"All of Our Bags Are Packed, We're Ready to Go"

We have yet to really grasp the full reality that we are flying to England TODAY! I am not really sure why it feels so odd, I mean we have had at least 4 months of anticipation to get used to the fact that we are really doing this. Maybe it was that the Visa process was so horrible and we thought it would never come through, or maybe it was just that it was easier to focus on all of the positive aspects of moving to another country rather than dwelling on the “not so good” things about moving away from everything we have ever known. Either way...a truly discomforting feeling...the best way we can explain it is that it feels like being on a roller coaster, looking down from the highest peak while sitting in the very front cart, just hanging there looking down at the very steep plunge and preparing yourself to race down it at any second. A very wise women in my life described it better then we could, she told us that it is much like “being thrown into the deep end...you don't have the time to ease your body into the depth of the water, and you don't have time to get acclimated to the temperature”. There are definitely butterflies, and certainly mixed feelings.

So, the “not so good” is we will be missing a lot of humans and a lot of animals while we are gone. It was very sweet that on very short notice all of our friends and family came together to wish us well. My brother and sister-in-law brought over a bon voyage cake to my sisters house where she supplied the food, and some of my best friends stopped in to say “goodbye”. The cake they picked out was hilarious, it read “Have a Jolly Good Time”. The company was truly the best part, it was great to see everyone and we shared some laughs, some memories, and some cotton candy! In addition to this, Trevor's birth family made a very long drive from Minnesota to take us to lunch and sneak in one last hug. Then, the Tomesh Family threw us another party tonight with the whole spread...any one that knows my mother-in-law will know you don't leave her house without being served a four-course meal. You could tell that she really put the time into cooking us a meal that was special, and we very much appreciated it. We had to give our last hugs and goodbyes to our nephews whom will likely be 3 years older by the next time we see them...making Quentin 6 and Cayden 3! We have also grown rather attached to our niece, a 5 pound Chihuahua named Tinky. We have been staying with my sister most of the summer, so we have spent a lot of time around her little dog. Tinky is a very special little dog, my sister adopted her last year from a shelter that found her on the side of the road, very skiddish and fearful of any human interaction...we suspect she had been abused in the past because of this and her twisted paw. Tinky doesn't let people in...this is extremely hard for her, but after relentlessly trying to gain her love, she loved us back after many months. We hope that we can get a dog half as wonderful as this little girl...she did not deserve the life she had the previous 6 years before my sister adopted her. Well...what we are trying to say is you all know who you are and know you will be missed, we just wanted to take a brief moment to thank you all for being there for us.

The awesome cookie cake from my brother and sister in law!

Look, it's our visas!  They do exist!

On a rather sombre note, this week we stopped by to visit uncle Joe at the nursing home where he has been waging what will probably be his final battle with his cancer. While we were very glad to see him again (we hadn't been by since he'd been admitted to “Alcatraz”, as he calls it), it was a sad meeting as we know it will most likely be our last. While he's been doing relatively well for a man in his late eighties dying of cancer, it seems that his long battle with the specter of death has left him very weak and tired. We'll probably never see him again. This stark realization has hit us rather hard, and not just for uncle Joe, but for other loved ones in our lives as well. By the time we will be able to return from the UK, it is hard to say what familiar faces might be able to greet us. After all, three years is quite a long time especially when time may be short for some of the ones we love. However, we cannot let this hold us back. We've tried our best to give our farewells to everyone, and that will have to do well enough.

It's time to transition into the positives...while, we know this whole experience is going to be new this is very exciting. We have always wanted to travel, on top of that we are going for our graduate degrees, and we are finally at a point in our lives where we feel our lives are appropriate to support a dog! These are big deals, well I mean at least for us. I mean, what doesn't sound exciting about this...date nights for us could be more than just a dinner and a movie which is a common practice for us being there is not a whole lot to do in...well...anywhere in Wisconsin. I am so interested in learning how people on the other side of the ocean live...what is it really like? I have so many questions, and I am excited to learn. For us, we feel this is a transition into true independence. I feel like we are really finding ourselves, taking the time to learn about ourselves, staring any fears and misconceptions straight in the face and bettering ourselves through it. Anyhow, you know where this story is going...remember...this is our journey. The Adventures of Jessica and Trevor. Stay tuned.

P.S. Don't be concerned if you don't hear anything from us until Monday. We have 2 separate flights, a lay over, a 5-hour train ride, and no phone, and potentially no internet access until school starts on Monday. We will be fine! :)

This is how the last few days have been spent.

Packing all of our luggage up for the final time.  Hopefully this will be the last move for a while.

