I visited the school to finish up some paperwork and stuff like that. It was a HUGE reminder that I'm not in the States any more. It's amazing to me how inefficient things are here. It's more to get used to! For an example, I present Exhibit 1, my first two days at the school:
Monday:
1. I waited to be seen in the International Student Department.
2. They I was told to go take a test and come back when done.
3. Went to take the test and was told that they were going to lunch, so come back in an hour.
4. Took the test.
5. Went back to the IS department and waited for about 30 minutes for them to come back from lunch.
6. I was then told that I needed to complete an online application, even though I was accepted.
7. Filled out the application and returned to IS department.
8. Waited.
9. Signed some paperwork and then waited for about an hour for them to assign me a student number.
10. I was then told to go to financial aid office.
10. Met with financial aid and then returned to IS department.
11. Was told that I had to pay money for my health insurance since I had to fix something on my FAFSA, but it was too late by then to do it on Monday.
Tuesday:
1. Waited for about 45 minutes for IS department.
2. Signed some more paperwork and then was told that they only took $ so I had to go to the bank to change money.
3. Waited at the bank.
4. Returned to IS department and then was told that I had to meet with the lady the explains the one plan of insurance they offer (which is excellent, but if it's one plan I don't give a shit, just let me finish).
5. Then returned to the IS department where they told me to take a piece of paper to pay for my insurance.
6. Paid.
7. Now I am waiting for an email to let me register.
School is very different here. Classes start on the 1st, but evidently very few people come back until the 3rd week. I think that is so the international population has more time to visit their families. I might not be able to register until Saturday and the people at the school told me that I can just come on Monday even though classes start this Thursday. Just so weird. At UMD, if you weren't there the first day, you risked losing your spot in the class.
I finally got my luggage after waiting for 6 days. Good thing that there is a washer in my apartment because there is NO wearing clothes twice. In fact, in order to survive, you change clothes twice and day and shower at least twice a day. I guess you don't have to, but if you don't you're sticky and your clothes are damp with sweat. I think that's gross, so I shower twice a day and change my clothes a lot. Even things like pajamas can't be worn too many days in a row.
Ooo..I found a way to play pandora here! It's one of the programs that I'm sure child porn addicts use to mask their IP address, but I am innocently using it to listen to music. I don't know if everyone knows this or not, but sights like Pandora, Hulu, Netflix, or any of the TV websites work down here for some reason. All I had to do was pay a small fee to mask my IP address. Now instead of showing that I am in the DR, it shows that I am in somewhere like Dallas. It's really nice!
Alright, well I have two 50 lb. bags to unpack!
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