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???

To Do Lists

So I officially graduate college in 8 days. YIKES. After that I still need to finish up student teaching, but really all formal classwork is done....so Colombia here I come???

Not so fast.

Turns out I have approximately one million things to do before they let me into the country including finding time to made a little visit to the Colombian Consulate in Chicago. In order to get a visa I need the following:

• Birth certificate


• College diploma


• High school diploma


• Letters from my school in Colombia


• Police clearance letter


• Good health notice from my doctor


• Teaching licensure


• 4 passport size photos


• Copies of my passport


• Transcript

Also, several of these things need to have an "apostille" on them...basically this fancy government seal thing that they only do in really specific locations and of course the government charges you money for. Awesome. And I think you need to have an "apostille" from the state where the document was issued...does this mean I need to send my birth certificate to Colorado (since I was born in Denver)?? Not sure yet. But it seems like a lot of work that I'm going to somehow need to fit into working, seeing friends, attending summer concerts and supporting the MN Twins/JPM (Joseph Patrick Mauer) in the hopes they somehow manage to be over .500 on the year...