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. :)

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.

The Passport is in!

Josie's passport came in last Monday, March 14. We applied for it on Friday, Feb 11, so it took a little more than a month for it to come in, which is a lot faster than I anticipated. We are still waiting for her guarantee form to come in. The other Iowa student that is going to Spain got his guarantee form almost 2 weeks ago. He is going to be on the coast, a town 'renowned for its beaches', which make Josie even more anxious to find out exactly where she will be going.

After we get her guarantee form the next step will be to go to Chicago and apply for her VISA. So things are moving along, slowly, but they are moving.

We are gearing up for a yard sale fundraiser to help with the airfare for her exchange. We've asked everyone we know and put ads in the paper for donations and now we have a garage full of STUFF, everything and anything you can think of (including a side by side refrigerator and an oak dining set). So we are hoping to raise a few hundred dollars. This week is Spring break so my daughter and mother will be running the show while I work. This should be fun :)

Waiting . . .

Josie had a Rotary weekend (for inbound/outbound students only) in Davenport Iowa this last weekend. She met a lot of inbound students and also got to know some other outbound students. She met the other Iowan going to Spain, so that is pretty cool. Each event gets her more and more excited.

We are currently in waiting mode. We should be receiving her guarantee form this week. This comes from the club that will sponsor her in Spain. This will tell us what city she will be in during her stay in Spain and may also tell us what school she will be attending. So Josie has been checking her e-mail excessively hoping it will be there.

Her first major fundraiser is coming up. She is having a yard sale in our church parking lot (that's not too far from our home). We are asking for donations to sell. We will also be selling baked goods at the sale. I"ll update the blog with how it goes.

The blazer. This has been quite and undertaking. We bought the blazer, but need to have it altered before the March Pella weekend event. There they will start exchanging pins. These blazers are pretty impressive once they have collected pins from other students from around the globe. Very neat idea and the kids love it. The blazers also seems to bring a certain amount of clout with them when seen in airports. We are told (by Rotary and current and past exchange students) that when you wear your blazer the authorities and employees are eager to help you while you are traveling. It can help get you out of difficult situations. I think that's awesome!

Hopefully my next post will be with news of the guarantee form having arrived! :)

Passport applied for!

Well, Friday we applied for Josie's passport. They kept her birth certificate to send with the passport application. It cost $110 for the passport and $25 processing fee. The passport should come in the mail in 3-4 weeks. Once it comes in we will have to take it to Chicago to apply in person for a student visa for Spain. Unfortunately, Spain requires the visa to be applied for in person. With each step we move forward, the more there seems left to do.

Yesterday Josie and I went to Iowa City to meet with the District Outbound coordinator for Josie's district interview and for more information. So much information and that leads to even more questions. In 2-3 weeks we find out what city in Spain Josie will be assigned to and what school she will attend. Josie will attend the same school for the whole year, but will stay with 2-3 host families and will stay with each family 3-4 months.

We are seriously considering hosting a student while Josie is gone. I think it would be great if we could be a first host family and if we are lucky Josie would still be here when the student arrives and Josie could show him/her around. This may also help me cope with Josie leaving. :(

Josie has started a blog, feel free to check it out at http://walkinginjosiesshoes.blogspot.com.

Sweet 16!

My daughter Josie turned 16 yesterday! YAY!!! She now has her driver's license (she's had a student driving permit since she was 15) AND last Friday she heard from Rotary that she has been accepted by Spain for Foreign Exchange. There's still a lot to be done before she would leave in July, August, or September, but it's exciting to have a country! I've been searching for blogs or any information from anyone that's been a foreign exchange student to Spain and I found one and haven't been able to keep myself from reading it (There's a link to it on my blog homepage).
Josie will apply for her passport this Friday (it's Tuesday, Feb 8) and I'll let you know how that goes. We were going to apply for her passport earlier, but you can apply for an adult Visa once you turn 16, so we thought it better to wait a couple weeks and get her an adult visa instead of a minor one.
This whole process seems a bit overwhelming, but I have no doubt that it will pay off once she gets to Spain. We are told that the whole process will cost about $5,000. And then there's Rotary meetings and trips and traveling expenses and spending money and the list in my mind goes on and on. But it all seems a small price, if you can swing it and we are more than willing to try!