Monthly Archives: July 2013

My mini French grammar reference book

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Last night, I finally finished an ongoing project of mine: my little French grammar reference book!

French reference book

Ah! I am so happy!!! Words cannot described how relieved I feel now that I have accomplished one very important thing for my study abroad. (Especially since I’m quite slow on accomplishing personal projects.)

The book is about the size of my hand. (Isn’t it adorable?! And so appropriately designed! I got the journal from Target.) When I first bought this journal, I had no idea what to do with a journal this small. But now I finally have use for it! Inside contains the most basic of basic French grammar. All in a pocketable (well, still too big for women’s pockets…) size! I shall carry it everywhere with me in France. The grammar is mainly to help me write. I constantly forget some of the most important rules. But now, when I need to jog my memory, I don’t have to dig through old notes or relentlessly search for it in my various textbooks. It’s handy dandy and portable. And everything is compiled in one little book.

Okay, I feel as if I just keep on repeating myself, so here are some more photos of the inside:

Front flap

Ignore the pronunciation post-it. That is a work in progress.

Back flapMiddleUp close

Feeling a bit self conscious: not visible in this picture is an arrow pointing to “opinion” in the subjunctive use list saying “negative.” Negative opinions for subjunctives. Not all opinions!

Okay, so there you have it. My lovely cute little book. I should name it. Calling it my “mini French grammar reference book” is too much of a hassle. Hm… what about my mini ref? “Oh, let me just pull out my Mini Ref.” Ah, I like it! Okay, so from now on, I am calling this little book, my Mini Ref. 😀

Last note: I am leaving on Tuesday! 7 days counting. Gah! To the point of no return~

Applying to the Exchange Program

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Wow, my titles for posts are so boring. Ah well.

Today’s topic: applying to the exchange program!

So, many people have asked me how I managed to accomplish such a feat. Well, let me tell you. It’s actually much easier than it seems. (This pertains to the Queens College Paris Exchange Program. And to my own experience.) All I had to do was fill out the application, which didn’t require me to do much except answer some basic questions, such as my personal information, my major, the French classes that I have completed in college thus far, what kind of housing I want abroad, and my medical details. No essay. I was surprised by how simple the application was. “IS THIS FOR REAL?” I thought. Indeed, it was. Then I sent in the form with the application fee and voilà. In about a week’s time, I received an email saying I got accepted. Yay! I kind of knew that I would (not to be cocky or anything), but a surge of relief rushed over me still. So that’s my story on applying.

My friend though, who did the same exchange program but from Paris to NY, told me about her experience and wowza, it sounded like a REAL application process. Filled with tales of horror and woes. And bureaucratic nightmares. (Including taking the TOEFL twice. Oh boy. If I had to take a French proficiency exam, who knows where I’d be now… It’s one thing to do well in class, but on a standardized exam, my nerves just don’t cooperate.)

While applying to the exchange program was so easy that I thought I did something wrong, applying to the Macaulay Opportunities Fund is a whole other story. If you are a Macaulay student and you’ve gone through this process before, share with me your experience. I had a relatively smooth process, but — oh wait! I was saving this for a separate post. Well, I’ll just end this post with my gratitude that I am using my whole Opportunities Fund in one go and therefore, do not have to apply again. It is exhausting! But more about that in a later post. So until then~ Cheers!

How French has helped me so far

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So, people are always questioning my choices in life. The main one: why am I majoring in art history? And to a lesser extent, why am I studying French instead of Spanish or Chinese? Well, I don’t always make the most practical decisions. Why? Because my dreams and desires aren’t always the most practical. Call it bad, but hey, if I can make it work, I can make it work.

So, to anyone wondering how my college education is paying off so far, let me tell you. I just ran into a situation where studying French was very beneficial.

Last night, I was marathoning a Korean drama called Coffee House. I know, I know. I should be watching French films… But Korean dramas are so addicting! Anyways, I got up to episode 6 when all of the sudden, the English subtitles were in some completely foreign language with an alphabet I’ve never seen in my life. I started to panic a little, when I realized, ah, let me see if there are French subtitles. And what do you know, there were! So I was able to happily watch episode 6 because I know another language! Studying French for all those years has finally paid off in a very practical sense!

