I can’t believe it! Just 16 days after we applied, we found out our visas have been approved. Ryan got an email back from the consulate that I did not see, so he planned a fun way to surprise me with the news. As you can see in the photo above, it involved mustaches, red flowers, and the closest thing he could find to a Spanish hat at party store (Mexican sombrero will have to do)! When he got home from work, he called all of the kids to him and then had them come into the kitchen where I was making dinner, each singing, one word at a time “our visas were approved!” It was a super fun and memorable way to find out!
So now… The adventure REALLY begins!! We hope to travel in two months, and there is a lot to do before we go.
Month: January 2016
Why Do We Want to Go to Spain?
When I tell people we might be moving to Spain, I often get questions like “is your husband in the military?” About half of the people we tell say “Why on Earth would you want to do THAT?” and about half say “Oh, what a marvelous adventure! You will love it!” I guess it makes more sense to move for a job than as a family choice, and many people are surprised that we want to move to Spain! Why would we leave our family and friends, and all the comforts of life in America, to go to Europe? It’s such a big change, so it is important for us to know what we hope to get out of the experience.
- Family Study Abroad: Bilingual Kids and Parents! First and foremost, we think of this as a “family study abroad” adventure. Ryan and I both speak some Spanish, and have always wanted to live in Europe while the kids were young enough to learn the language easily. We believe there is a major life benefit from being bilingual and culturally aware, and we really want that for our kids. Our kids are currently ages 10, 10, 7, 5 and 1, so now is the time! Too much older, and it will be more difficult for them. Plus, if we go for a couple of years now, we can come back to the USA for high school (or perhaps a dual enrollment homeschool high school/college plan that will practically get them an associates degree before they graduate from high school).
- Travel and Cultural Enrichment: We have been homeschooling our kids from the beginning, and I have really enjoyed learning history for the first time in my life. It was always my least favorite subject when I was in school. I’m excited about seeing some of the places we have studied (and many that we haven’t) together with the kids, and enjoying some world travel with greater understanding and also through the fresh eyes of our children. We also really want the kids to experience how much diversity there is in the world, to better understand that not everybody lives or thinks like Americans, and to appreciate and respect the differences.
- Simpler and Slower Pace of Life: We live in northern VA, and life here is very fast paced, full of stress, with too many activities, and too much stuff. We like the idea that the forcing function of an international move will cause us to really evaluate all of our stuff and activities, and determine what we really need. We want to be intentional about what we keep in our home and our schedules. Spain is known for being a laid-back, relaxed sort of place, so we’ll see if that holds true for us there!
- Support the Kingdom Work of Christian Believers in Spain: We have not been called to go to Spain as missionaries, but we do have a heart for the spiritual health of the Spanish people (and everybody else, really!). Spain has a centuries-old Catholic tradition, but many Spaniards don’t understand or don’t care about the gospel, and so find no joy, hope or comfort in the love of Christ. Sadly, faith has fallen by the wayside and many of the present-day impacts of the Church on Spain are purely cultural, devoid of any connection back to God. Thankfully, over the past 20 years since I studied in Seville in college, many evangelical churches have been planted in Spain, and people are seeing and hearing the good news of Christ’s redemption in a fresh new way. We want to support the efforts of the local Christian church there, and we hope to show the people we meet the love of Christ and the truth of His plan.
Those the primary reasons we want to go. I should throw in that I also look forward to living in a warm climate between the beach and the mountains, having a little more personal time while the kids are school, the personal challenge of regaining my Spanish fluency, and the family closeness that I think this adventure will engender.
We recognize that some of the changes we want to make we could make here. We could move to a smaller home in the US, get rid of a lot of our stuff, cut out some of our activities, and simplify our lives. We could send our kids to public school here (gulp!), or even try to find some sort of bilingual immersion program for them. But to learn it through daily life interactions while we see and live in places that are thousands of years old? How cool is that?! To be that much closer to so many great travel destinations? To enjoy a climate where we don’t need heat or air conditioning most of year? Sounds great to us. We’re ready for the adventure!
Visa applications complete!
Ready, set, Epiphany!! We drove to DC last Wednesday ready to apply, got to the embassy, and after walking around the area in the bitter cold (and stopping at Starbucks) because we were early, we were excited to find the embassy… And see a sign on the door that they were closed! Oops. The website didn’t indicate they would be closed, but it would have been a good idea to check the Spanish festival calendar! We had no idea that it was Epiphany – el Dia de Los Reyes.
So today we tried again. We arrived just before 9:00 and were glad to wait inside after going through the metal detector. We were the first ones into the office. At the window, we told them we were there to apply for non-lucrative visas, and they took our folder of forms. They said we could go get coffee or just wait there while they organized the forms. I felt a little uneasy that we didn’t get to say “and here’s our financial proof, and this is the original of this document”, etc.
We noticed that the paper instructions in the waiting area had slightly different requirements than what was on the website, which was interesting. Mostly about the number of copies needed, I think. Neither of them said we needed the two forms (ex-01 and the M form) that the Wagoners advised were needed, but they did include those forms in the final packets they kept, and they made sure we signed them.
After waiting about 45 minutes trying to keep the baby somewhat quiet and out of trouble, they called us back to the window. She said everything was very well organized, and that it looked good! She did not think we would have any trouble with approvals, and said we should hear back in about a month. She made copies of all of our passports (because she didn’t see copies in our packets – I wonder if that’s something they should add to their requirements list?), took our huge stack of cash, and said she would email us if the officials in Granada wanted anything different. I was relieved to hear that they weren’t likely to reject us outright if they wanted more documentation, but instead wil give us a chance to provide it.
Interestingly, we didn’t have to present each of the kids to them for in-person verification. I guess they could easily see us all in the waiting area and ascertain that these kids matched the applications. The picture above is the folder of stuff we got back – extra copies they didn’t need. They only kept 1 copy of each of the forms, the photo, the financial statement, the letter of intent, but they kept the original plus one copy of the background check with apostille, and medical certificate. For me and the kids, they kept 2 of the birth, marriage and medical certificates.
All in all, it went smoothly! My only concern now is that we did not use a certified translator. I hope that doesn’t end up being a problem!
adventures.hammond.cc 