There's no place like home...

...and my new home will apparently be somewhere called Fraser Court. It's about a 5-10 minute walk from campus, which is why it's also the cheapest res available, which is of course exactly how I like it. I know it's divided into flats of usually four people with a shared bathroom and kitchen - possible a central living area as well? I'm not certain. Also, according to one site I found, it has "two squash courts, a shop, a cash machine, extensive computing facilities in the Microlab and a small library. The Moon Bar, includes pool tables, video games and a large screen satellite TV." Yeah, Moon Bar. So there you have it. Besides working out banking and OSAP finicky details, everything is set and the official countdown begins. Leaving for Edinburgh in 28 days.

We have lift-off

Or at least a good spurt of energy. Yesterday I got a very discouraging email saying that five of my six courses selected had been brutally rejected. So I sat down, looked back through all of the courses offered and what credits I needed to get while I was there, and found myself (almost) all new courses. And lo and behold, with shocking promptitude they have responded to me with a completed and confirmed schedule. Huzzah! I have courses! And they're INTERESTING. I mean, I actually really do want to take ALL of these courses.
Here's the email I was sent today (okay, I asked someone the other day why whenever people forget my name they call me Heather, and she said it's because I look like a Heather... but then explain to me why in correspondence the same thing happens!)

***

Dear Heather,

Thank you for your email. You are now registered for a full course load
of 120 credits as follows:

Semester 1:

U00757 Music 1A: Music in Social Contexts
U01284 Tragedy & Modernity
TH9990 Feminist Theology

Semester 2:

U02764 Her Own Life?
U01595 History of Art 1B (VS2)
DV0163 Christ in Late Medieval & Renaissance Art

Unfortunately Ideology and Literature no longer has spaces available for
Exchange students. I have enrolled you for the semester 2 only variant
of History of Art as this fits in to your schedule better. I hope you
are satisfied with the above allocation. If you have any queries please
do not hesitate to contact me. You should receive joining instructions
shortly if you have not already.

I look forward to meeting you in September.

With best wishes,
Karen

***

So there you go. Both Heather and I have an excellent course load. I'm particularly excited about the Christ in Art course, because apparently gallery visits are a key part of the course. Yay gallery visits! This year is gonna RULE.

The Countdown Continues

Things are starting to feel really... real.
I have my passport (with a surprisingly good picture considering that it's a mugshot), I have my plane tickets and my travellers insurnace, my student visa application appointment is August 3 which is fast-approaching, and on Thursday my Dad bought me a digital camera (5.1 MP baby, more than I could ever need) which in my mind is all I'll ever need. Though I think I need to go back to futureshop and kick up a fuss about the fact that the camera is advertised as coming with rechargeable batteries, and it totally doesn't. There goes what I thought was my first positive consumer experience at futureshop. Shoulda known better.
Okay, so left to do? Clean out my room of any non-essential possessions to make packing easier. I need to get my confirmation of residence and of courses because as of right now I have no clue what I'm going to be taking over there. Then I need to make sure my courses are okay with my registrar specialist, whom I emailed about a month ago and who has never responded to me, making me not trust her at all. That's okay, I really like my academic advisor and I have a vague impression that he has omnipotent power over my degree. Is the phrase "omnipotent power" redundant? Possibly. Let's see... incidentally I have my G-test in August as well, because I wanted to go my license before I sell my car and (hopefully) never have to drive again. Why do I want a license then? Oh, you know. ID. Hmm. There's also the financial stuff, namely finding out how my bursaries are going to be applied, and figuring out how I'm going to get my second semester of OSAP, because apparently they've changed the rules on power of attorney and now nobody else is allowed to pick up my OSAP for me; I think they're going to mail it to me in Scotland, I sign everything, then I freakin' fedex it back to them. So stupid. If the canadian government wasn't giving me all this money, I would call it a lot of names right now. The only other thing I can think of is insuring my laptop, because I'm definitely taking it with me... oh yeah, and I also need to buy an adaptor for it from the apple website so it'll work over there. It comes in this international adaptor package so I'll technically be able to take my laptop anywhere in Europe with me, but I have every intention of shipping it back home to my father's safe-keeping as soon as school is done. As if I'm backpacking through Slovenia with a $2000 ibook on my back.
I have to contact that health card people and my credit card people and my bank to let everyone know where I'm going to be - and I have to consult with the bank about drafts and electronic money transfers and how to get my moolah over to the UK without being broke and miserable for my first week there. (I've heard a lot of horror stories about this.) Oh yeah, I also wanted to email the college do-everythinger Andrea and ask her to send an email out to all the exchange students so we can network while we're over there. You know, if anyone wants to see Edinburgh they can just drop me a line, I'll put them up and show them the town in exchange for a trip back to wherever they are. Though of course the majority of my free time will be spent in Paris harrassing Luke. Lucky boy.
I'm pretty sure that's everything, but it seems like a really daunting list. That's okay, I have the rest of the summer, a really lame job, and nothing to do with my free time but work out and fantasize about living in Edinburgh. To that end, cannot wait for Edinburgh's Hogmanay festival, which is (apparently) the largest New Year's street party in the world.
And that's saying something.

Confirmation!!!

One down, about a thousand to go. Just got an email from Edinburgh:

***

Dear Hannah,

Thank you for your application to study at the University of Edinburgh.
I am very pleased to inform you that we are able to make you a general
unconditional offer of admission as a Visiting Undergraduate in the
College of Humanities and Social Science for academic session 2006/07.

I am writing with this initial confirmation as it may assist with your
planning for your time abroad.

In addition to this email we will send you a written offer letter
detailing the courses on which you have been enrolled. This letter will
also include information about applying online for University
accommodation. This offer letter can be used for visa purposes (although
this email offer can be considered as a formal and binding offer from
the University of Edinburgh).

***

So there you have it. A formal and binding offer from the university. I'm on my way.

Future Perfect

Where: Edinburgh, Scotland
When: September 9, 2006 until May 25, 2007
Why: to study abroad for one year
How: excited am I? Here's a hint: I'm starting my travel blog about 4 months early.
What: do I have left to do? well, get a passport, a student visa, plane tickets, confirmation of my acceptance, confirmation of a spot in residence, luggage, travel insurance, apply for OSAP and a bursary and a loan, find out how to open a bank account in Scotland, make travel plans for June 2007 and convince my friends to come along, get contact information for the people I plan to visit, and try to convince myself that I'm not going die being on my own for an entire year. Eek.