Exactly 25 days from my Spanish Visa appointment at the Chicago Consulate General of Spain my Spanish Student Visa finally arrived! Needless to say, I’m pretty pumped.
(Source)
Sure enough the Ron Swanson .gif – once again – describes my excitement, except that last year when I used this .gif along with the following excitement .gifs I was jealous of all of their mustaches and wished I could grow one. So, over the past year I grew one, although not for this specific reason. It was more of a dare.
(Source)
(Source)
Mustache aside, I am so excited that my Spanish Visa is here! The staff at the Chicago Consulate said that it would take 4 weeks to process plus time to ship. I assumed that meant 5 weeks. Luckily, the 25 days it took to arrive was a pleasant surprise. Now, with my ticket purchased, Spain is only 36 days away!!!!!
Although, now my brain has switched to packing, resigning from my job, moving out of my apartment, spending as much time with family and friends as possible, figuring out a phone for Spain, deciding what to do with my car, and so, so, so much more….
It’s a little overwhelming, but I cannot wait for the adventure ahead! If you have any tips for figuring out a phone for living in Spain, how to spend your last month at home, or anything else it would be much appreciated.
Only 36 days!!!
Apologies for the short post, but I wanted to announce that my Visa had arrived since a lot of other future auxiliares are awaiting their Visas. Good luck to everyone else out there!
Mapless Mike 
ENHORABUENAAAAAAA!!! It’s finally happening—congrats!
I submitted my visa last Friday and I hope the Houston consulate is a little more on top of things than they claimed they were—4-5 weeks waiting time :E
Thanks, Trevor! I hope your’s arrives in the said 4-5 weeks.
…¡¡FELICIDADES!!…I can only hope that MINE comes soon (they said around 3ish weeks, so hopefully I won’t have to wait much longer)!!…
Good luck! I’ll have my fingers crossed for you!
…Thanks, friend, :-)!!…
Great news! Not long now! 🙂
Getting a phone is a piece of cake! You just walk into any phone store (I used Orange when I lived there) and they will tell you about the different plans and prices. Be prepared to invest at least an hour of time, though, because sometimes they attendants are busy and you have to wait a bit.
Thanks for the tips, Kate! I’ll check out Orange once I’m over there. Oh, and thanks for the heads up about the potential waiting time. I won’t go when I’m in a rush.
Congrats man! Just got mine a couple days ago too. It’s a good feeling!
Thanks and congrats! It’s definitely a good feeling. It was weird not having my passport!
Congrats! The worst part is over 🙂 I hope the rest of your preparations go smoothly!
Thank you, Courtney! I cannot wait to board that plane. It’s exactly one month from tomorrow that I leave!
Congratulations for the visa! 🙂
If you’re looking for only a SIM for Spain, have a look to “Simyo” and “Yoigo”, you can do everything online and they’ve got basic and cheap fares. (A friend has “La del cero”, de Yoigo, and she’s delighted)
If you also want a good phone, you may prefer to buy it in USA. In Spain “libre” mobile phones are quite expensive, and with a company they usually make you stay for 18/24 months.
By the way, be careful with “permanencia”!! Some companies hide it in the small print, and then if you want to leave before they make you pay a “fine”.
Thanks for the heads up! I’ll watch out for permanencia!
Thanks! I’ll take a look at those plans when I arrive. I would just do a plan with a SIM opposed to a 18/24 month contract phone.