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…

Last weekend I was in Las Vegas for a last hurrah with a small group of friends. We had a good time, and when we returned Sunday Blanca and I had a quick family barbecue at my parents’ home.  We were in a hurry, however, to get home and do laundry, as we had to wake up Monday morning and drive to Long Beach to catch a quick four-day cruise to celebrate our first anniversary. 

 The cruise was relaxing - we both just ate, read, and slept a lot.  On the drive home I got a phone call I could never have prepared for.  My father, who is only 53, wasn’t feeling well at work.  He knew something was wrong, but instead of telling anyone, he jumped in his truck and headed toward his doctor’s office…he didn’t make it.  Off-duty EMTs found him in his truck in the middle of an intersection.  They began CPR, but by the time an ambulance arrived he had no pulse and wasn’t breathing.  They shocked him with the paddles and managed to get his heart started again and they brought him to the hospital. 

 Somewhere about this time was when I got the call, my mom and sisters didn’t know what was going on, just that my dad was heading to the hospital.  It was a long and painful four-hour drive to the hospital.  My dad underwent emergency heart surgery to remove the block from his artery.  His heart is now semi-normal, but there are apparently a couple more blocks they are worried about if he pulls through this.  He has been unconscious now for two days, and we still don’t know much.  The main concern is that no one knows how long he went without oxygen, so they are going to test for brain activity today. 

I don’t know what this all means.  My family is my first priority at this point and I apologize for not keeping up with the comment activity (which has been great) lately, but as you can see I have other things to tend to at the moment.  I wrote a lot of notes on the cruise so I could make my next post when we returned, things just didn’t turn out as planned. 

I don’t know who out there are the praying type, but I am, and we could sure use all the thoughts and prayers anyone can find the time to send out.  I will post again as soon as I can manage when I have anything new to say. 

-Matt 

Well, I never lost hope, and while I still cannot say it is “official,” it is pretty darn close. I haven’t received a letter from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation yet, but I’ve been pathologically checking their site to see if by chance they would update the list of scholarship winners…and it looks like they did tonight. I didn’t make the cut. I don’t know how many applicants there were overall, but 34 have been granted this prestigious scholarship and I wish them all the best.

From what I can gather, I faced some very stiff competition with applicants that, quite frankly, seemed to have profiles very different from that of my own. I knew this going in, but still wanted to give it a shot. Most of the winners come from lower income homes and have devoted a great deal of their lives to community service, all while gaining stellar academic records and often working for the less fortunate. I, on the other hand, seem to earn a decent wage for my age, did community service during college, but not to the degree many of these people have and do, and I work in corporate America. While I may have a pretty decent academic profile, this clearly wasn’t going to save me from (*edit* site originally said 17 years old…) 20 year olds with 4.0s going for their Masters…

I won’t lie, I am a little down after discovering the news, but I am not bitter. I am certain those who will be awarded these scholarships truly deserve them and, as my wife said, my pursuit of an MBA was never contingent on getting this scholarship. I’m still heading to ESADE, Jack Kent Cooke scholarship or not…and really folks, at least I was nominated by my alumni university – that was cool for me at least! Plus, let’s not forget my 20% ESADE scholarship. So you see, in the end I think this result has helped me see how much I have to be proud of, and come August 12th I’m still flying to Barcelona to pursue my MBA!

Thank you to everyone who has offered encouragement thus far…I promise there’s lot’s more excitement to come!

*Update* Got my letter informing me that I was not chosen to receive a scholarship.  Just for the end record, there were 977 applicants and 34 individuals (or 3.5%) were chosen…stiff competition indeed!

“Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.” – Anonymous

Thursday, June 7th it finally came. The letter Blanca had been waiting for for nearly a year now – her interview appointment with the INS. We were excited beyond words…granted it was about two months later than we had hoped, but it finally arrived and we knew July 3rd was the day. According to what we had been told, she would take the test, and assuming she passed, she’d take her oath on the 9th of July. We thought we had it all figured out. We’d expedite her passport application the 9th right after taking the oath, hopefully have the passport by month’s end, then immediately apply for the visa. I’d head to Spain mid-August, and she’d join me as soon as she got her visa, sometime around the end of August…not too shabby…except for one minor detail – the INS happiness spies.

