Visa, check.

Arrived home from Chicago late last night, visa in hand, thank God. I have been so stressed about finding a time to go to Chicago, and this weekend worked out great since I was already in Milwaukee to see Keith Urban in concert at Summerfest. (Which was AMAZING, by the way)

So the whole visa process went incredibly smoothly. We had a 9 am appointment, showed up to this tiny little room on the 20th floor of an office building on Michigan Ave and gave them all my paperwork. Then, after paying the fee ($205) for my visa at the bank across the street, they told me to come back in an hour. Mom and I went to the two story (!!) Forever 21 store down the street, came back later and now I have a visa! Hooray! It's really just a piece of paper with my info and picture on it that they stuck in my passport, but it looks official, I hope.

Visa in my posession, now I just really need to get packing! My goal is to ship my boxes out tomorrow or Thursday LATEST. They have to go to Miami to be inspected by customs before I leave. Therefore, I am off to the UPS Store to buy some boxes, then back here to listen to endless John Mayer and Keith Urban while I pack my entire life into boxes. Awesome.

To Chicago??

School is officially out for summer and I'm back at home after finishing student teaching. Driving out of La Crosse for the last time definitely felt weird, as I have come to consider it home over the last four years. While I know it is certainly a place I will visit often, a part of me cannot imagine not living there.

Back at home I am trying to gather all the necessary documents to obtain a visa at the Colombian Consulate in Chicago. After forking over $55 of my life to the state of Colorado they have agreed to send me my birth certificate with an apostille seal on it in 14 days. Great. $35 dollars to the state of Wisconsin will ensure me my college diploma with an apostille in 6 days. Awesome. Today I believe I will be going to Walgreenes to get passport sized photos taken. Tomorrow I'm getting a shot so that I do not get yellow fever. Overall, moving to a different country is a lot of work.

So now the question remains...when exactly am I going to get to Chicago to get a visa?? This upcoming weekend I am going to Milwaukee to see Keith Urban at Summerfest, an outdoor music festival. Therefore, I thought Chicago would be a lovely side trip, but I'm not sure when my birth certificate and diploma will be arriving. Thus, perhaps I will be squeezing Chicago into 4th of July weekend??? Basically I have no idea when I'm going there...shoot.

13-18 Weeks...really??

Turned in my license application today!! One notary signature, two sets of fingerprints, and $100 of my life later I should be a licensed teacher in 13 - 18 weeks. Thanks Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. :)

This is my last week of student teaching, and after 18 weeks I cannot believe the next time I'm in a classroom the students will be mine...and the classroom will be mine. WEIRD. However, exciting at the same time. I'm getting a little bit nervous for setting up my classroom and deciding on rules/guidelines/policies and everything that goes along with having a well run classroom. During student teaching I have just used the practices of my cooperating teachers, which have all been very effective, but now I need to come up with my own style of management and discipline.

In other news...tomorrow morning I leave my house at 6:00 am to be at school by 6:15 am to ride on the bus with my students for 2 1/2 hours to an amusment park in Minnesota (Valleyfair). The experience will be a bit surreal since I went to Valleyfair on my 8th grade trip. However, I am excited for everything except maybe the bus ride. And I do not really appreciate that most coffee shops open at 7 am. Perhaps the bus driver will want to make a brief side stop???