Camp America - Visa Process

A visit to the American embassy for a visa is naturally quite a stressful event - but as long as you are confident and prepped, you'll have nothing to worry about. Acquiring a visa for Camp America involves a trip to the US Embassy in London, England! Irish applicants can travel to the US Embassy in Belfast but as I am from Scotland it meant I was off back down to London again!

To schedule an appointment for a J-1 Visitors visa (which is the visa for all Camp America applicants receive), you have to follow the step by step guide provided to book your appointment at the embassy. These appointments will be from about 1pm to 3pm time slots - every applicant will select a half an hour time slot.

This is the prime time to select a time which will allow you enough travel time to get to the embassy. Using the London Underground, you can travel from Victoria station to Vauxhall station which is around a 10 minute journey. From there, it is roughly a 10/15 minute walk to the embassy. Make sure you have your google maps out - and you'll probably see hundreds of other applicants on their way too! Consider your trip to the embassy like going through airport security. At the door on the south side of the building, my documents were scanned and stamped to ensure I was here for the correct appointment. Then you will be let into the security building, where your bags will be scanned and you will also walk through a metal detector - like the ones they have in airports! 

Note: If you are traveling to the embassy with a parent or a friend who is NOT attending an appointment, they will need to wait outside the security building. (Special shoutout to my mum who waited all that time for me!)

Once through security, you can finally enter the building. The appointment as a whole was filled the queues. At the entrance of the building, you queue to have your documents checked and you will be given a number - this is your number they will call out for you to have your passport and visa approved! Then, you will proceed up an elevator into a very large waiting room (similar to an airport lounge) and you must sit on the RIGHT side of the room. Once your number is called out on the huge screens, proceed to a desk which corresponds to your number. 

This part was really friendly - and a happy English man greeted me and got me all excited about going to the US. He scanned my passport and confirmed my documents were all present. He also got me super hyped about going to camp! Once that stage was over, I had to proceed to the LEFT side of the room. Again, to wait for my number to be called again and repeat the same process of proceeding to a desk which corresponds to my number.

This part... was a little less friendly. This desk was a bit more like American customs, as it was just questions. Some of the questions were; 'What am I doing at Camp?' 'What do I plan on doing when I return home?' 'Have I ever committed a crime.' All the routine stuff.

They should then tell you there and then that your visa is approved, and your passport will be returned to you with your granted visa within 3-5 days. If there are any issues with your visa being granted, you will be told then and there.

Overall, the appointments were full of waiting. I think I was in the embassy for at least an hour and a half, and maybe 30 minutes of that total time were actually at appointments. Although, it was really fun to speak to other people there with me and see what their camp experience was going to be like! You should try speaking to people in the line with you, then find them once you've been through your appointments! After all, you're all in this together!

My main top tip would be to make sure you have all your documents! There would be nothing worse than forgetting something important!

This includes:

• Your passport
• Your DS-2019 form (which is sent to you by Camp America)
• Your SEVIS 1-901 Payment Confirmation (follow the guide on how to complete and print)
• Your letter of recommendation from CA (on their website)
• Proof of a returning job or university place
• Proof of your appointment at the embassy.
• A VISA Photograph (can be taken in a photo book similar to passport

At the embassy, they didn't even double check that I had all of these documents - but it's better to be safe than sorry!

My mum and I outside the American Embassy!

Spring Mixtape

All of Them Dreams - Tom Rosenthal

StraitJacket - Raleigh Ritchie

Drive - Oh Wonder

Time - Mimi

The Way It Seems - Nat & Alex Wolff

Tokyo Narita - Freestyle - Halsey & Lido

Mountain At My Gates - Foals

6/10 - dodie

Weight of Living PT.1 - Bastille

White Eyes - The Wombats

Long Way Down - Tom Odell

Give It All - Foals

Put It On A T-Shirt - The Vaccines

Red Mini - The Native

Get Away - George Ezra

Chanel - Frank Ocean

Passionfruit - Drake

Let Me In - Grouplove

All I Want - Kodaline

Call Out My Name - The Weeknd

Madiba Riddim - Drake

Camp America - IYLA Recruitment Fair

As part of the IYLA programme, participants receive an exclusive invitation to the IYLA Recruitment Fair in London. After reading the list of camps that were going to be at the IYLA fair - I completely jumped at the opportunity!