They must be everywhere, these spies. We had already been through so much torment, so naturally the feelings of elation were nearly inexplicable when the appointment date was finally handed down. I rushed home from work that night and we dusted off the study materials and went over the 96 practice questions gleefully – she’s got them down. We could hardly sleep that night as all we could do was think and discuss our next steps to prepare for the journey ahead. All the while what we should have been doing was bracing ourselves for the blow that was to come.

It started with a phone call from the house of reps office just following up on a call I made a few days prior. While sharing the good news with the woman, I was blindsided when I started rambling about our plans. She started with, “Oh, you know what, the courts actually decided to cancel the July oath…so Blanca will have to wait until August to do that…” My initial reaction was silence, as I tried to stomach what I just heard, but quickly I fired back “can we just drive somewhere else, anywhere, to take the oath?” The response, “No, Fresno is where she applied and where she lives, she has to do it there…I really don’t know why they cancelled, it isn’t normal.” Well, I couldn’t talk much more, but I hung up and tried to pull myself together to make the call to Blanca. Don’t forget though, this is only where it started…

A little later, after sharing the bad news with Blanca, I began to settle down. As I was absorbing our new situation, I got a text from Blanca that said simply, “They cancelled my appointment.” Confused, I immediately called her and she answered fighting back tears explaining she just received a letter, the day after the appointment letter. This new letter had only two lines that essentially said, “We regret to inform you that your appointment dated July 3 has been cancelled. We will update you with changes to your status as they become available.” No explanation, no new date…nothing. So, this is what leads me to believe there are INS happiness spies all around – because they must have heard our elation the day before and decided to put an end to it ASAP…can’t go making people happy or anything, that would just be wrong.

My immediate response to this news was to call everyone I could think of – The governor, my senator, the department of homeland security, etc. But as usual, after calling all these places I was left with no answers and basically a bunch of fingers pointing nowhere. The general response from everyone was that I’d already done all I could do and ultimately the INS pretty much only answers to themselves. So much for checks and balances.

So here we are, almost a week from getting all the news, and we don’t know where we stand anymore. I finally purchased my ticket today (Compliments of the InternationalStudent.com video travel contest!), I’m flying out of LAX on Sunday, August 12th and will arrive in Barcelona on Monday the 13th at 10:40am. I would be lying if I said this didn’t make me happy, because it does, but it comes with mixed emotions…it was a single, one-way ticket. I’m going alone and will be alone for who knows how long.

It is hard to stay optimistic in a situation like this – being essentially at the mercy of a government agency who holds so much in the palm of their hands. Do they really understand the influence they have on people’s lives? Do they even understand that they’re dealing with human lives? Do they understand that because of their actions, they have the power to keep my wife, the woman I married, apart from me for what looks like at least three months at this point? Do they understand that the days that followed their letter my wife was sick, vomiting and unable to move from the bedroom? Do they have the slightest inkling that this is just one person’s story, and I’m confident there are thousands upon thousands more in the same situation?

Anyway, I apologize if this post was a downer, but it would be difficult to make it otherwise. I remain hopeful that things will work out for the best in the long run. If I really want to start my positive thinking now, I could say at least in this situation I’ll have the opportunity to get settled into my new learning environment without any distractions (not like my wife is a distraction, but you understand). I’ll be able to learn a little about my surroundings while picking up a little Spanish so I can be a good tour guide and impress Blanca when she finally joins me in Barcelona.

As before, I’m still waiting for word from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and expect a response sometime in the next two weeks. Win, lose, or draw, I’ll make a post as soon as I hear anything. Additionally, as things change with Blanca’s status, I’ll likely come here to vent or share the good news. Until then, it’s now two months until the day I set foot in Spain and one month til I’m done with my job…things are happening, so stay tuned!

