Study Abroad Blog

I just wanted to make a special shout out and give a big thank you to Stefan for thinking of me when he wound up with an extra ticket to the FC Barcelona vs Milan game the other day! By convenient timing everything worked out and I got to see, in person, BCN whoop on Milan in the presence of some 100,000 enthusiastic fans. The energy was excellent and it was everything I hoped it would be…and more…much like everything else has been since I’ve arrived here. So, thank you again Stefan, looking forward to meeting up with you again sometime soon – I still owe you a drink or two! Oh, and by the way, big thank you also to Keith, InternationalStudent.com president, for giving me the heads up on Stefan’s offer! Would have been clueless had you not stepped up and shot me an email, so thank you for being proactive!

Ok, now to change the subject, I need to provide a quick update. Blanca became a citizen two weeks ago and applied immediately for her passport. Some of you (not sure who makes up most of the audience here) may know about the mess/joke that the US passport process has become as of late. If you’re not familiar, basically homeland security decided to implement new laws affecting US citizens that require us to have a passport when traveling to areas that previously hadn’t required one. They decided to push this new law without ever taking the time to calculate the increased demand (which has nearly doubled) and see if they even had the staff in place to absorb such an increase. Heaven forbid they take such petty thoughts into consideration, but alas, the result has produced tens of thousands of horror stories, no doubt.

What happened was, as passport applications picked up speed, the people processing couldn’t keep up. This created a backlog, pushing normal processing times back from 1-2 months, to 2-3 months. Seeing this, most people then began applying for an expedited passport, which used to take only 1-2 weeks. Now that everyone essentially stopped applying the traditional way and has begun to only apply expedited, that process has also slowed to an average of 2-6 weeks…additionally pushing traditional processing back even further to 3-4 months. And all this just in time to catch Blanca when she needs her passport processed ASAP.

So, just what is my “New Quick Update?” Well, I don’t know if I need to attribute this to divine intervention or what (much like Blanca being allowed to take her oath of citizenship the day she took the test) but her passport processed, amid all this mess, in eleven days and she received it on Tuesday! How that happened, again, I don’t know, but we are oh so grateful that it did and now it is time for her to apply for her Spanish visa. I will provide another update after her appointment Friday, hope it will be a happy one!

Ok, thus concludes my “quick” update!

The Departure

I’m starting this post while wasting time in the Dublin International Airport during my seven-hour layover – only four hours to go! Yeah, so my trip started with a teary-eyed parting from my family at the Fresno airport, but I quickly grew concerned that I’d be seeing them much sooner than expected. I don’t know why, but it seems the last few planes I’ve gotten on have been delayed because they had to perform maintenance of some sort…well, this first leg from Fresno to Los Angeles was no exception and I prayed that they’d get done in time to allow me to catch my next flight to Dublin. Assuming you’ve been paying attention, I obviously made it in time, since I’m writing from Dublin.

What have I to say so far? I don’t understand luggage weight requirements, nor do I understand a lot of the procedures at airports. I arrived at FAT (Fresno, for those not in the know…or those in the ‘no who think they’re in the know by saying they’re in the ‘no, but really you’re just annoying) about two hours early to check in with United. When I mentioned my end destination was Barcelona I was told if I wanted United to forward my luggage all the way through to BCN it would cost me $381…or, I could check my bags when I got to LAX and only pay $50 – I would just have to deal with Aer Lingus when I arrived and potentially have to pay additional fees to them. I opted for the $50 and chose to take my chances at LAX.

Not sure how the fees work exactly, I always thought with an international end destination you were allotted more luggage (I had read up about Aer Lingus’ requirements, but hadn’t thought to check United’s!), but apparently it is cheaper to have overweight bags on a one-hour continental flight than a transatlantic flight with connections…may make sense, but didn’t really at the time, who knows?

Based on my decision I had to retrieve my luggage at LAX and lug all 120lbs of it from one end of the airport to the other where I then had to stand in the slowest moving line I’ve ever experienced. How slow was this line? Well, the flight was delayed 45 minutes because nearly half of the passengers weren’t even checked in by the time the plane was scheduled to leave. Anyway, the wait was sorta worth it, because in the end Aer Lingus didn’t even charge me excess weight fees on my luggage – so sucks to you United and your $381 charge!…perhaps Aer Lingus didn’t choose to charge me because they were going on strike two days later and simply didn’t care? I dunno, but hey, I didn’t complain.

After I finally checked in, I was then told I had to lug my bags about 50 yards further to a group of guys who were running around and joking with one another for fifteen minutes until I had a line of about 20 people behind me. I guess with the long line they decided they had built a sufficient pipeline of work and they finally called me to ask if my bags were locked. When I said no, I was told to set them by a few other bags and I was free to go through security…a pointless step, if I do say so…also a little disconcerting if these gentlemen were in charge of luggage security…but I digress.

