Vacation Time!

26 Jun 2012 Leave a comment

by Yari in Uncategorized Tags: ,

I’m leaving in a few hours to head to the airport to begin my annual Puerto Rico vacation. I don’t know how often I’ll be able to update during the time that I’m there so I’m giving you all a heads up that the blog may be a little abandoned. I’ll update as soon as I return, however.

Oh and I did finally make a decision regarding the two families that I was torn between to be their au pair. It was tough, but, in the end it came down to which family I felt I had the greatest connection with. I’ll keep you all posted with that as well once I come back 🙂

¡Hasta Luego! ¡Besos!

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Opinions Please!!!!

22 Jun 2012 11 Comments

by Yari in auxiliares de conversación, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Alright, so awhile back I mentioned that I was looking into being an au pair while I do BEDA so I can save some rent money and still have that sense of “family” while abroad. For the longest time I thought I wasn’t going to be able to find a family. I’d spoken to quite a few, but none of them could really accommodate my BEDA schedule (i.e. they wanted me in the mornings to help the kids get ready and walk them to school when I would already have to be leaving to get to my colegio).

Since nothing was working out, I started to look into apartments in the Moncloa area and kinda resigned myself to the fact that being an au pair was just not in the cards for me. Well, last week I began speaking with 2 families. One lives in right next to Majadahonda where my colegio is located. The other lives right in the center of Madrid. I have spoken with both families extensively and have skyped with both of them. I am utterly and completely torn as to which family to make a commitment to. Both families are extremely kind and very understanding regarding BEDA. Both know that I have classes on Friday evenings at Comillas and are perfectly okay with it. So, in the end, it’s a matter of preference of where I want to live. The problem is: How can I have a preference when I’ve never been to either of these places?

I have no idea if I would prefer to be in the outskirts of Madrid and closer to my colegio or if I would prefer city life and commuting to school. Does anyone know anything about either of these two areas and would like to offer some advice??? I’m all ears…

Visa Update.

20 Jun 2012 5 Comments

by Yari in auxiliares de conversación Tags: , , , , , , ,

Okay, so it seems that there needs to be come clarification regarding my last post. I saw that someone commented on facebook that they were surprised that my post mentioned getting the medical certificate notarized and with the Apostille of the Hague. I can assure I did not just make that requirement up. First, each consulate has different requirements. Some mention having the medical certificate notarized while others do not. I was sent an email directly from the DC Embassy of Spain last month with a list of everything I needed in order to get my visa. This is what I received:

REQUIREMENTS FOR A STUDENT VISA

  1. Personal appearance is required in order to submit documentation. Students or Parents. Students must appear in person at least once, either to apply or to pick it up.
  1. 1 National Visa Application form filled out and signed.
  1. Passport. The passpot must be valid for at least six months with at least one blank page to affix the visa. If you are not a US citizen you must show proof of legal residency in the US (Green Card or proper visa) B1/B2 holders do not qualify to apply for a visa in this Consulate Office.
  1. 1 recent passport photo size with a white background.
  1. Original Letter of Acceptance and 1 copy from the University or school addressed to this Consulate General verifying enrolment as a full time student in an official university or school in Spain. THIS LETTER MUST ALSO state that the student has medical insurance coverage while the student is in Spain.  If there is no insurance information on this letter, the student will need a letter from their insurance company verifying that he/she is covered internationally. We do not accept insurance cards.

 

  1. Proof of Financial Means during your stay: please provide one of the following:

 

  • Letter from the University or School in Spain or in the USA assuming full financial responsibility during your stay (this is often included into the acceptance letter).
  • Proof of financial aid or scholarship for a minimum of $1,000.00 per month for tuition, room, board and personal expenses.
  • If financial responsibility is not assumed by the program, notarized letter from your parents or legal guardians assuming full financial responsibility for at least $1,000.00 per month for the student expenses.

