An important disclaimer to start off with: I’m awful at explaining stories since I tend to be too wordy/all-over-the-place, so sorry in advanced. Wait, so why am I blogging again?
¡Hola y bienvenido a mi blog! I decided to be “so study abroad” and start a blog to document my junior year abroad in La Coruña, Spain (with a three week orientation program in Pamplona, Spain). I can probably count about five (actually ten) people who will probably make fun of me via text/facebook/twitter for starting a blog *cough* Carlin 202 *cough* but they’ll get over it (and I bet they’ll be the first to read my newest entries anyways).
I figured that my first post would be dedicated to some pre-departure activities thus far. Although there are many things on my check list, unfortunately I’ve only been working on one item: obtaining my student visa. I can honestly say that it’s been the most stressful process I’ve ever been through, not to mention that a) isn’t it normally easier to leave the United States rather than return back here and b) it’s not exactly over yet.
This life-consuming process all began in early April when I had my first La Coruña pre-departure meeting. The study abroad office gave us a list of fourteen documents, such as affidavit letters and medical insurance, that we needed to present to the Consulate. The most notable item (and study abroad fan-favorite) has certainly been the FBI criminal background check with its complementary apostille (a seal that authenticates a signature on a government issued document).
The Spanish Consulate is notoriously known for its frequent change in requirements, and let me assure you that this year they did not disappoint by asking for the criminal record check. In April, the Study Abroad office advised us that we needed to plan four-to-six weeks for the FBI to process the criminal history checks, one-to-two weeks for the State Department to apostille them, and four weeks for the Consulate to issue our student visas. If you add that up, it totals to roughly nine-to-twelve weeks, a duration that not only goes by quickly, but is cutting-it-close too. To make a long story short, both the FBI and the State Department have been backed-up, causing serious delays in all of our processes. As a result, and to put it mildly, everyone (including parents) has been freaking out since with the delays, there does not seem to be enough weeks in the summer to obtain the visa.
From the beginning of the process, I scheduled an appointment with the Spanish Consulate in Boston for July 13th. Regardless of whether or not I physically had the FBI background check apostilled, we decided it would be best to show up with the hopes that they would honor my request. That morning, my mom, my cousin Veronica and I woke up at the crack-of-dawn to beat the bean-town traffic. Before walking over to the consulate, we hit the Boylston St. Starbucks for a morning pick-me-up and even ran into Mallory Will, a fellow Crusader; what a pleasant and awesome surprise!
Shockingly, we arrived fifteen minutes early for the appointment, leaving me with an initial yet quickly-diminished sense of confidence. I proceeded to check-in with the receptionist, only to find out that when I made an appointment over the internet, I indicated that I was applying to be a tourist, rather than applying for a student visa. Classic Nick (insert no-common-sense-joke here). In any event, my mom (who deserves a shout-out as the BEST student visa personal assistant) and I literally scrambled to put forward each of the fourteen documents. After doing so, we waited two hours for my personal interview a) yes, there was a brief interview conducted and b) thank God I didn’t have to pee since the bathroom was temporarily unavailable. On the bright side, while we were waiting, I actually befriended some really nice students who were going to be spending some time in Spain, so hopefully I’ll catch up with them while we are there! Two long hours later, I had my interview which went really well since they are processing my visa, even without the FBI record check apostilled! The Consulate informed me that the visa would be ready by August 11th, two days before I leave. Just perfect. With all the visa stress behind me, we decided to celebrate by walking over to Newbury St. for a delicious lunch and a relaxing end to stressful yet rewarding day.
As mentioned earlier, I have a daunting pre-departure to-do list ahead of me, although I’ve learned that it’s important to not let those types of things get the best of me. In my last twenty-eight days in the United States, I hope to focus on other highlights of my summer which include: interning for a retained executive search firm, training for the Blessing of the Fleet (a ten mile road race in Narragansett, RI), playing in an indoor soccer league with all my cousins (GO TORNADOS) and most importantly, enjoying summertime in the 401!
