1:59 pm: An employee from the foreigners office and I are running to the closest bank so I can pay the fee for my visa extension. The bank closes at two. He thinks I'll have a better shot at getting them to do the payment if he's with me. If I don't make it in time, I will have to make the nine hour bus trip from Jaén to Valladolid again next week. My legs feel like they're on fire.
1:56 pm: Things are wrapping up. The guy who's checking my documents and I chat informally. I learn he went to the high school I'll be teaching at next year. The man working at the desk next to us leans over and says in a sarcastic voice, "that's why he's working here." The employee I'm working with realizes I have to get to the bank before it closes. We take off.
A short time before: I arrive to the foreigners office for last time. If I don't get it right this time, I'm screwed. I sit down with a worker who seems to be a nice guy who's willing to help get this thing done no matter what. We start the document check.Things go smoothly.
20 min before: I get to the foreigners office for the second time. I've finally got all my documents in order and with time to spare. I'm thinking about how crazy this experience has been and just how glad I am to finally be done with it. I sit down with a different woman than before only to realize that I have forgotten to get a copy of my Spanish ID. I leave for the photocopy shop.
15 min before: Two hours speedwalking around the city in these jeans with a blazing sun is starting to wear on me. I finally find a place that will let me log into my email and print off my missing letter.
Nearly two hours before: "You're missing a letter," the woman behind the desk tells me. I apparently need something to prove that I completed the entirety of the the academic year before they will let me renew again. I text my director and tell him what I need.
9:30 am or so: I wake up and hit the snooze a few times thinking about how much time I have. A short time later I get up, take a shower, and get dressed. I put on a blue polo shirt and my dark, tight spanish jeans.
