For the past month or so I've been pondering on insurance choices. I came to find that a 13month cover was very rare, unless you came back to your home country before the cover expires (hardly useful to me!).
I ended up going wih World Nomads as they were nice and flexible. They also let you choose the value of high cost items. Plus I used a promocode and got about $95 off the price, yay! :)
I'm hoping it'll all be ok...
Uni has been crazy lately as I've had so many essays due, but now that they are handed in (with a minor mishap where I had a panic attack when I realised I'd handed the wrong essay in for one subject!) I only have 2 tests and an exam left.
Which is much easier to handle.
The weather here is horrible. Wet and rainy and cold! Although its not very nice, hearing that its on average 30degrees C in Florida, makes me wonder if I should just enjoy the cold while it exists! The heat is one thing I'm scared about.
One good thing is I'm meeting more and more NZ people who are going in July, which is great! Everyone seems lovely and that's always a good sign!
35 days till the big adventure!
xx
Monday, May 24, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Visa APPROVED
So after chasing the mail place I finally got my hands on my shiny new visa!
When i looked at it I was like - what? I get no letter telling me I actually have it? I guess since there's a giant sticker in my passport I can assume that is it haha.
It came super quick! I had my interview last thursay, and it came that sat!
Anyway, I'm so happy that I have that secured now! I was freaking out for a few days, since I had my flights booked already when our rep said not to do it before the visa (on the like 1% chance you wouldn't get your visa).
Only 53 days till I leave and its getting more and more exciting!
The couple who are going to be looking after my in Texas sent me a link to the Rodeo we're going to and it looksso much like I've seen on the tv - so exciting!
I mean everyone is wearing cowboy boots and hats and their parade on July 4th is to celebrate "Mom, Dad and Apple Pie". Awesome. :P
Right, back to uni... EWrgh can't wait till all the assignments and examsare over and I can just think abot Disney!
xx
When i looked at it I was like - what? I get no letter telling me I actually have it? I guess since there's a giant sticker in my passport I can assume that is it haha.
It came super quick! I had my interview last thursay, and it came that sat!
Anyway, I'm so happy that I have that secured now! I was freaking out for a few days, since I had my flights booked already when our rep said not to do it before the visa (on the like 1% chance you wouldn't get your visa).
Only 53 days till I leave and its getting more and more exciting!
The couple who are going to be looking after my in Texas sent me a link to the Rodeo we're going to and it looksso much like I've seen on the tv - so exciting!
I mean everyone is wearing cowboy boots and hats and their parade on July 4th is to celebrate "Mom, Dad and Apple Pie". Awesome. :P
Right, back to uni... EWrgh can't wait till all the assignments and examsare over and I can just think abot Disney!
xx
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Visa Interview
The day before yesterday (the 28th) I got a plane up to Auckland (largest city in NZ) in the evening. It was nice to be able to catch up with some of my family up there.
The plane ride up was ok, I was intrigued at how people move their seats around though. I chose a window seat with no-one in the same row when I got my boarding pass, but then it turned out to be a full row when I was on the plane!
I learnt that the 7kg rule for hand lunggage was lenint because I managed to get away without checking my bag in on the way back (it was 8.1kg not 7kg). On the way up my bag was 8.3kg (big diff lol). I was astounded at the amount I carry around on my back all the time! I really should try and cut that down...
ANYWAY
The visa interview was definately strange!
I got there about 25mins early for my 9.45am appointment(29th). I thought I'd have lots of time, but I actually didn't!
I had to go through security and give them my bags and turn my phone off.
Then I had to line up on the side for non-immigrants. What you would think wold be a quick process was really slow since they only had one window open,and each person took about 5mins to process. So by the time I got to the window, it WAS 9.45am!
By that time I was FREAKING out because I was like, oh no, I'm going to be turned back and told to re-book for another day since I was "late." However, turns out they didn't take much notice of the appointment time and they were behind schedule anyway.
