We are becoming acclimated to Spain. I recommend everyone to put themselves in the shoes of an immigrant. Of course this would mean that you actually have to move to another country. I can understand if it´s not for everyone, but it gives you a better idea as to what people go through when they move to another country for whatever reason.
First off you get lumped. Yup, lumped into a category whether you like it or not. And not a very well liked one. To government workers you are just another person looking to take advantage of the system and take jobs. To some Spaniards you look like another person who comes here to enjoy the weather, not learn the language and use the system that they pay through taxes to keep going. I´ve actually been dying to pay my taxes like everyone else in this place and now I finally can. Except that I work in Gibraltar so technically I am still supporting the Gibraltar system and not the Spanish one. Oh well. What can you do? But yes, I do in fact have my residency in Spain. FINALLY! I still can´t figure out why this took over 4 years to achieve given that I am married to a Spanish citizen, but it just goes to show how screwed up the system can be. I´m almost starting to think that maybe they don´t want me here. How rude! Too bad. I´m here now and starting to get comfortable.
They say that it takes about 4 years to settle in. I think it takes having two kids. Our second is due in November. We are having a girl this time and I think I´m more scared this time. I´m really freaking out about having to put tights on her. I keep thinking about a squid wriggling around and trying to get tights on one of those. I hated putting pantyhose on myself when I was working in Toronto. This is going to be hell! Still, I am pretty excited. When I´m not too exhausted or bitchy. This one has definitely been more difficult. I think excitement got the best of me when I was pregnant with JR. This one is not so new anymore and I´m still working full time in a job that requires a lot of memory which I don´t have these days. IT´s true what they say. Your brains start to fall out when you have kids.
I´ve decided that I need to work a little harder to become a part of my surroundings. While working in Gibraltar has been a godsend up until now, it is a hindrance as well. Everyone speaks English so I´ve gotten used to speaking Spanish to a very low conversational level. Wouldn´t it be great if I could actually get a job that requires me to speak Spanish to a professional level. Or even go back to University and take classes in Spanish. How awesome would that be. In March I can apply for Spanish citizenship which means I can go to University as a Spanish citizen (low cost). Let´s just see.
We´re also working on a small project to finally get our farm up and running. I don´t want to get into it now. It´s all very preliminary and I don´t want to jinx it, but if this works then we will officially be farmers AND be using our land like originally intended. To be continued....
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