The Long, Dreary Wait

Wow. So. Here I am. Still in good old Sydney. What a shame.

So I mailed my application to the Slovenian embassy in Canberra the same day that I had posted my last blog. Sure enough, they received it the next day (Good old express post). From here, matters were out of my own hands.

First, my documents needed to be translated. Not a problem. One week rolls by and I ask how the process is going. Well, they assured me that they had finished translating the documents and slipped me the bill. Wonderful, we have progress! Now, how much longer until I get my permit?

Soon. Another week rolls by and no answer. So I call again and ask what's the story. No need to worry, it will take a little longer but the documents have been sent. Alrighty then.

Three weeks after mailing my application I ring again asking. Oops, the woman in charge of my process is not in today! She's on holidays. Well, what can you do? Wait another week of course..

And round rolls by another week before I get a call back. Splendid. Let's hear the good news..

"Sorry it has taken so long Aleks. I've been keeping in touch with my correspondents over there. I'm going to need you to come to Canberra for me so we can get fingerprints taken and that I can sight your passport."

Of course. Whatever is needed. After this, how much sooner until my permit arrives?

"Very soon. Can we schedule you in for next week?"

Oh my. We're biding time now. And sure enough, next week I was on my way to Canberra. Thank you dad for giving me a lift down there. Until I had yet another phone call from the embassy. And what a disappointing phone call it was..

"I'm sorry Aleks but our computers are not working at the moment, so we cannot take your fingerprints at this time. We will have to call you back."

What could I do? Nothing. Might as well continue on to Canberra where we were already half-way there.

And could you believe we have now passed the six weeks mark and I've still not gotten my permit?

Yes. I'm letting off some steam right now and I'm very frustrated and impatient right now. Partly due to not having my permit at the moment but mostly because of the uncertainty about it. It's incredible how long it's taken and I'm very disappointed right now since I've wasted at least half my holiday time here in Sydney. With nothing to do.

All I can say at the moment is I'm only waiting for yet another phone call (I visited this Tuesday to have my fingerprints taken and yes, I asked when I would be getting my permit with no direct answer). This process is one of the slowest I've ever experienced. My hat goes off to those with the patience and dedication to travel. It really is a stressful process.


It's not hit me yet. I'm not excited. The thought hasn't come to me yet. I'm going to be in Europe. "Soon". It just hasn't settled in yet. Being completely on my own, separated from my support network, family and friends. And it's not that I have mixed feelings about it. I just have none for now.

I'd say its the uncertainty though. There's no countdown. There's nothing to throw it into perspective. Maybe I'm putting too much thought into the matter of getting my permit. Too much stressing. But I'm pretty sure I'll have a different take on things once the paperwork is sorted. In fact, I know I will.

All in good time..

Update

Now I do apologise for keeping such large gaps between my blog entries but now that the semester has passed, let us hope they are not as frequent.

What is new? Well my last post was the phone call in April. Since then, two months has passed and much has happened. So I suppose I will begin where we last left.

I was accepted to Ljubljana Uni. Since then, I've completed the application form, received my acceptance letter (6 weeks later) and applied for my resident permit for Slovenia as of today. It's been a long process. I've never felt like I've had to hold such patience for anything before in my life.

This time I now worry that everything will be processed in time before too much of the winter holidays have passed. I'm yearning to see Europe before I start my semester - I've so much free time now that uni has finished for the moment for me. In the meantime, I've been trying to learn Slovene and checking off my list to make sure I've got everything ready for the trip. So much to cover but I'm sure I'll manage.

An Unexpected Call

Today was a quirky day for me. I woke up and got ready for class earlier than usual to get work done on my lab report. I skipped my 'Pie Face' coffee for it's lovely worth to make sure I had plenty of time to work on my report. Standing at the bus stop, I was waiting as the other commuters for the next bus to arrive. Surely enough it came, surprisingly punctual, oddly empty. I sat and watched as the bus crossed the bridge and passed the skyscrapers in the city centre until I got a surprising call on my phone; Blocked call.

I've never questioned the anonymity of blocked calls so I answered as per. Pleasantly enough it was Mandy, the exchange coordinator who helped me earlier put my application through. She'd called to thank me for my help in the exchange fair last week to which I'd thought surely mustn't warrant a phone call. It didn't. Mandy was calling me to let me know I had been accepted by Ljubljana despite the limited numbers available. Even further to let me know that the extent I went to in contacting the head of program in Slovenia and other staff helped along my application (The Australian secretariat was rather doubtful initially about my chances at Slovenia).

