I'm spending a lot of time lately thinking about language. Too much time thinking and not enough time practicing. I can't wait to understand Spanish well enough to be able to make fun of its inconsistencies. For now, I'll just continue to make fun of English.
The Los Angeles Spanish Consulate provides the visa application in both Spanish and English. But, if we fill out the English version, it looks like we have to then have it professionally translated back into Spanish. Hmmm. So, we're just going to set the English and Spanish forms side by side and then fill out the Spanish one.
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| NOT THE KIND OF TRANSLATOR WE NEED. |
We have all our required documents in hand and they are now being translated by a certified translator, as required by the L.A. Consulate. That includes our FBI letters, marriage certificate, domestic partnership certificate, retirement income statements, SSI income statement, medical statements, and any apostiles. We should have all translations in hand by Monday. The only outstanding items, pre-interview, are our photographs. I think we should get haircuts first. And definitely shave; we've both become kind of lazy about shaving since retirement. The plan is to drive up to Los Angeles next week for our interview at the Spanish Consulate.
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| WE BOTH NEED A SHAVE AND A HAIRCUT... |
We'd love to be in Spain by the end of May, but it's probably unrealistic to expect that we'll have our visas and enough time to make plane reservations. If we are, however, in Spain by the end of May, we get to head up to Bergen, Norway, for our cousin's wedding. That would be a joy.
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| BERGEN. BEAUTIFUL... EVEN IN THE RAIN. |
I almost forgot to mention our "stuff." We have been going through it, tossing it out, selling it, and giving it away. It's sometimes difficult to part with something, but once a decision is made, we've had no regrets. It sure feels great to unburden ourselves of so many unnecessary possessions.
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| 18" PLATTER FORM BY GLASS ARTIST IRA SAPIR. |
The art glass, however, continues to present a challenge. We'd now like to donate it, but haven't figured out how or where. It is not the retirement nest egg it was cracked up to be. (No pun intended.)
I remember the awkward time between visa application and flying. And in between we sold our house and were homeless for a while (thankfully we had generous friends and family to house us and our dog).
ReplyDeleteAs for shaving, I know what you mean. Since I retired, shaving is not the ritual it once was. My current look could be described as "scruffy."
wcs: Wish you had done the Spain route. First, because it would be fun to be neighbors and, second, because then you could have given us pointers. We're going to rely on the kindness of family if we're here past 31 May. I've already got a beard, so scruffy is where I start (of course, it makes it less noticeable if I skip shaving one day).
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