Scholarships!!!

Two months and counting until we take off for Bath! Lots is underway - looking for a place to live in almost-earnest, getting the animals ready, saying goodbye to folks we won't see again until we return, setting up Skype accounts, jumping through hoop after hoop getting ready to apply for visas...AND...
getting the results of the scholarships that Chad applied for! You can probably guess from the tone of this that there is good news approaching. It didn't always seem that way.
Chad applied for several scholarships in the US, including one from the Rockefellers and one decided by folks we know on Vinalhaven. We were hoping to fund at least his tuition (about $18000) with scholarships as we're not sure whether we'll be able to find work and we're saving as much as we can to live (and travel!) on.
Grand total of scholarships from the US: $1,750.00.
OK, that's a start.
So last week, Chad hears back from the University of Bath on the status of a US student scholarship offered by the school. "Congratulations" was all we had to read to send us into fits of excitement. - $5,500!!!!
Now, he'd applied for two scholarships through the university, so I certainly wasn't expecting him to get both after the mediocre turnout from the US - one was enough for me! In an unexpected show of optimism, Chad really thought he had a shot at the second one - a scholarship for international students, not just Americans. Turns out,
He was right!!!!! - $5,500!!!!
Grand total of scholarships from the UK: $11,000
Granted, we didn't meet our goal of taking care of Chad's tuition, but really, not too shabby. It takes a huge weight off us knowing that in addition to paying $1,800 to get the animals over, plus our plane tickets, general living expenses, etc., we don't have to worry about a bunch of Chad's tuition as well.
So all in all, looks like we're on the right track. I'll try to keep the blog updated more now that it's getting close. Thanks for all your love and support!!!
Sarah

Chad the social buttefly

Chad's newest update from this afternoon:

Bath: Bath is as it implies a city built around a bath. However, the city developed as it is today is relatively new to Britain. 16th and 17th century to be more exact. The city center is actually an old Roman bath, preserved for the dull eye of a busy tourist. Entrance to this magnificent structure of course requires the purchase of a ticket-the price of which I have not yet enquired about. Still, there are a great deal of other free things to explore and photograph. Churches for example range from Catholic to Baptiste, which I don't yet completely understand. Transportation via bus is boundless and both the train and bus stations are clean, friendly and straightforward. Backtracking though....the reason (I think) Bath is so easy to orient around is that it really isn't that big and several looming landmarks provide excellent points for orientation. They are of course, the churches. In addition, streets and walkways are broken up in a variety of pedestrian friendly ways, however, it is indeed important to look in a counter intuitive manner when crossing the street or you may have to flick a crinkled car off your knee.

The University of Bath is a decent University. Built in the 1960's- it is a top science school in the UK that draws a serious population of Chinese students. The department of public policy and social science is also filled with quite a few big wigs and I have been assured (without asking much) that the University of Bath can claim itself as one of the more prestigious universities in the UK and definitely, England. In fact, if I may boast a little, Allan Kellehear, whose work on community dying has created new grounds for Australian end of life care policies, is now becoming increasingly recognized in the UK to the point where legislation is being crafted to accommodate his theoretical developments (which apparently have worked extremely well in Australia)- he told me that he'd be willing to work with me (as a faculty mentor of sorts) when it comes time to complete my thesis. Yay!! But more importantly:

I have already met with several grad students to discuss experience and practical matters such as renting a house/flat. Tara is currently a first year doctoral student who would like to direct her sociological attention towards the role of women in the funeral industry. Having worked as a funeral director for several years, she is now looking to pursue an academic course. We had coffee Monday evening and she showed me around campus through places like the gym, the stores, and common areas. She was very willing to be helpful and reassured me that as a grad student going for a PhD, she still does not have a complete vision of where she'd like to be in the future. This of course kept it real and I'll be able to touch base with her at Thursday's seminar when everyone adjourns for discussion and possibly a dinner outing.
On Tuesday, I took the bus down to the Bath Square in order to meet Hans and Regina (courtesy of Tony). They are a Swiss couple who moved here with their two children so that Hans could complete the MSc in Death and Society. We ventured to a cafe and talked for a good hour over cappuccinos. They were very reassuring and provided me with there contact information. Regina actually provided me her email and extended the invitation for Sarah to email her with any thoughts or

concerns about the whole process of moving to Bath or finding employment. It seems that there could be some out of the way opportunities.
On Friday, I will meet with Aliki, another grad student who moved to Bath from Germany with her dog. I'll go ahead and forward you the email exchange between her and Tony that lead to us planning a meeting time for Fri. It's hopeful. Anyways, my trip to Shrewsbury and visit with Jonathan were great!!!!!!!! We (I) have a legitimate bank account (checking and savings) with
Lloyds and it's an "in country account" rather than an international one. Sweet! No worries with American bureaucracy.

Chad's trip to Bath!

Here is an excerpt from a recent e-mail from Chad, who arrived in the UK yesterday, March 9th, at 8:30am, UK time.

After arriving at the airport, I found Tony (my program director), standing with spectacles on and nose buried deep into a book. He is a great guy with a sincere smile, who provided me an itinerary of people, contacts, and locations that I may consider during my stay in Bath. Finding our way to his car (no big deal as Bristol IA is about as complicated as Bangor IA) we ventured along the country routes for a good 15 minute drive into the downtown Bath area. Note: The city of Bath seems to sit low at the base of many lush rolling hills made up of farm fields and country sides. A good part of it's down town border is defined by a water way that flows past several city parks.

