Me Odio La Officina de Extranjeros (w/ a passion)

Well after being stranded in Huelva momentarily, I thought the week could only get better. Not the case. Tuesday was painful because I didn’t get much sleep the night before, I woke up early to shower, I had a full day of work ahead of me, and then I had two tutor sessions to plan for. Oy vey. School is fun. I got to work a lot with the first graders and they are a lot of fun. They are learning the parts of the body so we get to sing Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes all day long. I think one of the cutest things kids do is whenever a song comes on every kid, boy and girl, does the same generic wiggle or sway (not sure what to call it) to the music simultaneously. I’m going to try and get it on video if I can. My day was going really well until Maria, my principle, knocks on Pocho’s door and talks to her in the hallway. I’m called into the hall and find out that The Office of Extranjeros emailed the school saying I was suppose to be there today for my appointment. Well there was no possible way I would have been there in time even if I had received the email personally because they only sent it today. Maria called the office and talked t someone explaining that it was 1, impossible for me to get the appointment tomorrow, and 2, that I have a scheduled appointment with them tomorrow. Maria told me to go to the appointment tomorrow and it should be okay, It better F*ing be.

I don’t mean to get vulgar, but this permiso de residencia business is the biggest pain in the butt for so many reasons. One, it requires me to take the earliest bus to Huelva at a whopping 6:20am only to sit for over an hour until it finally arrives in Huelva.------SIDE NOTE: The only good thing about this, I repeat the ONLY good thing is that I can see the stars in the sky in the morning and they are the most spectacular thing. Being in the middle of nowhere is great for star watchers. Kate and Corrie each swear they’ve seen a shooting star (I have yet to harrumph). I just stare at the sky as I wait for the bus and it is the only thing that brings a sense of calm over me. The big dipper and Orion’s Belt are so massive and so clear. Every late night or early morning I just gaze at the stars and planets. If you like stars you need to come visit me :)---------Next I walk the twenty minutes to the office and wait another 2 hours outside for the bloody office for it to open. Once it opens I wait my turn before I can finally go in and then wait another hour before my number is called. I either get something or nothing accomplished only to wait another hour for the next earliest bus back to Valverde that isn’t until 12pm. To pass the time I’m reduced to spending money on food because by now I’ve been up for 6 hours and am starving. Once I get on the bus I have another hour and a half bus ride back home. It is sooo time consuming, so yeah I hate it. Oh and the best part is how much money I’ve pissed away going back and forth. So far I’ve spent 32 Euros on transportation alone. Add in every breakfast and it comes out to 40 Euros. I could take a bus to Barcelona and back for that kind of money. Good grief. It gets better…

So I go in on Wednesday to my appointment with Kate and Claire isn’t there. This freaks me out because she’s the best one at Spanish and she knows how to get things done. Well once inside I notice these girls who are in the same shoes as us except one appointment behind us in the process. It’s a good thing I decide to pay attention to their conversation b/c at one point the Office people ask if they are “Erica, Mary, or Katherine” and I scream from behind the barrier, “SOY ERICA!!! AQUI!!” I think the only reason I got something accomplished during that appointment was because they realized that I was indeed present for my appointment and therefore I got to skip out of line and get my paperwork done promptly after the group of girls were done talking. Kate was oblivious to everything and without me she would have sat there for another hour and a half and maybe have gotten her papers filed, maybe not. Sometimes I wonder it she could manage anything on her own. It’s harsh but im convinced that she couldn’t. Well we leave the office with this paper we need to give to the bank and pay the bank 15 Euros and then come back some to the Office again. Little did I know that we were suppose to come back after going to the bank that same day. NOBODY TOLD ME THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So on Thursday, Maria knocks on Pocho’s door again. I see a pattern, every time Maria comes to the door its always concerning me. What did I do wrong now? Well the Office called and said I was suppose to come back today with the paper from the bank. Mother F*er. Maria tells me I NEED to go to the bank right now, pay the money, and then go back to the Office tomorrow. Yeah this is when I break down and start to cry. I just feel so helpless because I never know what’s going on with this dumb permiso process and I hate how inefficient everything is. Its reminiscent of the Visa process only this costs time AND money. Well I run to the bank just before it closes and get that sorted out. Again on Friday I do the whole travel to Huelva trip for the second time in one week. I don’t want to go on another bus for a VERY long time. I never thought that day would come for me but I am so sick of this and the bus is now associated with painful memories of frustration and anxiety. Well the whole time I waiting in line I’m reviewing what I’m going to say to the guard so that he lets me in since I don’t have a cita. My turns up and literally as I’m about to open my mouth he sees the paper takes it and motions me to go through the metal detector. All that prep work and anxiety I had about trying to get in without a cita for NOTHING. So I get to go straight to the desk and the lady gives me that “sigh, not you again look” and takes my paper and gives me another small slip of paper. I assume that THIS is the paper I need in order to open a bank account so I’m finally relieved. I know that this is not my permiso card but I knew that I would eventually have to return to get that at another date. I ask the lady if there is anything else I need to do. She says NADA MAS and motions me to leave. Gladly. I get back to Valverde at 1:30p and run to my school in order to get Pocho so she can come with me to open a bank account before the banks close at 2p. We walk to Santander and I get all my papers ready feeling happy that this day has finally come. Oh wait, this is the WRONG paper, I needed to have gone to the Police Station in Huelva, give them this slip of paper and get a temporary residency card and THAT is what I need to open a bank account. NOBODY TELLS ME THESE THINGS!!!!!!!!!!

That’s it, I have a mental and physical breakdown. I start crying. I am SO sleep deprived from my early morning bus rides and staying up late finishing lessons, I’m starving, and I’m an so sick of Huelva and Spanish bureaucracy. I want to collapse and melt away at this moment. Tear, tear… The lady is nice and takes pity on me and lets me open my account anyways. Finally, a little bit of sympathy. Pocho reassures me that everything is going to be okay and that she will call her brother and maybe he can give me a ride to Huelva so I don’t have to pay for the bus or wait that long. That was nice of her. Well I got ONE thing done on my list, finally! Ahh I’m so drained that’s all I can write.