“Too bad the only people who know how to run the country are busy driving cabs and cutting hair.” – George Burns

When I finished up the “So You Want A Student Visa” post I had just completed one of the most stressful obstacles standing between me and my timely voyage to Barcelona. Once I submitted my application at the Spanish Consulate in San Francisco, Blanca and I officially began our short, final vacation before we plan to leave our present jobs for good. We spent the rest of our day voyaging around South San Francisco trying to find our hotel and the nearest BART station so we could minimize our struggle heading back into town later that evening.

We had been invited to have dinner with two ESADE alumni and the wonderful admissions woman who interviewed me (who is also my future landlord), so I was quite excited. We all met up at the Grand Hyatt and walked to a charming Italian restaurant and opted to eat inside, as it was raining quite nicely. The conversation flowed, as did the red wine, and we had a wonderful time hearing the alumni catch up with one another, as I imagine someday I will hopefully do with members of my cohort.

After our four-hour dinner came to an end we bid each other adieu and parted ways. Blanca and I made it back to our hotel just past midnight and did our best to get to sleep quickly, as we had an 8:30 flight to catch the next morning! We were heading to Minneapolis to visit my cousin and his fiancé, as we will unfortunately have to miss the wedding. Considering my cousin was a groomsman at my wedding, I felt it the least I could do to at least pay them a visit before we head off across the Atlantic.

Now where was I? Oh yes, trying to sleep. So, after a little less than five hours of sleep the alarms awoke us from our deep slumber and nearly provoked my heart to retire from duty. After composing myself, I showered and packed and we caught the earliest bus to the airport. Our flight was uneventful, just how I like them, and we landed in Minneapolis around 2pm their time. My cousin picked us up and we made our way to his place and had little time to settle down before we had to head off to watch the Red Sox beat the home team Twins in a low scoring game. I slept well that night…wish I could say the same about Blanca, I think she consumed a tainted jumbo dog at the game.

The next two days were great, despite the weather (darn rain followed us all the way from San Francisco) and we had a good time at the horse races, among other things, and just catching up with my cousin. Monday came too quickly and it was time to head back to the airport and make our way back home.

After another uneventful flight, we were back at SFO and spent a good hour waiting for the complimentary hotel bus that supposedly comes every 20 minutes. We finally made it back to the hotel, picked up the car, and got back on the road on our way back to Fresno. The ride was going smoothly, until I got a phone call from my mother.

About a week prior to this trip my mother was informed by a doctor that they spotted a small growth on her right lung that they wanted to investigate. They noted she is not a typical candidate for lung cancer, as she has never smoked (although my grandmother passed away from lung cancer after smoking for about 50 years), nonetheless, they still wanted to investigate. She had a biopsy the day we arrived in San Francisco and my mom was calling with the results the day we were heading home: The growth was cancerous.

The only good news during the phone call was that the growth was deemed a “low grade cancer,” and was present on only the middle lobe of her right lung. The doctor was confident he could remove this lobe and she should be good to go in no time, so the surgery was scheduled for Friday, May 18th in San Luis Obispo. By the way, this particular doctor was chosen by my mother because he is the same doctor who removed one of my grandmother’s lungs during the initial phases of her bout with cancer.

We all made the late-night voyage to the coast on Thursday the 17th and slept little the night before the surgery. The morning came and soon enough my mom was under the knife and all we could do was wait. About three hours later the doctor came in and informed us all that he “couldn’t have been happier with the way the surgery went.” We all released a sigh of relief in unison, however it would be another week before they got the results of the pathology report back to determine whether or not the growth had been malignant or benign, which would also determine the level of concern for ongoing forms of treatment.

