Tales of An Immigrant Mother

So...on February 17th, my residency expired and I had to renew my status here.

Thinking that Spain is pretty modern (which it is...and surprisingly fast in some things)..and generally distracted by other things in life, I didn't start getting the paperwork together until a week before the expiration date...I started on February 10th. The only thing that I had to really make an effort to get was a copy of my inscription/registration in the neighborhood where we live (certificado de empadronamiento) and a recently certified copy of our marriage certificate (the Spanish version). Usually to get the neighborhood registration, it's a question of walking into the local government office, standing in line (only about 45 minutes or so depending on the amount of people there) and they should give it to you. Shouldn't it be my luck that they told me to come back 5 days later to pick it up.!!!!

Ok, with the deadline drawing closer, Angel went to the central registry office in center city Madrid to get a certified copy of our marriage certificate on February 13th. After waiting in line for an hour and a half, filling out the due forms, etc...they told him the certificate would be available for pick up from March 8th onward!!!

So much for getting my renewal done on time....Now that makes me an illegal immigrant! Or in more diplomatic terms, an immigrant in an irregular situation.

Anyway...finally having all the documents together, Angel took me to the immigration office this past Friday morning at 9:15 am. Keep in mind the office opens at 9am. Well, much to my dismay there was a line of at least 800 people wrapping around the next block. My first class on Fridays is at 12 noon on the other side of town. Needless to say, I did not get in line. Angel parked the car and went inside to talk to one of the government workers who assured him that although I have "comunitario status" (pertaining to the European Union, not "just an immigrant fron a non European Union country") I had to wait in line and chances are that they wouldn't get to me until 5pm....this at 9:15 am (the offices close from 2-4pm for lunch)! They then told him that a good number of people start lining up at 5am. Viva bureacracy!

So, Monday morning bright and early, my alarm went off at 6am. "This is so unreal" I thought and grumbled about in the dark. After getting it together (baby and all) I arrived at the immigration office at 7:15 am. There were already almost 500 people in line in front of me. And a steady stream of immigrants arriving by the second to line up. Unbelieveable. So, Angel with a chuckle and a smile dropped me off and very sweetly offered to come back with a folding chair and thermos of coffee. Grrrr..

After 5 hours of waiting in line, I finally completed the process of presenting all the paperwork (the abovementioned documents, proof that Angel lives in the country, a copy of my now-expired residency card, a copy of Angel's ID card, a complete copy of my whole passport, and 3 passport sized photos). Lovely. I don't know why I was surprised when the woman told me that I would receive a letter in the mail in approximately 3 months to inform me that my new residency card would be available for pick-up. And yes, I will have to wait in that same *damned* line in front of immigration to pick up my card. GRRRRR!!!

On another note, AR continues to grow slowly. He now weighs 8.5 kilos (approx. 18lbs) at almost 14 months of age. In the 3rd percentile. We have taken him to see another pediatrician for a second opinion. He basically confirmed everything that our current pediatrician has told us and sent AR for a battery of tests to check for some kind of intolerance. The results are back and they indicate that he is partially celiac (allergic to gluten which is found in wheat) and possibly lactose intolerant. We have to re-do his urine analysis and run through the battery of tests that the first pediatrician has sent us to do as well. Certainly by the time we come to the USA at the end of next month, AR will be on a special diet. Poor thing.

Despite all that, he is thriving...and very very active. He loves to play chase with papá and peek-a-boo (cúcu-tras) with both of his parents. If we hum the William Tell overture he goes over to his rocking reindeer and starts to rock it back and forth. He settles down nicely when mommy reads to him and generally loves going to his toy box and systematically pull all his toys out one by one and throw them over his shoulder. His vocabulary consists of mama, dada and duck. :). He understands many more words but hasn't started saying them himself yet...