Making all of our luggage that goes under the plane exactly 50 lbs, quite the challenge!

***Special thanks to Amie Kohls for providing and taking these pictures at the party***

“I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends”

The final necessary documentation has officially arrived...and at least for now a disaster has been averted. This allows us to finally submit our Visa application for approval. But, we are not totally out of the clear yet. We are still asking for quite the miracle. According to the average statistics on the UK VISA website the table below shows the processing times, which does not include the time it takes to have the Visa mailed to the New York Visa office and back.

Points Based System Visas	2 days	3 days	5 days	10 days	15 days	40 days	60 days	Total decisions made
PBS Tier 4	13%	21%	63%	93%	98%	99%	100%	2452

So, if we get the Visa application mailed off tomorrow morning the 10^th of September we have...about 5 working days for it to process and be sent back to us in order for me to make my September 20^th Induction (Trevor's is the 19^th, but he has been given permission to be absent). In other words, about a 63% chance of having our Visa by that time...and I have never been much of a gambler, I mean I don't even buy scratch off tickets. And my education is not something I am interested in gambling with. But, hopefully, now that I can tell my school it should really in all statistical likelihood not take more than 10 days for the Visa to come in, maybe they can be a little more lenient. Plus, even if I can't make it to Orientation I can make it to classes starting the 27^th. To me, this seems as though it should be negotiable with my University, so cross your fingers.

Also, with the time crunch comes short-notice flights. So when the visa gets here, we leave. It may mean we will only be giving everyone, and ourselves, about a 24 hour notice if that. So, we are going to have to keep everything we own packed up and ready to fly.   

Putting all logistics aside though, while this Visa process has been painful to say the least, we are so lucky to have such incredibly supportive friends, and family. They are the ones that are truly making all this possible. We have received notes from so many people checking up on us along the way, and encouraging us while we are down, which has been 99% of this Visa process. Additionally, some of Trevor's very adamant and wonderful work colleagues and friends that have been pushing, emailing, and calling ALL those in charge of the Visa's to get our applications pushed through as quickly as possible, they have been absolutely invaluable to us. Not to mention, Trevor's “research group” are providing us with a very generous “welcome package”, with some necessary items for the house like bedding, a toaster, and food. Which I have personally been stressed over...since I am kind of the over-thinker of the two of us (well that and I cannot personally live without a toaster...ask Trevor, I am a toast freak). So, a special thanks to all of you who have been reading the blog, giving us hope, and sacrificing your time and money to make life that much easier for us...we are very fortunate to have you in our lives.   

"It Takes All The Running You Can Do, To Keep In The Same Place"

I just can't shake the feeling that I have been running as fast as I can, but just can't seem to get anywhere. You know...where you feel like you're just spinning your wheels and you are just totally and completely stuck? Yup...I feel as though we are stuck in the same spot we were 2 months ago when the visa process started, I am actually pretty sure we may be going backwards. While we are waiting for that ONE piece of paper called the Academic Technology Clearance Scheme (ATAS), my worst nightmare. The humorous thing is that this ATAS certificate is to clear Trevor from the possibility that he is coming to the UK on this visa to be a “terrorist” or build Weapons of Mass Destruction. Anyone that knows Trevor I am sure would find this absurd. So, we have been waiting over 50 + working days for this required document (what is normally not supposed to take over 20 days) in order to send in our visa applications, two of the supporting documents have expired! Ugh...you work so hard to get all the documentation and you still end up short. If this were the only problem I would be totally fine, but it gets worse.

ATAS can only contacted by email...and they do not respond to our emails to know that they have tripled the time it takes to respond and process our application making me late for school...likely meaning I can not go to school this year if this document does not come in, well, by this Thursday the 8^th. Trevor can get there any time luckily because he does not have any classes to take to stay on a schedule. So likely I have an entire year to wait for my dream of beginning grad school (since this particular Msc does not have semesters), and will be doing something I don't enjoy to make ends meet because this means a 6 month laps from being in school = time to start paying back all undergraduate loans.

If you need a visual of how much work it really takes to get a visa...here it is!

Our Visa Binder- Everything contained in this binder is simply the explanation of how to apply.  Unfortunately, we had to gather all of this information ourselves as the only people that have advised us on this are limited in the information they are allowed to divulge as no one wants to be sued for some one not getting their visa on time.  

These are all the required documents to be mailed in to actually get the visa portion of the passport.

Our best friend throughout this process...our calling card, which is now empty. 

The whole stack of paperwork we have been through.

