This Is Crazy Talk....with your host, Rachel Lundquist

My name is Rachel Lundquist, and this is my blog! When I was young, I never thought I would be doing something blog-worthy, but here I am! I am studying at Franklin College Switzerland: an American college in-you guessed it-Switzerland. This is why the blog is entitled "This Is Crazy Talk". Going to college in Switzerland? Crazy talk. The fact that I have a supportive enough family to make it possible? Crazy talk. This is a dream for me! T-minus 3 days and t still hasn't fully hit me yet. The fact that I'm writing this instead of packing/cleaning/preparing is proof of that. However, packing is one of the least stressful things about making this dream a reality. The hoops one must jump through to put this plan into action is crazy (talk)!! The application process for Franklin College Switzerland is fairly easy, however, it's the after-effects of acceptance that is the tricky part. Every college student must do the FAFSA and fill out student loans, which in and of itself is difficult enough. In addition to a Franklin student's responsibilities to achieve tuition through scholarships, loans and help from the college, is the Visa Application process. One of the most stressful experiences of my life was completing the Visa application. Imagine a high school student in April/May needing a letter from the school confirming the payment of tuition? For those of you that don't know, tuition for most schools is not due until September. Crazy talk. However, Franklin thinks of everything and provided each of the students with the necessary documents to complete this application. After months of waiting for the key to your arrival and study, you must send in your passport. Yes, you read that right. You have to send your passport to a Swiss consulate that is nearest to you. If you're lucky, you might have a Swiss consulate in your state. However, Minnesota is apparently not good enough and the closest Swiss consulate is in Chicago. Against my better judgement, I sent my passport. And it came back to me within a week. :) To be honest, I was tempted to say, "Screw it. It's not worth it. Why don't I just go to Iowa/Wisconsin/One of the Dakotas like everyone else?" However, I know the best people on earth who helped me overcome my frustration and now I am only four days away from living my dream! Shout out to my best friend Ella who received the brunt of my frustrations and complaining and dealt with it accordingly! Another shout out to my mom and Sue who are footing a big part of the bill that this dream poops out. Without them, this would not be possible. They sincerely care about my place in life after college and do not want to see me hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt (...or back in their house). I would gladly take thousands of dollars in loans over their hardships while I'm gone, but those are the woes of a family. Neither of us want to see the other hurting, and it can't be helped. Anyway, this college is crazy because it's American (which I said) but it's all in English! Granted, one must be proficient in a language in order to graduate (I study French) but that's what it's all about. Learning about and understanding other cultures and opening your mind to the possibilities and ideas of other societies. How can you do this by sitting in a classroom all day? You can't. Which is why there is Academic Travel! I get to travel for two weeks, every semester, for three years. Crazy talk. Moving on, I must finish packing/cleaning/ et cetera. We are departing in about 19 hours, and the majority of that is sleep time. Au revoir, Minnesota.