¡Éxito!

As my friend Sara tells me from her experience studying in Córdoba two years ago, “¡Éxito!” (“Success!”) isn’t exactly a phrase Spaniards say (Sara’s friends said “¡Toma!” is a better alternative), but I still like to use it anyway.

I’ve found that the little things in Spain feel like huge accomplishments. Things like:

  • Buying a phone and getting a Spanish phone number
  • Waiting in line for ~4 hours to get an NIE (número de identificación de extranjeros, or foreigner identification number), so I can now go through a few more steps (appointments at the police station, etc.) to be here legitimately after 90 days
  • Finding a place to make photocopies of my passport/visa for the NIE
  • Making friends (fellow American auxiliares so far, but, as much as I’d like to meet Spaniards, I think it’s important to have American friends abroad too)
  • Finding an apartment (okay, that’s not so much a little thing)
  • Discovering, with the help of a fellow auxiliar, a fabulous place where I got a huge bocadillo de tortilla (tortilla española sandwich, chips (ham flavored, because Spain can never get enough jamón), and soda for 2€
  • Not getting lost

Party at the Oficina de Extranjeros. At least I had fellow auxiliares to make the wait more bearable.

So, hey, look at me totally #winning Charlie Sheen-style (ugh, I can’t believe I just made a Charlie Sheen joke — those stopped being funny months ago).

I’m particularly excited about my apartment, which I move into tomorrow! I’ll be sure to post photos of it after I move in!



5 Responses

  1. Nana says:

    2 Euros for a meal. Wish I saw that happening in Italy next year, but, alas . . .

  2. Yay! I love that feeling – so empowering!

  3. Christine says:

    All of these little things DO add up to big accomplishments though. You’ve got to be proud of yourself for uprooting your life back in the States, to in less than one week settling in Sevilla. Congrats! Best of luck with everything, chica!

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