CampusFrance, what’s that?

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That’s exactly what I thought as I was sitting in a small Queens College lecture room one May night, listening to students discussing the visa appointment process.

CampusFrance? What? To make a visa appointment, you need to first go through something called CampusFrance?

If this was in one of the emails sent to accepted exchange program students, I clearly was not reading carefully. I blame all the stress from my part-time job and from my final papers. I put the visa process on the back burner, thinking, ah, I still have time. Well, let me serve you as a cautionary tale: time disappears right before your eyes in an instant. (Haha using time to explain time…) Here’s everything spelled out simply for you if you are going to do an exchange program:

Any American student who is studying abroad for a semester or longer and needs a student visa (whether or not you are enrolling directly into a French university or going through an exchange program), you need to register with CampusFrance.

But wait, what is CampusFrance? I’m going to be honest with you. I have no idea. If you research the website, there’s probably an info page, but at this point, I’ve been there. Done that. Don’t want to go back. After having completed the process, I just think it was another level of bureaucracy to weed out the super lazy from going to France, a method to get more moolah, or just another way to mess with students’ minds. Yup, the loops I begrudgingly jump through just to get permission to step onto Parisian soil as a student.

If you already have your passport, do this right away. If you don’t, when you receive your passport, don’t delay. (You will need your passport number to get past the first step.) It is best to get this relatively simple step in the whole visa scheme out of the way. It will make your life so much easier. Plus, if you devote an hour, you should finish this in one sitting. (I’m not saying it takes an hour. Depending on how easily you can fill in the form, it might take way less or a little bit more.) Here are two important links from their website that you will want to check out if you are studying abroad through an American program:

Steps to applying for a visa
CampusFrance instructions

In the second link, there will be a link to a video tutorial on the CampusFrance process. WATCH IT. Seriously, it makes your life so much easier. Just follow the steps and voilà!

At a first glance, the form might look daunting. At least, for me it was. Usually, when I am confronted with these types of forms requiring inputting layers and layers of personal details, I tend to procrastinate and prolong the process for as long as possible. However, I did not procrastinate at all with this form. And I am so glad my better qualities kicked in that day.

Here’s the long story: The next day, after the orientation, I went on the CampusFrance website and began to do all the necessary steps. However, when it came to creating PASTEL account, I had to input my passport number. Unfortunately, I still did not have my passport yet. All that motivation, zapped from my body in an instant! Dejected and tired, I went to take a nap, but then, not even an hour later, my dad came home and gave me my mail. A PASSPORT! Part of me was excited and grateful. I could finally get on track with all the other exchange students. The other, slovenly, part of me was feeling meh. Now, I was obligated to complete the application process. I debated for a bit whether to get up and do the process immediately. The better part of me won. Good thing because I was in a serious time crunch and I did not even realize.

Getting past the first couple of steps is easy. But then, they start asking for all this information on the program, my high school and my picture, my resumé, my expectations. Ugh. One serious problem of mine: I lack good head shot photos. Halfway through, I almost quit, thinking, I’ll finish it another day. But then I really thought to myself and concluded that, nah, if I don’t get it over with now, I will probably stretch out this slightly stressful process into a week of agony. Better now than later. And really, it wasn’t all that bad. I think I labor over details and perfection so much that it prevents me from getting stuff done sometimes. To get through the process, I just answered as simply as I could. I didn’t think too much about the questions and gave the bare minimum. Example: reasons for going to France: attaining fluency or extreme proficiency in French, studying art history, and studying French language, literature, and culture. Done. Really, when they ask these questions that are reminiscent of the college application process, you do not have to formulate a well thought out, original, and engaging response. Does anyone even read it? As in, read read it. Hmm, oh the mysteries.

Once you’ve completed and submitted the application, bookmark this website because you’ll need to check it very frequently to receive your payment receipt and confirmation of application. (They only notify you through the inbox of the website. Frustrating, I know.) I sent in the money order a few days later and received the quittance a week later. The website says you should hear back within three weeks. However, I didn’t get the OK to start my visa process until it was near the four weeks mark.

