Besides the fact that we’ve passed the solstice…? Well, in Montreal, we’ve had a few days of sweltering hot and humid weather (humidex into the low 40s), which is always a good clue. The Jazz Festival has started, and so has the International Fireworks Competition.

Last night, the fireworks were big and boomy, but for pure “lighting up the sky value,” I’d have to give the prize to Mother Nature, who added brilliant flashes of lightning as her contribution to the competition. (Including one blast that literally left my dishes rattling in the cupboards.) At least it didn’t start to rain until about a half-hour after the show finished, although it wouldn’t have mattered — these competitions go on: “rain, snow or shine.” Of course, even in midsummer, “shine” would be unusual at 10pm in Montreal…

I’m off to see Ojos de Brujo (from Barcelona) and Son de la Frontera (from the strangely-named town of “Morón de la Frontera” in Andalucía) on Friday at Metropolis, part of the Jazz Fest. As usual, none of my friends was interested, but it’s sure to be a great show. I saw O de B here two years ago and was blown away. They’re the kind of band you may need to see live to get hooked on. I wasn’t really keen on their CDs until I saw them perform…now I love the albums too! So much energy. Am curious to hear S de la F, too — have heard OF them but not FROM them yet.

Meanwhile, I sit and wait…my life may be undergoing drastic changes soon. As of Tuesday, I am officially waiting for a residence visa for Spain (because Tuesday is when I finally got all my “ducks in a row” and dropped off the pile of application paperwork). The information they give you indicates it can take up to four months. On the other hand, the person at the Consulate told me to call back for status in two weeks(!). We’ll see. There is so much unknown and uncertainty about this whole process (each case is unique, and their decisions seem to be subjective, not objective…there is no precise list of things to “do” to be guaranteed to get it). I’ll just be glad when it’s over — at which point (assuming and hoping I get it) I will move to Spain and begin the much longer and more complex of “settling” there. Of course, I won’t be alone — I’m well supported by my “chocolatina”, waiting for me on the other end.

Even though it’s possible to visit Spain for up to three months at a time without a visa, you do need the 90-day residence visa (applied for in your home country) in order to apply for a one-year residence permit (applied for in Spain). Once there, you also need to get your NIE (foreigner’s id number) and ID card, you need to apply for the empadronamiento, you need to figure out how to get a driver’s licence (which will surely involve a full written and driving test). All of which are bound to be an adventure. But first things first…and now I’m just waiting for the visa.

Then there’s the matter of figuring out what to do with my place and all my stuff. I have decided I want to “live lightly”, not moving much with me, and so have been (slowly) unloading things on EBay and through personal connections. But there is still a LOT. How do we accumulate so much? And some of it (photos, letters, tax info) you can’t just decide to get rid of. Well, I suppose you could but I don’t want to. Once the visa is granted (fingers crossed) I will need to move quite quickly on all this…selling my place, etc.

Yes, it’s going to be a hot summer, but not long: I have a feeling it’s going to fly by.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 28th, 2007 at 14h40 and is filed under Montreal, Spain. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.