 

  1. Self-addressed and Pre-Paid US “Express-Mail” envelope from the Post Office if you wish to have your passport returned by mail. We do NOT accept any other type of courier or messenger service. Tracking of mailed items is the sole responsibility of the applicant. However, this will only be accepted if the applicant comes in person to apply.
  1. We will only accept complete applications. YOU MUST bring the ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS and ONE COPY of each requirement including copy of your passport, where the picture is and your personal information.
  1. FEES- CASH OR MONEY ORDER WE DO NOT ACCEPT PERSONAL CHECKS OR CREDIT CARDS.           US citizens- $140.00 non-refundable

NON US citizens — $81.00 non-refundable

For those students staying more than 6 months, please provide the following:

  1. Police Record (Criminal Background) original and 1 copy issued by either a, State police or Federal police (FBI) where the student has lived for the past year. This document must be notarized with the Hague Apostille.
  1. Medical Certificate original and 1 copy: Doctor´s statement on a doctor or medical letterhead, indicating that the student has been examined and found in good physical and mental health to travel abroad and he/she is free of contagious diseases and drug addiction. This document must be signed by the doctor. This document must be notarized with the Hague Apostille.

The visa process could take up to six weeks therefore plan your application in advance. You may apply up to 90 days before your departure date. If you apply less than six weeks before your travel date keep in mind that your visa may not be ready on time and you may have to rearrange your departure.  

As you can see, it clearly states on there that the medical certificate needs to be notarized with the Apostille of the Hague. I should mention, however, that I have been told by 2 people who called the DC Embassy that they were told that it is no longer necessary. I preferred to be safe than sorry, however, and ended up getting the medical certificate notarized with the Apostille of the Hague. Oh and also, the fee is no longer $140, but $160 to file for your visa.

Anyway, I went today to file my visa and all went smoothly. I was in and out in less than 10 minutes and was told my visa should arrive in 5 weeks.

The joy that will consume me when I have my Spain visa in my hand will be unreal. Here’s to the next 5 weeks flying by!!

Visa Process Woes.

13 Jun 2012 12 Comments

by Yari in auxiliares de conversación Tags: , , , , ,

I had heard from a lot of people who have already gone through the whole process of applying to something like auxiliares, being accepted, and then going about getting the student visa that the visa aspect was, by far, the hardest and most frustrating part. I am starting to see where they were coming from.

So, I went to go about getting my medical certificate notarized today. It was such a pain in the arse. So on a lot of the auxiliares forums and facebook pages, everyone mentioned that they went to the bank in order to get their things notarized. Well, seeing as how a notary is certifying that the signature on the document is ACTUALLY that person’s signature, it’s kinda hard to do that with a medical certificate when you aren’t the doctor! NO ONE had mentioned this on any of the forums…until now. Now, I have heard that in order to get around that aspect, what you should do is sign the medical certificate next to the signature of your doctor and have the notary certify your signature. Apparently, that should be enough in order to get the Apostille of the Hague. This information came from a girl who did this last year in order to get her student visa for auxiliares de conversación. So, this is what I ended up doing.

I have also emailed my consulate with a scanned copy of the certificate to verify with them that it’s okay. I’m hoping they answer me at some point tomorrow. I’d really like to know that my certificate is fine as is before going to the consulate next week to file for my visa and then be rejected. That would be a MAJOR bummer. I shall definitely post on here what they tell me so as to, hopefully, save some of you the hassle.

I wouldn’t be so stressed about this whole thing if it weren’t for the fact that I leave for Puerto Rico on the 26th of this month and won’t be coming back until mid-July. So that kinda puts me in a time constraint in terms of getting my visa filed. Pretty much, Monday the 26th is my absolute last chance of filing it and I’d really rather go a little before that in case something is wrong, I have time to deal with it before I leave.

So, basically, to sum everything up: The visa process is, by far, the worst aspect of this auxiliares application stuff. Granted, I’m sure I’ll be saying the same thing once I get to Spain and begin the wondrous task of filing for my NIE…

Have any of you already gone about the medical certificate aspect of the visa process? How did you go about getting it notarized?