Next up: visa woes. My CampusFrance story ends abruptly because it seamlessly flows into my visa story and I want to save all my visa drama for one dilemma-packed post. So stay tuned. It will be one very anecdotal yet informative rant. Until then…

Passport Fun

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Bonjour readers! It has been a very long time since I last updated this blog. But alas, nothing much was going on that needed to be documented. Until now. Well, actually, a couple of months ago, around May-ish. But, I got so swept up in the process that I haven’t had time to tell you about it! So, I’m going to backtrack a little. (And some of the posts may come out of chronological order.)

On getting a passport:

DO NOT DELAY. I repeat, DO NOT DELAY.

I didn’t have a passport before this year because my parents did not want to pay for a piece of document that I would not use any time soon. So, seeing that I was finally going overseas, I needed to get one. I had already made plans to get a passport back in the second half of 2012, but my mom said, “No! Why do you need to get one so early?” I think she was probably in denial that I was going to leave for a whole year when the longest I’ve been away from my family so far is 3 days.

Anyways, my friends were telling me, oh, sometimes it takes months to get your passport! You don’t have one already?! You need to get one NOW. Well, that scared the heck out of me. So why didn’t I get one until several months ago? Well….

Aside from my mother discouraging me from getting one early, she also told me to take the passport photos myself because it’s such a waste of money to go to a store and get my photos taken. BUT, there are no white walls in our house and the requirements that one has to meet (size of the photo, no shadows, face takes up this much space, etc.) were daunting. I had to find somewhere to take the photo, I had to take the photo myself (with my faux tripod), and I had to edit the photo to fit the size requirements. Oh. My. God. So naturally, as difficult as this actually wasn’t, I kept putting it off for months and months and months. (Also, being very picky, I had to look perfect in real life to look decent in a photograph. So if I didn’t feel pretty that week, I put off the task for another.) Until I realized, oh wow, I’m leaving in less the 4 months! I need a passport.

So, I had to coerce my family members to help take pictures of me (since my tripod wasn’t good enough), but the lighting was terrible in my house, no one in my family knows how to center or focus, the piece of white oak tag was not large enough to cover the background unless you took the photo at the perfect distance and angle, and I plainly looked TERRIBLE in all my head shots. (FYI, I am not photogenic in the least.)

Here are some lovely photos for your viewing:

The wonderful white oak tag that barely covers the wall.

The wonderful white oak tag that barely covers the wall.

My sister does not know how to focus a camera or how to stop laughing...

My sister does not know how to focus a camera or how to stop laughing…

I told my mom, I give up. These photos suck. I need to go to a store to get my pictures done. So I took a trip with my dad to Costco and wow, I should have done this months ago. $5 for 4 photos. That’s a great deal. They let me see the picture before they printed it out and if I wasn’t satisfied, they simply took another one. (This was another issue my mother had with taking photos at a store. She said that if you looked bad in your photo, that was it. They wouldn’t retake it. I think my mom is living in the days before digital photography became the norm.) Overall, it took 5 minutes to take the photos, print them out, and pay for them. (A week later, I took the rest of the family, mom included, to get their passport photos done and my mom was very happy with the quality and quickness of the photo-taking process. Also, didn’t hurt that she looked fabulous in her photos.)

I went to the post office near my house on Wednesday morning, May 1, only to discover that the post office doesn’t process passports on the first, second, and third days of the month. 🙁 So I returned the next Monday. No line, but it took about 40 minutes for the employee to process my application. I think it was her first time. But no worries. Everything went pretty smoothly. A weight off my shoulders. Side note: Ladies and gents, if you want to avoid unnecessary fees, do not delay. I had to pay for expedited processing and shipping. I can’t remember the exact cost now, but it was SO EXPENSIVE. Expensive and avoidable. The worst kind.

Then, I went to orientation at Queens College and they talked about doing some CampusFrance process (more about that in a later post) before applying for a visa. What. I clearly had not read the instructions carefully. So the next day, I went online to fill out the CampusFrance forms, but lo and behold, I needed my passport number in order to even get past the first step :'(. I sat on my bed frustrated at my horrible life decisions. However, luck must have been smiling upon me because, my dad came home an hour later with mail for me, including my passport! Yay! Wow, talk about great timing.