) the linguistics department agreed on my course choices. I then signed up online for them all (it's quick and easy, and you're emailed all the information on how to do it). Only problem with signing up online is while I've agreed with the department I can do it, the computer sees that I don't have pre-requisites because I haven't taken any of my degree there etc. However I've been assured that this will all get sorted out.

So all in all a successful few weeks! Next job is insurance and then I think I'm ready to go!

Visa - Very Important Stressful Application

Okay in all honesty the application for a visa is a lot easier than the title makes it seem. For Canada unless you are studying for more than 6 months you don't even need to do anything (unless you're coming from a country which needs a temporary resident visa in order to get into the country). For those studying for more than 6 months you need to apply for a Study Permit.

This website is the place to go to start visa applications: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/study.asp

I applied online (because my laptop refused to load the file to print off!) and actually it was pretty straightforward. I had a minor issue as typed in passport number incorrectly (DON'T do this...it doesn't help things!) but once I got over that it was all good. You need a scanner if you do it online as you have to scan documents in. Hopefully I scanned everything in correctly and filled everything in fine and in 33 days I should be getting my visa through.

Now just to do insurance and book flights and then I'll be in Canada! SCARY! In my next blog I'll try and cover some general stuff about the Uni of Calgary and just how fantastic they've been even in this short time!