At the end of last week, I transferred my necessary funds to the Maastricht Visa Office bank account. Wire transfers are always worrisome, especially those of such a large sum as this. But at the beginning of this week, I received word from Maastricht that the money had reached. Whew! That was a huge sigh of relief!
Another big ordeal was getting student health insurance for my time in the Netherlands. Maastricht recommends AON student insurance, which I checked into and decided to use for my stay in Netherlands. AON is affordable and provides medical, household contents, accident, luggage and legal fees insurance. While I did not make use of my health insurance last time I was in Netherlands, it is a requirement by the Dutch government, so I have to purchase it. But honestly, 38 euros per month for peace of mind isn't bad! Other recent preparations include signing and sending my subrenter contract for my housing, sending in all my documents for the pre-departure residence permit application procedure, and getting in touch with Verizon regarding my phone while I am gone. Its been a lot of work, but things are going smoothly.
Next steps are to get moving on the car sale, order plenty of euros for my first couple of weeks, and arrange the details for traveling to and from Slovenia (which involves skyping Mateja, yay!).
Its hard to believe that three months ago, this dream was just becoming reality. It still seemed distant, unreal, and unbelievable. Now I am less than six weeks from departure. Still unbelievable. Nerves are starting to kick in, but mostly I am excited about the adventures that lie ahead of me.
I spent some time this weekend with one of my best friends, her parents, and some close family friends in North Carolina. Traveling to NC made me reminisce all the trips we took while in Europe, and made me antsy to board the plane to Netherlands. Sharing with my friend and her family my plans for the upcoming year and my future, I felt so reassured that God has pointed me in the right direction with my decision to attend Maastricht. I am thankful for such an awesome support system that is cheering me on all the way!
Your thoughts and prayers are very much appreciated as I begin final preparations for Maastricht.
Until next time...
