Tarragona, Barcelona part II, and a bit of Reus

Catalunya is divided in four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Tarragona, and Lleida. The capital of each province has the same name. I live in the province of Tarragona, but the actual capital is about 50 minutes away by bus or train. All of the “official business” I need to do will either be in Barcelona or Tarragona. Anyway, part of the long and complicated process to be a temporary resident in Spain is to apply for the NIE—a number assigned to each foreigner. I’ve read forum after forum of past participants in the program (online) lamenting their troubles about the process, so I was expecting to have a not-so-fun experience. Javi, being the incredibly kind and helpful person he is, made the appointment for me (via telephone), drove me to Tarragona, showed me the bus station, the government building where I needed to go, went to the police station to see if it was open (part II of the Tarragona process), walked with me to a tourist information office to get a map and see which “touristy” things I could do before my appointment (the man there was so nice!), and left to go to a meeting with a final “call me if anything goes wrong” farewell.

I had several hours until my appointment, so I first went to a balcony area that overlooked the Mediterranean Sea. What a view! I walked around that area for awhile, just enjoying the view and taking too many pictures. I then went to a park for a few minutes, and then I focused on the cool stuff: Roman architecture! Tarragona used to be a Roman city, and it’s well preserved. I saw the Roman amphitheatre and the Roman Circus (not like a clown circus...like...like where they used to have chariot races!), and both were just incredible. The amphitheatre was used for gladiator games...as well as where they would have public executions, lions devour people, etc. There was even a sign commemorating and acknowledging the deaths that took place there. When I first got there, it was practically empty, giving it a very authentic and thoughtful atmosphere. You could go down far enough to stand where gladiators, lions, and Christian martyrs would have been, and I felt a mixture between awe of how much history was there and soberness as I thought of Christian brothers and sisters who ended their earthly lives where I was standing (or places like where I was standing). Whew. Talk about a powerful and moving experience! It was worth every bit of the 3 euros I had to spend, and I definitely want to go back! The Roman Circus was also really neat, but it was a LOT more crowded there. You could wander around in these sort of tunnel or catacomb-like areas, and the very top had a fantastic view of the city and beyond.

After a sandwich and crepe at a café, I trudged half-heartedly to my appointment, convinced I’d have a miserable and complicated time. I was there pretty early, and the girl waiting by the desk said that she’d give me a number in about 20 minutes or so. She was so sweet and perky! She just radiated “I love to help foreigners!” and as I later went to my assigned table to meet with another woman, I started feeling better about the whole process. Grumpy people and long lines? Nope! The other woman was also nice and quickly processed what she needed to do. Then came the weird part. She told me to go to the police station to turn in the rest of the paperwork (which Javi and I confirmed earlier that it was closed for the day). To be on the safe side, I decided to head over to the station and see if it really was closed. It wasn’t! It was there that I saw what I dreaded: a long line and a grumpy officer. As he barked out orders to these non-native people about who had the next appointment and where they needed to go, I stood there staring at everyone and looking uncertain. Should I wait in line? Walk away? Ask someone in line? Ask the officer? Call Javi? I opted to stare uncertainly at everyone for about another 4 minutes, and then I slowly had enough courage to talk to the officer. I asked if it was the place for the NIE, and he barked out a yes. Okaaay. I then asked if I needed an appointment, and he barked out another yes. Okaaay. I thanked him and started to walk away, inwardly trying to figure out if my previous appointment was for this as well. He saw my hesitation and asked if I had the phone number to call for an appointment. I didn’t, or at least I assumed I didn’t, so he gave me a little paper with a number on it. I thanked him again and started walking away...then walked back...then walked away...and then stared pleadingly at everyone waiting in the line outside. They all gave me a sympathetic “Sorry, kid. We’d love to help, but we have our own troubles” look, and I finally decided to walk away. What next? Was that the appointment or not? So what did I do next? I called Javi. :-) I checked with him about the police station, and he assured me that it had to be done on a different day because it was closed. I didn’t feel like getting into the whole I-don’t-think-it-really-is-closed thing, so I thanked him and decided to call it a day. I still had some time before the bus left to Montblanc, however, so I walked along the Rambla and was able to find the Baptist church of Tarragona. More about the church situation in another post!

The next day at school, I explained the situation to Laura, and she talked to Javi about it. I then explained it all to Javi, and he called the random number. It turns out that I did need a separate appointment, and one was made for Nov. 12^th. Whew!

The appointment on the 12^th went really well! I went there by bus both ways, and I had to go to the OTHER side of the police station (so what I saw was something a bit different), and everyone there was so nice and helpful. They gave me a paper that I had to give a bank, pay a fee, and then go back to the police station to wait for my turn. The woman there was very chatty and gave advice on where to travel in Spain. :-) Anyway, after more documents and fingerprints, she gave me a small piece of paper (basically a receipt) that I can use as a NIE until I get the official card. So now I have to go back AGAIN in December to get the card! Whew. There’s just so much paperwork to do! Getting a contract for the apartment, registering my name in Montblanc (“empadronamiento”), getting a bank account, several Tarragona trips, etc. But is it worth it? Absolutely!

I also had to go back to Barcelona on Nov. 11^th for an auxiliar training session. I only got lost a LITTLE bit on the metro, but the whole train situation was much better this time! :-) I also had more time to find the place than before, so I wasn’t late this time. There were about 20 participants total in the meeting, and we did some “getting to know you” activities, discussed learning intelligences, better ways to modify documents on the computer, typical problems we have to deal with in the classroom and possible solutions, etc. It was okay (a bit overrated to me, especially since I feel so uncomfortable in monstrous Barcelona!), but the best part was getting paid. :-) I met several other auxiliares, exchanged contact information, and also received the official insurance cards. I had time to get some touristic info and a map for a future Barcelona visit as well.

Another nearby city I’ve seen (but still want to see more of) is Reus. It’s basically a city of shops, and Javi and I went there after school one day. Javi had various school things to buy and do, and we went to a HUGE Carrefour store where I bought an iron, microwave, and battery charger (ha! I’ll have to explain about my battery charger from the USA sometime!). I can live without many things, but a microwave is not one of them. :-D We also met Elisabeth, the English teacher who broke her wrist on the first day of teaching, and her young son. Elisabeth is really nice! We also randomly saw the woman in charge of my program within the Tarragona region, and she offered to show me Reus sometime. Everyone is just so...friendly and helpful!

So things are coming together, and I’m becoming more and more accustomed to life in Catalunya. I’ll be really happy to get that NIE card though! :-)