Preparation for my travels

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I can't believe it! I leave for Scotland in less than a month, on January 29th to be exact. There is still so much to do...so little time.

My preparation for leaving the country started a while ago...gathering little things here and there and getting things in order.

I am lucky enough to have two travel buddies that are also attending Aberdeen. There are 6 of us all together that are going to Aberdeen. I start my adventure in Milwaukee and fly to Chicago and then from Chicago to London and then London to Aberdeen. The flight from Chicago to London is only 7 hours and 35 minutes, so it's not to bad. Hopefully just enough time for me to gather my wits and realize I can't turn back now!

The most frustrating issue I have come across was acquiring my visa. Scotland requires that I get my biometrics taken, (digital fingerprints, no ink allowed), so I had to make time out of my busy schedule to travel to the Twin Cities from E.C., and hour and a half drive, sit in line for about an hour, get my biometrics taken which took a total of 3 minutes, and then drive an hour and a half back. Then I had to send the correct information in to the British Consulate in Chicago, but they don't tell you exactly what you need, so I made some educated guesses. If you miss one piece of information, they send it back and make you start over. I didn't hear back from them for about a week and a half, when they finally said that they got it and that it was being processed. The day after that I got an email saying that it was accepted and completed and it would be shipped the next day, when I got it. RELIEF!


As of right now, I have all the documents needed for Scotland! My passport, visa, certificate of acceptance and all that fun stuff!

I got a wonderful piece of luggage for Christmas, that numerous people asked to "ride along" in with me to Scotland. I slowly have started to fill it up with the necessities; travel documents, converters, journals, maps, travel books and all the things that just take up space in my room. I think about packing it...but realize that it might be a tad bit too early and I would probably drive myself nuts with the constant packing and re-packing.

I will be attending the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. I am directly on the coast, so I should have a magnificent view. Aberdeen is around the quarter of a million mark, population wise. Should make my life more adventurous, considering I get lost going around the block. I am sure I will have more "getting lost" stories for you that should be quite interesting 😊


You can contact me at: [e-mail]

Well, that's it for now😊

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