As of Tuesday evening on the 22nd I am oh so happy to announce all of the non-malignant cancer had been removed and the doctor sees no need for further treatments at this time. My mom will have some regular follow-ups scheduled simply for monitoring purposes, however this is very manageable and we are all extremely thankful everything turned out so well, so quickly. I’m heading back to San Luis to see my mom again tomorrow, and she should be allowed to head back to Fresno later next week.

So, there you have it, I’m now back to work and on the home stretch before it is time to get packing for Spain. We have no new news about Blanca’s application with the INS other than we were told that it is still in Nebraska for whatever reason. In lieu of her status, we are backing up our estimated date of departure to sometime in August and hopefully this additional time will be just what we need to get her documents, or at least most of them, squared away as painlessly as possible.

As I prepare to purchase my tickets and more news comes I will be sure to post, but in the meantime I really don’t have a whole lot else to report at the moment. I am happy to see some people posting comments and will continue to encourage that sort of activity!

“Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else.” – Anonymous

At about 6:26 this morning I stumbled out of the shower and made my way to the kitchen to start boiling water for my oatmeal. Once I got the water on, I meandered on over to my laptop and gave the mouse a wiggle to awake the machine from its slumber. I continued my morning routine by double clicking the Internet Explorer icon and immediately logging in to check my email. Just as I maneuvered the mouse to view my inbox, I saw it. An email from ESADE’s Financial Aid Department with the subject heading “Congratulations.” My gut dropped and I felt my face get flush with anticipation. Licking my lips I hovered the curser over the link to open the message when suddenly…I get a pop-up letting me know “All automatic updates are complete and your computer will now reboot.”

Nooooo!!! Must…read…congratulatory message of some kind!! But my pleas were of no use. My squeamish response did no good and finally I gave up and accepted my short-term fate as I realized I had no choice but to wait for my computer to shut down and reboot so I could start the whole process over again.

It felt like a good fifteen-minute boot up, which likely only took two, but finally, the moment arrived and I got to open this email I waited so patiently to receive. It read as follows:

Dear Matt,

Congratulations!

We have decided to award you one of our scholarships reserved for exceptional candidates!

ESADE would like to emphasize the honour associated with the granting of this scholarship representing 20 % of the tuition expenses associated with the MBA Program, and at this time we inform you that it will be duly renewed for the second year of the Program, if your academic record is found to be satisfactory.

We are hoping to count on your presence for the 2007 Full Time MBA cohort!

Regards from Barcelona and see you soon!

Yessssss!!! After reading this I was absolutely ecstatic and could hardly stand still (meanwhile, my oatmeal burned in the distance). I couldn’t wait to share the good news with my family, friends and co-workers, but didn’t want to bother anyone so early in the morning. Naturally, they were all quite happy to hear my announcement, but at a more reasonable hour!

From here, all I have left to wait on are the results of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation scholarship, so I’ll have to sit tight about another three weeks for that. I just wanted to share this news, as I’m still absolutely thrilled and have gone back to read the email probably fifteen times today. Guess that is all I have to update at the moment. My next “real” post should come soon. That is all.

“Smile, it makes people wonder what you’re up to….” – Anonymous

I mentioned before I was going to take some time to write about the visa application process I’ve been going through the last few months, so that is what this post is all about. I initially wrote a lot of side information about my INS-esque experience with the Spanish consulate, but I have opted to omit this information for the time being. I will merely mention it has been extremely difficult (borderline impossible) to contact the consulate in any way other than in person if you have questions, and if by chance you do manage to get someone on the phone, you have about two seconds to spill your guts before you are transferred to a machine and subsequently hung up on.

