Go Visa!

I am so near to giving up. This whole visa application process is driving me nuts. I don’t get it. This past Friday, I missed the DHL delivery of my confirmation letter (the one I need to have in order to apply for a visa.) So, chasing the clock, I ran (drove, actually) to the DHL dock near the harbor and followed the yellow DHL trucks (ducks) to their depot (nests) and finally got my package. Anyways, I’m going to San Francisco on the 4th of July in order to be in the consulate on the 5th. Currently, I’m trying to find a cheap last minute plane ticket and a hostel to stay at. Even before actually starting the program, the cost of my MBA degree is accumulating at a fast rate. (I got my credit card statement with my Kinko’s VC room rental charge for the interview.) Hopefully I have all the documents needed so I won’t have to fly to San Francisco again later. I got a classmate who flew to the Chicago a few times just to apply for the visa. And another one (an American in Germany) had to fly to the States and Switzerland to get the necessary documents.

To give you an idea of the visa application process, here is a list of documents required:

1. Three Schengen visa application forms
2. A Valid Passport for a Minimum of Six Months
3. Three recent passport photos on a white backdrop
4. Proof of admissions as a full time student as Spanish Universidad.
5. Proof of financial means for period of study in Spain
6. Clean bill of health (physical and mental) issued by your General Practitioner
7. Individual or group travel health insurance
8. If studying 6 months +, a certificate by police authorities indicating an absence of a police record.
9. $100.00 USD
10. Additional Requirements may apply.

I have #1. On the last page of the application, it's a full page of Spanish. With only 3 years of very broken Spanish under my belt, of course I cannot understand anything. But thanks http://babelfish.altavista.com/ now I can understand almost all the fine prints.
#2, very straight forward but annoying. It takes 45~60 days to get the visa and I'll have to leave my passport with the consulate during that time. Meaning, I cannot travel. Well, I'll have to spend another month in Seattle drinking Starbucks. (Wait, I don't drink coffee.)
#3 No problem.
#4 Will receive this once I send in my deposit.
#5 Well, there are some things I can do in Seattle. For example, visit a bank.
#6 Simple task.
#7 Same as #4
#8 This is the fun part. Needed to go visit the police department. I’m a good citizen. Got a clean record.
#9 Racking up my debts
#10 Please, oh please. No surprises, please, when I fly down to San Francisco to visit the Spanish consulate.

After visa, there is housing. Need to find a place to live. Not too far from the school. But not too expensive. Biggest problem, I'm not at Barcelona now. All I can do is search online. *sigh* I miss Wellesley's guaranteed housing.

Since don’t see myself having the chance to go back to Taiwan this summer, I’m going to order the Rosetta Stone’s Spain Spanish program. Hopefully I can regain all the Spanish I learned back in high school and college. Es extremadamente caro. Pero necesito un buen programa. Me gusta la pronunciación componente. Espero que sepa hablar como un nativo.