Here goes:
Today started off pretty great. I woke up to the awful sound of my alarm, but I wasn't super tired! Plus, I was especially excited for breakfast. Instead of my normal, filling (and what I think my host mom considers "bland") breakfast of pan tostada (toasted bread) and peanut butter, I made pan tostada with yummy apple butter I brought here from the Rockfish Gap Country Store in the good ol' Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Little did I know, this would cause some problems for me later. But anyway, after I ate, my roommate and I set out to the University of Seville for our official welcome! The walk was drizzly and cloudy -- a little annoying but not too horrible. Once we met up with the rest of the group in front of the main entrance, we toured around the building and learned where the Pabellón de Portugal is (the site where we'll be leaving for a few of our JYS excursions). Eventually we went inside and took our seats for the Bienvenida.
Side note: There was a translator at the bienvenida, which I found quite interesting...people are gonna be struggling if they need a translator for that.
After the welcome, which was really nice, I found Calee and Timo, two other JYS students who are staying for the year who also need a TIE, and we headed down to this little reception they had after the welcome. Of course, I couldn't eat anything offered. Normally, this wouldn't bother me, but I was sooo hungry already (and it was only 11am and we don't eat lunch till around 3pm!). I really wished I had packed a snack. I had to suck it up though, because we had to go to the Plaza de España, where la Oficina de Extranjeros (Foreign Offices) is located. Neither of them had been to la Plaza de España before, so I led them there. However, I only knew one way to get there, which happened to be the super long way...oops. But it was really nice to see the looks on their faces when they saw the Plaza for the first time, though! It's pretty magnificent. Here's a panoramic photo I took about a week ago when I was there for the first time (but this photo doesn't give it justice -- also, ignore the random people to the right):
So, as you can see, that building is huge. We had no idea where the police station (where we were told we needed to go) was, so we just made a guess, walked up some steps, and turned right. This is where things started to go downhill. We wandered around aimlessly for a few minutes, and then Timo decided to ask a security officer where we were supposed to go. While he was doing that, I was drooling over stuff in a vending machine while trying to decide what in there was vegan. There were these weird corn things that looked like they'd be vegan, so I excitedly put in my .40 cents and watched the little metal wheel spin...only to be extremely disappointed when they got stuck. Por supuesto (of course). I was so hungry, and the stupid vending machine was teasing me! I tried shaking it, but my weakling arms didn't do diddly squat (also I was afraid the security officer would be mad at me for messing with the vending machine, and I totally didn't wanna get yelled at in Spanish). So I gave up, and Calee and I followed Timo where the security officer directed him. Finding the office was a little difficult, but we finally got there. But what did we have to do when we got there? Get a waiting ticket. What number was I? 61. What number was currently being called? 44. I was upset about that for about 30 seconds until, low and behold, I spotted yet another vending machine.
By this time, my stomach was pretty much eating itself, and I thought, "Yes! A second chance!" So once again, I put in my .40 cents, and this time I tried to get some peanuts. I stood there in front of the vending machine, anticipation seeping out of my pores as I watched the little metal wheel spin, only to have my heart (or should I say stomach) ripped right out of me. The freaking peanuts were stuck. THE FREAKING PEANUTS WERE STUCK. My snack, my key to happiness and sanity, was just hanging out (literally), completely untouchable, through a glass window in a vending machine. How could that happen to me twice in a row within 5 minutes on two different vending machines?! I was hangry.
Don't know what that means? Let me help you:
So for the next 30 or so minutes, I sat in a really uncomfortable chair in the waiting area while blankly staring out of the doorway, watching a thunderstorm roll in, which was basically the reflection of my soul at the time. I tried to focus on the sound of the rain to drown out the vending machine as it buzzed (read: mocked me) behind me. At last, it was Timo's turn to go up. He went in, and about 30 seconds later he came out! I thought, "Wow, so fast! This will be a breeze." until he said "We're in the wrong place."
At this point, I was no longer hangry -- I was hangfurious.
I just wanted to get this stupid application process over so I could go home and eat. That's all I wanted. But no. We had to leave this office and walk to the COMPLETE other side of the Plaza (and thanks to the storm, we couldn't just take the short way and walk across the Plaza). Getting to the other side was not even remotely convenient. We had to squeeze our way through a giant crowd of tourists mixed in with people trying to sell umbrellas, fans, clicky-flamenco things, weird pieces of trees (don't know what they are, but they look like pieces of a Christmas tree), and who even knows what else. It was a hot mess, and I was so annoyed. I was so relieved when we finally got to la Oficina de Extranjeros, until I realized we had to stand in a line that was going out of the door:
See the other side? Yeah, that's where we were...anyway, after waiting outside of the office for at least 15 minutes, we were finally able to go inside...only to do another 15 minutes worth of waiting. That line was ridiculous.
We were so afraid we were in the wrong place again, so we asked someone who worked there, and she told us we were in the right line...¡por fin! (finally!)
So I bet you're wondering why the line was so slow/going out of the door, right? That's because we all had to see THE SAME LADY. There was only one person for all of those people! Why, Spain, why???
Finally, we got our turns, and the process was painless. Each of our turns took about 5 minutes combined. Super quick! And surprisingly, the lady who took our application was really nice. I don't understand how she was so friendly after dealing with so many people, though.
We all booked it out of there, and Timo and Calee stopped for something to eat, but I just went straight home. I would have liked to go with them, but I was not in the mood to search a menu in Spanish at a restaurant I've never heard of for vegan options that probably don't exist, especially after the vending machine incidents. Luckily, I know I can always just count on my host mom for tasty vegan food.
The rest of the day has been much more relaxed, and I am no longer hangry or hangfurious, as predicted by the blue sky peeking through the clouds over Triana (my neighborhood) as I was walking home:
So there ya go. My hangry venting session. And what's a good hangry venting session without some lessons I learned? Here they are, the most 3 important things I learned today:
#1. Eat a filling breakfast (peanut butter 5ever)
#2. If for whatever reason you don't eat a filling breakfast, carry snacks with you.
#3. Do not, under any circumstances, use a vending machine in Spain ever again.
¡Hasta luego!