Although I am not from London, and I had to have a little getaway to go to the fair, I will say overall I never thought twice about it. I knew the camps at the IYLA fair were for me and I would enjoy the overall experience and be super happy with my camp choices. Win win!

My Experience

I arrived at the QU2 centre where the recruitment fair at around 8:30 in the morning. I booked a hotel in the Westminster area so I could quickly walk to the centre instead of taking the tube - I would highly recommend this if possible as it took a lot of stress of me on the day. At 8:30 there was already a queue of people outside the building to get the hype going!

Prior to the fair, I had listed my top 5 or so camps that I loved. I met people on the day who didn't really have any restrictions and so were visiting the different camps to find what was right for them. Of course - there is no right or wrong way to do recruitment fairs! I would recommend taking a note of the camps you are interested in as it gave me a little more structure during the day.

In the queue, participants were handed out a very handy booklet full of the different camp names, what kind of activities they specialise in and finally a map of the centre and where each camp is situated! Having my eye on the main prize of my ideal camp, I noted where my ideal camps were and decided on a route to go. Again this is something I would highly recommend knowing which camps suit you and where they are in the fair.

I headed straight to the table of my ideal camp - and very luckily - was hired! First pick! It was a great experience, not anything like a stressful interview. The thing that I think people need to know is that camps aren't here to grill you with questions - they just want to hear what you can offer!

Finally, my recruitment fair tips!

1. Write down a list of camps that suit you, have a small game-plan to know what camps suit you!

2. Have a backup plan - if this camp doesn't suit you - which camp are you gonna try next. It's all about keeping yourself going.

3. Have some questions! I also find it shows you have been listening and you are interested to find out more about a specific camp.

4. Get lots of photos! Making memories to show others!

#iamCA #IYLA

Camp America - Applications Tips

Over the past year, I have been thinking about applying to work in a summer camp in America of the summer of 2018. In my mind it would be a new and amazing experience for me to try and adventure. I decided to keep this diary of dates to follow on with my journey of applying and going to Camp America (fingers crossed it happens).I decided to keep an online diary on my blog to remember the process and give advice to any future international applicants!

Application

Looking back I am definitely surprised how much time I spent on my Camp America application. The goal of wanting to be a stand out applicant pushed me to focus on every little detail and ensure it was perfect! I started my CA application on the 24th of September 2017 and finally submitted the application on the 20th of November 2017. This is almost two months I spent perfecting it. Something that was highlighted to me was to include photographs which would show your skills and what you could do as a counsellor! Obviously this may be time to show off your special skills like diving or football or sword throwing - but I thought it was time to show my creativeness and so I looked at Arts and Crafts as well as Baking - after all they're looking for individuality.

My application tips:

1. Focus on your skills and qualities! Emphasise what you can do and what you've improved on over the years - as well as how you've done this and if you've done any teaching on it!

2. Include photographs or a video of yourself! This really shows you're a human with talent - get someone to take a picture of you doing some kind of hobby like sports, arts and crafts or cooking.

3. Constantly update your application - make it the best it can be!

Interview
I received my invite to an interview on 20th of November 2017. Now if you've looked back, this just so happens to be the same day I submitted my application. In fact it was only a full hour after I submitted it I received an e-mail for an interview! Quick right? What I didn't realise at the time that it is an ongoing application and so people can see your progress and what you put on your application right from the get go! This means that they can easily spot out good candidates and you can add more and more to your application at any time to make you look like a stand out candidate.
27th of November 2017 was the day of my interview. It was to take place in a local coffee shop. I wrote this extract on the morning of; "There is only a small part of me that is nervous and the majority is really excited. I never know if I should be worried that I don't feel so nervous but maybe just growing up I am not as worried about so many things anymore. Hopefully this interview is more like a general coffee chat and it goes well." And I was absolutely right - there was no reason at all to be nervous! The interview was very chilled out and relaxed. The woman didn't grill me with intense questions, she simply wanted to get to know me and what I do. Having such a non-stressful interview made me feel more confident in myself and I knew I could do this! I received news I had passed my interview there and then - and the interview overall only lasted about 45 minutes.

