24 November, 2024

It’s been a couple weeks since my last post. Thanks to the folks who reached out wondering if everything is okay.

I’ve been pretty quiet and keeping to myself. The truth is that my mother taught me, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” I honestly think I’ve been dealing with a low-grade depression. The 1-2 punch of the horrible floods in the towns surrounding Valencia and then the U.S. elections have left me feeling shell-shocked. That people vote for politicians who work in their own self-interest rather than the interest of the people they are called to serve simply confounds me. I’ve always said that we get the government we deserve. I guess that is human nature.

I think my trip home also contributed to my sadness. I am so grateful for the friends and relationships I have there. Returning to Valencia, where I have a lot of “acquaintances” but few really close friends, has been a challenge. Good friendships take time. So, I’m embracing that truth.

Someone asked me while I was in the U.S., if I see Valencia as my “long-term” home. I answered, “yes.” And, in true Jim-fashion, I started to cry. It feels so right that I’m here and it’s still difficult.

I’ve started telling folks that moving to Valencia and learning Spanish is the biggest jigsaw puzzle that I’ll ever solve. I picture a million little pieces scattered all over the floor. I pick up one and put it in a pile with similar colors. Every now and then, there are two pieces that seem to fit together. It’s a slow, arduous process…and “poco a poco” it will come together.

I’m making progress and moving forward.

When I returned from the US two weeks ago, I thought I would be pursuing a Retiree / “Non-Lucrative” visa to begin the path to permanent residency here in Spain. However, my attorney has advised me to renew my student visa for another year. So that’s what I’m working on. That means I will not be returning to the US in January to start the process of the new visa, as I had told some folks before I returned to Spain.

Meanwhile, I’m also investigating the possibility of citizenship by descent through my great grandparents who immigrated to the US from what is now Slovakia. Having an EU passport would make permanent residency in Spain very easy. Here are updates on both of those efforts.

The student visa is the easiest, most straight-forward path for the coming year. It doesn’t give me a path to permanent residency. But it does allow me to continue doing what I’ve been doing for the last year…. i.e. studying Spanish and living here.

After meeting with my attorney, I began the process of gathering the documentation and renewing my tuition and health insurance.

School was easy enough. Paying for one year of classes isn’t cheap, unless you consider that it includes four hours per day for a year. Health insurance took some effort because their system was set up to renew automatically on the 30th of December. But I need the receipt and to show my coverage now. So, I was able to work through the insurance broker and get that done.

The big challenge was getting my medical certificate showing that I have no communicable diseases. When I called my doctor, they told me that they didn’t do that and to contact my school. I knew that school doesn’t have a doctor on staff. But I asked them and learned that they have a relationship with a local hospital that could do it. So, I called. After a bit of back and forth, they said, “oh, you have Spain health insurance, you need to call another number.” So, I called the number they gave me and realized it was the same number I had just called! When I tried to call back, I could never get through, I kept getting disconnected. After several tries, I concluded that they must now be on “siesta,” the afternoon lunch/ nap break that is common from 2 – 5 p.m. I gave up and went back to school the next day and told them, “No luck.”

The folks at my school are awesome. They suggested that I call my insurance company and that they could direct me. And they offered to call on my behalf, since my Spanish is so rudimentary. But they were told that they couldn’t find me in the system! Uff! So, my school contact suggested that I go to the insurance office in person and ask about it.

It turns out that the closest office is in fact, the same office as my dentist office, at which I had an appointment that afternoon at 3:30 to start on the replacement of my second crown. And it’s on the way home from school. So, even though it was 1:30 in the afternoon, I decided to stop on my way and ask about getting the medical certificate. The receptionist (who knows me well, after getting my first crown replaced) told me that the doctor just finished his last appointment, and she thought she could get me in right away. Sure enough, he met me, and started filling out the form, with no blood work, no tests, “nada.” He told me, “You haven’t been anywhere that has an outbreak of Ebola or such diseases.” To make it easy for him and for me, he just signed the certificate and gave it to me (with a fee of €40). Done!

I have an appointment with my attorney tomorrow to give her all of my information and documents. Progress.

The path to Slovakian citizenship will not be so easy. Is it even possible? I received a quote from an attorney in Bratislava, Slovakia. They have a lot of excellent online references. They speak excellent English, making misunderstandings less common. However, they told me that since my great grandparents were “ethnically” Hungarian, it won’t be straightforward. But they said they could help me. Does that mean that after all the expense and work, I’ll be successful?

And they are crazy expensive. I have to wonder if since the US elections, they’re getting so many requests for help, that they are “price gauging.” €14,500 plus expenses seems insane! So, before I make any commitments, I’ve sent them some more questions and I’m looking for other attorneys in Bratislava who might help.

Other news and activities:

On Tuesday this week, my friend Arlington invited me to a Christian meditation group. It was a delightful group of folks, and they invited me to their house-church, which meets on Thursday nights. So, since choir is still not meeting because of the floods, I went there as well. Rather than a typical service, they’ve been doing a study based on a video series. The leaders are two American women (from Maryland and from Alabama). But of course, everything was in Spanish. So, I understood about a fourth of what was said in the video and discussion. (I’m making progress!)

Friday night, I went with my friend Rafa to see Wicked. It is as good as everyone is saying. They kept everything that made the stage musical so wonderful and added to it. It’s a great movie, with a powerful message. Two thumbs up!

Saturday night, I had dinner with my friend Rafael (from Venezuela).

Tonight (Sunday), I went to Les Arts for a recital with famous baritone opera singer, Simon Keenlyside.

There are some great cultural events coming up. This week, I also have a ticket to see Sondra Rodvanosky (soprano) and Piotr Beczala (tenor) singing together.

I have two Thanksgiving invitations. One, my school is hosting a dinner on Thursday evening. And the new church group is hosting a Thanksgiving dinner on Friday evening. I’ll give you updates next week on both.

As always, I’m grateful for your messages, outreach, and love. As we celebrate Thanksgiving, please know how grateful I am for you and your continued support.

Happy Thanksgiving!