The Visa is . . . . delayed.

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:

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!

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.

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!

So, until she's on that plane, we will keep planning.  On a side note, speaking of planes.  I did find out from the travel agent that Josie will be flying either Delta or US Airways.  I asked so I could find out luggage requirements.  Turns out that her first suitcase is free (50 lb limit) and the second will cost with $70 or $75 (depending on which airline she flies).  So, we are planning on just forking out the $$$ for the second suicase.  The packing list is in the works, but keeps growing.  Yikes!  I think she'll be okay in staying under 100 lbs total on her way over there, but on her way home may be another story. 

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. 

Visa Paperwork Complete!

The e-mail I've been waiting for since this adventure began, "Visa Paperwork Complete!" Finally. There are a total of 15 documents needed for the Visa to Spain (btw, it is a temporary visa, you apply for the student visa once you get there). The documents needed can be found at the website (www.consulate-spain-chicago.com) for the Spanish Consulate. If you live in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, N Dakota, Ohio, S Dakota, and Wisconsin the consulate is in Chicago. Our travel agent (that does all the Rotary exchange travel plans) also gave us a list of what we need and will be submitting all the documentation to the Spanish Consulate on our behalf. Once the visa is ready we will have to go by appt to the consulate in person to pick up the passport with visa.

The most difficult part of the visa application was the FBI background and Apostille. It took me forever to figure out what an Apostille is, so here you go. An Apostille verifies the authenticity of a notary. The appostille has to come from the same state that the document and notary did. So when we sent off for the FBI background in Washington DC, the Dept of Justice notarized the document (you have to request this when you send in your fingerprints) and then it has to go to the State Dept in DC to be authenticated (by the apostille). So the FBI sends you the notarized background check and then you have to send it back to DC to the State Dept to be authenticated. The State Dept takes 5 weeks (and they were backed up this year, so it may have taken longer) but since we were running short on time and didn't have 5 weeks to wait for it since it is needed to apply for the visa (which can take 6 weeks on its own) I asked how I can expedite it. If you go to the State Dept in D.C. in person you can get it the same day. (Authentications office - Columbia Plaza store front, 518 23rd Street NW, Washington D.C. - office hours are Mon through Fri, 7:30-11) I had friends going to D.C. for vacation and they were gracious to go there for me and take the background check to get the apostille. I sent a Fed Ex envelope and prepaid billing slip for overnight delivery and had in within days. So if you are tight on time and can take a trip or know of someone going to D.C. or in D.C. then it's worth asking. Anyone can submit the background check for the apostille, but be warned that the waiting time may be long (my friend waited about 2 hours).

We also had Josie's last fundraiser last weekend. This was our 3rd and last fundraiser and each one was a yard sale. We asked friends, co-workers and neighbors and even posted an ad in the classifieds for people to donate saleable items. Wow, and did people respond. We made $1200 on the first sale, $800 on the second (it rained - yuck), and (drumroll please) $997 on the last. WOW!!! $3000 total for all three fundraisers. That should be enough for her ticket!!! Josie is still working at Hy-Vee grocery store and at the Iowa Speedway on race weekends as a ticket taker. So she has been working very hard to earn the money needed for this trip and I am so proud of her!

Tomorrow (Sat, July 16) is the final Rotary picnic for all the outbound students and we are excited to have one last opportunity to talk to the rebounders (those sho have already been on an exchange). Josie and I are both making a list of questions to ask.

One of the other Iowa outbound students that is going to Spain also found out that he is leaving Sept 4. We have not heard when Josie will be leaving but since they try to schedule all the students leaving for the same country at the same time we can't help but wonder if that will be Josie's departure date also.

I think that's all for now. The time is going so fast and I hate to see my baby go, but I am so excited for her.

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! :)