41 days, 23 hours, 37 minutes and some odd seconds till I leave for my new home! There have been a few new bits of information in regards to the process that I thought to share with you all, as I have actually had a great experience dealing with the staff in various departments in Chester. Thankfully, nearly all the departments I’ve worked with during my time at UTC were efficient and helpful, but I did have a few experiences where offices recorded things incorrectly and nearly messed up my ability to graduate early. Fingers crossed that everything stays smooth with Chester!
Today, I was finally able to apply for housing (or accommodation as they call it) after a few emails back and forth with the IT Help Desk and my International Welfare officer. I had not been assigned a student ID or password, and could not access their equivalent to UTC’s Mocs Net. This was a bit stressful, because many of the things I need to do are linked to this account and university email. Thankfully, they were able to assign the information to me and I officially registered before the 10 August deadline. Unlike UTC, I did not apply to live in a specific dorm or with other specific people (not that it matters, as I do not know anyone!). Rather, I ranked my preferences to live in a specific type of housing. My top choice was naturally a full board single room with en-suite facilities (aka my own toilet/sink/shower) with similar places following. My last choice was a studio flat, because while that would be awesome if I was out of school, I want something close to the heart of campus where I can meet a lot of new people.
Not knowing exactly which house/hall I’ll be in is a bit stressful, but I feel confident I’ll end up where I need to be. Again, I was just so impressed by how quickly and efficiently my questions were answered. Another thing I like about the Chester process is that they have an iPhone app which allows you to do everything from apply for accommodation to check your email and register for classes. This is a great user friendly app and allows students to check things on the go without having to look at the teeny tiny font of a web page on Safari mobile.
I haven’t even begun to think about considering what I might pack for the trip. However, I am collecting items of clothing I think might be useful and attempting to sell all those that will not be useful online. So far, I’ve only made about $40. I’m taking things to a consignment shop soon, so we’ll see how that goes! More posts on packing will follow. I do have one question for any fellow world travelers out there:
Do you suggest using a hiking backpack as my airplane carry on? I plan to take a LOT of trips (as I don’t have class every day of the week as I did in the US), so I am wondering if taking a backpack would be smarter. I can also fit a LOT of clothes/food/provisions/blankets/etc in one of those backpacks, which is why I thought it might be a good idea. On the plane there, it would be mostly empty, and I could fill it with anything I want to bring back when I leave rather than having to make room in my suitcase.
Getting excited for the upcoming junkets!
Xx,
J
The Junkets of Julia from Abroad and Beyond 