Passport Photo Failure

If you need to get a passport you have to call the post office, make an appointment and obviously, go to your appointment. This would be easier if the Sand Lake Post Office, Located on Turkey Lake Rd, Orlando, would actually answer the phone.

So If you need to get a passport, go stand in line at the post office for 30 minutes and make an appointment to come back the following week to get your passport.

I did this.

Then I went to my appointment and the line was out the door, again. I was faced with a dilemma. I knew if I waited in line I would be late and miss my appointment. So I took the chance and called the passport number again to let them know I was there. The woman on the phone said she did not work there and to just go stand in the front of the line and the lady on the end would know what I was there for. I said "You want me to go get in front of 20 people who have been waiting in line for 30 minutes? To get the attention of one of the two people assisting them to take her into the back and bring the help down to one person?" She said "Yes, do you understand?" I just hung up the phone and left the post office.

I went home and googled to see if I could find another place to get it done. I am going back to Clearwater on Monday for a doctors appointment so I looked there. There are quite a few so I called, no one answered. SURPRISE! But I left a message and lucky for me I got a call back two minutes later! The woman was so nice. They did not have any spots available on Monday but she told me I could go to the traffic court without an appointment. She was very helpful. So that is my new plan. To get the passport in Clearwater, on Monday, at Traffic Court.

I thought it maybe easier if I went ahead and got my pictures done.

I had two done already but I had to send them in with my MCI application. My first set were done at Fedex/Kinkos, but i heard they are cheaper and Walgreens. So I stopped by before class.

I ent straight to the back where the photo department is located and no one was back there, except a girl stocking shelves. She looked at me and said

"What do you need?"

"I need passport photos"

"ASSOCIATE TO PHOTO DEPARTMENT!"

five minutes later:

"ASSOCIATE TO PHOTO DEPARTMENT"

Now two people come over at once I tell them I need passport photos she says "stand here, how many you need? okay its finna take 15 minutes" I then asked if i could pick them up later she said ya.

I went to class and got back to Walgreens about four hours later. Again, no one was in the photo department. But I found someone and she grabbed my photos I asked if I could see them, they were horrible. She asked if I liked them and I said no but I will just go somewhere else and pay for them again. She said no no I can take more.

We then had about a ten minute photo shoot in the back of Walgreens because they use a 12.2 megapixel digital camera that has a lot of trouble focusing on anything. We finally get one and print it and realize it is still blurry.

We take another and print that one. Then a guy comes back, who clearly is the person who should be working the photo department and asked what we are doing. He looks at the picture and says it is too far away that we have to take another. So we do and look at it on the computer and he says okay that one should be okay.

"Should be okay?"

"Yes, should be okay."

"You know, I think I would just be more comfortable going to the post office to get them done."

"What?"

"The post office, they send off for the passport they should know what will work so I will just go there. I do not what to get charged twice for photos because you did not know how to do them correctly."

"So I just printed three of these for nothing?"

"Yes, yes you did. Have a good night."

And I left.

It was a completely unsuccessful day. No passport. Not even photos.

Can we all agree Walgreens is not competent enough to print passport photos?

It has hit the fan.

I received my first e-mail from Maureen stating that we need to get our application in. Meaning we have to pick our classes for Austria, and submit the application and learning agreement, along with two passport photos, to MCI.

Amanda and I went and saw Maureen at main campus about two weeks ago just to talk to her in person. We realized that she has her hands FULL. She is responsible for all study abroad students. Which is about 85 students at main campus. Josh is supposed to be in charge of the study abroad students from Rosen but he is busy as well.

So when it comes to some of the questions I have I am a little in the dark. I have so many people I can ask but it just takes time for people to get back to me. I wish there was more of a structured outline or to do list or even a timeline, to keep me on track.

The most confusing thing for me was picking out classes. Their credit system is structured different from the ones in the states. I am still not even sure how it works I just know I am still one credit short so I need to change a class but my application was submitted anyway, knowing full well it would have to be sent back and edited. Oh well, at least its a start I guess.

