Bonjour!
Being as this is my first blog post, I’ll start with a brief introduction.  My name is John Austin; I’m at 22 year old senior studying at Penn State getting ready to study abroad in Montpellier, France.  I’m double majoring in Civil Engineering and French (odd combination I know, I’ve been told).  I’ve got 12 credits remaining to earn in France before I complete my two degrees.  When I come back to the US at the end of December I’ll be able to graduate (although not able to walk until May 2012 because of commencement dates and time it takes to transfer credits from overseas) and move in to the ‘real world’.  I’m currently living in State College and interning with the Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. working in construction management at Penn State’s new Millennium Science Complex.  Last Thursday June 9 I drove down to D.C. for my Visa appointment at the French Consulate, which I guess is where the ‘blogging’ actually begins…

 

If you’ve already been through the process then you know that after sorting through the plethora of information pertaining to getting a Visa, the process really isn’t all that bad.  But, if you’re considering studying abroad or haven’t gotten your Visa yet, it may seem pretty intimidating – it did to me.  Between applying to CampusFrance, receiving their acceptance, getting approvals from the University of Minnesota (who actually runs the Montpellier program), scheduling a Visa interview (avec un vrai fran�ais!?), getting all the paper work in order, sending money to UMn, CampusFrance, the Consulate, getting (multiple) passport pictures at CVS and perhaps a last minute stick of glue (?), it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.  And all that’s assuming you’ve already got a passport.

But, like I said, it really isn’t all that bad.  Sit down one evening and sort through it all and it begins to make sense.  Here’s the abbreviated ‘to do’ list, just make sure you start early:

1. Apply to CampusFrance on their website.  This is actually the most confusing part because it’s a bit tricky navigating around their application page.  But they provide a ‘cheat sheet’ to help you through it.

2. Pay CampusFrance.  It’s always about the money.

3. Schedule your Visa appointment about 3 weeks after CampusFrance notifies you that they received your payment.

4. Wait.  This seems to be the most nerve-wracking part.  Waiting in limbo, not knowing if you’ll be approved to apply for a Visa, never mind actually getting the Visa.  Just waiting for the seemingly ultimate say in whether or not you get to experience the study abroad.  If you don’t get approval within 2 weeks shoot them an email.  When I did that they responded within a day and approved me the following.

5. Get on the consulate website and find the list of documents needed for the ‘longer than 90 day / long stay Visa’.  Get a manila folder; put all these documents in a pile in the folder in the order listed on the website.  Make another pile of photocopies.  Put the entire folder in a pre-paid self-addressed express mail envelope along with your passport and go to your consulate.  For my ‘interview’ (and it’s all in English for those of you who might be worried) l’homme fran�ais asked for the documents one at a time in the same order listed on the consulate website.  I handed them over, signed a few papers, paid my fee (again, the money) handed over my passport (to be returned to me in the express mail envelope) and was done.  Easy.  And no, I didn’t need to glue my passport picture to the Visa application.

So, after waiting my turn at the consulate and passing the time by watching people hopelessly argue with the employees over missing documentation or incomplete applications and fluster over a mess of disorganized and excessive paperwork I was free to enjoy the rest of the 95 degree sunny day with my girlfriend touring the monuments around the nation’s capital. 

It’s been quite some time since I’d visited D.C. and despite the oppressive heat it was a pretty inspiring experience.  The huge stone monuments have a way of making you feel like you’re actually in the presence of the legendary person they were constructed to honor.  Reading the words of the Gettysburg Address inscribed on the walls of the Lincoln Memorial, or standing in the spot that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech seemed to send me back in time for a brief moment as if to live the event myself.  It’s a pretty cool feeling.  If you’re ever in the D.C. area I strongly recommend spending a few hours walking around the monuments and immersing yourself in our history.  I think it’s pretty neat I got to experience some of our own culture and history before shipping off overseas to learn about someone else’s story.

 

Despite the unnecessarily stressful Visa appointment, walking several miles in the 95 degree heat, and the speeding ticket I managed to acquire on the drive down, it was a great trip.  The Visa appointment was a success, I got to experience a little history and spend the day with my girlfriend.  And, at the end of the day I grabbed a pretty good (I think) shot of the Jefferson Memorial with the sun breaking through the clouds.  Now I’ve just got to wait the 58 days till I board the plane for France, but who’s counting?

Location: Washington D.C.