One week...

Well it's officially one week away from the time I will be landing in Los Angeles. I feel completely unprepared as far as packing and goodbyes goes. I have less than a week, now, to pack all my stuff, ship away the things that need to go ahead of time (guitar, etc), visit all the people I want to see before going, and well...packing is the biggest thing. I have a few commitments already, too, which makes it even more difficult to squeeze other things in.

I'm nervous. I'm also starting to realize that I'm actually leaving in a week, and that I will soon be in a place that is far away. And warmer.

I also have failed to keep up in my correspondence class - which I hoped to be done over a month ago. So now I have to send things back and forth from NZ, paying way more in postage than I would have had to here. And it also means bringing the class stuff with me when I meant to have it finished and leave it here.

So I feel like some of my time here has been wasted, but the Alternative this Sunday (youth church thing in Hamilton) is about not having regrets for lost time. So I will make sure I don't regret what I've done and not done while being here.

I think I'm, finally, officially ready to leave the country as far as legal and necessary documents goes. I went to get my OHIP coverage extended over 212 days out of the country (apparently it expires if you're out of province for a long time. ha! I didn't know this before I went to school in Calgary for 3 years) and so it seems that I have everything I need. Tickets. Passport. Visa. Health Coverage. Money (well, enough to get going). Tada!

So now I just need to feel emotionally and spiritually ready. Which I doubt will ever happen. I doubt if it's ever possible to feel ready for something like this. And if I did feel ready, I think that would be a scary thing.

Ok well up to my room to see what sorts of things need packing...yikes.

Toodles!

Does it ever end?

So the past few days have brought me quite a surprise, both in a negative and positive way.

I had to start checking out Travel Insurance quotes, etc...because I thought I didn't have to do it (I actually was pretty convinced that I had to use the one that the school would provide me with), but apparently if I want a little more than "one time emergency only" coverage, I'd have to look into it myself and pay 4 times as much.

So what I thought was $500, actually turned out being close to $1600!!! Which is NOT something I included in my fundraising/budgetting totals. It's freaky...so I got a little thrown back when I got that quote, and then a little discouraged that it's down to the wire and I have very little time to pay off the balance before going away.

Then today I talked to a family who told me that they'd like to take care of it. Which absolutely blows me away! I mean, I've always had a hard time with pride and money...which is something I've said on this journal before. I hate asking for money. Fundraising is torture to me, to be honest. And some people are just so joyful about giving, wanting to make sure that this internship can happen!

So just as quickly as the expense showed its ugly face on the post-it note beside my computer, it was gone.

Praise God! Seriously, this is so wonderful.

For anyone and everyone reading this who has supported this ministry in even the slightest way, I send many thanks and pray God's blessing over all of you. Thank you so much for making this happen!

It's still hard to not feel guilty for taking money from people...I almost feel dishonest, but it's not like I'm squandering the money, nor am I even seeing any of it - as it's going right towards the plane ticket, health insurance and preparation costs thus far. It seems that I am just the middle man, taking it and sending it to where it will be used - out of my hands. It's an odd feeling.

It's humbling. And encouraging that I do have a family besides those under my roof...

Wow. That's all I have to say.

Wow.

Laugh it up...

I swear that, at this very moment, I am the laughing stock of the New Zealand Consulate. Jacqueline Fleet is one big inside office joke!

I've been panicking because I hadn't received my visa from them in the mail yet. All that had sent me back was my passport, a receipt of payment and my offer of employment letter from Karl in Te Anau.

So I emailed "Jackie", the girl I had been in contact with in the High Commission, asking if she had anything left to receive from me, as I had not heard anything from her recently about whether or not my visa was going to be approved.

She emailed me back saying that my visa had already been processed and sent on November 24th, so that I should be worrying if I can't find it. She asked if I had received my passport and other documents. I thought "well yeah but there was no visa in it"...

And then it hit me. "Jacquie, open your dang passport..."

Of course - since just after my birthday - I've had it all along. It's in the "Visas" section of my passport, glued into the page and filled in neatly. DUH!

When I emailed her back, I apologized for having wasted her time and told her that I felt quite silly. I wished her a Merry Christmas and promised never to be a bother to her again. When I got offline there was a message on the machine. It was from a wonderfully accented man from the New Zealand Consulate. This was his love message to me:

"Regah-din' Jeck-lynn's in-queery abay-at heuh Vees-ar, eef she's received heuh pess-port, Oy suggest she tayke a look aynd she'w foind heuh Vees-ar in they-ah"

If you can understand that, good for you. If not, here's how it translates into the much-less-attractive Canadian accent:

"Regarding Jacquelines inquiry about her Visa, if she has recieved her passport, I suggest she take a look and she'll find her Visa in there"

I GET TO HEAR THAT ACCENT 24/7!!! LIKE, ALL AROUND ME!!!

Such a beauty. I'm in love with the man at the Consulate. A friend once asked me if she could be in love with a man she's never met (after talking to my dad on the phone for the first time last Christmas season), and now I know that it's quite possible.

However, if that's the case, I'll be in love with many a man when I'm surrounded by Kiwi accents in less than 3 weeks!!! YEE-IKES! I won't have to count how many proposals I get (like Cindy), I'll be counting how many I'VE proposed to!

Ok well that's my story. I'm a tool. And in love. The end...hehe.

Oyrver & Ay-ot
(Over & Out...teehee)

Impatience...

Okay I'm having a slight issue with feeling anxious about a few things.

There have been some delays in getting my visa application processed. And since making arrangements to provide the High Commission with the necessary missing documents, I've been left hanging. The lady in Ottawa hasn't even told me that she received any of it - even though I asked her to. They sent back my passport, job offer letter and a receipt for what I paid them...but I was expecting my visa to be in there. It wasn't.

I'm panicking because last I heard, Emma told me that she was trying to get a hold of the travel agent to get a copy of my itinerary and such to give to the High Commission. Yet again, haven't heard anything. Only today did I wake up and remember that I should be freaking out. And so I am.

I have 12 days to make sure that they have everything. Otherwise it will not be processed before I leave. Not cool.

I also have a real big problem with waiting a whole month before finding out what sorts of funds are in my onSite account. I hate calling Winn and always asking what's in there. But I don't like waiting - there are people at church giving me looks as if I should be thanking them. A lot of people ask me where the fundraising is at, and how much more I need. How can I answer them?

"Umm, a month ago I had half of it..."

That's exactly how I answer them. And then I explain that I only get a detailed update once a month, so I never know if anyone has contributed for a long time - sometimes over a month after they actually give. So I hope no one is taking offense right now with me not having thanked them yet.

I'm so afraid to be a bother by always asking the school how much money's in the account. Anyways...it's the beginning of the month. Hopefully I'll hear from them soon.

Ok. Breakfast time. Apparently 7 am is the new hour of worry...EEP!