Success (and failure)

As I implied yesterday, I managed to get my cell phone after two trips to the cell phone stores and a bunch of run around.  I got a great plan that will cost me much, much less than a cell phone plan in the US and I'm pretty happy with the phone so far.

Unfortunately, I went home to no internet.  The internet did decide to start back up at around 11:30, but I had to get up early today to head to the bank, so it wasn't much use to me.  Speaking of the bank ...

I still hate doing administrative tasks here.  To be fair, I hate doing them in the US, too.  But add the language barrier and I would rather be punched in the face than go to the bank here.  After waiting *FOREVER* for a woman to finish telling the bank employee what she was going to do this weekend with her grandkids [side note:  I have learned you cannot be in a rush here.  Even if you are in a rush, things will get done when they get done.  Things sometimes get done more quickly if you try to exchange a few pleasantries first.  But often, they just get done whenever the person doing them feels like it], I finally talked to the employee.  I explained that I have a foreigner's account, but now I have my residence card, so I want to switch to a resident account (so they won't charge me fees).  She took my card, my passport and my ATM card and spent about 20 minutes typing stuff onto her computer.  Then she went to look for some guy because she couldn't do one part of the switch, who wasn't there.  Then she took a personal call on her cell phone (not kidding).  Finally, she told me that she'd have to take my documents and make copies of them and then try to switch it later.  She said they'd call me ... we'll see what happens.  If I haven't heard from them in a week, I'll go back, maybe with a Spanish speaker to try to figure things out.

I also have to go to the post office today for the first time to try to get a package.  Inexplicably the post office is open 8 am-8:30 pm Monday through Friday and 8 am - 2 on Saturday.  This is a minor miracle considering everything shuts down early on Fridays (2pm or so) and most services like the bank aren't open at all on Saturday.

I also applied for my Tarjeta Ciudadana, which is a card you get that gives you access to a lot of services:  Discounted prices at the School of Music and Dance, discounted prices at sports facilities and gyms, free parking in various areas, Free WiFi throughout the city.  Hopefully that will arrive without too much trouble, and then I can be done with bureaucracy for a while!

Wednesdays are always late mornings because a lot of people go out for the live music at the bar on Tuesday nights.  So, in honor of my slow start, here is a little update.

I finally got my residence card yesterday, with a minimum of fuss.  Unless you count leaving work in the middle of the day to try to track down the Amazon package I was missing and then walking several miles to the Comisaria de Policia to pick up my residence card as being fussy.  I don't, since the payoff was getting the stuff from Amazon (I have tongs!  A whisk!  Measuring cups/spoons!  A Brita pitcher!) and my residence card.  However, when I tried to get my phone I ran into some problems because the company with the best rates requires that you have a utility bill in your name (a bit of a trick when you live in an apartment building and rent there).  Anyhow, we think we figured out what I need to do - and I'm going back on Thursday.  I had a big plan to get an iPhone, but the company that sells them has TERRIBLE rates compared to a company that sells a perfectly good Android phone (a minimum plan of over 3X as much for limited internet service and a small number of text and phone calls).  So, I'm getting an android phone so that I can still have wifi on my phone and internet when I don't have wifi - then I have a great per minute/per text rate, and I can text internationally for the same rate. Overall, it looks like my bill will be less than 20€ a month for essentially unlimited internet and a good number of minutes and texts.  After the phone situation, I sprinted back to my apartment, ate dinner very quickly (eating the leftovers I didn't have for lunch since I had a sandwich instead) and then running back downtown to meet my friends for a quick coffee before going to the live music night.  Overall, I didn't really sit down yesterday at all.  I slept pretty well though, since I completely exhausted myself during the day.  :)

Today, we have Spanish 'til 6 and then I have to run to meet my new language exchange partner (a friend of my Basque teacher in Chicago), so it will be more of a run around day.  Then tomorrow, I'm going to try to change my bank account from a foreigner's account to a regular account in the morning.  We have a visiting speaker at work until 6:15 or so, and then I have to run to meet my friend to get a cell phone before the shops close.  But!  Oncer I get my phone, my life will be easier in terms of making plans with people.  Plus, if I get the bank account settled too I'll be done with all of my crazy bureaucracy for a few months, at least!

