So, when I imagined the official term 'visa application' and paired it with the mountain of paperwork that I've painstakingly completed, I pictured meeting with a man in a suit and sitting in his office for hours at end, arguing that I didn't have the correct form. You can understand that I was a little surprised when I met Fernando, a cute eighteen year old in an abrecrombie shirt through the window. It turns out we didn't need half of the paperwork we brought, and that speaking english is not a requirement if you want to work at the embassy. Fernando would point at a form, "You need...en España...dis form en Spanish, when you en España." I got by with my minimal language skills and was able to understand a lot of what he said, but, all in all, the Visa application was incredibly easy. I've heard that it was a lot worse for other kids, but maybe the consulate in DC is less strict compared to New York and the others.
My mom and I were in disbelief when we left, and tried to get a picture of the embassy, but the camera on her phone was so horrible that I'll show you one from Goggle. I was cursing myself for not bringing my new Nikon s28000--it was my birthday present to myself. The present from my parents was a fourteen thousand dollar trip to Spain.
After the incredible relief of getting that over with, but also the terror at leaving my passport with the embassy, my mother and I did touristy things around America's Capital. We took a tour of the esteemed Georgetown University, my dream school, did some shopping, and went to Georgetown Cupcake, subject of the popular TV show 'Cupcake Wars.' We spent the night at my mom's friend's horse farm in Virginia, then made the five hour trip back home. It was a fun and rewarding trip.
I leave for Spain in a little more than a month, and I couldn't be more excited.
Madridddd!!!!! that is the place to be man! you are so lucky haha :) I hope you have an awesome time! lemme know if you ever have questions!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, I definitely will! By the way, I love reading your blog :) It really helped me decide to go to Spain.
Deletehaha no way!! that makes me so happy!(: i definitely look forward to reading yours and hearing all about your year! i just read your most recent post, and i am surprised other students already konw their school- i didn't know until about 3 days before mine started since we had paperwork complications (surprise surprise). and don't worry about being put into 4o de eso (if you are entering the 10th grade i can almost guarentee they'll place you there) because 1-4 de eso and 1-2 bachiller are almost always in the same building, atleast they were for everyone i knew. but it will be great! a lot of people say going into 4 de eso is better because come summer your friends won't be busy studying as much as the bachiller kids will be, and they will be able to go out more :D :D
ReplyDeletehaha thanks for the reassurance. I did think of one question, even if it is a trivial one. Is the club REALLY called the disco in Spain?
ReplyDeleteno problem! and yep, you'll hear your friends talks about "las discotecas" and they will even use the word "club" in the spanish pronunciation "cloob". you'll find the two intermixed, as one is basically the other; they (typically) both have an entrance fee. one might be titled a 'club' or one a 'disco' but they are the same thing. if you go 'bar hopping' through the "disco bars" you enter for free, and only pay for your drinks. it's basically just a bar with a small area to dance. the clubs/discos usually come with a free drink or two included in the entrance fee, and are very large, sometimes multiple floors. Check out "Teatro Kapital"---arguably the best club in madrid. (:
Deletesounds great. Thanks abunch
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