Then I was asked some questions and had to sign some stuff as well as giving over a whole bunch of paperwork. Oh and fingerprinted me. 2nd almost heart attack occured when the lady asked where one of my forms was. I was like....oh no! She looked through them again and thewn I did too and I couldn't find it! Luckily thoguh she showed me an example of what it was supposed to look like, ad I remembered it. ..then I realised it was stapled to something else, which luckily I had with me! *Phew*
Then I was asked to sit down. So weird how they say "SURNAME, FIRST NAME". I took another 30 or so mins before it was my turn. The interview was not what I was expecting (a room by myself...? . I had to go to the window next to the other one and it was an interview through glass, in front of everyone, standing up! Very odd.
I had to re-fingerprint (just incase I morphed or something lol) and then was asked a bunch of questions I guessed were coming (plus I could hear the other interviews and they didn't change their questions). Then I found out the lady I was talking to was a diplomat. I got all excited and aked her a bunch of questions. She was very nice. It was cool to have a kind of bond or something [I'm doing politics]. :P
Anyway so then I was told it was over (lasted like 5mins) and I was instructed to go pay the reciprocacy fee(about NZ$150) . I hate that, reciproacy fees are so stupid! They are so 'tit for tat' and definately need to be outlawed!!
They didn't accept card payments so I had to go find a bank and then come backand pay..
One cool thing though as that I got to see one of the other participants in the same programme as me. :D There were lots of camp america people there too which was interesting...
For the rest of the day I just meadered around Auckland (so many touristy spots!) until I could meet up with my friend at Auckland uni at 2pm.
My flight that evening was terrible! Coming into land it was like a boat, and there were all these sudden drops! People kind of brushed it off initially, but then started getting more concerned. It lasted for a while. I was fine until I suddenly got this horrible sharp pain between my eyes! It eventually turned into a headache, but I was so gad to get home and go to bed!
Yay less than TWO months to go!!!!
The plane ride up was ok, I was intrigued at how people move their seats around though. I chose a window seat with no-one in the same row when I got my boarding pass, but then it turned out to be a full row when I was on the plane!
I learnt that the 7kg rule for hand lunggage was lenint because I managed to get away without checking my bag in on the way back (it was 8.1kg not 7kg). On the way up my bag was 8.3kg (big diff lol). I was astounded at the amount I carry around on my back all the time! I really should try and cut that down...
ANYWAY
The visa interview was definately strange!
I got there about 25mins early for my 9.45am appointment(29th). I thought I'd have lots of time, but I actually didn't!
I had to go through security and give them my bags and turn my phone off.
Then I had to line up on the side for non-immigrants. What you would think wold be a quick process was really slow since they only had one window open,and each person took about 5mins to process. So by the time I got to the window, it WAS 9.45am!
By that time I was FREAKING out because I was like, oh no, I'm going to be turned back and told to re-book for another day since I was "late." However, turns out they didn't take much notice of the appointment time and they were behind schedule anyway.
Then I was asked some questions and had to sign some stuff as well as giving over a whole bunch of paperwork. Oh and fingerprinted me. 2nd almost heart attack occured when the lady asked where one of my forms was. I was like....oh no! She looked through them again and thewn I did too and I couldn't find it! Luckily thoguh she showed me an example of what it was supposed to look like, ad I remembered it. ..then I realised it was stapled to something else, which luckily I had with me! *Phew*
Then I was asked to sit down. So weird how they say "SURNAME, FIRST NAME". I took another 30 or so mins before it was my turn. The interview was not what I was expecting (a room by myself...? . I had to go to the window next to the other one and it was an interview through glass, in front of everyone, standing up! Very odd.
I had to re-fingerprint (just incase I morphed or something lol) and then was asked a bunch of questions I guessed were coming (plus I could hear the other interviews and they didn't change their questions). Then I found out the lady I was talking to was a diplomat. I got all excited and aked her a bunch of questions. She was very nice. It was cool to have a kind of bond or something [I'm doing politics]. :P
Anyway so then I was told it was over (lasted like 5mins) and I was instructed to go pay the reciprocacy fee(about NZ$150) . I hate that, reciproacy fees are so stupid! They are so 'tit for tat' and definately need to be outlawed!!
They didn't accept card payments so I had to go find a bank and then come backand pay..
One cool thing though as that I got to see one of the other participants in the same programme as me. :D There were lots of camp america people there too which was interesting...
For the rest of the day I just meadered around Auckland (so many touristy spots!) until I could meet up with my friend at Auckland uni at 2pm.
