Metamorphosis

How my plans went from "one semester of international academic exchange" to "just being overseas for six months, and finding loopholes in Schengen/European Union travel regulations, where failure to do so will lead to dodging the authorities as best I can", aka "how my plans went to crap":

Fall 2004, Plan A
Go on exchange in Europe during second semester of third year.

- Enter The Break Up From Hell. Put plan on hold for a bit. And then pursue it with fury.

Winter/Spring 2005, Plan B
Go on exchange in Spain during second semester of fourth year, finish school and graduate while overseas, skip convocation and bum around the world for as long as I'd like.

- Things go la-dee-da-whee! Until I find out that the school in Spain doesn't offer all the courses I need to graduate in English.

Summer 2006, Plan C
Go on exchange to Spain, take some courses while abroad and come back to school in September for Fall term 2007, finish up and graduate.

- Find out that courses will not count toward my degree. The marks won't even affect my GPA. Realize that school this term WON'T COUNT and DOESN'T MATTER. Enter visa troubles. Now that I'm not getting a visa, I'm definitely not going to school in Spain.

Winter 2007, Plan D
Go to Spain, live there for a bit. Travel a bit. Try not to break any laws. Travel more. Come home and go to school in September, finish up, graduate.

For freaks' sake.

So, my Grande Plan hasn't exactly worked out the way I wanted it to, but I'm trying my best to see the ever morphing situation as one that's ...interesting, at the very least. Ashley and I were/ARE also planning to backpack across North Africa for a month and a half after I'm done school and she's done convocating (circa early June '07), but now that I'm not getting my visa I have to be out of the EU a month earlier than we anticipated, which has thrown a serious wrench into our plans. What I have to do now is hide out in a non-EU country (or two) during the month of May before she arrives. Thinking of the logistics and costs I'll incur is making my head reel.

This also throws my whole lifestyle into serious disorder. See, if I was to have my visa I'd be able to live in Spain while going to school, which would mean a nice feeling of permanency and security, and the ability to bring two luggages worth of stuff to set up my life there. Now that I'm not allowed to stay there for very long (max nintey days), I have to keep moving. My game plan now is to live in Spain for two months from February to early April and audit courses for fun at the university while seeing bits of Portugal here and there. And then I'd take off for France and Italy one month before my time in the EU is up and spend two weeks in either country. That only brings me to early May, right up until my ninety days expires. What to do for a month until Ash arrives in early June? No real ideas have formed yet; I could split the month between Switzerland and Turkey (the only two non-EU countries in the area that I have remote interest in), or take off to India for a month.

Things to consider are: MONEY. Moving around this much means a lot of train, plane, and bus tickets, lots of hostels and lots of eating out as opposed to staying in and cooking at my apartment. This also means lack of permanency and security, which is making me more nervous than I thought. I'm going to be lonely, really. It means living out of a pack for three and a half months (ahh! wrinkly clothes!). It means bringing one luggage, not two; only packing two pairs of shoes and no heels; no jewelry nor make-up; it means no lappy. NO LAPTOP. NO COMPUTER. NO. INTERNET.

*faints*

I kid. I actually think that living without a computer for such a long time will be good for me, or...interesting at the very least.* Really, the thing that worries me the most is being by myself for such a long time. I'll leave Spain as of April and I won't have any permanent contact info which means my family won't be able to reach me. Filial piety at it's best: I worry about my parents worrying about me. That, and I'm also worrying about their reaction to the fact that I'm no longer going to school like I said I was (i.e.: "Then stay here! Go back to school and graduate in April!"**).

At this point, I'd appreciate info on:
- loopholes in travel regulations pertaining to the Schengen States/European Union
- sweet talking authorities
- how to get out of jail
- how to pack lightly


* I sound like a broken record by saying that everythig is "...interesting at the very least" because I'm trying to find as many silver linings as freaking possible

** NO.
4:33 pm