The International Youth Leadership Award
IYLA was something that was introduced to me after my interview had been completed. The International Youth and Leadership Award Programme or IYLA for short! It is a programme designed to enhance your leadership and confidence skills - and overall prepare you for life on camp! Specifically, this programme is designed for Girl Scout camp applicants. At the time I was offered an IYLA space - I wasn't sure what kind of camp I wanted to attend. After reading more into depth about the Girl Scout camps I realised they were perfect for me and so I decided to go ahead with the programme.
The programme itself involves 5 different online learning modules and one training day. The online modules are all about reflection and yourself and what makes you a great leader. There are exercises and games to play to learn more about how to enhance your skills and qualities to be the best this summer! At the end of the modules, you receive a certificate and it's a great thing to put on job applications or CV's as well! It also shows camps your dedication and commitment to become the best possible camp counsellor you could be! The IYLA programme also hosts an exclusive 'Girl Scout Recruitment Fair' in London - which I attended and i'll talk about my experience soon!

(hopefully me soon!)

#iamCA #IYLA

18 places I have been to in 18 years

1.  Switzerland

2.  Newark, New Jersey

3.  Orlando, Florida

4.  Boulder City, Nevada

5.  Los Angeles, California

6.  London, England

7.  Belfast, Northern Ireland

8. Castaway Cay, The Bahamas

9.  New York, New York

10. Nassau, The Bahamas

11. Banff, Canada

12. Anglesey, Wales

13.  Napa Valley, California

14.  Las Vegas, Nevada

15.  Orkney, Scotland

16.  Jasper, Canada

17.  San Fransisco, California

18.  Paris, France

Favourite books of 2017

At the beginning of 2017, i set a goal this year to read 50 books. I will save you the despair and admit I didn't reach this goal and knew I was not going to reach this goal in about September. But that is okay because I knew this was going to be a busy year and I was right. I got the majority of my reading done at the beginning of the year, and when I started college again in August the time for reading became the time for studying. That is unfortunately the harsh reality.But this year did teach me something, and that is that I was happier reading only a few books because they were on my to-be-read shelf for years, rather than reading books for  the sake for a challenge. That is something I will take into 2018 as I know 2018 will be even busier than 2017.

When picking my top 5 books of the year, i realised that it is all authors I have perviously loved and wanted to read their new work. They are also all YA romance type novels which I think shows what I love to read.

It Only Happens In The Movies by Holly Bourne

"Bad boys turned good, kisses in the rain, climbing through bedroom windows... It only happens in the movies. When Audrey meets Harry, it’s the start of a truly cinematic romance – or is it? Audrey knows that Harry is every movie cliché rolled into one. But she still chooses to let him into her heart..."

Rating: ★★★★★

This was probably my most highly anticipated book of the year and I had even pre-ordered it on my kindle, as I was in Paris on the day of it's release. I had planned to download it on the hotel and start it on the plane home. This was an incredible book witch such a relatable and amazing main character Aubrey and the boy she works with at a small cinema named Harry. Overall the story was so reminiscent of high school days and what I always thought love would be like. 

A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard

"Steffi has been a selective mute for most of her life - she's been silent for so long that she feels completely invisible. But Rhys, the new boy at school, sees her. He's deaf, and her knowledge of basic sign language means that she's assigned to look after him. To Rhys, it doesn't matter that Steffi doesn't talk, and as they find ways to communicate, Steffi finds that she does have a voice, and that she's falling in love with the one person who makes her feel brave enough to use it. "

Rating: ★★★★★

Another very highly anticipated book of the year. I had previously read Sara Barnard's debut novel 'Beautiful Broken Things' and had completely fallen in love with her writing and her characters. This story follows Steffi and Rhys and their coming of age love story with both characters falling out of the social norms as one is a selective mute and one is deaf. This book made me really think about the other forms of language within the world.

All About Mia by Lisa Williamson

"Mia is wild and daring, great with hair and selfies, and the undisputed leader of her friends – not attributes appreciated by her parents or teachers. When Grace makes a shock announcement, Mia hopes that her now-not-so-perfect sister will get into the trouble she deserves. 
But instead, it is Mia whose life spirals out of control – boozing, boys and bad behaviour – and she starts to realise that her attempts to make it All About Mia might put at risk the very things she loves the most."

 

Rating: ★★★★★

I won't lie and say it took me quite a while after the books initial release date to get round to it and I regret it so much. I completely devoured this in only a few sittings. Including her flaws, I relate to Mia so much with her worries about being compared to others, especially her sisters, and I just thought the story was written amazingly.

