Catalonia region may ban bullfights

I ran across this article in the International Herald Tribune and thought it appropriate for this blog. It says the upcoming vote on banning bullfighting in Spain's region of Catalonia will most likely pass, outlawing of bullfights would begin in Catalonia in 2012.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/07/27/world/AP-EU-Spain-Bullfighting-Ban.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&ref=global-home&adxnnlx=1280239202-F77NDBwfHeKiwVptqOE3SA

Visa info submitted

Earlier this week I was finally able to gather everything together and take it up to the Spanish Embassy in DC. The embassy runs on Spanish time and is only open M-Th 9am-1pm, so luckily I had looked this up beforehand and didn't try to go mid-afternoon. After all the hassle of getting the documents signed, translated, verified, and copied, it was a quick trip to the embassy. I was in & out in 10 or 15 minutes tops! Now I'll be anxiously checking the mail every day for the next 5 weeks until my visa arrives!

GANAMOS

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Enough said.

I can't imagine how ridiculous the parties are in Madrid right now, I wish I was there already! I was in Paris 4 years ago when France lost to Italy in PKs and the parties were crazy even though they lost!

While the game was stressful for a lot of people, it was especially stressful for me. I had agreed to play in a golf match with my dad that day, failing to realize our tee time was at 1:30- meaning I wouldn't be home until around 6, after the game had finished. So instead of bailing on the match I taped the game to watch as soon as I got home. However I wanted to make sure that I didn't know the score or anything so that I could watch it with as much excitement and intensity as everyone who got to see it live. It's hard, obviously, to not hear anything about the game. To solve my dilemma I listened to my ipod instead of talking with people when we went around the turn at 9, and after finishing on the 18th green. When we were finished I went directly home (without listening to the radio for fear they might mention something about the game).

Luckily, I had taped the hour after the game as well (or I wouldn't have been able to see the final minutes & the trophy presentation). Iniesta's goal was just as exciting for me at 9pm as it was for the rest of the world around 5pm!!!!

Since I wasn't in Madrid to watch the game, it's a good thing the party lasts 4 years ;)

Paul the oracle octopus

By now everyone knows of Germany's oracle octopus called Paul. Considering the fact that he correctly picked Spain to beat Germany and then Spain to defeat the Netherlands for the World Cup I figured he deserved a photo. It's pretty amazing that he correctly predicted 5 out of 6 games in the European Cup and correctly predicted all of Germany's games, plus the final match in the World Cup- that's one smart octopus. Guess he won't be served up on a platter for awhile!

Hasta Luego Hermanito

So not only am I going to Spain soon, but today my brother left for Australia! He's doing a semester abroad at Flinders University in Adelaide. What's crazy about that is one of my good friends whom I met when I studied abroad in Santiago de Chile lives in Adelaide! Small world right?

Why is this relevant to my Spain blog? The visa process.

The process for a US citizen to obtain a student visa is much easier going to Australia when compared with Spain. Everyone else going through the Spanish visa process with the auxiliares program has at one point or another been confused about the process & all of the "tramites" involved with getting all of the correct documents, getting them officially translated, notarized, approved by the state, and then finally putting everything together to send (or in my case to hand deliver) the documents to the nearest consulate. Once delivered it's another 6 weeks before you hopefully receive your visa. It's a costly and time consuming process. For his Australian visa, my brother was able to complete EVERYTHING online!! How cool is that?! No running around to different places across the state to get things signed or notarized, or having to part with your passport for 6 weeks. (I'm mentioning this in particular simply because I'm no longer able to go to Vancouver because I won't have my passport.) Anyways I think Australia is heading in the right direction and their tourism (and hence their economy) will improve because of it.

So while my brother easily has his visa in hand and is currently flying somewhere over the Pacific, I'm waiting for the state to return my documents so I can collect them and drive to DC to obtain my visa 6 weeks later. I'll keep you informed on my visa process, no worries!

DJ, have an amazing time in Adelaide & I'll miss ya!

Preparing for Spain

I've finally decided to write a blog so that everyone can keep up with me while I'm in Spain. No guarantees that I'll write on a regular basis, but at least creating a blog is a good start!