Pre-Depature... complaints

okay to be honest.... i am not really fond of this travelblog.org website. it gets really frustrating trying to navigate around this website. I will most likely be switching to another e-journal and or be writing in a physical journal and transferring my experiences here. Anyways to get back to my experience right now all I can say is the information given to me by my friend Kira while she ways away.
SPEND TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY. I really can't emphasize that much more. From the end of school to when I actually leave the country I only had a month...now fill that time up with my trip on a whim to New York (which I know probably sounds bougie right now, but it was $10 for the ticket...well the ticket was suppose to be free, I just had to pay for the 9/11 tax) and headed out tomorrow for Texas for the NASPA NUFP Summer Leadership Institute for all the NUFP students. So really I only have 18 days at home with a couple of days with friends in between... AGhhh its about 12 days before I leave....and all this paper work that still needs to be completed, which really frustrates me about my experience so far attempting to study abraod, I am really not going to lie. There's this constant frustration with finding out whether you get into the program, then the paper work you have to fill out for the preliminary acceptance, and for scholarships (which is a big help), then the constant shuffling to the student health center and back again..for shots..medication.. and advice, which really is helpful, but it is VERY FRUSTRATING. Especially since I don't have personal health insurance and rely on SHIP (which is great for everything accept dental....I looked at Berkeley's SHIP and their dental is amazing!! ours in San Diego really cost an arm and a leg. It really isnt student friendly at all and I don't blame them because they really don't have any students involved in planning and helping with deciding what students need because not everyone is privileged enough to be covered under their parents). I know I am going off on a tangent because the chaos of just getting a form in the mail that tells me that I must get a physical exam, x-ray, and hiv test all in order to go gain my pass to go to Singapore today when I do not have any way to get down to La Jolla is annoying. ( NOTE TO SELF: I KNOW I AM COMPLAINING ABOUT HEALTH CARE AND REALLY WOULD LOVE TO TALK MORE ABOUT THE FORMATION OF THE FIRST WORLD AND "THIRD WORLD NATIONS " WHILE WRITING ABOUT MY EXPERIENCE BEFORE THE TRIP BECAUSE THERE IS SO MUCH POWER IN ALL THAT IS SAID IN TERM OF HOW PEOPLE CONSTRUCT A REGION. ALSO MAJOR PROPS TO PEOPLE AT THE STUDENT HEALTH CENTER, I KNOW THEY DO ALL THAT THEY CAN AND ARE VERY CALM AND FRIENDLY WHEN I VISIT, I GUESS I AM FRUSTRATED AT A LOT OF THE ADMINSTRATIVE AND TECHNICAL WORK RATHER THAN AT THE PEOPLE). I guess what I am saying is that a lot of the paperwork that i just received today really could have been given to me a month ago.
Another thing to be wary about before studying abroad is that depending on where you are going, but very much a experience that I was not alone in is that prior to studying abroad you will be forced to pay a lot of money up front and it seems easy to view this as an investment, but really if you are going from paycheck to paycheck because you can really afford to drop any of your classes because you are taking a full course load (let alone buy the books for...) it makes it really tough. You have to be able to front the money both for the medical expenditures, your airfare, and other miscellaneous things that really add up. If I wasn't on financial aid and receiving a scholarship through ERC then I do not think I would be able to study abroad. Especially since according to the financial aid office, I will not be getting any funding until mid- September( when they process everyone else's aid), I guess needing to worry about funding, which I have to do anyways is what literally sucks about both my college experience and my pre-departure situation. What is even worse is that legally I will not be able to work in Singapore, which for me is really the only other way I known how to make money because I've done it all my life.
Okay I am going to take another breather...but another situation that gets me a little bit frutrated.. okay maybe a lot is that I didn't get housing on campus and even though EAP is taking care of it, its kind of a bummer. Anyways I would just like to note the program at NUS with all the information that they give us is amazing and living in I-House was a wonderul and worthwhile experience. I am getting so much encouragement from those that have traveled abroad, were abroad, and those that reside in Singapore. I'd really like to chat more about my pre-departure experience, but I have a plane to catch that heads for Texas tomorrow. Thank You for reading and until next time...

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