Things they don't tell you about when applying for study abroad

1. Paperwork. Out the wazoo. Release from this doctor to that person back to the doctor, verification of award from school to organization, course equivalencies/conversions (making sure the classes I take in Argentina actually count for something), disciplinary records, online forms and surveys to fill out, copies of passports and flight itineraries and passport photos. I must have made about sixteen appointments with everyone I needed to sign forms, including the financial aid office study abroad person, my various doctors for release forms, the study abroad office lady, heads of the various schools to okay my courses, getting my transcripts, ... on and on. And I'm still not certain that everything's gone through a-okay. And it's not like you can take everything in at once and get it all signed at once, since they can't give you this form until you've gotten these other forms filled out. I legitimately had a situation in which I had to get my courses approved, but I didn't know which classes I would be taking because I had to be accepted in the program, and the study abroad director wouldn't sign the form that would let me register until I had gotten my courses approved. So I had the heads of schools signing off for about three different classes that I might possibly be taking. It was awkward. Who would have thought that going out of the country would be this much paperwork? (eye roll)

2. Planning for air travel is stressful. Airline tickets are ridiculous. I got lucky on the way there, in that I have a relatively short stop-over in Texas to change planes for the red-eye (overnight) flight. But on the way back, I leave Buenos Aires at about ten at night, land in Washington, DC at about eight in the morning, then have about five hours until my (four hour) flight to Chicago.
If anything gets delayed on my trip there, it's going to be... interesting, to say the least. Since the program officers are picking up students from 8 AM to noon on a certain date at the airport, I scheduled to arrive at about 7:40, but if there's delays on the way there and I get into the Texas airport a few hours late, what happens? Will the flight to Argentina be delayed also, or will it just leave without me? Will my airline provider give me a different flight, or just leave me stranded in Texas? Oh, and if I arrive in BA after the time of the pick-ups, I get to pay the seventy dollars or so for a taxi. That's a relief, that I can pay more money to fix things that should be foolproof. With my luck, it'll get delayed and we'll land at 11:50.
And finally: I got a call from the study abroad program, saying "your passport expires five months after you plan to return to the States, but sometimes customs officials won't let you out of the country unless there's at least a six month period afterward. We suggest that you get a new passport." Well, that'd be fine and dandy, except that: 1. this call was literally made right before the government temporarily shut down, so all my information and the passports would be sitting at an office or more likely lost. 2. To apply for a new passport, I need to mail in my old one. So it's not like I can apply for one and hope it gets here on time, but at least have my old one in case it doesn't. If I had sent my passport and it didn't get here on time, I would not be able to go. 3. It costs money, and about four hours of my time, to apply for a new passport. Why do I need one when I paid for one that should still be valid when I return home, and then some? I can totally understand needing a passport if it expires a few weeks afterward, in case of national emergencies or something shutting down the borders, but if for some reason I can't get in when I'm supposed to, it's not going to take FIVE MONTHS to get on another flight/find another way back, especially since I'll probably have nowhere to live in Buenos Aires.
So this required doing even more research. And this led to the revelation: US CUSTOMS DOES NOT WANT TO TALK TO YOU. Under any circumstance. The only time I talked with anyone was when I selected the wrong menu item and went to customer support; the rest of the phone menu items lead to automated messages with the same vague information that's available online. So I ended up getting an online link from the very helpful woman in customer support (who apparently gets questions like mine all the time, since she's the only human being there), and I printed out the information page for traveling to Argentina. I figure that if TSA starts to give me a problem because "oh no, my passport doesn't expire six months after I'm supposed to be home", I'll show them on the official government website that it only says a VALID passport is needed, not a valid passport with at least six months to expire.

3. Money money money. It costs money just to ARRIVE in Argentina. And not like "processing fee" money, like "more than a hundred dollars" money. I wanted to get a credit card, I had to make sure it all works abroad, see the "conversion" rate and how much extra it would cost me to use it in Argentina, and start transferring money from an account with a higher rate to one with a lower rate. The study abroad organization is saying I should have an ATM card and use mostly cash. I'm mainly going on the good faith that Buenos Aires is in a civilized country and I will be able to use either an ATM or a card.
Also related to money: phones. The study abroad office says that they suggest either pay-as-you-go phones (with exorbitant international rates) or pay phone cards. But my mom's like "but what if I need to reach you in an emergency?" Mom: I'm on the other side of the world. If it's that important, go ahead and book the flight for me and THEN tell me next time I call you.

4. Living differently. There's the obvious differences in culture, and remembering it's in the Southern Hemisphere so I'll be arriving in the winter, but there are other small things that I'm discovering. First, electric devices need a converter. So I'm taking only one electric device so far: my computer. Second, not everyone in BA has Internet access, so I'm going to have to go either to the university or to the study abroad organization's office with my heavy laptop. Wow, do I sound like a privileged American brat there. "OMG NO WI-FI?! OUTRAGEOUS!" Third, according to one of my dad's co-workers who's Argentinian, they don't have heat in many buildings. I like it cold, but if it's negative degrees outside with a foot and a half of snow, I want a heated house (at least until I get into dry clothes). I also already know from my sister's trip to Spain that no one aside from Americans use dryers, so nice warm fluffy towels are nonexistent.

That's all for now. Basically, if you're studying abroad, plan for it about six to eight months in advance, and everything will still be up in the air and frantically done at the last minute and you'll still have no clue what's going on until you're there.

The blog

If you're here, it's because I care enough about you to want to keep you updated on my exciting time in Buenos Aires. Or if you don't know me, you're a creeper and need to go away.
Don't expect regular updates, they'll be sporadic at best. Please don't comment on this blog site, since I have no clue how it works. If you want to say something, post it on my facebook. Assuming my camera will work, I'll hopefully have pictures of cool stuff (if the blog lets me post them).
I'm leaving June 24 and returning December 10. I'll be home from school Friday, May 7, and I want to hang out with people before I leave, so call/text me.