My student visa expires in nine days and I’m not nervous…well, maybe just a little.

A couple months ago, I reached out to my attorney in Barcelona to get the paperwork going to renew my Student Visa. She responded that I needed a letter from school showing that I am attending classes and making progress. That took nearly a month to get done.

In the meantime, my attorney wrote to tell me she was leaving the firm and if I want, they would assign me a new attorney. At that point I thought that I should reach out to a local attorney, since so much is done through the city.

There’s an immigration attorney on my street. I stopped in the office, made an appointment and met with her. She speaks almost no English. So using Google Translate…me asking questions into the phone and her reading them…then, she answering in Spanish and me reading them…we made it work and we laughed and joked…and most important, she was clear and concise in her answers. So, I had a greater degree of confidence than ever before.

She told me she would work to get my appointment with the local police station to get my fingerprints done, to establish my local residence.

I got an email saying that she had secured an appointment and to meet at her office on Tuesday, the 16th of April. Excellent!

When we meet this week, it wasn’t to go to the police station. It was to sign a lot of documents for that appointment and the forms to take to the bank to pay the €16.08 fee for that appointment. She explained my appointment is May 22!

I asked if my visa expiration date is a problem. She said, “No.” Since I have an appointment, my residency is in process and when I have that residency, I’ll no longer use my visa.

I asked, how long will the residency be good for. She said, one year. But upon further questioning, she could not know when that year would “start.” Would it be a year from now? A year from my first visa (December 30)? She couldn’t hazard a guess.

Once the fingerprints are done, forty days later (July 1), I go back, pick up the residency card and email her with the details…so we know when we need to start the process of extending my visa if I decide to stay beyond the year and continue my studies.

If I decide that I want to make Spain my home beyond being a student, I’ll need to return to the US for three to six months to start the visa process all over again for a different type of visa. That’s something I’m thinking about. But I’m far from making any decisions.

But Tuesday wasn’t over!

My English student, Dima had other commitments. So, I met Rafa for lunch and we went to the Fallas Museum.

Lunch was at a fun place, aptly named, “Fun-tastik!” The food was really good. And it was all served in unique ceramic dishes.

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When we left the restaurant, I noticed a smell from my childhood. Wisteria!

These trees have a purple bloom (like Wysteria) and a very similar fragrance. Mom had a Wisteria in our backyard growing up. It only bloomed for a week or two each year. But the fragrance is sweet, unique and delightful. Suddenly, I was seeing (and smelling) these trees all over Valencia. I don’t know how long this will last, but it’s been a wonderful surprise this week.

We walked to the Fallas Museum. I’m so glad I went with Rafa. He’s a fallero and has been involved with Fallas all his life.

You may remember that each February, the “ninots,” (smaller statues) are displayed to the public and voted on. The winner is “spared” from the flames and gets a permanent home in the museum. We saw them dating back to 1931.

They also display the winning poster design for each year.

And they show painted portraits of all the Fallera Mayores.

It was particularly fun hearing which Fallera Mayores he liked and didn’t like, including the gossip about which one stole the others boyfriend and other “insider” dirt!

When we left, I wanted to buy a poster from this year, to commemorate my first Fallas. We were told that there were none for sale. But upon further questioning we were told that if I bought a book for €3, he’d give me a poster. Yes please. Deal!

The rest of the week was busy with Dima and with school. Speaking of which…I still wish I was making faster progress on my Spanish. But I’m actually starting to notice small victories.

In the park next to my apartment, there are two benches on either side of the sidewalk. Every day when I of get home from school, there are 4-8 men there, talking, laughing, sometimes drinking beer. They are neighbors (Vecinos). They are more blue collar and rough around the edges. But they have started talking to me. And they are delightful. There’s Juan, Carlos, Romero and others. Carlos and I have a rule. He only speaks English. I only speak Spanish. Every day, I stop for 2-5 minutes for a brief conversation and really enjoy these men and their spirit of life and fun.

I met another neighbor last night, Enrique is 62, divorced from his wife just a few years ago, two grown daughters, and with the divorce, came out of the closet. We met for a drink at the corner bar/restaurant and talked for an hour, completely in Spanish. Progress!!

Oh! And one more victory. I’m trying to cook more. This kitchen is not well equipped and trying to cook without measuring tools has been a challenge.

250 g of butter is a lot more than 1/2 cup. But how much more?

I had no plans yesterday. So, I went hunting for the ingredients to make pralines. The local supermarkets and corner stores didn’t have pecans, or corn syrup, or vanilla extract.

I knew I would find pecans at Mercado Central…one of the largest indoor markets in Europe.

I wondered if Agave syrup might replace corn syrup? Would vanilla flavoring replace extract? They weren’t expensive. So I bought both and thought, if I have to, I’ll try it with these.

I walked to Mercado Central and bought €20 worth of fresh pecans. As I was walking home, I remembered there’s an “American” store on the way home…with items harder to find in Spain. They had Raisin Bran for €18 a box! Pass! But I found and paid way, way too much for corn syrup and vanilla extract. €10 each. Clearly I wanted to make pralines.

I got home and with no measuring cups or spoons, I made pralines.

I can’t wait to share them with my Spanish and international friends.

Today, I spent a lot of time studying and trying to understand some challenging verb nuances. When to use which verb, in which tense, is one of my many challenges. But I press on.

More victories await.

May you have victorious week ahead.