Online Placement Exams Part I

That wasn't so bad! It's after midnight here, but somewhere around 6 PM in Boston, so from there point of you, it's still very ok to do stuff now ... wow, what an excuse that is! :-)) 

I just completed the Online Placement Exam for Ear Training. That was actually pretty simple, some things were a bit more difficult, but out of 24 questions I was only unsure about one of them, but I gave an answer anyhow and I think it was right. 

Tomorrow morning I will finish the rest of it. It should take about 2 hours more. 

Yay!

Moving right along...

After my small outburst of feeling abused by all those forms to fill out, I received my I-20 form today (which took only three days to arrive! I thought it was going to take weeks!!) and was able to complete one form which enabled me to complete another which then enabled me to get a visa interview date. And that makes me very calm right now and I can just spend my time looking forward to Berklee. 

Hold it - There's still a lot to do, but this was what gave me the biggest headache and that one is gone now. Now I only have one slightly smaller headache which are the placement exams. I will have to complete them today, otherwise they will probably just put me in a class that is way too easy for me and I don't want to waste any time or money there! So I will spend my evening watching football and filling out this thing that is testing my music theory knowledge. We'll see what comes of that! Actually I was reading a few of the harmony lesson books of Berklee and they go much more in-depth as we did! I'm thinking it might not be such a bad idea to do a little theory. They were much more thorough than we ever were! It actually amazes me. If you know everything in those books, that's ... just amazing!

I will report of how it went for me in the placement exams. For now I am happy and relieved and still have some fees to pay for the visa ... it's all costing quite a fortune! 

Cheerio. 

Bureaucratic nightmare

It's not getting better. No, it's getting worse! Like the title says, it is a bureaucratic nightmare and it's going to take a while to go away. Let me explain:

I need an interview at the Germany embassy to get a visa to study in the United States. That is clear. But let me tell you what I have to do before I even get that interview and a visa:

1. I need a form called an I-20 that will be sent to me by the college within the next two weeks (hopefully).
2. This I-20 thing enables me to pay a fee of 200 Euros called SEVIS.
3. this SEVIS fee enables me to fill out a form (whose name I forgot) which includes all kinds of questions and information, like I need two addresses for the form of two people living in Germany who can verify the information I put into the form.
4. This form enables me to then finally fill out ANOTHER form that will finally get me a date for the interview at the embassy.

Note to self after having written this: It was not at all that bad, I just need to read better and respect all the rules they put in. 

I will of course respect the rules of the embassy and I will pay all fees and fill out all forms, but seriously, I just want to study there for 9 months and nothing else! There's no way around it I guess ...
So now I am waiting for the I-20. Then there's more vaccinations to do. Fortunately it's only two more.

On a happier note - I was able to find a real estate agent who will work with me (as soon as I get the I-20, haha ...). I will be able to find a place to live through her, but it will be a so-called "sight unseen", meaning I will not physically see the apartment but with photos and info and then sign the contract in Germany already. That is the only way to ensure that I will have a place to live.

LEAVING ON AUGUST 27TH!!!! :D 


Over and out.

Flight is booked!

WAAAAAAAH!!!! 

Sometimes it is just too exciting. One thing after another is now moving into place. I just booked my flight from Berlin to Boston and back (next year). I am now leaving on August 27th at 16:00 (aka 4 PM) and I'm coming back next year on May 30th. So get ready, I will be completely different by then (yeah right ... :P). 

I need to lie down now .... ;) 

Received credentials!

ONLY THREE MONTHS TO GO


I'm beginning to feel a bit of the nervous itch now ... Everything has to be taken care of at quite a high speed! I need to lie down like 5 times a day because the excitement comes with the occasional exhaustion. Too bad I don't like coffee ...

On a happier note, I finally got my Berklee credentials, meaning my berklee.edu email address and an access code for those Online Placement Assessments, oh yes ... I forgot about those. From today (June 2nd) until June 15th you can log onto this site and take a theory test. I'm not really worried about that and there's no failing the exam anyhow (because if you don't know anything, they will place you in course 1), but I'm a bit worried that I won't know all the expressions that they use. However, I got myself a couple of theory books from Berklee and I will study this week and next weekend to take the test.

Also I'm really busy with trying to find a place to live. It's really hard to do that from afar, but the best solution is to work with a real estate agent I guess.

I plan on catching a flight to Boston on August 27th and spend that week trying to find a place. Hopefully it will all go well. But I do have my hopes! :-)

Over and out.

Graduated!

Yeeeeeeees! So it is! 


OK, to be fair, I still have one subject to finish in June, but as of yesterday evening, I am pretty much done and that means - GRADUATION!!!! and PARTY!!! Well ... the post-exam exhaustion set in pretty early last night (compared to what PARTY should mean) and I ended up in bed at around 1 AM. In total I slept for about 11 hours, but that felt sooo good! I really needed it.

The memory of the exam is almost back. It was just one big huge blur, but now I can actually remember some details. I'm very content with it, very happy that it turned out so well and that I found that dress at Mango :-).

I have given myself a day off (which is today) and I'm gonna enjoy it as much as I can!

Now that this part of my life is (almost) finished, Berklee seems to be getting closer by the second!!! Next week is the week of getting a passport, making an appointment for the visa interview and sending the I-20 request form to Berklee. For those of you who don't know what an I-20 request form is, let me tell you, neither do I :-). Apparently it's something the college returns to you that you need to bring to the visa interview and it indicates who will be your financier and stuff like that. Why it is called an I-20 ... well ... who knows. I also don't really care that much as long as it gets me what I want - a visa to study at Berklee!

Cheerio, me mates!

Another vaccination done

It's all coming along nicely ...

Today I had another Hepatitis B vaccination. The nurse wasn't entirely as friendly as the last time, which doesn't help with my fear of needles, but I survived anyhow. She was very good, though. I can hardly feel a thing in my arm. The last few times I was hardly able to move my arm, but now there seems to be no problem. So, good news all around!

I'm starting to get a little nervous about everything ... Yes, well, people in my immediate surroundings would argue that this has been going on for the past month already, but now I really feel it. It's only one week until my Final Exam, and only a few months before I go to Berklee. I still have a lot of paperwork and Visa and all that to do, I just hope I don't miss anything and can wrap up everything rather quickly.

But even with all the nerves, I'm looking forward to next week and the exam, and most of all I'm very excited about Berklee and this new chapter in my life!

Over and out. :-)