Success!

I left my house at around 8:30 this morning and made it to work before 10.  I walked about a mile and a half to the bank and spent the whole time practicing conversation for the bank.  I practiced saying, "The ATM took my card.  A woman at my job told me to come here and get a new one" in Spanish.  I practiced saying, "Also, I wrote the wrong signature on the website and I got locked out of my online account!  Can you unblock it for me?" 

I got there and everyone was pretty busy, but I finally got a guy to help me.  I asked if he (or anyone there) spoke English and told him my Spanish was terrible - but no luck there.  I launched into my spiel about the ATM card and he asked if it was a machine in that place that took my card. And here was the real test.  I had to say things I hadn't practiced.  I told him that the woman at my job had called them, and they told her that they would have the card for me.  So, he went into an office and voila!  My card!  It was the actual card that the ATM had eaten with my signature and everything.  We tested it to make sure it worked and it does.  The guy asked me if I needed the ATM translated to English, but then said my Spanish was good enough he thought I would be okay in Castellano.  So now I do all my transactions in Spanish ... I can always change it later if it's too hard. 

Then we moved on to the internet issue - he fixed everything for me there and we tested the key (though not the signature - so hopefully that works).  I had a good combination of Spanish I had practiced and improv Spanish, but he understood everything I needed and was very helpful.

I honestly feel like if I can do this, I can do almost any face to face interaction.  I think the phone would be way harder, because it's harder to understand in both directions.  Fortunately, they're not huge on phone based customer service here, so I should be able to survive.  Overall, I'm feeling so much better about the whole language barrier/culture shock issue.

I am not very good at patience or at making mistakes, and my time here so far has tested both of those things pretty substantially.  Today demonstrated to me that I need to be more patient with myself (a constant struggle) and to be willing to make mistakes.  In a weird way, if I hadn't totally misunderstood the entire banking system here, I wouldn't have had a chance to practice my Spanish today.  While I was practicing my Spanish, I know I made about 4 billion mistakes, but I survived.  No one yelled at me or laughed at me and the guy understood everything I needed.  So, the next time I need to practice, I'll be a little less scared.  And maybe I'll leave this whole experience actually speaking real Spanish - which was one of my big goals anyhow.

Between this excitement and all of the exciting things getting started at work, today is one of the days when I feel like "I can do this!"  I'm sure I'll have more "What am I DOING here?!?" days, but it's nice to feel like I might be able to succeed!

Here's the part where I feel like a stupid foreigner.

So.  The first time I tried to use my ATM card (last week) it got eaten by the ATM.  When I got my bank account they gave me a PIN (4 numbers) and a Signature (8 letters).  We used a computer to change my PIN and my Signature, so I assumed that what worked to access my account online, would work to access my account at the ATM.  No such luck.  Apparently, I didn't really change the PIN ... or didn't change the right PIN ... or something.

THEN, I got my bus card today and I saw online that you could transfer funds online and then just go to the ATM to activate the bus card.  This was preferable because I have a dictionary and translation software at home and no Spaniards looking at me like a crazy person poking around on the ATM.  In order to do this you need to use your Signature.  So, I tried both the Signature I thought I was using and the Signature they gave me ... and got locked out of my online account.  Awesome.

So now, I have to go to "my" branch (you can't just go to any branch - you have to go to the one the assign you to) to pick up a new ATM card and to get my online account unlocked.  I'm scared to even try to load the bus card at an ATM because I don't want that to get eaten to - but I am super anxious to be able to pay way less for my bus rides.  I'm also anxious because I have no clue where to put my card when I get on the bus.  There are 3 different machines for 3 different types of cards.  I think I know which one mine goes to, but who knows.  I also thought I had changed my PIN and apparently I didn't.

This is the most frustrating part of the move.  The hardest part is leaving my friends and family behind.  But the combination of the language barrier and the culture barrier is the most frustrating.  It's not like I can just call up customer service (not that they'd be open anyhow) and say "Here's what happened, what's going on?"  I could do that, but then I'd have to deal with banking Spanish that would be very, very fast.  So, I had to crawl with my tail between my legs to the administrative assistant, who surely thinks I'm an idiot by now.

