So after a brief scare at the Consulate in Munich (I had forgotten my MRV fee receipt) I've now got my visa. The process of getting the visa was really straightforward and the people at the Consulate were friendly and helpful, also very interestingly, throughout MTV was running in the Consulate which was very cool. :-) So now everything is go for a great year in Seattle. :-)

So, after having completed the application process here in Germany, I sent off all my application papers to Seattle in electronic form and in paper form. When the application has concluded state side I will be able to apply for housing, with Hansee Hall being my preferred choice, mainly because they are single rooms, 24 hour quiet dorms and because many internationals live there.

I also really like it's old style and exterior. Hansee Hall has four "houses" (yes, very Potteresque), namely Blaine, McKee, Leary and Austin.
Last but not least Hansee Hall is close to every important area on campus, such as the "Ave". It'd be really cool if I could get a room in Hansee Hall, that's for sure.

Other interesting things for me to ponder about are the Residential Dining Programme and the Husky Card Account, the two things that basically pay for everything you want, but mainly food (yeah, what else?). I'll have to see about these two programmes but they seem easy enough to understand. If you combine your Husky Card with a U-PASS you basically get transport in the whole of Seattle with your Husky Card, which is pretty good. One thing I'm slightly worried about is fast food, apparently this is one major part of US diets and whilst I do like a burger (or two) once in a while I certainly don't want to eat them 24/7. But I'm sure there are subways or KFCs in Seattle. Ha ha. ;-)

Is Seattle a great city? (This is a test poll)

	Yes
	No
view results Created by rob l on 16. Mar, 21:48.

Also interesting will be FIUTS (Foundation for International Understanding Through Students) which is basically an organisation to get international students to know Seattle and the UW. Clearly a similar concept to Munich's O-Phase, just slightly more international and it would seem more intense with joint undertakings and trips.

To be continued... with my expectations of Mount Rainier, Lake Washington, the Space Needle, etc...

So, on thursday I got confirmation from the Munich University that I've got a place at the University of Washington!

Fantastic news and I can't wait to see the city where Starbucks, Microsoft and most importantly grunge rock was invented.







I'm very confident that it will be a great year in Seattle and that I'll learn and meet a lot of new and exciting people. Of course that doesn't mean that my existing friends aren't great and exciting people ;-).

P.S. Yes, I know the Foo Fighters aren't really grunge rock, Jakob forgive me. :-)

Last tuesday I submitted my applications for Seattle and Warwick, hopefully I'll be selected for Seattle. Anyhow, I'm fairly confident that I will be selected for one of those two and won't loose out completly in the exchange trip application game.

I think that the Seattle exchange programme doesn't have quite as many applications as the ERASMUS ones, so hopefully I can expect a positive e-mail in the first or so week of february, as the application process finishes on January 31st 2008.

If I get selected I need to get a J1 visa for the United States, book flights, probably with British Airways via London (which is good as I'll be able to check out the new Terminal in Heathrow), agree with LMU officials what courses I'll take (so I get the maximum of 14 Credit Points) and so on. :-)

I think I'd also like to buy a new camera for Seattle, to get the best possible pics from the trip. A triband cellphone would be good too, so I can actually phone people in the USA.

Applying to an exchange programme is always a challenging experience, get copies of transcripts, write an essay describing your motivations for the exchange, work on your, probably several years old, curriculum vitae, etc... then have one or two nervous moments and deliver the whole application forms.



But, and I am writing this even before I've got the place, if you've put in a lot of work it can be very rewarding and with that I mean SEATTLE woohoo! :-)

So, fingers crossed that I actually get this place, otherwise I won't bring this blog online.