116 years old - Visa crazyness and a lot of luck

That planning this exchange semester would be some work, was something I was really exspecting, but that it will be so exciting and "nervenaufreibend" was something I didn't exspect. But I just continue telling myself "tranquillo, tranquillo" everyting will fall into place.
Therefore I do have my Visa, BUT it says I'm a born in 1900... apparently there was a mistake by the computer, which I did not notice and therefore my birthyear is incorrect :(  The Uni in Chile told us "check your passport number and your name carefully", which I did but I didn't take another look on my birthdate - and the secretary in the consulate did not either. So there I am, with a Visa that's almost good :/ So well I have to see what I can do about that, but it'll be fine!
Further there is also good news! I most likely already found a room in Santiago, which makes it a bit more relaxed going there :)




Muchos Besos,

Leonie

Saying Goodbye...

So today was like the first day of saying goodbye to a much loved friend of mine who is leaving for home and who will come back here but then I won't be in Maastricht anymore.

It's weird, this surreal feeling of having to say goodbye. Not forever but to say goodbye for at least seven months after almost a year seeing each other at least 3 times a week, sharing all heartbrokenness, eating delicious food, going for coffee at uni and not worrying about when to see each other again because even though there are busy times with exams you will find a moment of rest where you enjoy each other’s company.

...and on the other hand there is this overwhelming feeling of not knowing what will wait for you in this new country, not being able to come back when you forget something (like I always do :D ), being a bit scared of feeling lonely or in the end liking it too much so the 6 months will be over faster than you think. Leaving home and not coming back for Christmas or New Years - weird. I will have a good time there for sure, alone the fact that I'll be able to dance so much there is enough. Still all those "buts" in my head. 

I am so lucky for this opportunity, more than lucky and so thankful for all the support I receive. Still the realization of really leaving Europe has not arrived yet. In this second year of uni I was lucky to meet a whole bunch of lovely, beautiful people - from the inside as well as from the outside. But well doesn't the saying go like "leave the party when you enjoy it the most"? That's pretty accurately describing my situation at the moment.

For now I do my best to pass these last exams and try to put all worries aside.

Muchos Besos,

Leonie

About one more month to go...

FINALLY!!!! About one month before I leave for my semester in Chile my host university finally fixed everything with the International Relations Office from Maastricht. Therefore I could finally properly apply for my VISA which was accepted right away. So next week I'm off to Amsterdam to pick it up. That was such a releive.
Because we are finally oficially accepted by Universidad Mayor, the guy from the IRO in Chile was sending us a bunch of emails including important information about the country, places where to live safely, what you cannot bring to Chile and a lot of other good information. First I thought it was not going to be done in time, but luckily the people from the Chilenean embassy in Amsterdam are really helpful.

For now there is not too much  to do anymore, except enjoying the last few weeks I have left in this beautiful city of Maastricht. I cannot yet imagine how much I will miss this place, and especially all the people I could meet here, that made my life so much richer of experiences, joy and love. 

 

Muchos Besos,

Leonie

53 more days to go..

The older you get the crazier is the feeling of time flying by so fast. Weeks and months are passing by like minutes and hours when you were younger – or when things were really exciting. Already two years of studying in Maastricht are almost over and there hasn’t been a lot of time for reflecting all the things that happened during those years. I’m richer of so many relationships and experiences. It’s like I actually don’t want to leave Maastricht, because right now life is good. But to move forward in life there must be change and therefore a new adventure is lying ahead of me.

Chile, this long thin country in South America, I made a presentation over in 8^th grade. It’s home of all climate zones of this world and almost half of its population is living in the capital “Santiago de Chile”. Some called it “the Europe of Latin America”, the more prude part of all of them but still a country with so much to offer. In the end of July I’ll start my semester abroad there and figure how many of those stereotypes are really representative of the country.

Such a big trip needs a lot of organization – or well do I need that?! Or maybe even both…

…so some stuff is already organized like a new passport, because mine was just valid until February 2017, kinda painful vaccines and the application for the partner University in Santiago. BUT one thing that’s actually really important I couldn’t organize yet à  My VISA, the actually most important thing for getting to go to Chile. Let’s say there is a way around the Student VISA, but with the Student VISA it’s possible to get kind of a Student ID which you cannot when traveling with a tourist VISA. But well maybe I need to start getting used to not know stuff, to the feeling that some things are not in my hand to be controlled which doesn’t mean they won’t work out. So many things are popping up in my mind – like what if I’m completely lost because the Spanish I had in school is like kinda useless in Chile, or what if I’m not able to adjust to weird customs there and what if something goes wrong on my flight there?

In the end I have no real answers to these questions but the best to do right now is to get used to the feeling of the unknown, to the feeling that most things in life come as they are whether you prepared for it or not and actually there is not much you can do about it.

Enough procrastination for today. Let's get shit done for Statistics II - Yayy.

Muchos Besos,

Leonie