I was also totally not in the mood for Spanish class today (even before all the bank business).  We started class at 5, an hour later than yesterday, and I was sleepy and ready for a break, not for more mental exercise.  I literally could not think of things to say in English, let alone Spanish.

To top all of this off, I forgot my tupperware, my arugula, and my apple in the fridge at work.  I guess this means I have greens and fruit for tomorrow - and that I'll have to bring home two tupperwares tomorrow (that is, if I can figure out something to cook tonight that can also be reheated tomorrow).

Oh well, tomorrow is another day full of opportunities to make more mistakes.  Maybe I should just start thinking of these as "learning opportunities" instead of mistakes.

So Much Bureaucracy

Today was the day that the administrative assistant at work was going to take me around to get all the various cards and things I need to be legal here (and to get paid, get healthcare, etc.).

I was supposed to meet her at 9:30.  So, at 9:30 I headed downstairs.  The woman who is sort of in charge here came out to tell me that my contact from work (E.) was running late and would be there in 15 minutes.  I asked the woman if she had my contract (lease) signed for me to take with me.  She said, "yes", which apparently meant "not really."  So about 15 minutes later E pulled up on her scooter.  And I realized I was going to be riding around on the back of the scooter all day.  She came in and asked the woman for the contract.  The woman's "si" to me turns into 5 minutes of a rapid fire Spanish conversation.  I understood things like "on it's way" and "the guy has to follow a path."   I turns out that of course they did NOT have the signed contract, but were messengering it over - from the building we were about to go to (ugh).  So we waited.  And waited.  It's 10:30, 10:45.  We got coffee from the vending machine in the communal living room here [side note:  the coffee from this little machine is dirt cheap and they have plenty of decaf options.  You also get to choose how sweet your coffee is on the machine.  Unfortunately, the least sweet coffee tastes like you're drinking super sweet coffee flavored milk - you get what you pay for, I guess). Finally, the woman came in with a FAXED copy of contract - not the original.  The original wouldn't be there 'til the afternoon.  Keep in mind, I asked them for this copy 5 days ago.  I thought E was going to kill the woman.  But she didn't and we headed out to the scooter.  She said on the way that she was pretty worried they wouldn't accept the copy of the lease, but it was worth a try.  So, she laid out what we were going to do today:  register with the census, register for my resident card, open a bank account, register at my health center, get my bus card, and get a cell phone. She said "we might be lucky and finish everything today."

So, we got on the scooter (I have known this woman for all of 5 days and we've talked for maybe 5 minutes before this - but modesty isn't a thing in Spain I guess - on the scooter we went).  We zipped down the hill to the area where all the offices were.  I needed 6 passport photos (taken in a photo booth) and some photocopies before I could fill out all my paper work.  So, we got the photos and the copies.  Then we went to the comisario (police station, basically), where we grabbed a number from a machine.  We saw there were about 14 people ahead of us, so we ran over to the padron's office (essentially the social security office) to register.  This was where we needed the lease we didn't have - and one copy of it was on the 4th floor of the building we were going into.  So ... we took a number again (2 people ahead of us) and E got on the phone with the people upstairs.  They were completely unhelpful and we our number was called.  We sat down with the guy behind the desk, who was not to happy we had a copy.  E explained to him the situation and he finally agreed to fill out the paper work.  She said after that she knew him from doing this with other researchers, or he might not have been so helpful.  I was registered with the census, and we sprinted back to the comisario.

We got there, and there were only 3 people ahead of us.  As we were waiting they cut off the line for people taking numbers - it was 12 and everyone who didn't already have a number had to come back tomorrow.  We got in, and filed the paper work for my resident card.  E explained to me that after 40 days, I'd come back to get my card ... this is sort of cutting it close since I can't leave the country and get back in without it - and I'm going to puerto rico in ~ 44 days.  Fortunately, she said that it is often ready earlier since they get shipped in batches.  So, then we had to run to a local branch of the bank to make a transfer from my employer's bank account to the comisario to pay for my resident card.  We took a number (again) at the bank, got the paper work for our transfer, and went back to the comasario, where we took another number (they make exceptions on the whole "no new number" thing for people making the bank transfer).  It took FOREVER to get in this time.  We got yelled at once for being impatient and trying to sneak in early.  We finally got in and gave them the transfer paperwork.  They took fingerprints (because obviously the set I sent the FBI and the Spanish government earlier are not sufficient).  Then we decided to go get my bank account before the bank closed (even though my health center is in the same neighborhood as the comisario, etc.).