Trevor and I are feeling so hopeless and helpless with this whole process and wondering if it will ever end. We are really keeping our fingers crossed to get this ONE piece of paperwork by Thursday. I am starting to wonder if it may have been more wise to pay the $1,000 and have someone else do it! But who would have thought two educated individuals can not do a visa application alone. All is done now and we can not go back...so all we can do is hope that everything else stays true to schedule and there are not any hold ups or issues with our other documents. Please send any good and happy vibes you have because we could use them all. I hope all future blogs from here will be positive ones...and all you wonderful blog followers will get what you came for and not all this whining!  

Hurry up... and wait.

Hello world. This is my first blog entry (so far, Jessica has been taking the lead on this little project... but she's nudged me into it).

If you know me, then you know that I am not into small talk. Thus, I find blogging difficult. If it is not a theological debate, geeking out over the latest Ubuntu release, or talking about my robot Herbert... chances are, I am not contributing to the conversation. Anyhow, Jessica wants me to write a little update about where we are in our process of getting to England... so here goes.

The facts are these:

We are not yet in the UK. We are still waiting for a single piece of paper work to come through... and of course, they are taking their sweet time getting it to us. This is, of course, a bit worrisome for a couple of reasons.

First, we have a bunch of time sensitive documents that are supposed to be sent in here soon, and we cannot send them in until we have ALL of our documentation.

Second, we are already paying for a place... six months in advance. So, we are paying for a place overseas that is currently standing empty... sigh.

Third, school is starting soon! I start my PhD on the 19th of September, and Jessica starts on the 20th. Now, it takes on average ten days to sort out a visa... so, you do the math! We're bumping up against the clock here!

As an understatement, this has been a pain in the ass... but live and learn, I suppose.

A Place to Call Home

On Friday the 22nd Trevor and I stayed up all morning to be on UK hours in order to hear back from the letting agency as to whether or not we got the house we had been looking at.  And...We have a home! In a month our new address will be...

2 Middle St, Worcester, WR1 1NQ, UK

"Our home", it feels good to say that again.  While, I am very appreciative to all those family members that have allowed us to invade their homes this summer, and bum off their food...I miss having ONE home.  I miss the familiarity off having one bed to fall asleep in every night...and one familiar room to wake up in, a room that does not startle me out of dreams confused and asking the question
"Who's home is this".  It can be a very odd and insecure feeling.


Not to mention Trevor and I have been living in Basements pretty much all of are lives.  We both grew up with rooms in the basement, and then when we went UWRF  the only sufficient apartment we could get and afford, was the basement of someones home.  Oh...yes...we shared someone else's home and lived in their basement for 2-3 years.  So this time around, anything that wasn't a basement as long as we could afford it was sufficient enough for us...and the house we chose is not perfect, it has quirks but it doesn't matter because those little flaws make it a home.


So let us introduce you to the Kohls/Tomesh's new home...

We are the Middle Blue door.  This is a very characteristically English home...it's terraced (connected in a row with other homes much like it) 2 Bedrooms, 1 Bathroom and 1/2 Bath, Kitchen, Lounge, and a Garden.

First of all...while the house is part furnished, DON'T worry, that isn't our purple furniture!  lol.  All funny business aside, the Living Room (Lounge) has always been one of my favorite rooms in a home...it's always comfy, and inviting.  You can have guests in your living room, or you can just cuddle up with your family on the sofa in front of the t.v., or a nice warm fireplace...now that we have one. 

Our little Kitchen...yup...it's little, but I will tell you a secret...."Pssst....I can't cook!".  Most of my meals require 5 or less ingredients...so as long as I can fit five or less ingredients on the counter it looks like I am set!  Oh...and I know what you are looking at in the left hand bottom corner....and it's exactly what you thought it was...A WASHING MACHINE?!?!  Apparently this is a pretty common thing in the UK.  But we will get back to this later.  Do you see that door all the way to the end of the hallway in the picture...It's a..............................................................................................

1/2 BATH  (I mean excuse me a Cloakroom)!!!!!!   IN THE KITCHEN!!!! NEXT TO WHERE I COOK!!!!  lol....okay odd choice of places to put the Loo, but at least there is an extra toilet on the bottom floor, there will just have to be rules against what type of excretion can be done while there is food being prepared.  

Remember when I said we would get back to the fact that the English put their Washing Machines in the Kitchen?  Well, you will never believe me when I tell you where they put their dryers!  Yup...you are looking at it....it's a clothes line....one of those old fashioned things you might have seen at your grandmas house when you were much, much younger!  Yes...this will be different, however, a lot of money in energy expenses will be saved, and a little more environmentally conscious. 

