Visto per Studenti (Student Visa)

Yesterday afternoon, my school's Office for International Programs notified me that they had finally received my U.S. passport from the Italian consulate. I must admit that I was pretty excited to finally take a gander at the Italian student visa posted on one of its many pages. At first, I thought that it would be a simple stamp. However, it looked far more intricate than I had thought. It looked pretty actually. It included a picture of me, my full name, its dates of validity, and an awesome metallic stamp. Again, it was far more than what I had expected. What made it even more exciting is the fact that it's the first visa to ever be posted in my passport.

Il mio visto per studenti

I actually think that this signifies the start of something profound for me. It's like the initial event that will cause a chain of significant events. Now that I have one visa from a foreign country, I will want to attain more. It will be like a scrapbook of my adventures. In a way, each and every stamp or visa I get in my passport would symbolize my growth as a person of the world.

Certainly, there are those that perceive the act of collecting foreign stamps in one's passport as a traveler's cliché. However, I connect it to a deeper, more personal meaning. For every stamp I receive, it would be a manifestation of all my experiences in a particular country. Other than the pictures I will take, each stamp will precede all that as a symbol of each adventure's beginning. It will symbolize a conceptual gateway to what I have and will come across. I find this to be quite profound and amazing!

In any case, I'm quite glad that I finally have my passport back in my possession. I have been waiting for its arrival since early October. It wasn't too long of a wait, actually. At most, it took four to five weeks for me to get approved for my student visa.

Now, the next step will be to get the permesso di sogiorno at the local post office once I'm in Italy and show them my passport (with the student visa), proof of international student health insurance, and lettera d'iscrizione (notarized letter informing of my duration of stay, place of stay, and the accepting study abroad program). Basically, the permesso di soggiorno is a stay permit issued to those staying in Italy for longer than 90 days. Those staying less than 90 days are considered "tourists" (therefore not needing a stay permit), whereas individuals staying for more than 90 days are considered "residents". Since I will be in Italy from January 11, 2012 to April 28, 2012 (totaling 99 days), I will be considered a resident (needing a stay permit).

Once I arrive in Italy, I will also have to go to the local police station (questura) and fill out a form called Dichiarazione di Presenza (Declaration of Presence) and get my fingerprints taken within eight days of my arrival. Basically, it's just to inform the authorities that I am legally in the country. If I fail to do so, I will face legal consequences that would include being deported out of the country. Since I'm studying abroad through a school program, I'm sure my school won't allow that to happen, nor would I personally be so negligent.

Along with filling out the Dichiarazione di Presenza and getting fingerprinted, I also have to make a photocopy of my passport from cover to cover along with the pages in between. I've already made two copies (one for my own records) and also made sure to keep a PDF copy on my computer just in case anything were to happen.

At the moment, I'm pretty much on top of every task I need to complete for my trip. Now, I'm just waiting to be notified of my dorm appointment, future roommate, and scholarship acceptance (or rejection). I must also start saving up my money instead of spending it all while I'm still in the U.S. Recently, I've been starting to perceive each expense transaction as "money that could have been spent in Italy". A classmate of mine who was in the same study abroad program last semester said that she spent close to three thousand dollars during her trip. Hopefully, I can save up one to two thousand dollars before my expected departure in about and a half months. I still find it quite surreal that it is only a mere one and a half months away...

In any case, until next time, buonanotte!
KC

I Miei Corsi (My Classes)

Last week, I enrolled for my classes for my Spring 2012 semester. Fortunately, I was able to enroll into all my first choice classes. The John Felice Rome Center doesn't schedule classes from Friday to Sunday, so I will have a three-day weekend every week. I'm sure they structured the academic week in this way in order to give students the chance to actually enjoy what Italy, or the entirety of Europe for that matter, has to offer. So this is how my academic schedule will be for the Spring 2012 semester:

Mondays 
2:00 PM - 2:55 PM -- Italian 2 
Tuesdays
 9:30 AM - 10:45 AM --Masterpieces in Translation
2:00 PM - 2:55 PM -- Italian 2 
3:40 PM - 4:55 PM -- World of Late Antiquity
5:30 PM - 6:45 PM -- Modern Western Civilization
Wednesday
9:30 AM - 12:30 PM -- Art in Rome
Thursdays
2:00 PM - 2:55 PM -- Italian 2 
3:40 PM - 4:55 PM -- World of Late Antiquity 

5:30 PM - 6:45 PM -- Modern Western Civilization
Friday/Saturday/Sunday
No school 

Basically, I won't have school starting from Friday up to Monday afternoon of the following week. I can fly back in from a weekend excursion in a different European country and still make it to class the same day. On Tuesdays I start the day at 9:30 AM and won't be finished until 6:45 PM. However, I will have a few hours or so in between classes. I can have un caffè or un gelato as I people watch. It would be a nice break in between classes. On Wednesdays, I only have one class which will be about three hours long. What's really special about this class (Art in Rome) is the fact that it will take place on-site. This means that for lectures pertaining to the Sistine Chapel and the Roman Coliseum, I will actually be standing right in front of these works of art. I will be done around noon, which will give me time to further experience the places we visit for lectures, even for just a few hours more. Thursdays aren't bad either since I won't even start until two in the afternoon.


At the moment, the thought of actually being in Italy and experiencing such an adventure still seems so surreal. However, it seems more concrete than ever before. My enrollment for my Spring 2012 courses in Italy feels like reassurance that I am not dreaming. I find myself making a mental note for my future self to acknowledge that no, it's not a dream. It's close. Not to lose hope. And to fall in love with this dream and let my heart be led by these desires.

Scholarships: Part II

Earlier this afternoon, I turned in my scholarship application. I'm quite thankful to have friends and blog readers that provided an alternative pair of eyes to help edit my essay. Yes, it was ~45 words over the 250 word limit, but I hope that it won't be a deal breaker. In early December I'll know whether or not I have won a scholarship. Until then, wish me luck! Right below is the final version of the essay that I turned in with my application. Right below is the final version of the essay that I turned in with my application.

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At some point in our lives we come to realize that each and every one of us possess a unique story worth telling. I want my story to be as colorful and diverse as the food, fashion, history, and languages I will come across during my studies at the John Felice Rome Center. Throughout my studies, I hope to learn from the new ideologies and challenges I will encounter. A desire consumes me to learn from a world larger than myself and to provide myself as a tool from which others can learn.

Being a non-native English speaker, I am certain to provide a unique perspective to the benefit of my peers. As someone born in a different country and having made the United States my home for almost two decades, my unique cultural identity would be a great addition to the JFRC community. Ultimately, I look forward to embracing the cultural disparities I encounter and hold myself accountable to a world different, but united through a human commonality. I hope to learn, befriend, and share with those I meet regardless of physical and political borders.

During my studies at the JFRC for the Spring 2012 semester, my expenses will be afforded by money I will have earned through working a part-time job prior to my expected departure, a private student loan, and a monetary amount my mother will contribute. This scholarship would provide me the opportunity to see more of the world, in which I wish to be more of an active participant by being open to new ideas, lifestyles, and beliefs. By earning this scholarship, it would prove to me that there are people who share and support the same philosophy as I do in improving society through education and social interaction.

Scholarships

I've never applied for a scholarship before. If I did, I probably would have saved a lot of money on my student loans... Anyways, I decided to apply for a few scholarships sponsored by the study abroad program I'm going to Italy with. All I really had to do was fill out a one-page application and write a 250-word essay with the following criteria:

• How I would benefit from the study abroad program?
• What impact would the scholarship have on my study abroad plans?
• How my presence in the program would enhance the program environment?
• How I plan to finance the trip?