What is the result of this sort of customer service? Try this one on for size: The four individuals applying for visas with appointments before mine were turned away by the officer for not having the appropriate documentation and copies of said documents. When the would-be applicants stated there was no evidence the consulate would need this information they were told “It is written on the wall in the lobby! You need to learn these things ahead of time because we are very busy and you are making our jobs difficult!” Right…should have known that one, what with this consulate having jurisdiction through Alaska, a student in Juneau applying for a visa should have no problem moseying on down to San Francisco to read what is written on the wall before gathering their documents…but I digress…

The following is a pretty descriptive to-do list including various tidbits I have learned as I’ve rounded up my documents. I will offer this disclaimer: This list I am about to provide is what was requested of me by the Spanish consulate in San Francisco, specifically for a student visa. What this means is that these particular documents may or may not be required by other consulates (Spanish or otherwise) for a student visa, as it seems each consulate sets its own rules. If you are also going through the student visa application process, your best bet is to do as much research ahead of time and bring multiple copies of anything you think they may want. Lastly, please, if you will need a visa in the near future, begin to research what you will need as early as possible to allow for extra time in case things go array! Either way, hopefully this will prove helpful for future visa applicants.

1) Schengen Visa Application
First things first, if you’re heading to any of the Schengen states (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, or Sweden) for longer than your passport allows (up to 90 days with US passport) you need to fill out a Schengen visa application.

Application instructions were found online, but a lot of the instructions didn’t make complete sense to me. Additionally, I write incredibly small, and even for me squeezing some of the information they wanted into the boxes provided became quite a chore, so be forewarned and get used to making a few rough drafts of the application before you go in for a final with a pen. You’ll need an original and two additional copies of your finished product, but make an additional copy for your own records.

2) A passport valid for a minimum of six months from your expected return date
Ask yourself when you are planning on returning from your voyage. Know the answer? Great, now add six months to that date. Got the new date? Ok, now go grab your passport, open it up and look at the expiration date. If your passport expires before that date you’ll need to get it renewed before you apply for your visa. When I first saw this requirement, it was poorly translated and I misinterpreted it to mean you need to have had your passport for at least six months in order to be issued a visa, which would have been bad news for my wife. Luckily this proved to be untrue after further research. Once your passport is good to go, make three copies of it (to be safe) and while you’re at it, make three copies of your driver’s license or other identification card and put these in your pile of docs to bring.

3) Three passport photos
I needed only three – one per application copy. These should be taken in front of a white backdrop and you will later staple them to the front of each of your applications in the notated position. Some places ask you to write your name on the backs as well, but I didn’t need to. I’ve heard some consulates ask for four photos, which is just as easy to get as three because most places that take these pictures sell them in sets of two, so you’ll likely end up with four anyway. Costco has the cheapest (and best quality) I’ve found at $4.99 per pair.

4) Original acceptance letters from the programs involved
If you are an American student going on exchange, you’ll need an original letter from both your current school, and the exchange school. For me, I just needed the letters ESADE mailed me. I ended up with four documents with official language and stamping that I brought to the appointment. One of the papers says I’m in the program, another says I will have housing arranged upon my arrival (another required document, evidence of housing). The other papers explain the length of the program and show proof it is a recognized university by the Spanish government. I made about four copies of these just to be safe and only needed the originals.

5) Evidence of funds
This needs to be provided by way of any of the following:

• A statement from the school explaining they assume full financial responsibility. I will not find out about scholarships until June, so in the interim I will be using my letters from Sallie Mae showing I just took out a whopping $65k in loans…ouch.
• A notarized letter from your parents explaining they will assume full financial responsibility of you, which means they need evidence that they have $1,000 available for every one month you will be in the country. (ie, if you’re going for 18 months like me, you’ll need a bank statement from them showing they have at least $18k in there, plus a notarized letter explaining they will provide you with at least $1,000 per month throughout the duration of your stay).
• I had also read I needed to provide bank and credit card statements, but what bothered me was that it notated they will only accept the kind that come in the mail, not printed from the computer…well, I only get online statements for all my accounts, so I don’t even get these things in the mail. Either way, I printed up my most recent online statements and current balances for everything, and it was all accepted.
• Additionally, I included my 06 tax returns and two most recent pay stubs and they took these as well. I don’t know if it really matters, because my loans more than cover me, but I still included these things just in case and had multiple copies of each on hand.

