So it's been a month (July 15) since our travel agent received all of the visa requirements to send to the Spanish consulate for Josie's visa and every day we have been eagerly awaiting for an e-mail that the visa is ready. Instead, this is what we received:
Not the news we were hoping for! The Rotary District in Spain has requested that all students be in Spain by Sept 4 and then all students are required to be in in Madrid for Orientation on Sept 9-11. So we are quite eager to get the visa and get Josie on her way.Hello Students, Parents, and Rotarians!
I just wanted to update you all on where we are at with your visa process. The Spanish Government has had many changes here in the past 30-60 days and I just wanted to update you regarding the most important of those changes. It’s Your World Travel was advised by the Spanish Government that as of the end July 2011, if you are under the age of 18 (or a minor), in order to begin the process of applying for your visa here in the US, you must first have an approval from the Spanish Government in Spain that allows you to apply for a visa. The documentation that explains this was sent to Rotary in Spain so that they are aware of this. As of today 11-August-2011, we are still awaiting this approval before your paperwork can even begin the process here in the US. Your paperwork is already 100% complete and all we need is this approval/authorization. I hope this helps explains any delay in your visa but I do assure you that this will not affect your exchange to Spain and you will still have an awesome year abroad! I’ll be in touch with you all as soon as we have an update on your paperwork. Thanks!
Don't mistake me. I am not trying to push Josie out the door. This has been such a long and sometimes arduous process and I am just anxious for the planning to end and for her exchange to begin. I can't even fathom how much I will miss her, I try not to dwell on it. And I am so consumed with getting everything ready for her and the exchange that it keeps me from dwelling on the inevitable, that my daughter will be gone, halfway across the world for 10 months. My eyes are swelling just thinking about it. Enough of that!
So much planning still to do. We have planned a going away party and bonfire at the end of the month, along with Dr appts and the removal of her braces (orthodontia). Without having an official departure date or even a tentative itenerary it's hard to plan anything. But, worse case scenario is that we will have to move everything up and plead for everyone's forgiveness and cooperation. But with this latest news I feel confidant that this won't be a problem.
Let's hope this isn't Josie! |
We did get hostess gifts last week. She only has one host family as of now, but that will probably change once she gets there. Rotary likes for the students to have at least 2, preferably 3 host families. We bought 2 host family gifts in preparation for a 2nd host family. Josie bought these really cute tins in the shape of Iowa that are painted in Iowa scenes and the bottom of the tins tell about Iowa. She is going to fill them with American candy (Reece's PB cups, Starbursts, or Jelly Bellys). She also bought 2 books about Iowa (1 for each family). They are more like coffee table books and they highlight Iowa beautifully.
We also purchase a conversion plug for her laptop and now are trying to figure out if she needs a convertor for her ipod plug-in. This site helps: http://www.adaptelec.com/index.php?main_page=document_general_info&products_id=192
So many details . . .
That's all I have for now.
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