Disappointed

I won't be going to Zafra. Kirsty has informed me that it does not make sense for her to hire me for only three months and after extensive research I have realized it will be impossible to stay without one...although sometimes I want to believe differently. Anyway, I still have not given up. I have a plane ticket and I am determined to do everything I can to get there. I have informed the agency that I would like to be readded to the list of au pairs and that I would like to shorten my stay. I really want to go to Spain, so I have applied for a few short stay jobs. I can not go back to the consulate so soon with a change of plans, so I have resigned to go for three months if that is all I am allowed. I have also applied for one job in Mexico (another Spanish speaking country) and a few in other places. I would like to be able to learn Spanish, but I also really just want the experience.

Hopefully I will hear back from the agency soon. Probably sometime after all the holiday fuss. I'm super disappointed...but I guess these things happen. I feel a little silly for telling everyone, it just seemed so sure. I'll let you know what happens.

AHHHH

So the second attempt was even worse. The guy at the window recognized me and sent me back to his supervisor. She explained to me again about the work visa and I gave her all I had. Still she insisted I must have changed the documents because she read them all. I had feared this and knew I should have had enough composure to fight her the first time, but I was not ready and when I was it was too late.
So now I am attempting to do all the research I can on staying in Spain longer than three months. I guess worse comes to worse I go for three months and that's it. From what I can tell it is only legal to stay in the Schengen countries for three months within a six month period, meaning I can stay three months and ten must stay out of the 14 Schengen countries for another three months. Most of what I've read says that they rarely enforce these rules, especially if you do not do any travelling outside of teh Schengen coutries (as the agreement of these countries is that they will not chekc your passport when travelling between them). However, with my luck I will be the one person who they enforce this rule upon and be exiled from Europe for 20 years.
I am awaiting replies from the agency and Kirsty about what can be done about this.

Ugggg

So yesterday morning I woke up at 6, got dressed and drove to NYC to see about a visa. The commute wasn't bad, an hour of traffic between the first toll and the tunnel. I made it to the parking lot by 8:20, parked the car and went across the street to a Starbucks to pee. Back across the street there was already a line outside the embassy building. I was about number 20. The guy behind me decided he wanted Starbucks and offered to buy me soething in exchange for saving his spot. I got a latte.
At about 8:40 someone came and let everyone in the building. We were ushered into a service elevator and taken to the 30th floor. There we rearranged the line to make sure it matched the one outside. A few minutes later we were allowed through security only to stand in another line.
One by one we approached a window where we stated the purpose of our visit. Each person was given a paper to fill out and a number. I was Student Visa 4.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly. I got in line at the student visa window and at about 9:40 I was called to the window. Here's where everything went downhill. The guy was nice enough. He took my paperwork and to my surprise read everything thouroughly. Then he said he needed to go talk to his supervisor. About two minutes later he came back, handed me back all my papers and said I needed to go speak to the supervisor at the front window. So I did.
The supervisor said that I needed to get a work visa in order to be an au pair. This apparently needs to be started at the other end, meaning Kirsty needs to apply for something.
Anyway, I didn't get the visa. If the embassy is correct about the work visa, it shouldn't be a problem since it should take a lot less time to get everything and process the visa. i've got phone calls to make. I'll keep you updated.

Lost in Mail Land

I have everything ready to go to the Consulate...but it seems that despite your best efforts things don't go as planned. My flight is booked (January 21st is my departure), I have my police records, I am healthy to travel and have the proof, I have some financial means of staying there, I have health coverage of the international variety...but the letters I need are still somewhere. Neither I nor Kirsty knows where...so I assume it is a great conspiracy against my future. Anyway this has left me frustrated...and I decided I needed to share that with the internet world. So thank you people who read this, whether you felt my pain or are sick of me whining, thank you.

Troubles and Triumphs

I've bought my plane ticket. I leave Monday the 21st of January and arrive in Madrid at 3:15 on the 22nd. That is the plan at least, barring any problems with my visa. Getting together the documents has been a big task, and it isn't even finished. I am praying that I get to the consulate Friday, but I still am having trouble with the insurance company and have not received the documents from Kirsty yet. But I'm getting it done. Each check off the list gets me just a little bit close and makes it feel a little bit more real.