Well this definitely did make me smile but interestingly it did not appear to have kicked in for me yet. I still feel as though I am waiting for an acceptance even now that I have it.

I can't write much else on this as I am feeling tired and right now there is not much else to say on how I feel or what else has happened. I need to get the application forms filled in and submitted by the end of the week to get the 'rubber stamp' approval and begin sorting my visa, accommodation and plane tickets. I really can't think of much else to say, so I'll cut it short here.

Tschüss!

Obsessions, Obsessions..

This blog is actually from the 7th April which I did on my phone on the bus but I was too lazy to upload it when I got home. :P

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Yesterday I participated in the UWS Exchange Fair.

Unfortunately the weather was very wet and windy but that didn't stop it from being a great day as I got to meet others who were just as enthusiastic about traveling abroad as I was (and I got to speak to those who came back from last semester's exchange too). We stood just out the front of "the Hub" on our Parramatta campus and spoke to other students who were interested in the exchange process.

I had many asking me what uni offered what course but of course, I couldn't help them much except to share my experience of the application process with them. Sadly, nobody asked me about Slovenia nor could I ask anyone if they'd traveled to Slovenia either. In a way it is also a good thing because I will have an even more unique experience with my exchange.

I can't believe it's so close but it still feels so far away. I have a little over 12 weeks left but it feels like yesterday I applied for it. I'm nervous about hearing back from Ljubljana and constantly have my mind set on spending Christmas in Europe. I've never obsessed about anything so much before in my life it's unbelievable.

It's a Long Wait..

We are now in April and I think it's about time to check-in.

So the interview did go well and there was "no hesitation" in nominating me to Slovenia, so that is great news. I am to hear late this month or next if I have gotten in or not and the wait feels like it is taking forever.

To add to the good news, I've hit my target (and more) of saving enough for the trip. I'm now going further and saving up for any further trips I want to make around Europe (which I am hoping I will be able to do).

I've bought some language books that I may learn Slovene before I head over there. I think it wouldn't hurt at least to get some background in the language. I don't know how much I can learn before I fly but I'm hoping it will be enough to at least get me around town.

In the meantime I have been face down in my text books for uni since the semester started and this would explain why I haven't touched base in a while with my blog. :P

I'll be back with more updates!

A Bit Nerve-Wracking

So I've finished my summer school and uni is almost back on. All I have been doing over the summer is working to save up and I've been really trying hard to make sure I get in. Here's the latest in what's happened.

Yesterday I went for an interview with a panel to assess whether I'm suitable to go. Now I think I went okay in the interview (it was a little quick and I was thinking of so many other things I could have said as soon as I left, that always happens to me!) but I am now having a little scare about my chances and here's why.

Slovenia and Australia don't send many students to one another. Naturally when you exchange students you aim for the same intake as the amount that you send out. So consequently, Slovenia is only accepting two Australian students for the semester that I am applying for.

That's not so concerning right? I'm the only one from my university that I know that wants to go to Slovenia - the availability should be there.

Well.. I'm not just competing with people from my own university. Turns out that the University of Ljubljana and my university are partners through a bigger extended network that includes numerous universities from Europe and Australia called the Australian European Network. It's a looser collaboration and not so one-on-one. This means though that I'm competing not just with other students in my university but from all across Australia to get into Slovenia. And there's a few!

It's a bit of a disappointment because now I cannot be so sure. I am starting to consider other options available but this means going all the way back to square one and hunt for another university. It would be a very big nuisance.

Here's hoping I'm in!

Results are out!

Good news. Today came out the results of the passing semester's exams. I am proud to say that I have passed all my subjects and can be confident that I will be nominated to Ljubljana to study there next year. Just as my intention was.

No doubt there were a few hiccups during the semester but they were not big enough to have held me back. This semester was really tough but I pulled through. It was not my greatest performance but I am happy that I do not have to repeat anything.

The latest that has been going on is I have been working more and more to save up for my trip. Now that I can stop worrying about my results I can concentrate on saving up my money and prepare myself for the interview. I'm quite relieved because my results will not work against me in the interview and I can prove to the panel that I am suitable and mature enough to go on exchange.

Just a quick update. As soon as I get details about the interview I will be posting it up here. Until then!