The Mailbag Part 4: 10 days left...

With ten days to go, suddenly the list-building takes over. Accumulating large folders full of letters, identity information and confirmation that I'm meant to be there.

I think it's safe to say that my post on the mental aspect if going away caused a bit of a stir and provoked some thought amongst the Erasmus groups.

Thankfully I think it's safe to say there are some great people out there, full of encouragement...

'After this experience you'll never want to leave... Life changing.'

'You think too much! You must enjoy the adventure! :)'

'I agree, you'll be fine! In France (and every other country I can imagine!) there's no point trying to second guess how it'll be of what's going to happen!'

'Everyone I speak to says the same thing - it'll be the best year of our lives.'

Think it's safe to say that there's no shortage of great people out there who are clearly very supportive. I have to thank you all for that and look forward to seeing you there!

Right, onto the Mailbag for this week...

• Firstly, I wrote in my last post about cashback as a passing point. Turns out it doesn't exist... In Britain the practice is well-established, though evidently you'll need to have some other means of being readily accessible to cash if there isn't an ATM in sight...
  
• CAF - the French government grant for accommodation appears to be only available for those staying longer than 8 months.  Bear that in mind before you apply, though the attitude appears to be 'go to the social security office and explain your situation.'
  
• There are a few people asking about translation of documents for registering.  I got an email about registering and it said that the only documents that needed to be translated are those that are not in English, French, German or Spanish.
  
• Exchange students do not need to have a guarantor for their accommodation - there is no way of checking so they don't bother with it.  A deposit shall be fine :)

Hopefully this'll help people begin to get their stuff together.  Any other questions feel free to drop them to me.

10 days left... And then the 10 month journey begins.

Mike :)

The Mailbag Part 2

Following the success of the first of my Mailbags, I can happily say here's a second part:

• Accommodation, deposits and all that - A few people (myself included) have asked about what the next step is with regards to our accommodation.  Things like deposits and rent and insurance all need to be sorted out.
  Thanks to David Reyes (University of Malaga) I can tell you that we'll be sorting everything upon arrival.
• Household Insurance - One of the compulsory things you need is household insurance when getting CROUS accommodation in France.  This is simply to cover you in case of an accident.
  At first I think it was safe to say that no-one really knew what to do, though a bit of searching goes a long way.  I looked at several sites and they all pointed to Smeno as the place to go.  Once you are insured you are able to download the certificate immediately to show to the accommodation office.

• Mobile phones - A lot of people across Europe have been talking about mobile phones and which is the best company to go to.  Well, there was a rousing response from people.  Sarah Bilot (UPMF) handily added in a comparison site to compare contracts (known as 'forfaits' in France) which can be seen here.   

During the next couple of days I'll work out what's going on with the CAF, the grant you can get paid for your accommodation in France.  I think it'll help greatly with costs so it's definitely worth looking in to.

Much to do today - keeping life as normal as I can given the insane excitement that's befallen me of late.  I cannot wait to get going.  

It's three weeks today.

Mike :)