A Little more from the Email

clipped from mail.google.com I am from Scotland myself, and I came to Zafra on an exchange year originally, so I know exactly what it is like to be here and integrate yourself into the day to day life. I had a great expèrience during my year in Spain and that's why we decides to find an au pair rather than getting a local person to look after our children. We want them to discover other people and cultures.  I spoke not one word of Spanish when I arrived here, and I can vouch for the fact that you would soon be chatting away as people are happy to spend time helping you to find the right word, etc. There are also many people keen to exchange time conversing in English for Spanish tuition, so there are many avenues to meet a variey of people.

Z is for Zafra

This is from the first email Kirsty sent me to give me an idea of the town I will be living in. I thought it was a good intro for everyone to see.

clipped from mail.google.com Zafra is a typical Spanish 'white' town in the South West of Spain, approx. 1 hour's drive north of Seville, and has about 18000 inhabitants. (If you look up on Wikipedia you can see a little more). It has a friendly and outgoing local community so it is very easy to meet people and get out and about, and a time here would be a great introduction to Spanish culture and social life. There is a cinema, castle, hospital, many shops and a bull ring(!). There are also academies where one to one tuition could be arranged, and there is a course run by the town hall for foreigners to get an introduction to the Spanish language and culture.

Reservations

I'm scared. I mean I'm really excited and getting emails from the family that are supportive and helpful on a regular basis really helps. But it's the first time I'm going somewhere without a real base support. In college there were thousands of freshman who were just as excited and ready to meet new people as I was. My sister went abroad with people she didn't know, but they were all American and there were people there to help her. I think that this is the greatest challenge and the best challenge I face going to be an au pair. I think it is one of the forces that keeps me going, to prove that I can really be on my own and make new friends and have a life. It's also one of the things that keeps me up at night.

I'm not sure why I'm writing this other than I think it helps quell my fears knowing that other people know them before I'm there and really panicking. I know that no one can really stop them now or ever, but it does make it better just putting it out there.

Visas :(

Afternoon y'all:

Not much to update. I have been looking at travel sites and getting excited about going to Spain. If anyone knows any good resources I'd appreciate any help, cause I love to have more resources than I need.

Right now I've been looking into getting a visa, I need to wait for answers from the agency. I did get told by one agency that since you can stay for 90 days without a visa you just need to go back to the airport and get your passport stamped every three month. I don't know about this, but it doesn't look too bad to get a visa, just takes a while. So I'm hoping to hear something soon so I can go when I want. Kirsty (the mother of the family I have committed to) suggested I arrive before January 6th because this is Three Kings day, the day they celebrate Christmas. Then after that the kids would start school/nursery and I would start my duties.

That's it for now...
Jenn

FAQ

Hello All! I created this blog mainly to keep those who care about me or at least find me vaguely interesting updated on my adventures in the post-college world. As many of you have heard I am currently in the process of becoming an au pair. I am currently committed to a family in Zafra, Spain, a small town close to the border of Portugal. I will be writing about my travel plans and other fun facts that I have found in my google searches, as well as providing information from the emails from the family.

I have been asked many questions about the general process of becoming an au pair and wanted to answer some of those.

*How did you find out about this?
I was searching the internet for interesting things to do once I graduate. I wanted to find a situation where I could go abroad and get paid to travel. After many Google searches I landed at a site for gap year students. For all those who don't know, kids in Australia and possibly other countries are encouraged to take a year off after high school after they commit to a college. They get to go travel or work while having the security acceptance to a school. This site helped me search many options and I thought that this would be an ideal situation.

*Why au pair?
As I said I wanted to get paid to travel. I did not go abroad for a school semester for many reasons and really wanted to have an opportunity to live abroad and experience another culture. It will be great if I choose to continue in schol as an anthropologist, as well as be a great overall experience. As an au pair you live in another country and you get enough time off to explore and travel while still being paid. You are provided with food and board as well as a small pay (almost as an allowance, as ideally you are to become part of the family).

*How do you find a family?
There are many ways to find a family. The process has been made much easier because of the internet. There are thousands of au pair and nanny "agencies" on the web, but it is important to make sure it is not some sort of scam. I used Almondbury Au Pair agency (link to the right). They are a free agency that is easy to apply to and easy to search and they also have good support and are on top of the family and au pair profiles.

*What are your duties as an au pair?
As I understand it differs from family to family, but au pairs work 5 days a week, as well as up to three nights of babysitting. You are also expected to do light housework and possibly light cooking.

*Why Spain?
I chose Spain because I know some Sanish and would really like to be able to speak the language better. It is an asset to have when applying for jobs in the United States. It also shows I have a capacity for language, a plus as an anthropologist. Also, I just think Spain is cool.

I will write more about the family I have chosen and answer more questions later.

Laters!
Jenn