Visa appointment...check!

Jet-setting off to San Francisco for the day sounds like something the rich and famous would do. I’ve come to realize it’s not as much fun as it sounds.

I didn’t sleep the night before my trip at all. I was super stressed out about having all my paperwork in order. The consulate was really strict last time I was there. I had most everything in order but there are a few documents I was concerned the consulate wouldn’t accept. My background check didn’t have the Apostille certification (I’m having a hard time figuring out what that is and how I would get one anyways). I didn’t need that last time I applied for a Spanish visa so I was hoping I could get away without it this time as well. I was also supposed to be able to show them proof of financial support of at least $2000 a month (whether it be a scholarship, savings, etc, etc.). My financial plan? Wing it…and pray…and hopefully live on the 700 euro a month that I will be paid to do this teaching…and teach private lessons if I need to. No aspect of that plan has much paperwork that I can show the consulate to convince them I won’t be living like a bum in their country.

My mom took me to the airport really early in the morning and I headed for San Fran. All I had with me was my backpack and it was SO nice. No checking luggage, not even a need to put luggage in the overhead compartments. My backpack tucked neatly under my seat and I didn’t have to deal with any of that hassle. Once I landed in San Fran I hopped on a shuttle and they took me directly to the Spanish consulate. I had been planning on taking the BART system (the subway) but it was going to take me a lot longer and I didn’t want to miss my appointment. Plus, I still needed to find a post office to get a pre-paid envelope so the consulate can mail me my visa (yet another piece of paperwork I was stressed about getting together in time). The shuttle dropped me off, then thank goodness for GPS navigation on my phone. I hustled over to the post office and back in time for my appointment. Last time I had to do this (for my Murcia study abroad trip) I didn’t have GPS navigation and spent a whole lot of time wandering around trying to follow a crappy map.

My appointment went fairly well…not perfect…but well enough. They accepted all my paperwork except my background check. It needs the Apostille certification. I was really afraid they were going to make me fly back down with the correct background check. They are going to start processing my visa while I get the background check, and then allow me to mail it to them. When they receive my background check they will mail me my visa. They estimated they would be able to send me my visa by the 8th so I would receive it by the 11th. I’m amazed. I really thought I wasn’t going to be able to leave for Spain until the end of October or beginning of November even.

After my appointment I walked to the BART system and rode back to the airport. I was blessed enough to have my mom pay for me to get on stand-by for an earlier flight. My flight wasn’t supposed to leave for hours. I grabbed a smoothie, took a nap and ended up on the earlier flight. I got home and immediately climbed into bed. I slept for about 11 hours, until I had to wake up and go to work the next day. This is such a crazy couple of weeks…

First things first...San Francisco

I got an e-mail version of my official acceptance letter today. I know it’s only been four days since I was offered a position with the Cultural Ambassadors program, but I’ve been so anxious to get this letter. I can’t apply for a visa or start to get anything together without it. So, finally, I have that. The next step was to get a visa appointment at the Spanish consulate in San Francisco. I have to actually go down to San Fran and meet with them to apply for my visa, but luckily they are willing to mail the visa back to me so I don’t have to fly down twice. It seems a little ridiculous that I have to fly down to San Francisco for a half hour appointment, but oh well.

I have Monday off from work so I was really hoping to get an appointment that day. That led to one of my first freak-out moments. Things were a little crazy at work, and the enormity of things that I have to get done before I leave started to hit me. Then, when I logged onto the Spanish consulate website to make a visa appointment it said their first available appointment wasn’t going to be until October 3rd. Orientation for my program is October 1st. All the language assistants are supposed to be there by that date. Granted, because I was offered the position so late it is impossible to get a visa and be over there in time. The office and Cultural Ambassadors program know that. Deep down *I* know that. However the idea that I couldn’t even get a visa *appointment* for another week (in addition to the 3-4 weeks it takes to process the visa application) really disappointed me. I’m ready and raring to go and was going to be at a total stand-still for another week while all the other language assistants were already over there. I didn’t get my degree in teaching so I really wanted to be present at orientation and soak up any information and guidance they could offer me. Luckily for me I checked the consulate website again later that day and someone had cancelled their appointment on Monday! Thank you God! So, Monday I head to San Francisco.

Siles

I got my specific city assignment today! I will be teaching in a town called Siles in the Jaén province. The town's population is about 2,800 which is crazy! My high school alone was about 2,000! Intially when I found out I was excited, I was nervous...I was really freaking out. haha. I started looking to see if there were any bigger cities not too far away that I could live in, and then commute to my teaching position. However now I'm actually looking foward to being in Siles. I think it will really help me improve my Spanish and it looks like a gorgeous place. It's in the mountains (or at least near them) and...dun, dun, dun...I saw pictures of the city covered in snow. I'm not the biggest snow fan after spending 4 winters in Spokane. I was just thinking the other day how nice it was going to be to have a snow-less winter in southern Spain. Joke's on me! Oh well, I think I can deal with snow as long as I'm in Spain. Everything is better in a new setting. Plus, I'm sure it will make for some great photos. :D

I have a feeling this is going to be an entirely different experience than when I studied in Murcia. At least Murcia is only 2 1/2 hours away so if I need a familiar face I can visit some of my friends there.

Another challenge has been trying to find an apartment, or at least a temporary hostal to stay at while I look for a room/apartment to rent. I'm not sure which airport to fly into, how to get to Siles, or who to talk to once I get there. Someone in the my regional office in Spain sent me an e-mail today saying that they put my official papers in the mail today, so I'm hoping that information will answer all these questions.

What.an.adventure.

I've been pretty tired the last few days. I actually wake up stomach-tied up and giddy with excitement and stay that way most of the day. It's exhausting.

I'm hoping and praying my information comes quickly so I can put some of these worries to rest, get my visa process started, and actually make this trip happen. Woo hoo!

Andalucia, here I come!

I applied with the Cultural Ambassadors program in March. I ended up so far down on the waitlist that they told me I probably wouldn't get to go. Now, with two weeks before orientation begins in Spain, I've been offered a spot!!! Of course I'm giddy with excitement and I enthusiastically accepted the position. I don't have many details yet, except that I will be in Andalucia (in southern Spain). Hopefully I'll know more in the coming days so I can get the visa process rolling. With really minimal funds and planning this is definitely going to be a crazy adventure but I can't wait!!! For this trip I'm also going to make a conscious effort to be better at keeping up with this blog, so stay tuned for more fun travel stories!