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

"Marin hasn’t spoken to anyone from her old life since the day she left everything behind. No one knows the truth about those final weeks. Not even her best friend Mabel. But even thousands of miles away from the California coast, at college in New York, Marin still feels the pull of the life and tragedy she’s tried to outrun. Now, months later, alone in an emptied dorm for winter break, Marin waits. Mabel is coming to visit and Marin will be forced to face everything that’s been left unsaid and finally confront the loneliness that has made a home in her heart. "

Rating: ★★★★★

The cover of this book is what first attracted me to it as it is absolutely stunning. I ended up purchasing a hardcover from America just to have this beautiful book. The story was heart-wrenching and the ending definitely made me cry. Marin and Mabel were so well written and this was just a fantastic well rounded book.

The Upside of Unrequitted by Becky Albertelli 

"What does a sixteen-year-old girl have to do to kiss a boy? Molly Peskin-Suso wishes she knew. Her twin sister Cassie’s advice to “just go for it” and “take a risk” isn’t that helpful. Then Cassie meets Mina, and while Molly is happy for her twin, she can’t help but feel lonelier than ever. But Cassie and Mina are determined to end Molly’s string of unrequited crushes once and for all. They decide to set her up with Will, who is ridiculously good-looking and seems to be into Molly. But as Molly spends more time with Reid, her cute, nerdy co-worker, her feelings get all kinds of complicated. Now she has to decide whether to follow everyone’s advice…or follow her own heart."

Rating: ★★★★★

I received an ARC of this book through Net Galley and I am so thankful I got to absolutely devour this book. The characters were so diverse and authentic and the story fit them very well. The writing was hilarious and I loved every aspect of this book.

Music Loves of the Year

It is probably a very sad thing that I love to find out my music taste and stats throughout the year. No like for real, I cannot wait until December when it tells me how often i have put in my earphones and not spoken to people on the bus. That is a harsh reality I am afraid.

I have been really interested to try out new music and try to kind of keep expanding my own horizons. I know the genres I like and the artists I like and of course I will always check out new music and just generally look on Spotify playlists for anything appealing. But regardless of how much I explore the music industry, I do always have favourites I go back to.

I also try to update monthly/kinda monthly playlists on my blog and i hope to do it more regularly in 2018. Mainly because it is nice to look back to. Here are my top albums of 2017; 

Hopeless Fountain Kingdom - Halsey

digital druglord - blackbear

Ultralife - Oh Wonder

Made Simple - Childcare

Younger Now - Miley Cyrus

More Life - Drake

Reputation - Taylor Swift

cybersex - blackbear

Top Tips for Disneyland Paris

After just returning home from my 2017 Disneyland Paris trip, I ask myself is it possible to go to the most magical place on earth, have the best experience ever and then come home back to reality I hear you ask? No. No it is not possible. I'm still in complete Disney mode watching movies, going through my holiday photographs and planning a new trip in my head. I figured since i'm fresh from a new trip and have lots of tips that could help, I better share them here. So here are some tips and info on how to get the full Disneyland Paris experience.

My trip to Disneyland Paris was from Thursday the 28th of September until Monday the 2nd of October. This was an ideal time as I was celebrating my birthday on the 29th of September. We stayed on-site in the Hotel Santa Fe, and had park tickets for all five days. For only having two parks, five days seems like a long time but the key is to spread out your trip and don't rush everything on day one!

TIP ONE: Bring your own birthday badge!

Like I said before, I was celebrating my 19th birthday while in Disneyland Paris. I know that in the American parks they hand out celebration badges like lollipops but they were not available in Disneyland Paris. Fortunately I was prepared enough to bring my own from home - and Mickey sang me a happy birthday song because he noticed it! Little things make a big difference to your trip. Otherwise they don't offer too many birthday things! You can order cakes and extras when you first book your trip online though!

TIP TWO: Take advantage of the meal plans!

When booking, if you can add a meal plan option to your trip I would highly recommend it. When staying - we had the half board meal plan added into our visit. This included one breakfast voucher and one lunch/dinner voucher per person per day. I'll go more into the restaurants and food we had in a different post but in terms of value for money it is definitely worth it.

TIP THREE: Fastpasses!

