This weekend is all focused on Jenn and Mike with the wedding, which I want to cherish. I think this the hardest part about being away will be missing important events with my family and friends. I am so thankful I get to be a part of Jenn's special day and have the opportunity to sing again with Chad Naumann. It is definitely going to be an awesome weekend. Then, I fly out to Atlanta for the NEA conference. I do have a paper due Sunday that I have not started on, but I will be sitting in the airport a while, so I imagine I can write it then. We'll see. I have a little free time today before the wedding festivities start tonight, so I thought I would start investigating how various services will be affected while I am living Uganda.
I love, love, love my bank. It has amazing features and has always been accessible everywhere...until now. B of A does not have any affiliations with any banks in Uganda and the fees are enormous to use ATMs. I wonder how I will get access to my money? This should be interesting! I receive a stipend and living allowance from the state department, but they only deposit it into a U.S. bank. I guess I will need to inquire more from my embassy contact. B of A does offer a $0 transaction fee credit card, so I did apply for that. Do you think I can use a credit card to buy food? I did put a travel alert on my account because otherwise I will not be able to access my account outside the U.S. I did learn that the hard way in Italy. I also want to add Mom and Joe to my account, but we will have to do that in person.
Then, I called at&t to find out about phone access. There is basically no phone access because the fees are so high. Here is an example of the fees:$10 for 50 text messages
$120 for 100 minutes
I go through upwards of 3,000 texts a month, so that won't work. At&t has agreed to unlock my phone so that I can put a local SIM card with a plan in Uganda. My phone will work with wifi to facetime or imessage...thank God!! My phone plan can be placed on a "reduced rate suspension" plan for 6 months which is $10 a month. Then, I can request an extension for an additional 4 months. This would allow me to avoid the cancellation fee and still maintain my account.
My biggest concern is continuing my doctoral program. I called my academic advisor and he recommended that I continue my program, but I do have the option to drop my course within the first week without penalty. He recommended that I see how the course goes for the first week while I am there and then email him if there is a problem. I have 2 more academic courses left before working on my dissertation. So, I will probably just delay my dissertation until the fall of 2014 and graduate in May 2015. I can take a leave of absence for up to 180 days. I am so thankful that Walden is flexible and accessible any where in the world. They will even ship my books internationally! Definitely a win-win!
Have a great weekend everyone!!
