Friday, June 5, 2009

2 June 2009 - Barcelona - Paral-lel

I can now empathize with immigrant groups--life isn't easy. I have already jumped through hundreds of hoops to get my visa. Now, I have 100 more to become a resident (without becoming a resident, my visa will expire prematurely). One step of the residency process is to prove that you can afford to reside in Spain by showing your name attached to a Spanish bank account which contains sufficient funds. Today when I tried to set up a Spanish bank account, I was rejected because I wasn't a resident.

Aside from the expensive/bureaucratic process of moving here, Barcelona couldn't be any better. The days continue to be hot and sunny, and I continue to meet great people while falling more in love with the culture and lifestyle. I have spent hours a day traversing the city, causing my feet to be raw and bloody from wearing cheap sandals from Target.

I am also surprised with all the Minnesota connections. In the past I have been accused of being overly enthusiastic in advocating for Minneapolis/Minnesota. For this reason I had determined to be very passive about discussing Minnesota. I am with a very international crowd and we have been things to discuss than the history of US fur trading. Despite this, Minnesota has been popping up without my influence. For example, the first day at the school, current students gave a presentation about student life. The first student to present was from Minnesota. Actually, there are already two students from Minneapolis, and they have been big advocates for the city/state--everyone already knows about MN. Even a member of the janitorial staff approached me about Minnesota. I guess taht Paris, Moscow, Tokyo, and Buenos Aires just aren't as fascinating as Minneapolis. It's about time that people realized that. In related news, last night I checked into a new hostel where I am sharing a room with five others--three of who lived in Minneapolis.

Location of Hostel:

View Larger Map

No comments:

Post a Comment