For those of you who were unaware, for the past couple years I'd been planning on taking up a working holiday visa with Ireland (4 months) and the UK (6 months, and repeatable once) when I graduated university. With a little bit of effort I should graduate in December and would therefore be looking at late January or early February for departing on ten months of work abroad. I even had a sort of job offer in the UK. But when I clicked on the programs website a few days ago in order to get the application started, I read, "As a result of changes in UK immigration rules, the present Blue Card program ends on December 31st, 2008. However, the deadline for the issuance of 2008 Blue Cards has now passed and we regret that no further cards can be issued. ...It is hoped that an agreement will be reached in the near future and that the BUNAC Work in Britain program will be available to US participants for 2009."
After then reading up on these changes on the official British government site on immigration and work permits, I have very little hope in that last sentence. It is a masterfully tangled web of bureaucracy they've created over there and it seems to be a work in progress, with only increased levels of convoluted direction in the future.
So now I just don't know what to do. I'm stuck back in the old problem I've avoided since high school: what the fuck am I gonna do with my life? Working abroad was sort of a delay tactic to avoid joining the real world (as was the army, college, etc) and now the real world will be here in January.
I suppose though that I still have a bunch of money saved up from my army days and that I could still go over to Europe and bum around for a few months. Instead of coming home with a small dent in my savings under the work program, I'll come home truly in need of a job. But hell, what am I gonna spend that money on anyway? Food, rent, gas, car insurance? That sounds awful. If my military-bound self heard my whining university self say that she'd be bitterly disappointed. I didn't work that hard and save up so that I could continue the same later. Nah, I wanted a vacation and an adventure! I'm looking for optimism here, as you can see.
4 comments:
Wow! That REALLY sucks! I'm sorry to hear about the snafu in your plans, Sara. At least you will graduate in December, unlike YS who may never graduate at this rate, to my utter disgust and chagrin. :( You'll figure something out, though. You always do.
Heh, let's not get too carried away here. I still have to pass 20 credits worth this term and I'm about the worst student on the planet discipline wise. YS on the other hand sounds like a good worker and a smart kid who just needs some time off to put things into perspective. He'll probably end up a lawyer or a doctor or something after this.
Wishing for the best for you Sara...don't understand it all but hey! Just hope it all works for you
Oh Sara... I wish I could share your optimism about YS. HE is the worst student on the planet as far as discipline is concerned, so I'm not feeling so good about his future right now. He does need some time off, I suspect. I just hope it doesn't turn out to be a permanent lapse in his educational goals. It's deja vu all over again for me, since it too closely mimics what I did - and I never graduated. :(
Post a Comment