América in a new light

Last week in a matter of a few days, everything I had planned out for the summer- work, travels, etc was all thrown out the window. After various phone calls, emails, and visits with the extranjería, delagación, bilingual coordinator, embassies, and consulates, I found out Spain wasn't going to accept my application to renew my residency for next year even though I already have a work or 'study' contract. I was told I had to go home to get a new visa 5 days before my 2010-2011 residency expired.


It was Friday when I got the news, so I did what any good Americana in Spain would do and went up to Sevilla for a despedida o, es decir, hasta luego fest. I returned home Sunday morning and packed, cleaned my apartment, met with the landlady, got my deposit, and headed to Lagos, Portugal with a good friend who was visiting me at the time. I bought a ticket to fly home Wednesday and tried my best not to think about how everything I had spent months planning out was taken away. Might as well try and enjoy my sudden last few days of vacation.



Jackie in Lagos, Portugal.


I left Tuesday at midnight for the 30 hour trip. Passing through customs in NYC, the only questions asked in my half-asleep, drained of everything state: are you ok? do you speak english? STAMP-STAMP. 'Welcome home.' Got to love America.


I landed in Seattle feeling alive again and more than thrilled to see my family. During my 30 hours in transit I realized, maybe this is a good thing. I've been hit a little by reverse culture-shock, but for the most part it just feels good to be home surrounded by my family here in Washington.


Some observations after a year away:
-There's a lot of English spoken here, and I cannot speak Spanglish. I'm trying hard to speak like a normal American.
-It's freaking cold.
-Wal-mart is simply too much to handle.
-There is an entire aisle of cereal, an entire aisle of bread, an entire aisle of pickles, etc., etc.
-Coffee is weak. So. Weak.
-FRIENDLY waiters/waitresses/customer service (maybe too friendly)
-Driving takes a lot more thinking than it used to.
-And it's pretty much impossible to do anything without a car.
-There's fast food everywhere.
-People are a lot bigger.
-are the past two points linked?
-Houses are big and carpeted and COZY.
-Everyone has a smart phone now.
-Living in the woods without street noise/drunken idiots in streets at night is simply wonderful.
-The fridge is huge and has automatic ice and water. ¡de lujo!
-I thought I was cool because I didn't have 'jet lag' in spite of the nine-hour time change. 3 days later, and 2 days full of naps, I found out that is impossible.


So here I am, without a plan, fighting jet lag, working on visa paperwork, family and friends all trying to convince me to stay with them for the summer and I feel the love. But for now, I'm off to fill out more applications!