I tried to go and get my passport on Monday but no one at the port office answers the phone so I had to go by the post office, to schedule an appointment for next week. After that I believe the next step is applying for my visa.

It is also time that I start emailing my study abroad advisor at MCI, she is going to be my main go-to person over there so I should probably start getting to know her now.

I really need to find a place to live but it is so expensive, I will be paying the same price if not more, than I am paying now in my apartment but I will be in a little dorm with a tiny window. But it is all about the experience, right?

My travel plans have also changed I will be in Florida until mid February, meeting up with Julia and Amanda in Boston, and then we will fly to London stay for a few days and then continue on to Vienna. Then take a train from Vienna to Innsbruck. We decided this should work out better because it gives us a week to get used to Innsbruck and find out where some things are located.

I found this amazing website: www.StudentUniverse.com which has student airfare at a discounted rate, it is awesome!! I also was told about www.RyanAir.com, which has some amazingly cheap flights throughout Europe as well.

As of now my to-do list includes:
*Getting Passport
*Getting Visa
*Finding a place to live
*Making sure my health insurance is valid in Austria (And covers skiing accidents)
*Opening a USAA Checking account and verifying they do not charge exchange fees
*Talking to financial aid about scholarships/loans
*Apply for scholarships
*Start booking flights
*Figure out more creative ways to get free money! haha

So I have a lot to do on top of school and work and I feel like every thing has hit the fan all at once. I need to get on track and start sorting things out before I am too late. Its like I am in the final leg of the race and I can see Austria in the distance!!

I think that sums it up for now!

Oh wait! I also decided to start taking Rosetta Stone to learn German, or at least attempt to learn German. I work for Marriott and they will pay for me to use it, I just need manager approval. I spoke to my manager today and he said go for it that I just need to stick with it. They say if I spend 30 minutes a day on it I should be done in four months. I am going to start hopefully after my midterms are done this month.

Wish me luck!!

What is Next?

So it has been a while and I have a lot to fill you in on.

Right after we were accepted we were all set on fundraising and getting all the money we needed through donations. None of us want to take out loans but as time approaches it looks like that is what we will have to do.

We wanted to do a car wash, e-mail our high schools, stand outside of grocery stores with a bell, everything. But we are all work full time and are full time students so it is hard for us to plan things together.

Now here we are less that 176 days from the start of our classes in Europe with no money saved up. We seriously need to step it up.

But we have had time to plan what we want to do! We have to be out of our apartment on February 7th, then we want to fly to Boston to see Julias family, Dublin from there to spend a week, then to London to spend a week, then on to Vienna or Innsbruck, where ever we can get a direct flight into and then classes begin March 1st!

I have also been trying to get a hold of the woman in charge of all study abroad students at UCF because we have heard nothing since we recieved our acceptance letters and paid the first $250. We have not applied to MCI, no one has told us what we need to do next, no one has tried to help us find a place to live while we are there, absolutely nothing.

So I do not have much to blog about on that side of things because even we have no idea what is going on.

But I have gotten into contact with the guy that is going with us, Matt Hendrix, and the two girls that were just in Innsbruck in the spring. We all planned on going to breakfast but only Me, Julia, Amanda, Matt, and Caitlin (she was in Innsbruck spring 2009) were able to make it.

Caitlin was very informative, and told us about couchsurfing, what to carry and not carry with us at night, she suggested we get bikes the second we get there, and no to buy train passes because they are a waste of money. Oh and that little old ladies go out onto the moutains in the middle of the night with their hogs in order to find mushrooms. Cant wait for that! haha She also told us that Italy is only a 20 min train ride from Innsbruck! As Amanda put it "I cant wait to update my fb saying.. 'Italy for dinner tonight'".

Hopefully we will meet up with Katrina and Holly soon so we can get a better idea of how much we will spend and where is the best place to live.

Amanda and I still do not have our passports but we have officially set a date! I will post again soon to explain how that proccess goes!

Wish us luck!