Pre-departure:
The waiting period… occurs after everything is in order and before you are ready to board, but you are still waiting to board!!!!
Planning ahead, organizing and faith are the things that got me through the pre-departure administration. When I applied, I planned and put everything on a mind-map and a set (MUST)/ TO-DO LIST. This makes your tasks so much easier because it is notarised and you have to do it before the time.
Preparation for the Summer School
I first heard about the summer school in Austria from a friend of mine who attended it in 2013 and immediately thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to not only study abroad, but also travel during the June/July holidays. This thought sparked numerous sleepless nights and days spend in anguish waiting to hear if I had been accepted.
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Rebecca took part in an semester exchange at the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg. Here is her story.
Getting there:
The process leading up to finally getting to Austria, was extremely frustrating for me. I missed an entire semester because of problems and delays involving my visa application. Of course now that I am here I am so grateful that everything worked out the way it did. Arriving late caused me to miss the worst of the European Winter, as well as finding much better accommodation! The four story house I am living in is very close to the city center of Salzburg. It takes me just 15min to get to my clarinet lessons on my bicycle. My awesome house mates include a range of nationalities, including an Austrian, an American family and another fellow South African. The South African knows the city well, so he helped me find all the different buildings where I needed to register. Salzburg is incredibly romantic. The old buildings are full of character and style, and the Salzach (the large river that runs between the old city) and surrounding mountains give this Austrian city its enchanting qualities. The first month has now come and gone, and Salzburg has already stolen my heart!
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