6) Evidence of health insurance with a minimum of 30,000 euros coverage
I thought surely this document would be my downfall. On the document list it indicates they need an “original letter” from my insurance provider. Silly me, thinking this would be no big deal, I started the process two months before my appointment date. ESADE has a relationship with insurance brokers in Spain and I’ve been going back and forth with a representative now for the last two months trying to simply get coverage.

The problems I have had were that the company absolutely refused to allow my coverage to start in August. I was told that if I want evidence of coverage now, the policy has to start now and I have to pay now. Well, I certainly didn’t mind paying now, but why does my policy need to start now? Why can’t I prepay three months in advance? The answer, “That is not our normative.” Ok, so I sucked it up, as the cost was considerably less than other prices I’ve seen, and wired $120 to them for coverage in May and June…despite the fact that I’m arriving the end of July. Well, what they did after they got the money was email an electronic copy of my temporary card and a letter stating I’m covered. The problem, it’s not original, nor does it state the coverage amount.

From there I tried repeatedly to contact the company and request they mail the original ASAP, but I got no response. Finally I contacted the school, who contacted them, and finally someone brought the original to the school (I have no idea why they didn’t just send it themselves) where it was sent FedEx to me three business days before I had to leave to San Francisco. The tracking showed the package arriving the day of my appointment, which was one day too late, but by divine intervention the package arrive literally one hour before I left for San Francisco, a full day ahead of an already tight schedule…it was incredible, to say the least!

I presented this document with a copy of the form I filled out to get coverage (which showed I selected 30,000 euros of coverage) and they accepted it without question.

7) Visa Fee: Money order or Cash only
I ended up just giving them five, crisp $20 bills and that worked out fine. I guess if I wasn’t using a US passport the fee is $79.20. Definitely check with the individual consulate you’re going to to verify the correct fee.

8 ) Self-addressed USPS Express Mail envelope
It says you need the envelope with postage for $14.40 or $18.80 so they can mail you back your passport. I guess the price range is dependant on the type of envelope you get, I just got the $14.40 one.

9)Evidence of Immigration Status in the US (Non-US passport holders)
This means, in my wife’s case if she was using her Mexican passport, she’d need her Alien Registration Card or a US visa with I-20 / IAP-66…this doesn’t apply to me.

10) Certification of “absence of police record” (for stays over 180 days)
This one didn’t seem like much, but it turned out to be a doozy! Thankfully I’ve lived in the same city for the last five years, otherwise I would have had to do a lot more running around. Basically, in California and I would assume other states as well, the following is the order of operations I would recommend to get this document:

• Contact a mobile notary! If you know a notary, buy them lunch and have them help you out for the day. I wish I had known this step when I first embarked on my journey, but hey, you live and learn. I found a nice lady who charged a flat $25 fee and she did great. First place to head to is your local sheriffs department (don’t do what I did and go to the local jailhouse…I almost got detained for being on a cell phone in the building and they looked at me crazy when I asked for an “absence of police record” document…maybe because they were about to give me a record). What you are looking for is actually called a “letter of clearance.” It cost me $20 and I got two official copies. Have your notary ready to do his/her thing and notarize the deputy’s signature.

  ***Updated Info*** In light of a situation we encountered while getting Blanca’s letter of clarance, I would highly recommend you see if your notary can do an acknowledgement of the letter, if possible in addition to just a stamped version. If you tell the notary this is what you want, they will know what you’re talking about and it shouldn’t be a problem, nor would I imagine it will cost more money, but honestly I don’t know what other notaries charge. If you want to try to spare yourself the headache, call the county clerk’s office first, ask if an acknowledgement is necessary for them to certify this document, and depending on their response you can fill the notary in when they go to work their magic. Hope this new information makes sense! When this is all done, pay the notary and you’re ready to take the next step.