So, we sprinted back to the bike, and went into El Centro and went to the main branch of the bank.  We ran into the bank and ... took a number!  Fortunately, no one was ahead of us in line this time.  We sat down with the woman and she determined that I would get a "young person's account" since I'm under 30.  I also had to open a foreigner's account since I don't have my resident card yet. Once I get it, I get to go to the bank and they will not charge me any more fees (it's 14 € every six months for the foreigner account).   With the youth account account I get discounts on group tours and other "young person's events", apparently.  The bank is also where you apply for a bus card, so I got a bus card application to fill out as well.  After more than an hour there, we left with all my bank account information, and the promise that my bus card would come "after Easter."  Then we went to a computer to change my PIN and password to sign into my account online.  A guy also showed us that I have a "virtual credit card" I can use online.  I have no idea when I'd ever use it, but it's nice to know it's there, I guess.  Then E decided it was time for lunch - we'd already been at this for over 4 hours and we were both starved.  So we went to a little pintxos bar and had a couple of sandwiches and she had coffee.  Everyone around us was enjoying some wine, which made me want some, but we still had a lot to do.

After lunch, it was back to the scooter, and back to Amara where the health center is located.  The health center looks really new and convenient.  After taking yet another number, we talked to a lady who got my account set up.  She assigned me a doctor who "speaks more or less the English," who is in every afternoon.  If I need an appointment, I call or go online, show up and go to the office number I'm given online.  The health center is completely free and covers everything except for dentistry, chiropractic and a few other miscellaneous things.  Hopefully, I won't have to visit them often (if at all), but it's good to know they're there.  I get my permanent health care card in 2.5-3 months.

After the health center, we went back downtown to get my phone.  E decided I should get a phone with a contract, because they give you the phone free (or cheap), whereas a pre-paid phone you have to pay for the phone and the plans are more expensive.  So, we asked the woman at the store who insisted that I need my official residence card to open this kind of account.  I decided to just wait on the phone until I get my resident card - it's not like I'm calling tons of people in Spain and I have a phone I can use for emergencies here.

So then it was almost 4 o'clock (6.5 hours after we started all of this), so rather than going into work, we headed home.  We decided we WERE really lucky because we didn't have to wait too long for anyone or anything.  Now I have to wait 40(ish) days for my resident card to arrive to the comisario.  We'll call in a month or so and see if it's there.  When I get it, E and I go back to the comisario to retrieve it, then we'll get my phone and change my bank account to a non-foreigner's account.  Now, I just have to wait for my ATM card, my bus pass, and my permanent health card to show up in the mail!

I'm pretty relieved all of this is done - though I wish the resident card would come sooner!  I'm ready to finish these other things now!  I also have to say I am SO lucky to have an employer who helped me take care of all of this.  Bureaucracy is hard enough in your own language and country, let alone a new country with a new language.  I would have been totally lost today and it would have been way, way more stressful than it was.

I managed to get some grocery shopping done this afternoon.  I know I still have at least one more big trip to make before this weekend to make sure I have enough food - my local market is totally closed from Wednesday at 9 until Tuesday at 9.

I'm struggling a little with cooking here (especially with coming up with stuff to take to work for lunch ... I'm hopeful I'll have decent leftovers tonight, but we'll see).  It's hard to cook for one person, especially with limited ingredients since I have yet to go to the real supermarket!  Hopefully, I'll be brave enough to go this weekend. I'm also hoping I can get ahold of one of those great carts that everyone here has, so I don't have to haul my stuff by myself.  My supervisor and I are both working on Thursday - apparently we can get into the building.  So I'm feeling pretty good about that - I'll only have 4 days to fill instead of the dreaded 5. I'm trying to look at these days as an opportunity to relax a little and be really refreshed to start work in earnest next week.

