Flights, Visas, and Orientation 2013

Three more weeks... and I fly! 

I can hardly believe it has been four whole months since I was told I had a place at MUWCI.

The time has gone so quickly...

Soon after I got the news, I booked my ticket, leaving London on August 18th, arriving ten hours later in Mumbai the next day. Although it's about 5 times longer than any flight I have been on before, I'll be flying with four of my co-years, so it should be pretty good.

Then... came the visa. It was three tries before my application was accepted, but finally it was, and the visa was ready for collection two days later. I won't go into details here, but to avoid any future UK students going to India having the same problems, here are some tips and tricks I picked up along the way.

In mid-July, all the new UWCGB students (class of' '15) met in Derbyshire, along with alumni, current students and members of the National Committee for an orientation weekend. 

I realise the two days were probably meant to be informative and instructive, which they were, but I think most of all it was just a lot of fun! In between discussions on hopes and fears, the code of conduct and health and well-being, we spent a lot of time doing teamwork activities, getting to know our co-years... and playing Ultimate Frisbee and Qwaar (the best games in the world, ever). It was also a great opportunity to talk with past and current students about the individual colleges, which was really helpful!

Otherwise, I've been getting stuff together, had trips to the doctor's for vaccinations, and generally trying to get prepped for August 18th!

I've had several conversations with second years and alumni, who have all been really, really helpful. I've also been in contact with a few other students attending MUWCI in August, all of whom seem great! I have a feeling it's going to be a fun two years...

Finally, a few weeks ago, my friends here in Lyon threw me a surprise leaving party, which apart from being a lot of fun, was really sweet of them! It made me realise that although I'm so, so happy to be going to MUWCI, I am going to miss this place and the people here a lot.

Sorry this post was a bit lengthy... there's been a lot to catch up on!

Thanks for reading

Maria xXx