Saturday, September 1, 2012

The Final Countdown



Now that I’m less than two days away from arriving in Athens (yay!), I thought I’d share some pictures and thoughts about my preparation and the packing process. I still can’t believe that I first started planning and researching the CYA program almost a year ago!  After receiving my acceptance to CYA I started the long (and confusing) process of obtaining a student visa, which is required for anyone planning to stay in Greece for longer than 90 days.  Given that it is the most important step in the preparation process, I was eager to get that student visa in my hands long before I was expected to leave for Athens. After one FBI report, many calls to the Greek consulate, and one trip to New York I finally received my visa in late July.
Although the student visa process wasn’t easy, by far the most difficult part of preparing for my time in Athens has been trying to stuff four months worth of my belongings into two suitcases! If that isn’t hard enough, try keeping those suitcases under fifty pounds! It took two days and one giant pile of rejected clothing (see below), but I now have two successfully packed suitcases sitting in my room ready for my flight tomorrow.



Now that all of the preparation is over, I’m left to anticipate all of the amazing experiences I’m about to have! I can’t wait to see the city that I’ll call home for four months and start what I’m sure is going to be a great adventure. I’m excited to share my pictures and stories with you and I hope you’ll enjoy seeing and reading them! Wish me luck!

Sam 

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