My flight that evening was terrible! Coming into land it was like a boat, and there were all these sudden drops! People kind of brushed it off initially, but then started getting more concerned. It lasted for a while. I was fine until I suddenly got this horrible sharp pain between my eyes! It eventually turned into a headache, but I was so gad to get home and go to bed!
Yay less than TWO months to go!!!!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
I figured out how to do the pictures!
So it isn't exactly how I wanted it (I wanted a gallery but couldn't figure that out), but it works, so I'm happy! :)
Check out the pics on the right hand side link, or above!
xx
Check out the pics on the right hand side link, or above!
xx
Saturday, April 10, 2010
I got magic in the post!
Yesterday morning I was complaining about how late our Disney Packs were (we were meant to get them mid-late march). Perhaps I was especially upset becuase the australians already had theirs. ...but then I got home from work to find a most wonderful surprise! My Disney pack had arrived! Hurrah!
I will upload a picture of it in the picture section (once I figure out how to do that, of course!) for those who don't know what I'm talking about.
Basically it had a whole bunch of documents in it. Lots of 'congrats' messages and then information about the programme. Onthe Other side was all the official documents and a list of things to do. My mind boggled when I tried to read through it all - but I got my head around it eventually when I broke it all down. I have pretty much done everything I need to do before my visa appointment! So if you set out to do it, it's possible. ...anything is possible. ;) See, I think I'll fit right in at Disney World. In fact, I think at work I'm going to start saying "have a magical day!" to see what people do...
My visa appointment is for June 29 at 9.45am in Auckland (I'm getting a plane up the day before). Apparantly it's only about 15mins long. The main point is not to say something stupid. You'll be fine if you act normal and don't mention anything about wanting to try extend your programme etc. They want evidence that you won't go to the USA and then not return... I really don't want my visa to be denied after everything so I'm heeding the warning!
I went shopping today to try and find a shirt for traditions/Disney University. I really was unsure about the sort of thing they want. ...so I asked Disney constuming and hopefully I'll get a helpful reply. :)
I did find some useful guidelines here though:
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=126857451694&topic=12203
Less than 3 months now! The day of my visa willbe the 2 month mark. Scary/exciting stuff!
xx
I will upload a picture of it in the picture section (once I figure out how to do that, of course!) for those who don't know what I'm talking about.
Basically it had a whole bunch of documents in it. Lots of 'congrats' messages and then information about the programme. Onthe Other side was all the official documents and a list of things to do. My mind boggled when I tried to read through it all - but I got my head around it eventually when I broke it all down. I have pretty much done everything I need to do before my visa appointment! So if you set out to do it, it's possible. ...anything is possible. ;) See, I think I'll fit right in at Disney World. In fact, I think at work I'm going to start saying "have a magical day!" to see what people do...
My visa appointment is for June 29 at 9.45am in Auckland (I'm getting a plane up the day before). Apparantly it's only about 15mins long. The main point is not to say something stupid. You'll be fine if you act normal and don't mention anything about wanting to try extend your programme etc. They want evidence that you won't go to the USA and then not return... I really don't want my visa to be denied after everything so I'm heeding the warning!
I went shopping today to try and find a shirt for traditions/Disney University. I really was unsure about the sort of thing they want. ...so I asked Disney constuming and hopefully I'll get a helpful reply. :)
I did find some useful guidelines here though:
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=126857451694&topic=12203
Less than 3 months now! The day of my visa willbe the 2 month mark. Scary/exciting stuff!
xx
Monday, March 22, 2010
Flights!
I booked all of my flights to get THERRRE last week. That took a lot of agonising over! Especially with the baggage. That's what helped me make up my mind - Air Tahiti Nui and Southwest are awesome in terms of that. :)
So I leave *officially* on June 29.
Wellington --> Auckland flight at 10am
Auckland -->LAX 2.05pm (stopover in Tahiti for an hour)
arrive LAX at 9.05am
I arrive in LAX on the same day (due to the date line).
LAX --> HOU Texas 1.55pm
~stay here with some lovely people for a week~
6th July
11.35am HOU --> NC. Arrive there at 5pm.