This is something we wished we had figured out earlier on in the trip. The fasspass kiosks usually sell out on big rides within a couple of hours in the morning. Always get your fasspasses early for rides such as Big Thunder Mountain, Ratatouille: The Adventure, Tower of Terror and Hyperspace Mountain. Most other rides only reach up to 30/40 minute queues a day but these are the attractions that can reach up to 120 minutes. Also if you're used to the ease of your Disney Magic band then you may be in a bit of a shock! Growing up I have the earliest memories of my sister and I running with our paper tickets to the fastpass kiosks to get the best times - although you don't really have to run, you will have to walk to the attraction to check the fastpass times to ensure you get a good one! For newer rides such as Ratatouille: The Adventure, we arrived at 8am to see that all fastpasses had been sold out - so definetly check the newer rides for fastpass times first!

TIP FOUR: Crush Coaster!

I cannot stress this enough - go straight to crush coaster in the Walt Disney Studios Park.  There are no fasspasses for this ride and although it is constant moving and over quick - the queue reaches up to 60 minutes within the first few hours of opening. On our last day, we were in the queue at 8am and still in a 30 minute line - due to this we only got to ride it once but wish we got to experience it more. (Also note - the ride is fun but if you are a bit of a scaredy cat like me - ask if you can ride front facing. If you like thrills - ride it backwards facing.)

TIP FIVE: Consider staying on-site
For me it was a complete no-brainer to stay on site at a Disney resort as we weren't going into the city of Paris and we were just going to the Disneyland Parks. If that is your plan, I highly recommend it. It was really easy to walk from our hotel (Disney Hotel Santa Fe) to the parks as it was a nice 10 minute walk. Another point is the security checks - the security check to get into Disney Village takes literally 10 seconds whereas coming from the train station/bus station takes about 10 minutes which isn't handy when trying to get in early. Also staying on site allows you to take advantage of the extra magic hours and get on some rides early! 

My Fjallraven Kanken Backpack

I recently treated myself and fell in love with my gorgeous new backpack and thought I would do a sort of mini-review on it! Before committing to my own, I read a lot of online reviews of these backpacks and wanted to know about their size, quality and overall ratings before I purchased my own as they are on the more expensive scale for a backpack. *Disclaimer* this is not a paid for promotion - all opinions are my own.

What kind of backpack is it?

I own the 'Original' sized Fjallraven Kanken backpack in the colour Frost Green/Peach Pink

Where did you purchase it?

Understanding that these backpacks can be on the pricier side - I did a bit of research as to where I could find the best price for me. On the Fjallraven Kanken website - these backpacks are listed for £75 (GBP) and I was aware that Urban Outfitters in the Uk have them for sale at around £68 (GBP). I checked on ASOS for these backpacks and they are listed for around £65 - £70. Fortunately, I had waited until the backpacks went on sale, and so they were around £55 (GBP). As I use ASOS a lot, I had saved up some £5 off vouchers and so in total the bag came to about £50 with shipping. While I am aware they can be cheaper elsewhere - this way I was sure the bag was not a fake. 

What do you use it for?

I mainly use my backpack for college. I attend classes at my local college from 9-4 on Tuesday and Wednesdays. Within my bag, I take things such as my laptop, notepads, pens and water to classes throughout the day. The backpack is spacious enough to fit all of this into the space and has plenty of extra space too.

I also tend to move around a lot and stay at friend's houses during the weekends and so it's great for packing some clothes, pyjamas and a toothbrush. It can fit in so much that I need for staying away from home for a night or too.

Although technically writing this from the past - and have not yet used this - I do plan to take this bag on holiday with me to Paris. It was one of the main reasons I purchased it as I needed a bigger backpack for traveling. I know it will fit in plenty of in-flight entertainment as well as any documents and food/drink I need for navigating airports and flying in planes.

Overall are you happy you purchased it?

100%. I took me a while to finally pick the colour I loved and I am so happy I did pick the green and pink as I think it's very me. Furthermore, I have wanted to buy my own Fjallraven Kanken backpack for so many years but didn't want to make the commitment, but now I am so happy I did. If anyone if interested in buying their own, I hope this mini-review helped - and I would say that if you are willing to commit to a backpack for the amount of money then it is a perfect fit!

^ Click the image to be directed to the Fjallraven Kanken website ^