El Visado Estudiante

Today was the dreaded and exciting day of applying for my student visa.  It can take anywhere from 5 to 12 weeks to come back in the mail, so hopefully it will be back sooner rather than later.  Like many things involving Spain, the process is super decentralized.  There are nine different consulates in the United States, and each one gets to decide its own variation of what it needs to have to give you a visa.

For those of you who may be wondering, the DC consulate requires you to have:
-1 copy of the Visa application form
-a passport sized photo
-$160 in cash
-a Medical certificate saying you are healthy & free of contagious diseases (NOT notarized/apostilled, more on this later)
-an FBI or State Background Check saying that they have no records for you (notarized and with the Apostille de Hague)
-the letter from Spain with your school information
-your passport + a copy of JUST THE PICTURE PAGE
-copies of pretty much everything just mentioned

The process to even get to today was intense to say the least.  At first I needed a Medical certificate with the doctor's signature notarized.  Try finding a doctor with a notary on staff.  Not an easy task.  Then in the middle of trying to resolve this dilemma, the consulate went and changed the requirements.  Problem solved!  But also typical Spain...

With time getting shorter and shorter until I leave for Spain, I rushed to DC after swim practice today to try to make it the consulate before 1 pm, when they close, because of course everyone has to go home for siesta.  I waited until the last minute and had to go get my passport sized photo and then suffered the consequences.  We get all the way to DC only to discover that the lady at CVS didn't actually give me the photo.  I know, I know; I should have double-checked.  We sprinted down the street to a CVS nearby (thank the lord), but they didn't do passport photos.  I was about to die of desperation (after going back to the first CVS at home to give that woman a piece of my mind) when the woman at the DC CVS took the paper I had and pulled the passport photo off the back.  It was stuck to the back the whole time.

We raced the five blocks back to the consulate, which was actually really kind of cool and official-looking.  Basically I continued being my usual self.  I handed the people my stack of papers and nervously announced, "Necesito un visado estudiante."  Oh yeah, I can speak Spanish!  And that was as far as I could get.  I totally froze and reverted to English, all the while breaking out into a nervous "OMG, how do you say that in Spanish?" sweat.  They dug their way through my stack of papers, handing me back nearly half of them (because they never needed them in the first place).  I'm sure they got a kick out of the copy of my passport.  I thought they needed a copy of every single page, so I basically gave them a book.  The guy took the stack to his superior, who pulled out the one page they needed, the one with my picture.  Ooops.  Oh well, can't be too prepared, I guess!

So basically, I am probably definitely really going to Spain in two and a half months!  And I better start preparing to spend several months in a nervous sweat every time I have to use my Spanish, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

The Beginning

I am officially going to Spain in the fall of 2012! I guess I already knew that because I got my regional placement in Extremadura a few weeks ago, but today I received my school placements, which just makes it all the more official in my mind.  I am probably leaving for Spain on September 24th, so that I will still be stateside for my cousin Lucy's wedding!

I was placed in two schools: the first in the small city of Zafra, IES Cristo de Rosario, and the second about 30 minutes north, IESO Valdemedel. For those of you who are wondering, the IES,  Instituta de Escuela Secundaria and Instituta de Escuela Secundaria Obligataria, means that I will be teaching in secondary schools, working with 12-16 year-olds. I am not sure what the 'Obligataria' means, but I am sure I will find out. I am mildly disappointed with my school placements because, at least as a swim coach, I prefer working with the younger kids, but qué será, será. I am still SUPER excited because now I can start thinking about the specifics of living in Spain and all the awesome trips I am going to take.

As soon as I found out, I had to go online and find out as much about the city as I could. Zafra is a city nestled in the valley between several mountains with a population of 16,000. It is about an hour away from Badajoz and Merida, an hour and a half away from Seville, 3 hours from Lisbon (Portugal) and around 4 hours from Madrid. The influences of the Romans and the Moors are still evident in the city today, with historical sites including several churches and the Parador de Zafra (see a picture), and the city is known as 'Little Seville' for its architectural similarities. I've already found a running club and a cycling club there, in case I decide to be super athletic in my efforts to meet the locals. The nearest pool is 15km away (Yes, I had to check), and I am contemplating getting a bike to get around and explore the countryside. Through the various forums and facebook groups I am a part of, I have already found two other people placed in Zafra as well, so that is promising.

Now the next step for me is working on getting my Student Visa, a long arduous process that is only worth it because in the end I get to go to Spain. ¡Hasta luego!