Of course, the essay was the hardest part. Basically, I had to write an essay acknowledging each of the four criteria they gave me, within 250 words, expressing my need and desire for funding while staying eloquent and dignified.  The following is what I came up with after 2-3 days of working on it.
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There comes a time in our lives when we realize our responsibility for the world we live in. We come to acknowledge the potential we have to improve society for ourselves and our posterity. From this, a desire is born to learn from a world larger than ourselves and have an proactive influence upon it. From my studies, I hope to learn from the new ideologies, people, and challenges I will encounter. Being a non-native English speaker, I hope to provide a unique perspective that my peers can benefit from. Ultimately, I look forward to embracing the cultural disparities I encounter and hold myself accountable to a world different, but united through a human commonality. I hope to learn, share, and befriend those I come across regardless of physical and political borders.
    During my stay at JFRC for the 2012 Spring semester, my expenses (i.e., tuition, room and board, fees, etc.) will be afforded by money I will have raised working a part-time job during the semester preceding my expected departure, a private student loan, and a monetary amount my mother (my only income-earning parent) can contribute. This scholarship would provide me the opportunity to see more of the world (and greater community), in which I wish to be more of an active participant. This scholarship would prove to me that there are people who share and support the same philosophy as I do in improving society through knowledge and its dissemination through education and social interaction. 

Andiamo! (Let's Go!)

Just bought a travel guide a friend of mine suggested. He said that it’s the right guide for me during my travels through Italy as it keeps the college student on a budget in mind.

Come nei Film

Imagining myself living and traveling in Italy brings up images of films that started my fascination with the country. I imagine myself walking the same cobblestone streets as Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. I find myself dreaming of walking through Roman traffic and being swept away by an Italian man such as Marcello in Under the Tuscan Sun. I can see myself being surrounded by silent, narrow walls as I ride down a gondola in Venice. I want to sit outside surrounded by strangers, being a stranger to my surroundings myself, and enjoying un caffè (a cup of coffee) or un bicchiere di vino (a glass of wine) as the Italian life and culture consumes me. To be in the presence of things that have lasted more than several generations of human lifetimes… there’s a quiet, humble beauty to it all.

Through this journey, I do hope to go through a transformation, an inevitable self-discovery.  To live life for each and every moment, every sensation and emotion like Katherine in Under the Tuscan Sun or Liz Gilbert in Eat, Pray, Love. Or to be like Frances (Diane Lane), who fell in love with Villa Bramasole, bought it, and found herself, love, and adventure… I want to experience all this Italian romanticism. A romance with the self.

I want to experience all these things. Sure, there may be those that might find my goals as overly-idealistic or romantic, but I think they can really happen for me… We can find love in distant places we may have never dreamed of stepping foot in. We can find our most concrete and beloved selves by keeping an open mind to new opportunities. When my life passes on, I want the next generation of people to think of those that came before them and passionately stepped foot on the very same cobblestone streets they stand on… because I am/will be/was one of them.

Posso Entrare nel Vostro Paese?

This past week I had to turn in a few (actually all) of the documents I needed for my trip.

• A medical history self-evaluation
• Proof of international student health insurance (which I had to buy)
• Housing/Roommate contract
• Photocopy of my passport
• Photocopy of my flight itinerary
• Long term (90+ days) Italian visa application
• etc.

I definitely did a lot of running around this whole week to get all these documents taken care of. Having to buy my round trip ticket(s) and international health insurance, making photocopies of several documents, signing countless forms, trying to interpret vague questions and having to insert my answers to said questions in the small space/box(es) they provide… Tedious work, but I just try to focus on the fact that in just a little over three months I will be surrounded by beautiful people, beautiful architecture, immersed in a beautiful language, and living a portion of my life in a place I never thought I could ever reach.

Everything was pretty standard procedure, but in the back of my mind, there’s that pessimistic part of me that thinks something may still go wrong. For example, having my visa application denied. There’s no reason for it to be, but as humans we always think of the good, but there is that portion of us that tries to stay skeptical/pessimistic in order to expect even the unexpected. So the title of this post was Posso entrare nel vostro paese? meaning “Can I enter your country?”

I’m sure things will run smoothly. I just can’t wait to get my passport back in a few weeks with the Italian visa posted in it. It will be like a tangible promise to a romantic, beautiful future filled with great food, wine, scenery, and a moment that will placidly change my life.