As you can probably guess, I'm still waiting... and I'm going absolutely insane!
On the outside, I'm fairly calm, but inside & when I'm alone, I am freaking the hell out. Here's my update:
So, I called the FBI on Tuesday. I wanted to check the status of my background check since it has been 7 plus weeks since I sent it. The website, at the time, said it would take 6 weeks. Anyway... After a 15 minute hold time, the woman got on the line to say, "Your application is in progress." Pause... I said, "Is that it? Is that all you can tell me?" To which she replied, "Yes, it could be up to 10 (TEN!) weeks from the time of receipt before it is completed." Guess what that means?! August 18th!!!! Are you kidding me?!
THEN, this morning, I called the State Department of Authentications to check on the status of their authenticating my health certificate. I'm honestly not sure if I was talking to a human or a very intelligent machine. The beginning of the "conversation" started with something to the effect of, "This is an automated answering service for the office of authentications...." A machine, right? This bitch of a machine could answer questions so quickly & had a reply ready so fast that I thought it was someone I was actually talking to. Now, I've read a bunch of blogs about people in the same boat that I am right now... They all say to "mention that you are a part of the program" and that it might speed it up. So, I asked the machine, "Will it help if I say that I a part of the languages assistants program in Spain?" To which she quickly replied, "Will it help if I tell you that a man's house burned down & he's trying to figure out what he needs to do next in order to survive?" My jaw dropped. This machine... I wanted to kill it. I simply fought the machine back with, "I don't need any attitude, I am simply very lost as this is my first time dealing with anything like this & I have no idea what to do." "I thought I was helping you," is what the machine said. I hung up. Victorious against that damn machine. Or not. I think the machine kicked my ass.
So... as of right now, I am sitting in a position where I am going to have to fly to DC in order to get my background check authenticated. I simply do not have time to wait for the US postal service. It sucks. Awfully. I am crossing my fingers & hoping like crazy that the health certificate & background check will be in my possesion by the beginning of August. Then, I can fly to DC, get my background check authenticated, and then fly to Chicago for my first visa interview. FIRST visa interview. After that interview, I must wait another 4 or 5 weeks for them to process my Visa. Keeping track? That's mid-September. I need to be in Spain by late September. I guess, technically, I don't have to be there until October 3rd. However, I still need to find a place to live, go to orientation, and get acquainted with the city & my obligations prior to all of this... This is going to be an adventure. An adventure that I am going to loathe at the beginning.
Damn, I'm frustrated. I'm trying hard to keep a calm head, but this is difficult. On top of all this, I can't get any response from my school in Andalucia. I want to talk to someone before I go over there & there is simply nothing... NO ONE is replying... NO ONE has any good news for me... Will I get to Spain? Will this blog even be worth it? I suppose we'll see...
Me
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Feels so repetitive, but...
I am STILL waiting! HaHa! I have not receieved my background check yet. I am anxiously waiting for that. HOWEVER, once I DO receive it, I have spoken with the Consulate & they said I could bring a copy of the authenticated FBI check (not yet authenticated by the Apostille) to the first Visa interview. I would just have to bring the final apostillized (if that is a word) copy to my final interview. A little break of good news. Now, I just need my health certificate back in my hands and I'll feel a ton better. Still not expecting that until late next week, though. But this means I should be able to have my first trip to Chicago by the first week or two of August! BoNuS!
In the meantime, I am working arduously to sell my car. Have you ever had to do that?! Ugh, it is NOT fun. I'm sure I will end up selling it to a dealership for much less than its value, but whatever, at least it will help fund my expenses. I'm going to try for a month or so on my own. And then I'll resort to taking a loss. There's a lot of paperwork involved! HaHa!
I found out my school. Click here to check it out. It's in Spanish, of course, so you'll have to translate it. I googled the map of Spain & zoomed in on my city really close... It's a small, small city. I'll be able to walk easily from place to place. I'm excited about that. No expenses for public transportation. Except that I'll have to go to cities outside of my own to do a lot of the political work (Getting my residence card, etc). From what it sounds like, that's going to be a pretty large adventure in itself. Ugh, I hope my Spanish is good enough to help me survive. I imagine the first couple months as being pretty stressful.
I met with Sarah, a girl who has done the program that I am going into. We talked a lot about her adventures. It sounds amazing. She had a lot of very helpful information for me. I am really glad to have gotten in connection with her. She gave me a hint of relief when she said I could go over as soon as all of my paperwork is done. She said she knew a girl that didn't show up until November because of paperwork/Visa problems. So, no matter what, I can go. That's a relief. I think. HaHa! It sounds like I am going to need to relax quite a bit in order to survive over there. I like to know when, where, how long, and how much... But truth be told, I could really use an extended period of time to just relax and live life. And get paid a little bit for it. I think it'll be an amazing thing for me.
My kids are grade school level. I'm super excited about that. I was really hoping for youngsters seeing as they are so much more open to things. They are excited to learn & have fresh, fun questions. Sarah said she felt like a celebrity at the end of her experience. They all wanted autographs and pictures. HaHa... Kids... I love 'em! I'm getting excited!!