We made up time in the air and actually landed about on time. I got my passport stamped and made my way through the maze that is the Dublin airport and now all I can do is sit around and wait for my flight to show up on a screen so I know which gate to go to. I’m so early the flight isn’t showing yet and probably won’t for another hour. Thankfully I have a new book and my mp3 player to kinda keep me occupied, however I’m so exhausted after getting about an hour of off and on sleep last night I’m just not in a very good mood.

So, how do I feel exactly? Well, sad for starters. I know it’s normal, I felt this way when I went to Sweden, but this time it is a little different because when I’m not thinking about how bad I’m missing Blanca and how we really don’t know how long it will be until I see her again, I start thinking about my dad and, well, it is just hard. I just wish he could have been there with me at the airport…and I need to stop or I’m going to start crying right here in the airport. *deep breaths* moving on…

When I arrive in Barcelona it will be about 9pm Spanish time, or about noon California time. I’ve been told customs will likely take a couple hours, so I’m hoping to make it to my new apartment by midnight Spanish time. My new landlord is kind enough to be picking me up from the airport, so that should help upon arrival. Once I reach the apartment I’m going to try to give Blanca a call and then will hopefully crash and won’t end up with too much jetlag, but we will see.

My objectives for the week are to apply for my residence card, open a bank account, figure out how to successfully get to and from the school, and maybe meet a few of my classmates before things kick off Monday. I really wish I wasn’t so beat right now. I feel like I should be super excited, but it is hard to feel that way with everything that is on my mind…the heartburn isn’t helping either. Oh well, traveling is stressful and exhausting, so hopefully once I get settled and have my communication abilities figured out I will start feeling better.

I guess that is all I have to say at the moment, I’ll continue this when I arrive at my apartment so I can post anything else that was noteworthy during the rest of the trip.

The Arrival!

IIIIIIII’mmmmm Heeeeerrrrreeeee!!! Barcelona that is, I made it! You know, that layover in Dublin was just so crappy, I really got worried there that I wasn’t going to fare so well once I got here. Not quite so, I started feeling the rush of excitement when we were about 500 feet off the ground coming in to land and I was looking out over the ocean thinking, “It’s really, finally happening…” I am here!

Getting off the plane wasn’t too bad, took about four minutes to get my passport stamped, then nearly a half hour to get my bags (got a lil nervous), then, just as I thought I had one more line to pass through I realized I was done. It wasn’t a line I had seen, but all the people waiting for loved ones getting off the plane. So, no two hour customs to deal with, just thirty minutes of waiting for luggage. As I walked on out to the main lobby I immediately saw my landlord and it just so happened there was another ESADE student who took the same flights I had, so she was kind enough to take both of us to our new homes.

I arrived at my new apartment about 11:30pm Spanish time, so not too bad, but I was wide awake and Mary (my landlord…I’m tired of calling her that!) gave me the grand tour and even walked me around outside, showed me a store, internet café, and even took the time to draw me a nice map on how to get to ESADE. If that’s not service then I dunno what is! By the way, Mary was also the woman who interviewed me for admission to ESADE. Why does that matter? I dunno, but do you think the new MBAs heading to Harvard get picked-up at the airport and driven to their apartment by the same folks who do their admissions interviews? I doubt it, then again, I have no proof, but it’s still pretty darn good service to me!

My apartment is cool, the layout will take some getting used to, especially when Blanca arrives, but we will certainly get used to it. It is very much fully furnished and I even had milk, juice, and water waiting for me in the fridge, which was nice. The terrace is beautiful and I would gladly be typing this from out there except within the last ten minutes some clouds just rolled in, thunder and all, and it started pouring…darn! At least it didn’t happen until now, cause I was just out walking a marathon all over, I went in search of a falafel shop I enjoyed back in the day…think I found it, falafel for 1,95 euros, not too shabby! ***Update*** That was not the falafel shop from back in the day, but I did find the right place today and I was about half a block off. I was sad to see the prices have more than doubled from 2003…but it was one darn good falafel…so I forgive them.

Anyway, I’m supposed to meet a classmate in about a half hour to grab some dinner, hope the rain lets up a little! I will try to get some pictures up somewhere soon so I can begin sharing photos. Guess that is all for now, intro week begins Monday! Adios!

“What’s the point of going out, we’re just going to end up back here anyway?” – Homer Simpson

During the last few days before I left, Blanca and I decided to get a few documents together that she will need for her Spanish visa whenever she gets her passport. The only reason I have decided to post about this is because we encountered a problem while getting the letter of clearance that I wrote so thoroughly about in my “So You Want A Student Visa…” post. Well, in light of the situation we encountered, I added to that post to hopefully help others out in the future, but I’ll discuss what went down here too.

When we got to the step where we go to the county clerks office for a certification of the notarized letter, we were told the notary needed to do more than simply stamp the document, we needed a full acknowledgement because according to the girl I spoke with they have no way to verify she is a real notary…because I guess it would be too hard to look at her number on the stamp and look it up herself, what with the county clerk and county recorder sharing the same office space, but really, what would I know? Anyway, when she told me I needed this acknowledgement I whipped out my document that had been completed months prior and went over it with her, just to clarify what she was telling me.

