Accomodation

So accomodation, aka housing, you apply for before the end of July usually and do not worry if you do not hear anything back till September; this is perfectly normal. So if I remember correctly you can apply for four different dorms. I managed to get Accomodations in Benefactors, which is really nice since the bathroom is ensuite. I do have a room mate, but have yet to meet them. The room I am in is very nice. In my dorm you get a really big desk, a nice twin bed, decent closet space, and the bathroom is a bit small but is still advantagous since I will be sharing it with only one other person. Here are some pics to give you an idea....

Welcome to Warwick

So my plane arrived today at 10am, London time, after which I had to go through Customs and the Boarder agency. By the way they ask for your letter of acceptance, and since Warwick is emailing those now to international students, I found that a letter you receive from them in support of your student visa works great. Anyway, I went through five minutes of panic when I realized that I could not remember what terminal I was supposed to meet them at for the coach pickup. Thankfully I went in the right direction and caught the coach over to the University.

Front of Orientation booklet

Orientation so far has been great. I have made some new friends, everyone has been super nice, and it has been overall well organized. They have a cost cutters right on campus where you can get food, some toiletries, and some supplies (including an Ethernet cable which is required to access the internet in the dorms). They provide you with vouchers for breakfast and dinner, and so far the food has been very good. I was a bit surprised that the campus was smaller than I had thought from the maps. Oh and the most interesting part of my day is to hear some use Americans in an analogy, and no it was not in a discriminating way.  

Today is the day!

Just a quick update. Today I leave for England...so I will be getting there 10am there time tomorrow and 5am EST, that should be fun. I will post again once I get there and get settled. Wish me a safe flight :)

The joys of packing

You never truly realize how much stuff you have until you try to fit all the things you want to bring with you somewhere into two large suitcases and keep each under 50 pounds. When I first went to pack last Thursday (I leave Monday) I thought that I would not have any trouble fitting everything I want to bring in two large suitcases. Well by today I am seeing the error in my thinking but I still managed to get packed up. When you receive an offer of accommodation from Warwick, they give you a list of things that the room already has so you do not need to bring everything. I will actually be buying several things when I get there but I packed mainly clothes, shoes, jackets, movies, books, and few other miscellaneous items. A great suggestion for saving space is to put your clothes into space bags. I did this and it really helped especially with all the bulky sweaters and jackets I have from going to Cornell and its cold weather (give me a break I am from the south, the coldest it gets usually is like in the 20s). Make sure to pack a converter and plenty of clothes for wet weather, evidently in rains alot. I was told by the students I met from Warwick who are at Cornell right now that you want waterproof everything so. Oh and like with Cornell, if you forget anything you should be fine, they will most likely have it near or on campus.

Passport and Visa info

If you decide to do the program....if you do not already have a passport, get one asap. They take four to six weeks to process so get moving on that as soon as you know that you want to do the program. Besides if something happens and you do not go, your passport is good for ten years. It may be handy anyway to serve as additional identification and if you ever need to leave the country (for honest and good reasons of course). As for the Visa, I was not able to get mine until about 3 months before September 27th when I leave. The process involves a bit of paper work so try not to procrastinate too much. Which visa you get will depend on how long you will be staying. I had to get the Visitor student Visa since I will be there less than six months. So I am assuming if you will be there longer than you need to get the regular student Visa but do not worry if you do not know. The University of Warwick is really good at keeping you up to date on that information and you can also email them and they respond fairly quickly. Oh one last thing about the visa, it says on the paperwork already, but I forgot so I thought I would remind you; make sure to mail in two passport style photos with your paperwork. If you have any more questions about either passports or visas, send me an email.

A bit more about me and the blog

Hi everyone, I am Nicole. Some of you may know me, some may not. A little bit about me, I am from North Carolina. I have one sister, and two dogs. I have been engaged to my fiancé since May 2009 and I am studying at Cornell in order to go into a career in Human Resources. Ok, now then about this blog...so if you have not clicked on my name under "the about me and this blog" section to the right, please do so asap. This will give you an idea of what this blogs main purpose is. I will be posting other stuff besides the information I refer to in that section since I do want to show you my actual experiences too, especially the fun ones. Oh and one more thing, once again if you are considering doing this program, please do not base your entire judgment on what I do and what I may experience on my adventure. I am sure you are smart enough to already be aware of this if you are considering the program but I still feel it should reiterated. I will be trying to update regularly so enjoy my blog and feel free to email me or post a comment with any questions you may have. Thanks!

Me :)