The Difficulties of Obtaining a Small Piece of Plastic

No, I am not talking about a credit card, although completing a credit card application entirely in Spanish would have been much easier and less time consuming than my attempts at securing an identification card. Because the government only issued me a 90 day visa, which expires in December, it was necessary for me to obtain an identification card that allows me to take up temporary residence and continue my studies. You may think that this would be a simple process, but dealing with the government is never as simple as it seems.

At the end of September, all three of my roommates decided to accompany me to the police station to turn in my paperwork. It was the first day all four of us were in the apartment together, so we decided to make it a group outing. When we arrived, there was a line of people waiting outside of the police station. Not knowing what they were waiting for, we walked up to the door to find out what we needed to do. Despite the numerous signs saying that all foreigners needed a number in order to be helped, the officer at the door said that if I returned in the afternoon in October, a number would not be necessary. Figuring that they were undergoing a change in policy, I decided to return in October.

At the beginning of October, I returned to the police station, this time, alone. When I reached the door, the officer asked my purpose. I responded that I needed to obtain an identification card, and he asked what number I had. I replied that the week before I was told to return in October, and I wouldn't need a number. He looked slightly confused, but agreed to let me pass since there were very few people in line. To enter the police station, it is necessary to pass through a metal detector. The curious thing about this is that all bags are placed on a table next to the metal detector while the person walks through, and are never searched in any way. If they were trying to protect themselves from any sort of threat, they would check bags as well as people. When my bag and I had safely entered the station, I went to stand in line at window number eight, as directed. When it was finally my turn, I handed my paperwork to the woman behind the counter. She looked at it, and handed it back to me with another form and told me to come back with the form filled out and an photocopy of my visa. This was on a Thursday.

The following Monday afternoon I returned with the forms and the photocopy. This time, it was a different officer at the door, and when he asked for my purpose and number, I told him the same thing I had told the previous officer. This officer insisted that all foreigners needed a number. I asked him how I could get one, thinking that there was a machine that would spit out numbers and then I could get in line. He told me that the numbers were passed out every morning at 8:00. I was gearing myself up to return at 8:00 the following morning when he told me to go ahead and get in line at window number eight again, because there were only a few people in line. I went to window eight and after a few minutes, the same officer told me that I needed to wait at window seven instead. The line at window seven was significantly longer than the line at window eight, but I followed instructions. When there were no more people in line at window eight, they opened it up to those of us who were in line at window seven, and I ended up with the same woman who had previously helped me. This time, she took my paperwork and told me to come back between the 15th and the 30th of October, after 3:30 in the afternoon, so they could take my fingerprints. She returned one of the forms to me and wrote the instructions including that I didn't need a number. She told me that if the officers asked me about not having a number, to show them the paper and they would let me pass. In addition to all of this, she gave me another form, and I specifically asked what to do with it. She replied that I was to do nothing except bring it back the next time.

The next time I went to the police station, my friend Rachel came with me to help pass the time. Standing in line for more than 45 minutes by yourself does get a little boring, as I had discovered from my previous trips to the police station. I entered with no problem and stood in line. After about 45 minutes, it was finally my turn. This time there was a different woman behind the counter. I gave her the forms. She glanced at them and then told me she couldn't help me because I hadn't paid the fee. I had the money with me and attempted to pay her, but she wouldn't accept it. She told me to take the form that I had previously asked about to the bank and pay the money directly to the bank. Apparently government agencies do not accept money directly, as they do in the U.S.. Since the banks were already closed for the day, I would have to come back another day.

Because I have class every weekday except for Friday, I had to wait a full week before returning. I was a little worried about this, because if it wasn't settled that day, I would have to begin skipping class, because there were no more Fridays before the 30th. I paid the bank without any issues and returned to the police station at about 4:00pm this past Friday. Upon seeing a long line of people outside the police station, I walked up to the door and asked the officer if I was able to enter. She said to wait outside and they would get to me shortly. "Shortly," was about an hour and a half later. I walked into the building with my slight sunburn and waited for another 20 minutes. Finally I reached the counter, where they took my fingerprints and collect the remainder of my paperwork. They gave me a small piece of paper and told me to return after one month to pick up my card. Apparently I am not the only person who has had to return many times, as many of the people in line that were returning for their second or third time as well. If it is ever necessary to deal with the government, especially the government of a foreign country, expect it to take longer and be more complicated than originally expected.

Lessons of the Week

Lesson 1: Pay attention to where you're going so you can go there on your own.

