Success!

My mom was the first one to guess that buraucracy here is Spain is just like in Colombia, which is to say, slow and inefficient.  Turns out that the two countries share much more than just language, music, and cuisine.  These similarities become all the more apparent to me in light of the stark differences from the US culture I have come to call home.

 

I first showed up at the Spanish consulate in Boston in late March.  Five and half months later, I am finally done with procuring legal permission to stay in Spain until my return flight to Boston.  This morning I woke up after a night of poor sleep, realizing that what was bothering me was the thought that in this 10-week long trip, because of buraucratic nonsense I would only get to spend a few hours with my cousins in Barcelona.  At the very least, I wanted to share a good meal with them and catch up in the several years since I´ve seen them, but it seemed like that would not happen.  But, just like in Colombia buraucracy, things move here in Spain because of who you know and how stubborn you are.  So first thing in the morning, even before showering, I went to the Foreigners Office and asked if there was anything they could do to speed up my petition.  Turns out, there was.

 

An hour later, I had a stamp on my passport granting me stay here until October 17, something which the Spanish consulate in Boston denied me for unknown reasons, and which had been a cloud hanging over my head since that denial in early August.  About 15 minutes after that, I had a ticket in hand for an overnight train tonight to Barcelona.

 

Check out some photos of my tour through the Burgos cathedral.  This might be the most ornate and beautiful building I have ever entered.