How’s Life In Spain, Erica?

I get asked the question a bit. Yet a sentence or two answer hardly encompasses a sufficient answer for everything I have been through in the past five months.

I’ve endured much cross-cultural transition over the past seven years. Nonetheless traveling to a country versus moving to one has been a far more strenuous process than imagined. I may not blog often, but I do wish to share a vez en cuando (occasionally) about the realities, struggles and successes of integrating into a new country. I hope you learn some new fun facts about Spain along the way and perhaps even pick up a new word or two in your Spanish vocabulary. This blog will give you a peek into my life here and my journey moving to a foreign country. 

First, finding a piso (apartment/flat) nearly took everything out of me mentally and emotionally. I thankfully had a beautiful Christian family through the YWAM Barcelona base that housed me while I looked for my own place. I did not realize how difficult it was for newcomers—more specifically foreigners—to sign their own lease. Many chose to rent a single room from an already-established flat through apps instead of forging the headache of their own lease. In that way, people are essentially rooming with complete strangers, in their space, amidst a city and culture that is predominantly of the world. For me, it was essential to live with other Christian girls and that my place felt like my own and like a home. I envisioned it as a place of respite for myself, and a place of safety/hospitality for others to experience the love of God. I connected with a Swiss girl, Debora, before arriving who had a similar vision for a living situation and community life. The Lord has blessed me beyond belief with this friendship as she has become one of my closest friends and greatest source of profound conversation, processing and encouragement. The odds were stacked against us with little financial income statements, no signed local work contract, and no local bank account for a deposit. We were both just days away from our short-term accommodations being unable to host us any more with nothing in sight. I’ve never experienced more stress than not knowing if I would have a place to lay my head in just a few days’ time. Not to mention, I was already juggling work and school at this point while full-time apartment hunting. She and I eventually found a third roommate (which in and of itself is a complete God-story and miracle), and after four weeks of intense highs and lows of searching, we finally found a furnished flat in the heart of Barcelona just blocks from the Sagrada Familia. 

That leads me to the second biggest stressor of moving here: the Spanish government. The process for becoming a legal resident has been painstakingly slow, frustrating and confusing. I was so grateful to have other foreign resident friends walk me through every step of the process. This included long, drawn-out appointments to schedule my empadronamiento (address registration), meetings to present all my legal paperwork, and obtaining my Foreign Identification Card (Tarjeta de Identificación Extrajero- TIE). I truly don’t know how foreigners manage that don’t speak Spanish because hardly anyone speaks English in these government positions. It takes 40 days for them to produce the card from the time it’s been approved. You’re not allowed to leave the country without it once your visa has expired or else they can deny reentry. That was a huge issue for me considering my card would not be ready until after the holidays. I was so worried that I wouldn’t be able to go home for Christmas, but I decided to take the risk anyway and went home without it. Not to mention, Omicron was rapidly descending on society and I was also stressed at the potential of contracting COVID and missing the holidays. Thankfully I had no issues getting back into Spain, although I’ve heard it depends on who you end up with at customs. On top of that, it wasn’t until my 40-day waiting period was almost up that I realized they messed up my birthday on the paperwork. I had to go back to the police station to get it corrected which led to another 40-day waiting period. This card is important not just for travel, but also for any legal/financial things like opening up a bank account. After five months I finally received my TIE a couple days ago—what a relief!  

Amidst all this transition God truly answered my prayers for a beautiful church to call home and family. The church I attend is called the International Church of Barcelona (ICB). It’s a bilingual church where the services are in English and transmitted/translated into Spanish. They are passionate about outreach both here in Barcelona (referred to as Barna by the locals) and for missionaries around the world, with over 90 nationalities represented in the church. Amidst that, God has provided abundant community for me with a vibrant, active Young Adult group. And He’s done so in some unconventional ways. To my surprise, everyone was speaking Spanish when I arrived to a small group that I assumed was in English. I didn’t realize I had accidentally signed up for the Castellano group (the word used to describe Spain Spanish because yes, it’s very different from Latin Spanish). In fact it’s the only spanish-speaking Young Adult bible study group! The rest are in English because most internationals speak English. It was truly a divine appointment because I ended up staying with the Castellano group for the rest of the semester. Not only that, but now I am co-leading the Castellano group with some of my Catalan friends (Catalans are natives to the Catalunya region here in Spain and primarily speak Catalan). If you would have told me I’d be leading the only Castellano bible study group when I first moved here I would have laughed in disbelief because my Spanish is beyond rusty! 

As for school I am truly in love with being a student again and the curriculum I am learning. Opting for the part-time track has allowed me to really absorb and invest in my readings, research and papers. I am also blessed to do part-time remote work in Marketing to cover my monthly expenses. This past semester I took International Relations (IR) Theory, Int’l Trade and Economy, Islam and Politics, and Contemporary Issues of IR. I’ve been able to write extensive essays on subjects like Third-Party Humanitarian Intervention, the environmental crisis, and the refugee crisis (more on that in a moment). For my week-long break between semesters I had the opportunity to visit an American missionary family that I originally met on my 2017 World Race in Lesotho, Africa. They moved to Jerez in Spain 2.5 years ago to work with a church and refugee operation. It was medicine for all our souls to be reunited, catch up and connect. They gave me a tour of the refugee center to see how everything operates and even chatted with some of the current refugees! And speaking of, I thought I’d take this as an opportunity to share the final essay I wrote in regards to the refugee crisis. I certainly do not expect any or even some to read it. But I wanted to put it out there as an opportunity for anyone who wishes to gain more in depth knowledge on how and why the refugee crisis has come about and the trajectory of where it’s going. I poured my heart and soul into this paper, even writing about Campa Moria—the refugee camp in Lesvos, Greece where I served for a month on my World Race before it burned down. This 3,000 word case study is a heavy read, but if you only have the time to skim and glean some general concepts that’s okay too! I will try to continue sharing bits and pieces of my journey in hopes to change the politically charged allegations toward this people group and the mass opinion influenced by it. 

Case Study: AN EVALUATION OF THE GREEK AND EU RESPONSE TO THE MODERN-DAY MENA REFUGEE CRISIS

Thanks so much for investing your time to check on me by reading this blog. Please pray for continued focus, time management, and investment in those God has put around me. My second semester started this week—classes include Comparative Politics; Conflict, Threats and Violence in Global Politics; and Immigration Integration Policies. I’d love your feedback to know whether I should continue to write blog updates and/or what you are interested to hear more about. I hope this platform will be a vehicle to educate, inspire and expose more people to the world around us. I appreciate your continued prayers and support in my journey abroad! 

Until next time, ¡Hasta luego!

Erica