TO DO LIST.

Admittedly it is more of a checklist for myself than anyone else however I do hope that this list may help future applicants.

TO DO

1.book my flight – DONE
2.purchase medical insurance – DONE
3.pay my program assessment fee – approx. $100
4.make (and attend) my visa appointment – DONE
5.book a seat on my flight – DONE
6.purchase a US Sim Card
I want to be able to be in contact with people immediately once I land purely because I think this will make the first night easier
7.Purchase luggage
8.Sell my car (I will miss you, Froggy!)
9.Cancel my car insurance
10.Cancel my AA membership
11.Tell the bank I am leaving

I made this mistake before when visiting New York for 2 weeks. I did not inform Mr TSB that I was going to America so Mr TSB froze my account. How annoying. Wont make that mistake again!
12.Clear out my room
13.Inform Mr Tax Man that I am leaving (and hopefully get a large tax return!)
14.Inform the Student Loan Company that I am leaving and, subsequently, they will not be receiving a penny from me for at least a year. Hah.
15.Organize some form of leaving shin dig.
Inevitably this will involve Disney fancy dress.
16.Decide if I am taking a) an extra suitcase b) my guitar or c) neither
17.Cancel my phone contract – DONE
no more money for you, Mr Orange!
18.Pay off the overdraft.- DONE
Awkward that this is still on the list 2 months before I leave.
19.Sort out an outfit for Traditions!
20.Get my iPod ready for a hefty 9 hour flight!

I am planning on cramming more Britishness into the next few weeks than you can shake a stick at including football matches (come on you foxes!), music festivals and 6 million cups of tea. Rule Britannia!

Come fly with me!

My flights are booked!!

I must admit that I am starting to get a bit nervous. The sheer magnitude of what I am about to do hit me after I booked my flights and medical insurance. I imagine it is a feeling most people who are about to start the program get – am I doing the right thing? What if I don’t like it? What happens when I get home? I’m sure I will be a bit homesick and will miss my family and friends terribly when I’m over in the states. However, seeing all of the Facebook posts and pictures and blogs from current CRPs always helps me to feel confident and excited again.

I booked my flights with Virgin via STA travel as it worked out one of the cheapest. Delta was slightly cheaper but flying with virgin meant my flight was direct and also I could fly with Joe who has the same start date as me in F&B. I leave the UK at 1pm on September 4th from Gatwick airport.

I decided to book my medical insurance with STA as well as I got 10% discount when booking my flight. I booked for 4 months so that I could see how the insurance was and then decide whether to make the change to Disney or not.

All in all with my flights and insurance for 4 months I spent around £500 which wasn’t too bad. I made sure to buy the excess waiver too at £12 – the woman I spoke to at STA didn’t offer it to me initially so if you do book through STA make sure you ask for it, it will save you from making the initial pay out for expensive medical treatments.