Once we arrived at Tony's flat (just outside of the general city area) I was presented with a detailed overview of the city layout, rental prices from region to region and of course, general info. for the common foreigner. After talking at length over a cup of coffee, I ventured out with map in hand to get a feel for the city center. It was surprisingly easy to negotiate and certainly entertaining as one of the oldest cities in the UK. Cafes, shops, students and people wearing black are just some of the immediate things that surround the area. Although

people generally look quite stern and unapproachable while walking on the street, they also present as quite warm and sincere- so long as there exists the appropriate reason to interact. Note: Always preface inquiries with strangers with a polite and clear "Excuse me,..........". If not, they'll answer you- but the look on their face will imply that you are a "wanker" (or worse yet, if they themselves are not British- an "American").

USD to GBP!

Today, we made our first wire transfer of a substantial sum of money to the UK! Our account isn't officially set up yet, but we've filled out the application and Jonathan, who lives in Britain, has allowed us to deposit the money into his account, and once ours is set up, he will transfer it into ours (he has promised not to "do a runner" - yet another one of those charming English phrases I am blissfully ignorant of -which I assume means he won't be taking off to the Caribbean on our tab). So! We are now the proud owner of pounds. Certainly a step in the right direction. Hurrah!

An update

We've been making small strides toward our move to England. A few things we have in the works:
1. We're in the process of figuring out how to open a bank account in the UK so we can have a cache of pounds ready and waiting when we arrive (and so we will be protecting some of our money if the dollar suddenly tanks). We've been experiencing a distinct lack of expediency on the part of the bank (i.e. it takes 11 days to get a response to an e-mail). Luckily, my boss has a contact in England who is making the whole process much easier (for example, letting us use his address in the UK and vouching for us at the bank, as well as scanning and emailing us an application for an account--what would we do without him?).
2. Chad has booked a trip to Bath to attend a seminar at the Centre for Death and Society. I'm very excited about this step because Chad will be able to get a lay of the land, become familiar with the campus, make contacts, and hopefully get leads on areas in Bath where we'd like to live. His trip will last from March 8-15. I'm sorry to not be going with him, but I'll be at Kripalu getting massaged for two months. Alas.
3. We've gathered a few contacts in the general Bath/Bristol area, and a couple in London as well, and are making strides to get in touch with as many people as we can in the UK so we won't be quite so alone.

I've also started reading "The Anglo Files", a book written by a former NYTimes journalist who moves to the UK with her British husband. She chronicles her adjustment to living in a new culture, and the many, many faux pas(es? what is the plural of faux pas?) she manages to make. It makes me anxious that I will do the same, but grateful for her book for preparing me.

That's all for now. I hope the next entry will include a successful transfer of our savings to our new bank account at Lloyd's TSB! Fingers crossed!

A sign

Yesterday, I was spending too much time and energy stressing about England--where we're going to live, with whom, for how long, where I'm going to work, etc.
Then, I stumbled upon a link to the Somerset Cider Festivals
http://www.somersetmade.co.uk/ciderfestivals/festival.php .
Yes, that's right, FestivalS. Plural. It turns out that we're going to be living in the epicenter of the hard ciders of the world--Somerset County, UK.
That's when I knew--it's going to be alright.

Welcome!

Chad and I (Sarah) have started this blog to chronicle our move to the UK, as well as our experiences there. We currently live on a small island off the coast of Maine called Vinalhaven, swinging hammers for a living.
Last June, Chad was accepted to the University of Bath in Bath, England. We deferred his acceptance a year and are preparing to move to the UK in September of 09. We're also preparing our dog, Nugget, and our cat, Thelma, for the voyage. We decided to take the animals because we're not sure how long we'll be over there (Chad's programme takes 12 months, but he may very well stay on for the PhD), and we love our furry critters. It just seemed like the responsible thing to do.
So now we're trying to sort out as much as we can before we leave. For example:
1. Trying to take advantage of the low pound:dollar exchange rate and buy up as many pounds as we can, preferably in a bank in Britain.
2. Finding an apartment in Bath, or the surrounding areas that we can afford, and that accepts our animals. We go back and forth about what kind of lodging we'd like. Finding a house to share would be super because the rent would be cheaper, and there would be an instant social network. However, finding a place of our own would be great, too, for visitors and such, as well as maintaining our autonomy. Problem is, a place of our own may be expensive, and most of the people who are looking to share are looking for a single professional, not a couple.
3. Finding a job (assuming the work visa thing works out) for me. I'm currently training to be a massage therapist, and will easily meet the criteria to be one in the UK, but I know it's tough to find employment, and am already looking on job search sites for possibilities.
4. Applying for scholarships. Chad's finding all sorts of good looking scholarship opportunities, so hopefully there will be lots of organizations who want to give us oodles of money.
5. Making contacts in and around the Bath area so we aren't SO alone when we get there.

For those of you who don't know, Chad is going to Bath to study a specific sub field within the discipline of sociology at the Centre for Death and Society. He's a hospice volunteer now, and hopes to become a professor in the field.

Hope you've enjoyed the first installment. There will be more to come.