But in all seriousness...what a lovely English garden.  This is the window overlooking the garden.  It will be so nice to have our little private separate space of outside.  The gardens in England often are some sort of stone, rather then just grass...this makes them more easily maintainable.  Except for weeds as you can see.

I wish I had a better image of the garden that shows more of the space, but you will just have to wait until we get there for updated pictures with our decorative changes. 

Pictured are Trevor's friends/colleagues from the UK who were gracious enough to go on this home viewing for us, pick out this home for us, oh and take these pictures for us!  (FYI a troop of 4 people went to view this house...either the person that showed the house was intimidated, or impressed, I am not yet sure which one).  This is the master bedroom...not ridiculously large but still spacious and comfy...and very nice to know we will have a bed to crash in after an 8 hour flight into London, and then a 5 hour rail ride to get us into Worcester...and then the remaining 0.2 mile luggage haul from the rail station to our home!  Taxi!

The office, and or 2nd BEDROOM, for those of you who plan to be guests at our house.  However I am not sure if this will be the office for long....I have a feeling I may be switching it with the Master bedroom because the Bathroom is attached to this room.  As I am told...both of these rooms should be similar sizes so it just may work.  

The highlight of the home...in my opinion.  I could not live without my bubble bath!  Trevor and I have sacrificed this in our previous homes...and never again...welcome back to your rightful place bathtub. 

So this is our home....I hope you have enjoyed the tour.  We will post more pictures once we get there and put our creative touches on it.

If you are reading this...this is a PERFECT TIME to subscribe to our blog...I may make it private to only those who read the blog soon...so make sure you do not miss out because you haven't subscribed. 

The “Other” English Language

Okay, maybe I am thinking a little too much ahead of myself, but I have been searching Amazon and Ebay UK to find house supplies that we might need when we get there (even though we are still home searching). However, there has been a big challenge to this...many times different words are used for the same item in the U.S.

Examples...

U.S.                                                        U.K.

Comforter                                              Duvet

Dish Sets                                                Dinning Sets

Queen Mattress                                     King Mattress

King Mattress                                        Super King Mattress

Box Spring                                            Does not exist- If it is found it's 

                                                              referred to as USA Style

*This is because the box springs are usually implemented into the bed frames.

Bathroom                                              Bathroom-Indicative of a Bath

Bathroom                                              Shower Room-Indicative of a Shower

½ Bath                                                  Toilet

Backyard                                              Garden

*These ones have been really confusing while searching for a home.

I can tell this will be a little bit of a learning experience for me. I never anticipated having so many words with slight differentiations from American English.  I am kind of embarrassed, because I did end up bookmarking “www.translatebritish.com” to avoid confusion. I am working very hard to be aware of my speech by keeping tabs on the thick Wisconsin accent, which has included doing my best to enunciate and learning to find other words to describe similar things. In fact, I started doing this as a result of my University thinking my last name was P-E-R-I-O-D, because when quoting them my email address jessica.ann.kohls@gmail.com they did not understand what period meant...so I have used full stop, and dot, to try to replace period, since I really do not want period to be my last name!

In other news, we are currently waiting on a bank statement we get the end of July to finish filling out our Visa Application, once this is submitted we have to get our biometric details taken, and when we finally get our Visa we can book our flights (which can only be after August 19^th because you can only arrive 1 month before your course work starts). While we are doing this we are looking for a home...which has proved rather difficult. Maybe we are being spoiled Americans but we want a home that has a bathroom (aka a bath), 1-2 bedrooms, enclosed rear garden (aka backyard), and the one thing we are absolutely unwilling to sacrifice, which is a pet friendly property, so we can finally get our dog. We would like to get a home right away so we can settle in immediately, and do not have to live in a dorm, or a hotel, it is just too much additional stress. So, wish us luck!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Due to increasing demand for information from friends and family, Trevor and I have decided to create this blog to document our adventures while we are studying in Worcester England.  This blog will be updating you on 1.) Where we our in our journey  2.) Our ability to survive in the UK, including financially and as Americans (i.e. adapting a culture very different than our own)  and the one I am most excited about  3.) Our Travels (Where we have visited, and what we have enjoyed).  Regarding Travels I have purchased the book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, and hope to travel to all of the places listed under the UK section. 

I also have purchased a travel journal and a video camera....so what I see, you see!  (In the event any of you come to visit we will already have the best travel spots mapped out for you.)  Trevor and I are becoming rather restless to start this new chapter in our lives, and while we do not expect to be able to leave on our jet plane until August 19th or later, the adventure has already begun.  So hold on to your seat, and subscribe to our blog because it's going to be one hell of a ride.