Ya boi is on his way to Northern Arizona University at the end of August! (naw look how pretty)

And I am absolutely TERRIFIED.

However, I want to do it, I know I want to do it, so I’m basically forcing myself to catch the flight and then there’s no turning back.

But getting to the point I am at now took a lot of preparation.

First of all, apply for a passport. To be able to escape this gloomy nightmare called the United Kingdom, you will need a passport. If you already have one, GREAT – but weirdly also make sure it doesn’t expire within six months before you’re meant to return. Don’t ask me why, I don’t know, and I refuse to Google it because whatever the reason is, it’s sick and wrong.

The next step is to get a VISA because once again if you want to escape, you’ll need it – unless you’re going somewhere in the European Union, while we’re still a part of it haha LOL (I’m crying inside).

Now this is probably the most complicated part of the whole process because it’s all so SERIOUS and PROFESSIONAL. Different countries have different visa requirements so be prepared to do a LOT of reading.

My VISA interview required me to go to London and bring SIX pieces of evidence. Honestly, it was exhausting.

However, once you get your VISA and passport sorted, at least you can now fly and live in said country you’re trying to escape to. But now you have to sort out what happens when you get there!

Now it’s time to sort out where you’re going to live, usually the university you’re travelling to will have a specific accommodation for international students. I, however, wanted the full experience so I applied for the basic halls, so I can surround my self with all them Americans.

Now it’s time to get all those insurances to protect yourself. This is usually forced upon you. For example, MMU is giving me their travel insurance and Northern Arizona University is giving me their health insurance – I say giving, I have to take it out or I’m not allowed to study there. Be wary of knowing the things you have to provide, for example I also had to prove I had had the MMR vaccine even though I had no idea if I did.

 I just went to my doctors like please help me.

Now we’ve arrived at where I am up to in the whole process. Purchasing my flights. I’d say step one is to find out when your term starts and ends. You can’t buy flights for the beginning and the end of the year because most if not all airlines haven’t scheduled that far yet. However, I’ve discovered it is cheaper to get returns anyway so looks like I’m coming back at Christmas.

Now that we’ve reached the present time, I will have to keep you updated with my year abroad in my future blogs. Now I bid you adieu as I now have to go write emails to Northern Arizona to figure out when to buy my flights.