Ticket to Italy

MAKE WAY EVERYONE! MAKE WAY!
I AM TRAVELING TO ITALY. OFFICIALLY.


This is crazy. A little 9 days separate me from the Europe, more specifically England. Then 6 days after my arrival to England, I'm flying out (with Becky of course!) to Italy.


So many adventures will happen!


We are flying out June 6th to Ciampino, Italy and staying in Rome for 4 nights and then heading up to Florence and Pisa for 3 and then we are back to England!


Crazy huh?


We were able to get cheap tickets from ryanair.com for about $150, other travel sites had prices listed on average for $200.  If you like planning ahead (like I do!) RyanAir is the cheap way to go. There are of course restrictions to what you can bring but I'm sure I can get by with a little bag for a week! WHICH REMINDS ME I HAVE TO PACK! Oh dear, 1 piece of luggage will be the death of me...

Not mine but I fear it will be..

Getting the plane ticket, in my opinion, is the easiest part of the trip. Next came hostel booking. I searched for weeks comparing hostels (ughhh so many) prices, ratings and so on and so forth on hostelworld.com. The final decision came to Ottimista - Furio Camillio for Rome and Hotel Marcella for Florence. While we were planning on staying in hostels, these bed and breakfasts were a lot cheaper (and were less likely to put me into an anxiety attack!).

Rome

But how do you get from Rome to Florence with no car? Take the train! Italiarail.com was the place to go. The train tickets were fairly cheap, around $67 roundtrip. It also wasn't too bad working around the plane ticket (we have to be back in Ciampino by 4 on the 13th). 


All that is left is to get bus passes for Rome, plan out what we are going to see there, bus tickets for Florence (around the city), and a bus to and from Florence to Pisa (cliche picture of me holding up the leaning tower her I come!)

Pretend I'm holding it up! 

Also, as a last note, I know I haven't been great keeping up with blogging, these last few weeks have been absolutely nuts!

The Costs They Forgot to Tell You About

I'm super excited to study abroad in East Sussex, England but there are a lot more costs that cropped up after I decided to go officially. It comes in that 80 page book they expect you to read...okay okay I may have read most of it!

Some of them may be pretty simple and you may think"well, duh..." but here is what I found going through the process.

1) Passport

As you may have guessed, I didn't have a passport before November and I needed to go and get one (can't fly to England with an enhanced driver's license!). I had to get the works. First you pay for the passport, $140.  Then the execution fee, another $25.  The picture, $10. And finally, the money order to be able to send the money to the government, I think this was about $5. This brings the grand total to $180.00. Wow.

Renewing it alone is $140!

2) Luggage

A good set of 3 piece luggage for a new traveler is around $90 from JCPenny (which is rebranded itself! I'm loving their new logo). Be careful about your allowed size for your flight too! I have a piece of luggage that came in the set that is too large!

3) Cell Phone

Don't EVER bring your own cell phone over. I thought I would just add the international plan and be done with it. NOPE. It was about $30 per month ON TOP of my regular bill and then add 99 cents per minute. How about just getting data? THINK AGAIN! That was an additional $20 to the data plan you are currently paying for and you only have access to about a megabyte.  Go for a disposable phone when you get overseas for emergency purposes only . Much cheaper, $20 - $50.

4) How much your University will actually pay for the program / Deposit
My study abroad program is through Queens University, RIT didn't offer a program that allowed me to stay in England for the amount of time I desired or at the right time.  I thought cool, going through a Canadian University will be a bit cheaper because of the conversion. I also looked at what my University gave me in scholarships and the scholarships themselves could pay for it.  When I was going through the whole business with Financial Aid however, they told me they could only pay for a percentage of my scholarships. Even if I went on co-op during the Spring.  (The Financial Aid is different than the academic year, beginning in the summer and ending in the Spring).  I had to pay the $1000 deposit by myself and then they added another kicker to the equation... they would only pay for tuition, not room and board.  So it was an uphill battle to get the money.  I ended up taking out my government loan for the Spring so I could pay my room and board and the remainder of my tuition for England. Total cost out of pocket: $1000 and applying to as many scholarships as I possibly can.

5) ATM fees. Obviously, overseas will not have the same banks as we do, so there will be withdrawal fees. Take out large amounts of money if you are taking out of the ATM to avoid paying the fee each time. HSBC is in England but they just sold all of their banks in NY and CT off (just my luck) to First Niagara...Yes, HSBC they defiantly have the same services, thanks for screwing over your customers. Watch out for foreign transaction fees on credit cards too!

This is just to name a few. There are a ton more.

