What a Nightmare!!

Man talk about an adventure!....one I'd prefer not to have again, however....
Ok so I had a few problems with my Visa and everything here. So when I first got here, I had to get my NIE (Foreign Identity Number) to be able to open a bank account and basically just live here. But then I wasn't sure if I had to do anything else or not. Another American girl had her permiso de residencia, but another just a tarjeta de estudiante, and another guy just his NIE....so I was a little confused. They didn't inform us very well. I even went to the Oficina de Extranjeros (Office for Foreigners) twice, but they were no help. Apparently I had to make an appointment and that could only be done over the phone, not in person. Ridiculous! So I called like 10 times everyday for 2 weeks, but no one EVER answered. So I resorted to email. Well, that proved fruitless as well. This was all back in November, mind you. So I wasn't getting any responses back from my email, so I sent a few more. Well, finally I got a response from the first one I sent saying that I didn't need anything besides my NIE. So the case was closed, or so I thought....

Well, the beginning of February I got an email saying I had an appointment for Feb. 29 (today). It took them almost 3 months for them to respond!! I swear, these people don't have it all together. They have told me so many different things and all of us Americans here are all confused and all have something different. It's insane. Anyway, in the meanwhile my Visa had expired Jan. 2. So I thought, crap! They are going to see that my Visa is expired and throw me in jail or deport me back to the US, or give me a huge fine! I was scared out of my mind! I had no idea whether I should go to the appointment or not. Elise, my sister, became my mentor threw it all. So I had decided just not to show up cause I figured nothing had happened yet and the Office seemed to be a bit incompetent. But the 2 other American girls convinced me that I needed to go.....so I did!

I was so freaked out to go. It turned out not to be a big deal, but it was one heck of a day! So stressful! I woke up this morning and had to go print the emails about them telling me that all I needed was the NIE so I could show them. I tried to print it last night, but with no success. So I went by 3 locutorios this morning that were either all closed or I couldn't print anything. I finally found one, but it was getting close to my appointment. There was a taxi stop closeby so I figured I'd be fine. But when I got there after printing my emails, there was no taxi and other people were waiting ahead of me. I only had about 35 minutes until my appiontment and it was a good 45 minutes or more to walk (they said if I was late, I would have to make a new appointment - it took me 3 months to get one, so there was no way I could miss it). So I made a decision and just started booking it. I walked as fast as I could! I made it just in time to catch the bus, fortunately, so that saved me some time. After exiting the bus I started running to make it on time. And let me tell you, by the time I got there I was all sweaty and nasty, from the humidity especially. I got there at 11:15 and my appointment was at 11:20 - a miracle!

Well there was a huge line, like always, but I had an appointment right? Well, I had to wait in line anyway just to get a number. By that time it was 11:30 and I thought I had missed my appointment, but I finally got to see someone. Well, he didn't give me the chance to explain my whole situation, but just got some forms and told me I had to take them to a bank to pay some tasas (fees). So I went to the first bank and waited a good 10 minutes, but then she said she wasn't taking any more tasas. So I had to go to another bank and wait in line. Well, my forms weren't filled out, so I had to sit down and fill them out. THEN, I couldn't pay with a debit card so I had to go back to the first bank and use the ATM and go back to the other bank. Man, what a hassle! Then I went back to the Oficina de Extranjeros and gave the dude my forms with the tasas paid (20 euros). He put all my info into the computer, but.....there was a problem....

I totally thought I was going to be busted for having my Visa expired. Something wasn't working in the computer. So I had to wait a bit while the dude went and talked to some other people. Finally the problem was resolved - there was an accent mark on a letter! That was the whole problem! Finally everything was taken care of - I gave them my pictures, some fingerprints, and now I have to wait 1 whole month just to pick up my card. And I don't even know what it is! I don't know if it's the Student Card or Residence Card. It's only good till the end of May so really I'll only have it for 2 months. The whole process took about 2 hours this morning, I paid 20 euros, I tromped all over the city, and I'm thinking I probably didn't even have to do ANY of that. I probably could have just not showed up and been fine, but you never know....I'm glad I got it over with though. Now I can breathe a sigh of relief! I had like a mountain of papers too! That's what the picture is of...

Sorry if this is all confusing....let's just say that I thought I was living in Spain illegally for a couple of months, but now it's all straightened out, thank goodness! It's all kind of funny when I look back on it.

So check it out....in the Oficina I saw this dude that looked exactly like President Bush! I'm telling you, it was insane how closely he resembled him! I wanted to ask him if he was his brother or somehow related, but then I saw his passport. He's from Romania. Nope, definitely not! That was my bright spot in the day at least. I wanted to take his picture just to prove it to you. I thought about asking him, but then didn't - a little too weird. Hehe