Insurance - check, Fingerprinting - check, Contact FBI - check?

We received an e-mail a few days ago from the inbound coordinator in Spain with spcific instructions about getting a visa and insurance. We've been eagerly awaiting the guarantee form but found out in the e-mail that they won't send it until we have purchased the health insurance. The insurance is with CIGNA Life Insurance of Europe S.A.-N.V. The cost is 500 Euro for the year. We were able to pay online with a credit card. The most difficult thing was navigating the website in Spanish. Good thing Josie knows her Spanish!

We need that guarantee form to apply for the student visa. The visa she will get will be for 90 days, but they said that once she gets to Spain she'll have 30 days to apply for a long-term visa that will cover the whole school year. We also found out a new requirement for attaining the visa. She needs a "absence of criminal record" report. This is attained from the F.B.I. You can find more info at http://www.fbi.gov/. First though, Josie will have to go to our local police department and have her fingerprints taken ($10). Those get mailed, along with a form, postage paid return envelope and $18, to the FBI. Once the FBI send the report to us, we then have to take it to our Secretary of State office and have them legalize (apostille) it.

Josie leaves in about 4 months (they are approximating departure for the end of August). So much to do . . . . But we are still feeling very good about things. We are anxious to go to Chicago to apply for the visa. Once we get that we will be pretty set (I hope I don't jinx anything by saying that).

We are so excited to hear that Josie's exchange sister has some friends that go to a Christian church and she said she will introduce Josie to her friends that go there. She sent Jo a link to the church's website and we are feeling good about it. God is good and I feel so at peace in know that he is directing all of this.

Fundraiser was a success!

Okay, I need to give an update. We raised $951 with the yard sale and then sold a refrigerator (that was donated) the next week for $250 to bring the total to over $1200!!! God has blessed us every step on this journey. We will be having another yard sale fundraiser in June, so between the 2 fundraisers and hopefully Jo finding a summer job we will have the $$$ for her plane ticket and a few other exchange expenses (camera, luggage, traveling expenses, etc).

Josie's host mom also sent us a copy of the acceptance letter from the school she will be attending in Marbella. It is I.E.S. Salduba secondary school. I translated the website (thank you http://www.microsofttranslator.com) to get a better understanding of the school and what they offer. The Spanish schooling system is different than ours, but I think it will be good and Josie is very excited at the prospect of learning Greek and Latin. How much she'll be able to learn, with it being taught in Spanish, is questionable. This should be interesting. LOL

School in Spain doesn't begin until mid September, so it looks like I will get to have Jo until the end of August. Jo has enjoyed talking with her host sister who will be coming to the USA while Jo is there.

We should be hearing from It's Your World Travel and we are STILL waiting on her guarantee form. Only 2 other exchange students from our district have theirs, so it's not as if we are behind. Our friends and neighbors have all been extremely supportive and I can't say what it means for others to be excited for Josie and about her exchange.