Officially Legal!

October 16th

The rain and cold weather have passed and today was one of the most beautiful days that we have had here in Granada.  I didn't have class until the afternoon but this morning I was excited to finally be able to pick up my "Carnet de Extranjeros" or official residence card for Spain.

I walked over to the police station with my receipt and number in my hand not sure what to expect.  The past two visits I had to wait in line for hours before I could talk to any person.  I had been told to come back in a month and I wouldn't have to wait in line.  I hoped they were right.  

It turned out to be very easy, as I was in and out of the police station in less than five minutes.  Receiving my residence card was a catharsis, sweeping away the visa hell of the last 6 months.  I have legal residence in Spain until August 31st, 2009.

Now that I had my card, I wanted to open a Spanish bank account, as I had tried when I had first arrived and had been unable to do so.  I stopped at one bank and collected information.  With the US and international economy oscillating so drastically, I'm a little hesitant to open an account and convert a large amount of dollars into euros as I will have to convert them at the current exchange rate.  The exchange rate has been going down, so I may wait and see if it continues this slide.  The other main factor to consider is whether I should open an account that is very common in Spain or one that is in every country in Europe but has less atm's here in Granada.  I have a lot of time to look for the best deal for me.

My classes in the afternoon were interesting and I will give a presentation about the "social structure in the United States" in a few weeks for my "Contemporary Social Structure" class.  Back at my apartment, Heiko and I shared a frozen pizza and some tinto de verano as we ate dinner out on my balcony overlooking our street and the Puerta Real de España.

When I don't have class on Monday or Friday, my three day weeks bring in the new weekend quickly.  I went over to my friend's house in Plaza del Toros for his birthday party.  Everyone then walked down to the botellón and went home around 4:00am.