People here keep asking me, "How many days do you have left?!" I don't have an answer for them. Primarily because I am still waiting on a lot of the paperwork to even get to me. But also, I haven't even started counting down. Is that bad? I just know it's a couple months away, but I'm not putting numbers on anything yet. I have too much stuff to worry about before then!! HaHa!
Ok, I gotta jet... Meeting a pal for the movies... Hopefully, I'll be on here in a few days saying, "IT'S HERE!!" But not gonna hold my breath...
In the meantime, I am working arduously to sell my car. Have you ever had to do that?! Ugh, it is NOT fun. I'm sure I will end up selling it to a dealership for much less than its value, but whatever, at least it will help fund my expenses. I'm going to try for a month or so on my own. And then I'll resort to taking a loss. There's a lot of paperwork involved! HaHa!
I found out my school. Click here to check it out. It's in Spanish, of course, so you'll have to translate it. I googled the map of Spain & zoomed in on my city really close... It's a small, small city. I'll be able to walk easily from place to place. I'm excited about that. No expenses for public transportation. Except that I'll have to go to cities outside of my own to do a lot of the political work (Getting my residence card, etc). From what it sounds like, that's going to be a pretty large adventure in itself. Ugh, I hope my Spanish is good enough to help me survive. I imagine the first couple months as being pretty stressful.
I met with Sarah, a girl who has done the program that I am going into. We talked a lot about her adventures. It sounds amazing. She had a lot of very helpful information for me. I am really glad to have gotten in connection with her. She gave me a hint of relief when she said I could go over as soon as all of my paperwork is done. She said she knew a girl that didn't show up until November because of paperwork/Visa problems. So, no matter what, I can go. That's a relief. I think. HaHa! It sounds like I am going to need to relax quite a bit in order to survive over there. I like to know when, where, how long, and how much... But truth be told, I could really use an extended period of time to just relax and live life. And get paid a little bit for it. I think it'll be an amazing thing for me.
My kids are grade school level. I'm super excited about that. I was really hoping for youngsters seeing as they are so much more open to things. They are excited to learn & have fresh, fun questions. Sarah said she felt like a celebrity at the end of her experience. They all wanted autographs and pictures. HaHa... Kids... I love 'em! I'm getting excited!!
People here keep asking me, "How many days do you have left?!" I don't have an answer for them. Primarily because I am still waiting on a lot of the paperwork to even get to me. But also, I haven't even started counting down. Is that bad? I just know it's a couple months away, but I'm not putting numbers on anything yet. I have too much stuff to worry about before then!! HaHa!
Ok, I gotta jet... Meeting a pal for the movies... Hopefully, I'll be on here in a few days saying, "IT'S HERE!!" But not gonna hold my breath...
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Under 3 Months to go &...
I'm STILL WAITING!
I was hopeful that my background check would get here this past week. No such luck. It had better be here this coming week or this girl is going to FLIP out! I sent my doctor's clearance to the State Department at the end of June. I wanted to get an idea of how long it would take to get here. After an interesting incident at the post office, I finally got it mailed off & paid for an overnight envelope back to me. I am expecting it back by the end of this month... Oh my gawd, it better be here!!
Next weekend, I have an acquaintance coming through town that has been on this Spain adventure herself. She just got back a few weeks ago or so. I am looking forward to chatting her up. This means I need to get my list of questions ready to go. I have SO MANY! I hope I remember them all!
This week is going to be a very busy week for me. I'm still moving ahead with things as if everything will work out for me. So, this week, I am getting my shots in preparation for the move. That's on Monday. Tuesday morning, I am going to take my car to a mechanic to get is inspected. I need this to sell my car, I suppose. I've never sold a car before & I am NOT looking forward to this process. Anyway, on Thursday, I take my car in to get a full on detail... waxed, vacuumed, etc... they said it would like as if it just came off the lot. $200, but hopefully, well worth it. I'm really nervous about this whole process...
Well, I am gonna close for now. Gonna keep my fingers crossed that my background check shows up!!!
I was hopeful that my background check would get here this past week. No such luck. It had better be here this coming week or this girl is going to FLIP out! I sent my doctor's clearance to the State Department at the end of June. I wanted to get an idea of how long it would take to get here. After an interesting incident at the post office, I finally got it mailed off & paid for an overnight envelope back to me. I am expecting it back by the end of this month... Oh my gawd, it better be here!!
Next weekend, I have an acquaintance coming through town that has been on this Spain adventure herself. She just got back a few weeks ago or so. I am looking forward to chatting her up. This means I need to get my list of questions ready to go. I have SO MANY! I hope I remember them all!
This week is going to be a very busy week for me. I'm still moving ahead with things as if everything will work out for me. So, this week, I am getting my shots in preparation for the move. That's on Monday. Tuesday morning, I am going to take my car to a mechanic to get is inspected. I need this to sell my car, I suppose. I've never sold a car before & I am NOT looking forward to this process. Anyway, on Thursday, I take my car in to get a full on detail... waxed, vacuumed, etc... they said it would like as if it just came off the lot. $200, but hopefully, well worth it. I'm really nervous about this whole process...
Well, I am gonna close for now. Gonna keep my fingers crossed that my background check shows up!!!
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