Last week, when Elena and Carmen helped me find my way to the school, it was dark outside, which made the task slightly more difficult. We found it nonetheless, and I was fairly certain that I could find it on my own. The next day I decided to give it a try. I walked for about ten minutes and made it to the intersection in the photo with few problems. At the far end of the alley, there is a small, white sign taped to the building. To the left of the sign is a small stone staircase that leads in a roundabout way to the entrance of the school. When I arrived at this intersection, I was certain that that this could not be the correct path because I remembered walking a greater distance previous day. I decided to walk to my right and see if I had only missed by a couple of blocks. When I realized that I was seeing buildings that I hadn't seen before, I turned around and decided to try a different street. This went on for over an hour, with me pausing at every corner trying to see if I could remember where the correct street was. Throughout all of this I was never more than a few blocks from the entrance to the school, and passed the alley several times, each time telling myself that I was not in the correct location. I was about ready to head back to the apartment in defeat, when I decided to walk down the alley just for fun. I saw the sign pointing me in the right direction and realized I had been in the right place the entire time. The entire journey took me over an hour and a half when it should have only taken 15 minutes.

Lesson 2: Learn how to and remember to buy gas.

In Spain the people use butane gas to run their stoves and hot water heaters. It comes in large bottles that are bought individually from a man who sells it. He comes three times a week usually between 9:00 and 10:00 in the morning. On Tuesday morning Elena had to take a test for one of her classes, and then was planning to leave and spend a few days with her family in her hometown. Had I known that Tuesday was one of the days to buy gas, I would have bought some because we were out. When she returned from the test I asked her to show me how to turn on the hot water heater so I could take a shower. She told me that we were out of gas, but not to worry because Ana would be returning the next day and would bring some from her house. Ana returned, but did not bring the gas. She left again with her family a few hours later. On Friday I called Elena to find out when the man would come again and asked her what I needed to do to buy the gas. She told me that he would be coming on Saturday and I was to wake up early and listen for him to yell "Butano" and then I was to open the door and respond with "Sube" which means "come up". I woke up early and waited, but he either didn't come or I didn't hear it. As of now we are currently without gas for the stove and hot water heater, not that having the gas would do me much good, because I still don't know how to turn on the stove and the hot water heater. Yes, cold showers and sandwiches do get old after a while.

Lesson 3: Make it clear at exactly which fountain you plan on meeting someone.

At the school, I ran into one of my friends from UW who will also be taking classes in Granada this semester. She invited me to a language exchange the following night. She told me to meet her at the fountain near the Corte Ingles, a large department store. In Granada, there are more fountains than a person would ever care to count, but I thought I knew which one she was talking about. We had planned to meet at 8:00. I left early so I would still get there on time if I got lost and arrived about 7:45. At about 8:15 she still hadn't shown up so I called her to make sure she was still coming, because it was very uncharacteristic for her to be that late. When I called her, I discovered that she too had arrived early, and was wondering why I was late. As it turns out, we had been waiting for each other at different fountains about a block apart. She thought she told me to wait at the fountain closer to my apartment, instead of the one nearer the exchange. She found me and we headed off to the exchange. Unfortunately, we had the wrong night and nobody else showed up, but we had fun anyway.

The First Few Days

After 18 long hours of flying and navigating foreign airports I arrived in Granada late Wednesday night where two of my roommates, Ana and Elena, met me at the airport. At this point, my brain was so tired that thinking in English was difficult, and I was expected to think and respond in Spanish. This Spanish is very different from the language in classes. Not only is Andalucian Spanish spoken at a very rapid rate, but many of the sounds are left out of the words, making the written form very different from the spoken form and adding to my comprehension problems. Everyone is very helpful in slowing down and over-enunciating when they receive the blank stare of non-comprehension from me. They joke that by the time I return I won't be able to speak "perfect" Spanish, but instead, I will speak Andaluz.

On Thursday Elena and Ana took me on a brief tour of the city. We took a bus from our apartment to the other side of the city, which is really not that far away. We missed the bus coming back so we decided to walk. Walking at an extremely slow pace and stopping to look at/ enter many of the university buildings the walk took about an hour and a half.

Yesterday, I felt brave enough to attempt a little exploring on my own. By exploring, I mean walking a few blocks in one direction, turning and walking a few more in another direction until I made a complete circle and ended up back at the apartment. I almost got lost a few times, but luckily for me the sidewalks have different patterns of brickwork that change every block or so, and I was able to recognize some of them from the previous day. Had I needed to ask for directions, I would have been in trouble, because I know none of the street names, and probably would have gotten even more lost. During my exploration, I discovered that not only will I have to get used to the differences in language and culture, but in the climate as well. There are palm trees here. I have never lived in a place that had palm trees placed frequently around the city.

Later that night, Elena and her friend Carmen showed me how to get to my school. On the way, we decided to stop for an ice cream cone. Ordering was a bit of a challenge because I didn't know the word for a cone, but they were able to understand what I meant and order for me. Everyone here is very understanding and helpful, which I am very thankful for.