Logistics

12 Sept 2011

            Unfortunately, this post isn't very exciting and will instead be part II of taking care of logistical things. I've taken care of one of the most important things: finding an apartment. Now I need to open a Spanish bank account so that I won’t be hurt so much by the exchange rate and ATM fees. As we were getting ready to go to Santander (one of Spain’s largest banks), I felt like I was in one of my Spanish TA sessions—only this time the scenario was real. This spring when I was TA-ing, my students had to make skits using a scenario from a bank. They were supposed to be able to ask a banker to open an account, talk to the teller about traveler checks, etc. This time it was my turn, and the situation was real.

            Fortunately, the banker was super nice (everyone is nice in Alicante—except for one taxi driver… you can’t be mean in such a beautiful place!). We started out the process by using Spanish, but then she told us it might be easier if we switched to using English. I was a little disappointed to switch to English, but frankly speaking this is pretty important to get right. It’s not like in the classroom where if you make a mistake everyone can laugh and shrug it off. However, ultimately, we were told that we would not be able to get a bank account with Santander until we have our NIEs (a Spanish identity card). So tomorrow, we'll try another bank to see what can be done.

            I finally got the chance to meet me new roommates! They are both from Germany and super nice.They are both here in Spain to take classes at the university in Alicante as part of the Erasmus program. This is an European Union program that enables students to study at other universities in other countries or pursue some sort of internship.