Visas and Other Booby Traps

I'm just going to come right out and say that applying for a visa of any type isn't easy. I have applied for one myself and my wife has applied for many more. They are time-consuming and they can be expensive. But, if you know what you're doing, you can save some time and headaches (and maybe your sanity) before going through the process.

First and foremost, make sure you have all your documentation in order. This will save you time and trouble at the consulate and may prevent you wasting a trip. Check the website of the designated consulate where you're applying for your visa and call them if at all possible to confirm the documentation needed to apply for your visa.

Second, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ALL YOUR DOCUMENTATION IN ORDER! If you have called the consulate as I told you to in the first paragraph, you will have learned that getting hold of a person at a consulate is not easy. Finding out that you need to supply more documents a week after your appointment might cause you an aneurysm. Trust me, I know whereof I speak.

Third, ask questions while you're at the consulate. That's what the good folks at the consulate are there for. Ask them while you're there if there's anything else you'll need to supply, how long it takes to process the application, etc. This will help lower your blood pressure just a bit. You might even ask the agent accepting your paperwork what he or she thinks of your probability for success. It's purely speculative on their part, but they've taken documents from hundreds of people, so their opinions are hardly uneducated.

Fourth, be a pest. If you do need to supply additional documents after your appointment has concluded, make sure you reach someone at the consulate to confirm receipt of these documents and to determine if there are any others that you need. Call two, three, four times or more per day if needs be. Once the consulate gets the hint that you'll not rest, they'll be more proactive in keeping you informed. I even got the Spanish consulate to call me and tell me that my visa had been approved and was being sent back to me (no mean feat, from what I understand).

Finally, do not let the process intimidate you. Going before a huge, faceless bureaucracy to plead your case is scary to think about if you picture the thing as a monolith standing between you and your destination. The key is to remember that this bureaucracy is made up of a bunch of human beings and that they are not out to get you. Talk to them, relate to them and always remember that ultimately it is people who are pulling the levers of power behind the facade. Then, kick back and try to relax and enjoy wherever it is you are while you're awaiting your approval to travel.

Headless Chicken

Since emerging from my friend Ashley's car in Tampa, I think I've spent perhaps twelve hours recovering from a hangover. The vast majority of my time that has not been devoted to that one hangover has involved doing things. Much of the time doing things has involved getting there. Going from any one point in Tampa Bay to any other point takes no fewer than 20 minutes if you have to start your car to get there and it quite often requires a full hour. WITH a car. Without a car? Well, let's just say you need to have a good plan.

I have until now been blissfully unaware of just how much time is spent--wasted--getting around in this city. It's not even a city, really. The Tampa Bay area is a sprawling, sparsely populated metropolis of 2.5 million people that devours more than 2500 square miles of Gulf coast landscape. And nothing is close to anything else. I had devoted precious little thought to this when I lived in Tampa; after spending the last six months in a city where I could literally walk everywhere, I realize just how much of my life drained away getting from home to work to the grocer to wherever. It's really a somber revelation.

Living in a city as crowded as Barcelona isn't for everyone, I imagine, but I absolutely love it. Being able to walk, take the metro or a bus anytime I want to anywhere I need to go is a fantastic way to live. I had long suspected that that was the lifestyle I had sought; moving to Barcelona has proven it. Driving is fun, don't get me wrong, and I've had a good time in some respects at being able to spin my sister's car around the area. But it is also mentally taxing in a way I only recently began to realize. And when I'm hemmed in by thousands of my closest friends clogging the arterial highways of the Tampa Bay area, the pleasure of driving evaporates completely.

Wherever I find myself in the hazy future that lies just over the horizon, I probably will not turn down a chance at navigating the open road myself, preferably in a sporty diesel hatchback whose tank I don't have to fill. But when I say open, I mean O P E N; no city lights, no suburban housing developments, no rush hour. To get around whatever city I eventually call home, I'll take my mp3 player and the metro. Or the bus, if I must.

Tampa Revisited

For the first time in my life, I have the ability to view the city of Tampa as a visitor. My goal is to profile the city as a visitor would see it and tell you about how to do things and get places as a visitor would. I'm staying at my sister in the north-central section of Tampa, a good place to begin without a car. I'm going to try to get around town, see some of my favorite sites such as the beaches and Busch Gardens and my favorite restaurants such as Five Guys, Taco Bus and Mr. Dunderbak's. It should be an interesting journey but I hope to do the city justice. And, one of these days, I'll get back to Barcelona both literally and figuratively.