Saving the best news for last, I managed to go a whole day yesterday with NO tears.  I knew it would happen eventually, but looking back to last Tuesday (it's hard to believe I've been here almost a week), I thought it wouldn't.  I remember saying to someone "I wish I could just see a week or a month from now and know I'm okay."  And I am.  Okay, that is.  It's not easy.  And it's still not particularly fun (especially at night, and especially being away from Pete).  But it's okay - and that's all I'm asking for right now.

Congratulations if you made it through this novel.  I'm happy to have this as a chronicle of my time here, and I'm sure I'll be glad I have it to look back on in the future.  Hopefully, it's not too tedious to read!

Ay yi yi ...

Stay tuned this evening for the tale of So Much Bureaucracy - it is almost too good to be true.  Unfortunately, I have to abandon my apartment so the workers can install the curtains (hopefully this actually occurs - they dropped the curtains off, so I'm hopeful)!

The rest of the day

I was so worried that today would be awful, and I think it's been one of the best days yet, in terms of adjustment.  I read outside on my terrace for a lot of the late afternoon - though I managed to bruise the crap out of my elbow carrying a chair out there.  I also managed to watch some stuff I rented on my iPad before I came.  I cooked dinner, caught up with friends + Pete + my parents.

I'm starting to reach for things and know where they are (particularly in the kitchen).  I put away a bunch of stuff that was still in my carry on bags.  I hung up most of the stuff that needs hanging up (although a lot of it is doubled or tripled on hangers because I have so few right now).  So I'm officially unpacked and moved in.  I only have a few more things I need (and a few more things I want) to make things more manageable.

One thing I want is color.  I have a beige couch, a beige rug, white entertainment center, white + stainless steel kitchen, white sheets, white chairs, brown (ooooh) dining table,  three coffee tables (2 brown + 1 white), white closets with brown interiors.  Grey floors, grey and white bathroom, etc.  I need something pink.  Or green.  Or blue.  Or any color.  I'm thinking about getting some pillows/cushions that I can then take out on the patio to sit on instead of the chair (which is too hard and also too tall - my feet don't touch the ground.  Even my two turquoise dish towels help with the color problem.  It just feels a little more sterile.  Hopefully either this or next weekend I can get out to do a little shopping in the 'burbs or at least with a car.  I also need to figure out how to cook for one person - anyone have any tips about Europe friendly recipes for one person??

Tomorrow is supposed to be Spanish Bureaucracy day (when I get register for the census, get my resident card, get my health card, possibly open a bank account, possibly get my bus card - after which the bus will be <70 cents per ride!!).  We'll see if it actually happens since I need a signed copy of my lease and my rental company is operating on Spanish time.  Worst case scenario - I go next week to get it.  It's weird, though, because my visa is only good for 30 days and then I need to have my residence card, or I'm here illegally.  I also NEED my residence card to open a bank account and to get paid.  Additionally, once I have my residence card, I get free wifi in my apartment (and most places in the city).  So, hopefully it will all work out soon!

Conference brain

I have conference brain ... meaning I've heard so many talks and seen so many posters, I can't quite focus anymore.  Today is good because the conference is only a few hours long.  Today is less good because I have hours (and hours) to fill before I go to work on Monday.  Fortunately, I have a plan that involves trying not to obsess about Sophie or how much time I have to fill.  I'm going to walk to the city center to try to find an electronics shop where I can buy a hairdryer and an iron.  Then I have to come back and get some food at the market, and I have an exciting evening of finishing some reviews I have due this week.  Then tomorrow I'm going to try to seek out the "big" grocery store (where hopefully they have a trash can - though my friend I met last night was not optimistic) and maybe a prepaid cell phone ... we'll see how that goes!  Hopefully I can explore my neighborhood a bit more in the process.  My mental map of where I am and how to get from one place to another is getting better.  I worry much less about getting the bus in the right direction now - hopefully that will continue to improve.

I'm also supposed to go to get my residence card, my health card, and my census form on Monday, but the company with my lease hasn't given me my copy of my contract yet (and are being very Spanish about when they'll get it to me - "soon" they say, when I tell them I need it by Monday).

My fingers are still crossed about Sophie - I e-mailed her vet, who doesn't seem overly optimistic or overly pessimistic.  I'm hopeful that she'll pull through this!

I'm off for a little more conferencing!