• Take your freshly notarized letter of clearance and head to your local county clerks office. Once there, they need to “certify’ the notarized document. This cost a whopping $2.25, but it is a necessary step in order to get the icing on the cake…
• Certified and notarized letter in hand, head now to the nearest Secretary of State office (call ahead of time to find out if they do Apostille certifications, I was set to go to Sacramento and learned just in time that we have an office in Fresno). What you need to do here is ask for them to give an Apostille certification of the now certified and notarized letter. They will only give this certification if you’ve taken the first two steps, so do it properly and this should go smoothly. The Apostille certification validates the document for use by another country’s government, and without it the consulate will not accept it. You can get the Apostille certification by mail for $20 and it will take about three weeks, or you can get it done in about five minutes in person for $26, so pick your poison! Once you’ve got this done, make three photocopies of all the pages and you should be good to go!

At the consulate, they stamped the original in about four places and gave it back to me. This is one of the documents I will need to present in Spain when I apply for my student card, which gives me the right to stay in Spain for the first year of the program. I’ll have to renew it at the start of the second year.

11) Medical Certificate (for stays over 180 days)
This is a document that is written and signed by an MD, within two months of your appointment, that says basically you are in good physical and mental health to travel and study abroad and are free of contagious diseases. Make three copies of this, just to be safe.

For this, I made an appointment with my doctor for a standard check-up. I told him I needed the letter, he called someone who knows international travel laws and instructed that I needed to be free from Hep A & B and TB. He checked my records and I really wish I had saved my vaccine records from college, but I didn’t. I had to get a blood test to check for the Hep antibodies and such, and get a TB skin test. 48 hours later I walked in and picked up my letter. The consulate also gave this original document back so I can present it when I apply for my student card.

12) If you’re under 18 years of age, you’ll need a notarized letter of authorization from your parents allowing you to go on your trip.

13) Round trip airline reservations
This one bothered me for the longest time. It says in many places on the website that they do not recommend you purchase your airline tickets before you apply for the visa. However, you are expected to provide proof of “reservations.” I didn’t know how to make reservations on a flight without paying, but I still called (at random) Delta to ask how this could be done. At first I was told this is silly and airlines don’t work this way…then after some further discussion, here is what happened:

I mentioned I was going to be an international student and merely needed proof that I had a reservation for a flight. The woman asked for my email address, asked the day I was going to go, and badda-bing, she said to check my email. I opened it up and there it was, a seat reservation good through my appointment date on a flight to Spain. I was in shock, but I got it and the consulate accepted it without question – so it can be done! Given the duration of my trip, they did not need evidence of return tickets.

As an aside, I was going to just buy my tickets and get the insurance just in case, but moments before I finalized a transaction on Orbitz I called to ask if I would be covered under their insurance if I didn’t get my visa in time. I was told no, late travel documents is not grounds for coverage of a cancelled flight…which really isn’t cool, but now that I know I’m going to wait just a bit longer before I buy my tickets…even if it costs more.

14) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS MAY APPLY
Translation: we may decide to send you packing and have you come back some other time if we don’t like the cut of your jib. Thankfully, I was extremely organized and was actually thanked for having all the necessary documents, in order, ready to go. The woman was very kind to me and even commented that ESADE is a very good school and that I should be proud having gotten in, which made me all tingly.

So, my two months of working on this finally paid off and I wasn’t turned away and all my documents were accepted on my first try. One last thing to note ahead of time is that the consulate says you may only apply “not more than 90 days, nor less than 60 days from your expected date of departure.” That left me a 30-day window to successfully apply around my expected date of departure, which is July 23rd.

In the end, it was an incredibly stressful and frustrating experience, and at times I almost wanted to give up. But after really thinking about it, and telling myself I am not the first American student to get a student visa to study in Spain, I knew there was hope for me yet. Granted, I don’t have my visa yet, but the hard part is over and now all I can do is wait and hope for the best…until it comes time to apply for my wife’s visa…but we have bigger fish to fry before I’m ready to worry about that.

“Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.” – Fred Brooks