My advice?  Always plan to spend more than you do and look for little money savers.  Though it may be stressful now, get as many jobs or work as many hours as you can to help pay for the extra costs.

Remember to pack lightly!

19 more days and I am so terrified and excited!

You Can Do Anything, But Not Everything

Some may say I'm crazy. And I probably am. I do a lot of things at school and for after school. I think it comes with being a perfectionist too.

Some of what I do includes: 20 credits of classes (except this quarter, I have replaced that with 40 hours of work), 20 hours of work, SRA (which includes 20 hours a week), Planning the best trip to Europe possible, producing RIT Players shows, being in RIT Players shows, having a boyfriend, a social life (surprising I know), and a million and 5 other things.

I'm pretty sure most of the time I'm under the delusion that I am Superwoman (and I am don't let anyone fool you).

However, some things that help me avoid burning out:

1. Coffee
And lots of it, especially when I have had a long night.

2. 3-4 calendars and Planners
That I update. Constantly.  Time management is essential and it is best to plan ahead as much as possible. Bring at least one calender or planner to each event.

3. Great boyfriend and friends
Gotta get lucky here <3

4. Little to No naps
It's so easy to veg out. Don't! Or at least don't do it as often.

5. Remember to eat and sleep
Self-explanatory

6. Take a little time for yourself
There are times where I shut my door and lay on my bed to do work or just watch something fun

7. Have a social life
No one likes a party pooper. Bump some time around in your planners and calendars for some fun time!

8. IT'S OKAY NOT TO DO EVERYTHING. KNOW YOUR BOUNDARIES.
"You can do anything, but not everything"- David Allen
So keep that in mind when you are committing to things and delegate

8 is especially hard for me to do. I love being involved in everything and helping with everything but there comes a point where you have to consider that you need to pick your top 3 or so and go from there.

Do you find it hard to not commit to all of the things like I do?

Countdown

50 Days 

Until Becky and I fly out of Syracuse, NY to NYC, NY to 
London, England

Oh my gosh... more planning needs to happen....

GO!

I can't believe this is happening!

I still need to:

Make sure my credit card company knows
My banks know
Deactivate my phone for that time period
Buy plane tickets according to the plan
Buy train tickets or a bus pass
Talk to my family more
Make sure I know what I'm taking
DON'T OVERPACK LIKE ALWAYS

Do you have any suggestions for Becky and I's 10 week journey?

Post it below!

So how is the planning for England coming?

VERY NICELY THANK YOU.

Becky and I got together last night to form a tentative schedule :-D

I also hope you enjoy the Disney Princess Calendar we used!

June 2012

July 2012

 BTW "Program" is our Study Abroad session

FREEDOM!

IT'S ALL OVER (with the exception of one tiny online final and work)
WINTER QUARTER HAS COME TO A CLOSE!!

I'M FREEE!!!

"Oh Kristine! How free you must feel!" - Jenifer Krist as Nora in A Doll House

YES, YES I DO

I now can write in my blog (so many story possibilities in my head!), watch movies, hang out with people, plan adventures, clean my room, look at grad school and goof off on the Internet just like I have always wanted!

Be on the lookout for soooo many awesome new blog posts (I know I keep promising!)

Florence + The Machine - Dog Days are Over

Pinterest

Oh no.  Week 8 is here and I have a new addition (besides blogging and Facebook). Pinterest.

Pinterest is a unique new social media that allows you to share cool things you find on the Internet with others similar to Tumblr and StumbleUpon.  However, this site allows you to organize what you find by 'pinning' photos onto 'boards.'  You can find a range of unique things on this site and share your own with people who follow you.

Example of my boards

When I was first invited, I was able to link my Pinterest through Facebook which automatically followed friends on Facebook that were also on Pinterest.  This allows you too look at your friends and others boards and 'pin' items you find unique to your board.

Boards can be divided into topics. For example I have Travel Across the World, So Much Food!, Movies, My Style, and of course Wedding Ideas.  It can be tailored to your specific personality and you can search for things that you are in the mood for.  I am in the mood to look at Wedding pins so Pinterest gives me just that.  While surfing on the Internet, Pinterest gives you a Pin bookmark that allows you to easily share anything you want with people on your Pinterest account.

Example of a Pin for Travel

Overall, this is a pretty good site and it is gaining the attention of many different people (specifically women who want to plan a wedding that is the common joke).  I think you should check it out to see if it's right for you! The only problem is that you need an invite to be able to sign up for an account.

Interested but don't know anyone on Pinterest? Comment and I will invite you!