In my frustrated state, I asked her if she was telling me this document I had, which was notarized by a woman who has been a notary probably longer than I have been alive, had made it through the sheriffs department, her own clerks office, the secretary of the state’s office, and finally the Spanish consulate…all the while it was incorrect? She stared at my document for a few seconds, stumbled over her words a little and quickly walked to the back of the room. She came back a minute later and explained that yes, my document was wrong and she informed the approver not to do it again…then she gave me back my apparently incorrect document that somehow made it through four government agencies, yet was never caught…

Anywho, so we had to call the notary back and arranged to meet with her again so she could get us the acknowledgement form and she explained that for every employee in the clerks office you will get a different answer on how the document needs to be done. I wasn’t surprised, but we jumped through the extra hoop and got it done.

I just wanted to give a heads up to anyone else who may encounter a similar situation, so just to be safe, if you’re Sheriff’s department does as ours did and gave us two letters of clearance, have the notary do one with and one without an acknowledgement and just let the county clerk tell you which one they want to certify.

Oh, one last thing I’d like to mention, Blanca became a citizen on Wednesday the 15th! So, we applied for her passport the next day and now we are just waiting and praying that makes it through that mess relatively quickly so she can apply for her visa soon and come join lonely ol me over here in Barcelona! Can’t wait!!

That is all for now, will post again soon about the trip!

Adios

On Sunday, August 5, 2007 my father, Tom Brattin, passed away. The following was his obituary as it appeared in one of the papers:

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Thomas M. Brattin, 53, formerly of San Luis Obispo County passed away Sunday, Aug. 5, 2007, in Fresno, Calif.Tom graduated from San Luis Obispo High School in 1972 and quickly began his career in maintenance mechanics at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. His most recent position was as maintenance supervisor for California State University, Fresno Association. Tom loved building and flying radio controlled airplanes and was a member of the Fresno Radio Modelers Club for many years.He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Patty; children April (Josh), Matthew (Blanca) and Ashlynn; granddaughter, Cailyn; grandson due in September, Calvin Thomas; brothers Ken (Leslie) Brattin and Bob Brattin; sister, Sara (Burt) Johnson; father in-law Bill (Gloria) Smith; nephews Jason Smith and Burt Johnson, Jr.; nieces Rebecca Pallmann, Angela Smalley, Hailey Johnson, and Shawna Johnson.He was preceeded in death by his father, Melvin Haile Brattin; mother, Edith Anne Brattin-Nervo; mother in-law, Frances Smith; brother in-law, Barry Smith.

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In the last two years it seems I’ve lost a number of loved ones in my life. Just over a year ago while I was in New York I lost my uncle, Barry Smith, to a mindless act of violence. The best way I could describe my relationship with him was always kinda like a second father. He is the reason I got into martial arts and he was always the one I loved to discuss my training with. I looked up to him in many ways and it was, until just recently, the most painful news I ever received when I learned that his life had been taken …just three months after retiring from the CHP with over 30 years of service and just six months from receiving his degree in criminal justice. I think about him often and will never forget him.Now, my own father, has also been taken from me unexpectedly. We never really saw any signs that he had any health problems, so when I learned of his heart attack it came as a great shock. We were all extremely hopeful that he would be able to make some sort of recovery, but after being deprived of oxygen for an unknown amount of time and later suffering seizures, he was left essentially with very little brain function in only his cerebral cortex. After over a week of emotionally draining observation and praying, he was taken off life support and passed peacefully Sunday morning…My dad was a loving, caring, hard-working, funny, and very smart man and I should be so lucky to have not only known him for 25 years, but to have been raised by him and to have had him as a role model throughout my life. He treated my mother so well, and I can only hope to be half the husband to Blanca that he was to my mom. Additionally, his work ethic and common sense approach to problem solving is something I also aspire to develop even more within myself as I continue to mature.He had a tool for everything, as I often used to say to friends, and if something presented itself where it didn’t seem as though he had the right tool…he would just make his own.  It never ceased to amaze me the number of times I would begin working on something on one of my old cars where his mechanical prowess would just put my efforts to shame.For instance, the time I spent nearly two hours trying to replace a damaged hose from under the hood of my old ’79 Ranchero. After finally convincing myself there was no way to get the job done, I awoke my dad from his nap and said I needed his help. He followed me to the garage and as I handed him the tools I’d been using he simply walked back to his toolbox and returned with a screwdriver. A tad confused, I kept watching and just before he made his move he said to me, “you’re replacing that one right?” Still unsure what his plans were, I said, “yeah…got the new one right over there.” With that, he jabbed the hose with the screwdriver and gave it a yank and what-do-ya-know, he accomplished in about 1.3 seconds what I had been working on for nearly two hours.That’s just how he operated, and I like to think I picked up some of his creativity over the years, but I know I’ll never, ever reach the levels he was at. I don’t really know what else to say, other than I loved my father greatly…still do…He will be missed, but absolutely never forgotten.Rest in peace dad…until we meet again…