Friday, April 26, 2013
Beginnings...
Welcome to my new blog dedicated to my travel experiences!
My name is Ashley, and I'm currently a senior in the Sign Language Interpretation program at UNH in Manchester. As you may or may not know, I'm planning a study abroad trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand! I leave at the end of May, and return near the end of July (actual program dates are June 1 - July 20). I wish I had started this blog sooner so I could have documented more of my preparation for this trip, but suffice it to say it's been a wild ride. My excuse? This is ridiculous. I couldn't think of a good title or web address. I know. Pathetic. But I'm here now and I'm going to try my hardest to be more dedicated to this blog for the rest of my prep time as well as my actual trip than I am to my other blog. (read that one too, though! it has some pretty...weird? stuff)
I'll briefly (ha. you'll soon learn that "briefly" is not really something I do well...) condense what's gone on thus far in order to get me to the other side of the planet:
-I applied and was accepted to the program earlier this spring.
-I won a $4000 (yes, three 0s!!!) scholarship from UNHM (my home university). this was a very very VERY good day!
-I recently won a $500 scholarship from the Center for International Education at UNH Durham. this was another terrific day (funny story, I found out about that scholarship less than 24 hours before I found out that I got accepted to grad school. is heart failure due to excitement a thing?)
-lots. of. paperwork. There are about 90 bajillion (that's an educated estimate...) forms and things that have to be filled out and signed and dated and turned in. enough to make my poor, 4-years-of-college-and-i-just-volunteered-no-begged-for-3-more brain just quiver. Luckily I don't REALLY have to keep track of them all. I just sign where they tell me and hope I didn't agree to give them all of my kidneys and a lung or two. side note, my major is OBVIOUSLY not biology...
-had a mild panic attack when I applied for my passport because they said it could take up to 2 months...I'm a professional procrastinator, so naturally, I waited until I had precisely 2 months and 10 days until leaving for Thailand to apply. Well GUESS WHAT YOU LYING LIARS! The panic attack was for naught. I got my passport back in about 3 weeks. Thanks, State Department!
-filled out some more forms.
-and some more.
-there's still a few forms waiting for me to fill out but I have currently forgotten how to write my name legibly so I thought I should wait.
That's all that comes to mind right now. I'm probably going to post stupid things like my packing lists and tips for traveling and living in Thailand. Feel free to ignore those posts as they are primarily for my own benefit (seriously, I lose paper lists like nobody's business. organization is not my top skill.) but maybe you can read them and laugh at what an inept traveler I am :)
Also, if you have any comments or ideas or tips or ANYTHING to tell me, I'm very happy to get any help I can!
Onward and upward!
My name is Ashley, and I'm currently a senior in the Sign Language Interpretation program at UNH in Manchester. As you may or may not know, I'm planning a study abroad trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand! I leave at the end of May, and return near the end of July (actual program dates are June 1 - July 20). I wish I had started this blog sooner so I could have documented more of my preparation for this trip, but suffice it to say it's been a wild ride. My excuse? This is ridiculous. I couldn't think of a good title or web address. I know. Pathetic. But I'm here now and I'm going to try my hardest to be more dedicated to this blog for the rest of my prep time as well as my actual trip than I am to my other blog. (read that one too, though! it has some pretty...weird? stuff)
I'll briefly (ha. you'll soon learn that "briefly" is not really something I do well...) condense what's gone on thus far in order to get me to the other side of the planet:
-I applied and was accepted to the program earlier this spring.
-I won a $4000 (yes, three 0s!!!) scholarship from UNHM (my home university). this was a very very VERY good day!
-I recently won a $500 scholarship from the Center for International Education at UNH Durham. this was another terrific day (funny story, I found out about that scholarship less than 24 hours before I found out that I got accepted to grad school. is heart failure due to excitement a thing?)
-lots. of. paperwork. There are about 90 bajillion (that's an educated estimate...) forms and things that have to be filled out and signed and dated and turned in. enough to make my poor, 4-years-of-college-and-i-just-volunteered-no-begged-for-3-more brain just quiver. Luckily I don't REALLY have to keep track of them all. I just sign where they tell me and hope I didn't agree to give them all of my kidneys and a lung or two. side note, my major is OBVIOUSLY not biology...
-had a mild panic attack when I applied for my passport because they said it could take up to 2 months...I'm a professional procrastinator, so naturally, I waited until I had precisely 2 months and 10 days until leaving for Thailand to apply. Well GUESS WHAT YOU LYING LIARS! The panic attack was for naught. I got my passport back in about 3 weeks. Thanks, State Department!
-filled out some more forms.
-and some more.
-there's still a few forms waiting for me to fill out but I have currently forgotten how to write my name legibly so I thought I should wait.
That's all that comes to mind right now. I'm probably going to post stupid things like my packing lists and tips for traveling and living in Thailand. Feel free to ignore those posts as they are primarily for my own benefit (seriously, I lose paper lists like nobody's business. organization is not my top skill.) but maybe you can read them and laugh at what an inept traveler I am :)
Also, if you have any comments or ideas or tips or ANYTHING to tell me, I'm very happy to get any help I can!
Onward and upward!
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