~stay here for about 10 days~
-->drive down to ORLANDO, Florida!!! :D
So now I have that sorted, I'm looking into insurance. I've come to the conclusion that insurance companies are annoying. Apart from ONE company, none do 13 month covers. ..and the majority won't let you extend unless you come back to your home country first! What the!? As if I'll be doing that! So at the moment I'll probably end up going with Work Nomads (recommended by Lonely Planet :) ) --> am going to wait a while until I make up my mind though.
Oh, and by the way I haven't got my visa or even my Disney Pack yet! I'm just being super organised. With Uni stuff I do this in between.
..and I knoooow they tell you not to buy your ticket before you get your visa, but apparantly it's highly unlikely they'd decline you in NZ. I really don't want to miss out on the cheaper seats just because I'm waiting for my visa.
Plus, I figured that if on the tiny chance they DO decline me then I totally deserve a vacation to the states anyway!!!!!
Looking forward to that Disney pack though. I've heard rumours us Aussies and NZers will get ours in the next few weeks! [ages behind the rest of the world but anywho... :P]
xx
So I leave *officially* on June 29.
Wellington --> Auckland flight at 10am
Auckland -->LAX 2.05pm (stopover in Tahiti for an hour)
arrive LAX at 9.05am
I arrive in LAX on the same day (due to the date line).
LAX --> HOU Texas 1.55pm
~stay here with some lovely people for a week~
6th July
11.35am HOU --> NC. Arrive there at 5pm.
~stay here for about 10 days~
-->drive down to ORLANDO, Florida!!! :D
So now I have that sorted, I'm looking into insurance. I've come to the conclusion that insurance companies are annoying. Apart from ONE company, none do 13 month covers. ..and the majority won't let you extend unless you come back to your home country first! What the!? As if I'll be doing that! So at the moment I'll probably end up going with Work Nomads (recommended by Lonely Planet :) ) --> am going to wait a while until I make up my mind though.
Oh, and by the way I haven't got my visa or even my Disney Pack yet! I'm just being super organised. With Uni stuff I do this in between.
..and I knoooow they tell you not to buy your ticket before you get your visa, but apparantly it's highly unlikely they'd decline you in NZ. I really don't want to miss out on the cheaper seats just because I'm waiting for my visa.
Plus, I figured that if on the tiny chance they DO decline me then I totally deserve a vacation to the states anyway!!!!!
Looking forward to that Disney pack though. I've heard rumours us Aussies and NZers will get ours in the next few weeks! [ages behind the rest of the world but anywho... :P]
xx
Friday, January 29, 2010
2010 - a year of magic!
Or Disney might say - "The year of Celebration [What will you celebrate?] " ..and they are right!
I'm going to Celebrate getting to work for the most amazing company whose aim is to bring -happiness-. :D I like that idea.
The other day I got an email from our country rep (which in our case reresents Aussie and NZ) saying that the January people have gone and now her attention is on us! Yikes! This means it's nearly OUR turn!!!
Now there's no much to do - visas, housing payments, programme fee... etc :S
I really hope that my flights work out ok, darned Air NZ airpoints not being allowed to be combined with money! So uncool! I have 770 airpoints which will expire if not used before July, and the tickets at the moment are $1000 each way!
There was a sale not long ago that brought the ticket price down to like $750 one way, but that sale was useless to me because you had to have a return flight within their timeframe, which is nooooowhere near mine. ;)
I'm hoping for the best...and waiting for the agonising June/July time to come! It feels like ages away! However, it's only 4 months less than when I first found out I was going!
xx
I'm going to Celebrate getting to work for the most amazing company whose aim is to bring -happiness-. :D I like that idea.
The other day I got an email from our country rep (which in our case reresents Aussie and NZ) saying that the January people have gone and now her attention is on us! Yikes! This means it's nearly OUR turn!!!
Now there's no much to do - visas, housing payments, programme fee... etc :S
I really hope that my flights work out ok, darned Air NZ airpoints not being allowed to be combined with money! So uncool! I have 770 airpoints which will expire if not used before July, and the tickets at the moment are $1000 each way!
There was a sale not long ago that brought the ticket price down to like $750 one way, but that sale was useless to me because you had to have a return flight within their timeframe, which is nooooowhere near mine. ;)
I'm hoping for the best...and waiting for the agonising June/July time to come! It feels like ages away! However, it's only 4 months less than when I first found out I was going!
xx
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