Hello and Merry Christmas from southern Georgia. My dad is working at a National Seashore down here and we decided to spend Christmas here. It is in the mid 70s.
But, before my mother and I drove here, my mom bought my flights to Spain. This is a real thing now. I actually have plane tickets to fly across an ocean to stay in a foreign country. I have a flight out of Washington, DC, a layover in Paris, and a final leg to Málaga. It's a 14 hour total flight and I just hope to God that there's wifi on the plane (at least that you don't have to pay for).
I also got my visa for Spain a couple weeks ago. My mom and I drove to Washington, DC, and stayed over night so we could be at the consulate when it opened. We had to wait a little because we had a detour at the local post office to purchase an express mail envelope. It's required for the consulate to take your application. They use it to mail your visa and passport back to you after the application process is complete.
We were in the consulate for a grand total of about 10 minutes while a clerk looked over all of the components of the application to make sure they were right and all signed and everything. And then I paid the $160 application fee and left. That's all it was. I asked where the bathroom was in Spanish and the security guard actually responded to me in Spanish and didn't look at me like I was an idiot.
That's my biggest fear, I think. Not finding an apartment, not taking my classes, not anything like that. It's people mocking me for being a stupid American who can't speak Spanish correctly/well. I'm afraid people will make up of me to my face but I won't be able to tell because I merely just don't know enough.
But on the plus side, my room mate and I potentially have an apartment in Spain. We are waiting for the landlord to Facebook message us the photos of the apartment.
Feliz Navidad / Feliz Año Nuevo
Natalie
But, before my mother and I drove here, my mom bought my flights to Spain. This is a real thing now. I actually have plane tickets to fly across an ocean to stay in a foreign country. I have a flight out of Washington, DC, a layover in Paris, and a final leg to Málaga. It's a 14 hour total flight and I just hope to God that there's wifi on the plane (at least that you don't have to pay for).
I also got my visa for Spain a couple weeks ago. My mom and I drove to Washington, DC, and stayed over night so we could be at the consulate when it opened. We had to wait a little because we had a detour at the local post office to purchase an express mail envelope. It's required for the consulate to take your application. They use it to mail your visa and passport back to you after the application process is complete.
We were in the consulate for a grand total of about 10 minutes while a clerk looked over all of the components of the application to make sure they were right and all signed and everything. And then I paid the $160 application fee and left. That's all it was. I asked where the bathroom was in Spanish and the security guard actually responded to me in Spanish and didn't look at me like I was an idiot.
That's my biggest fear, I think. Not finding an apartment, not taking my classes, not anything like that. It's people mocking me for being a stupid American who can't speak Spanish correctly/well. I'm afraid people will make up of me to my face but I won't be able to tell because I merely just don't know enough.
But on the plus side, my room mate and I potentially have an apartment in Spain. We are waiting for the landlord to Facebook message us the photos of the apartment.
Feliz Navidad / Feliz Año Nuevo
Natalie