It's in - finally!

We have been anticipating the arrival of Josie's guarantee form and it FINALLY came in last week. The guarantee form has all the insurance information (that we already paid for), host family information, school letter, and other forms that will all be needed to apply for her Visa. Once we apply, we will get a temporary Visa and then when Josie arrives in Spain she will have to apply for a one year Visa. It is not easy getting a visa, there are many processes and LOTS of paperwork from many different sources that require not only for them to be notarized but a couple also require an apostille from the State's (in our case, Iowa) Secretary of States office. Make me kind of wish Josie was going to Germany, since Germany does not require a Visa. LOL

Also in the guarantee form packet we saw that they require Josie to be in Spain by Sept 3 and then she will have orientation in Madrid from Sept 8-11. So she will be doing a little bit of traveling once she gets there.

Josie bought luggage this last weekend. It was a tough choice but we finally went with a four piece set from JCP. She will only be able to check 2 bags and then have one carry-one and with this set the smallest piece is small enough to go into the largest suitcase and then she'll have her carry-one and the two checked bags. Josie packed for camp this week and has no idea how she'll be able to pack for a year in Spain. She did mention though that a friend that is currently on exchange said that she doesn't use most of what she took with her. They say to put everything you want to take on your bed and then pack half of it. They say clothes are quite expensive in Spain, but I imagine she will be buying quite a bit over there so as to conform a bit to the current styles there.

Josie is working two jobs trying to raise money for exchange and then we are also having 3 fundraisers. The first two have done really well ($1200 for the first and $800 for the second) and we will be having the last one in July.

In preparation for college, Josie took the ACT last weekend. They (Rotary) really encourages the students to take it before they leave on exchange since when they get back they wouldn't score as well having been out of American school for a year. Josie will be in Spain for her Junior year and will be a senior when she returns.

I think that's all for now. Lots still to do, but as for the timeline I feel we are right on track. The travel agency wants all the Visa forms by July 11 or 20 (I need to look at that again). Right now we are just waiting on a from from the FBI that shows that Josie has no criminal history. So we can't move further until we get that.

I'll update more later. Did I mention that whenever a form does come in that requires our action I feel like the white rabbit on Alice in Wonderland? I hope I don't look the part. :)