Brazilian visas while in Spain.

In early September we boarded a bus to Madrid.  We had located a relatively inexpensive hotel in the center of the city (which we later found was on the major prostitution thoroughfare) Hotel Praktik Metropol.  The area was very nice during the day and in the evening although late at night it changed a little bit.

Our first afternoon we sampled the overpriced food and beverages in an outdoor café and later, we had arranged to meet with one of our language professors, Carlos (who lived in Madrid when he was not teaching at Castile) near the Plaza Mayor.  We had a lovely evening with Carlos that included drinks in an Irish pub followed by dinner at an alleged Mexican food restaurant.  Sigh!  There just isn’t any quality Mexican food in all of Spain.

Bright and early the next day we hopped on the remarkably efficient subway system and headed for the Brazilian embassy.  It looked like the Department of Motor Vehicles in East Los Angeles.  There were hundreds of people all taking numbers but after asking, we were told that we didn’t need to do so since we had an appointment.

At our appointment time we were led through a secure door to an office area which was almost empty where we met with a young man who perused our papers, found them all in order and sent us down to a machine to pay for our visas.  This large, ATM style machine featured instructions in both Spanish and Portuguese but not English which was inconvenient since it also provided about a hundred functions from paying fines and taxes to customs costs, visas and other immigration fees.

We figured it out though and promptly coughed up 160 euros each for our visas.  It was a very, very good thing that we had brought cash since you cannot pay by credit or debit card at the Brazilian consulate for anything.  Something we will always remember no matter what embassy or consulate we are dealing with.

Returning to the young man’s desk we found that most of our three months worth of bank statements had been returned and that our file was complete.  The young man apologized for the cost of the visas but indicated that they were good for 10 years, for multiple entries and for 180 days at a time.  Very convenient if you’re planning to spend quite a bit of time in Brazil which we had no current plans to do.  He then told us to come back on Friday.

“Friday!  We won’t be here on Friday!  In fact we’re leaving tomorrow!” we yelped.  The young man stated that some employees had called in sick and they were overworked that day.  At this point Marilyn calmly pointed out that we were told that if our documents were complete that the visa could be issued the same day and the sly young man asked if we could produce the email knowing that there was no WiFi available in the building.  Of course we could, and did leaving him no choice but to grudgingly agree that our visas would be available by 3 that afternoon.  Thank God for internet café printers!

We were so happy that we decided to walk back to the hotel and stopped along the way at yet another Irish looking pub for a refreshing beverage. 

Later that afternoon, after picking up our passports containing our very impressive looking visas, we wandered around the palace and spent time in the very impressive and modern cathedral

before crossing Plaza Mayor

and walking down Calle de Toledo

to the well-known tapas district called Cava Baja (and its’ parallel street Cava Alta) to meet with Diana and her friend.

Disappointingly, the area was not very crowded in the middle of the week and many of the cafés and bars were closed.  We spent a nice, and loud because we were in Spain, evening wrapping it up with a walk through Plaza Mayor and Plaza del Sol back to our hotel where Diana and her friend intended to catch a cab.  Since it was late at night we had the opportunity to see the changed face of the area which was not very impressive.

While we have not seen everything we want to see in Madrid and although the Prada Museum (we spent hours there on our last visit to Madrid) is amazing, we find ourselves uninterested in this city overall.  We are not really night life people but we understand that is a wonderful and important feature of Madrid.  Many people we know simply love Madrid but we find it overpriced and less interesting historically than other cities and locations in Spain.

Arriving back in Granada we received another surprise.  Brent and Paige, friends from Arizona were honeymooning in Europe and would be in Granada for a couple of days in the very near future.

Healthcare in Spain for expats.

In our research we were surprised to find that several countries around the world ranked higher than the US in quality of health care.  In most cases, the cost of health care in these countries is significantly less than in the US.   We have purchased our insurance in Spain through Sanitas, which is the largest insurance network in the country.  At the time Spain ranked 8^th in quality of care and the US ranked 24th in one of many reports that we read.

Our plan looks like a regular US PPO plan that includes doctor visits, lab work, hospitalization and up to 60 days and 20,000 euros per person in travel insurance coverage including travel within the US.  We were able to purchase it by working with an English speaking agent completely by email(see complete info below).  We filled out the required two forms she needed, scanned and sent them back and had coverage start the day we arrived in Spain.

How has it worked out?  Well, for starters, we had some trouble obtaining our insurance cards because Sanitas had an incorrect address for us.  This took two months to iron out but in the meantime we had a toll free number for the providers to call if we required health care and an email which included our policy numbers and anything else that we would need to verify that we did have coverage.

Sanitas has a web site where we could look up the doctors that were in our city and participated in the private insurance plan.  We could sort them by location and by the ability to speak English.  Since we had almost no Spanish at all when we arrived in Spain this was an important factor for us.  The web site is in Spanish but the auto-translate in Google Chrome worked just fine for figuring it out.

Marilyn had a nasty cold or flu bug when we first arrived in Spain (caught it in the Canaries) and we walked into a pharmacy.  Farmacias are wonderful things in Spain.  Pharmacists are all doctors, they are diagnosticians and can prescribe most non-narcotic, non-chemotherapy drugs including antibiotics.  The pharmacist gave her a decongestant and cough syrup and told her the problems would be gone in three days.  It was.  How convenient!  Total cost 9 euros.

10 days later Mike was having a problem.  He started to experience severe stomach pain and cramping and did not get out of bed for most of one rainy day in Marbella.  Marilyn decided something needed to be done and walked down to the nearest Farmacia.  After describing the symptoms to the pharmacist, it was determined that he was suffering from stomach spasms and an anti-spasmodic was handed to Marilyn.  She was told this should eliminate the problem in 1 or 2 days.  It did.  Total cost 5 euros.

So now we had been indoctrinated into the first level of health care intervention in Spain, the Farmacia.  Inexpensive, convenient, and it worked.  No appointments, no prescriptions, and if the pharmacist thinks you need a doctor they will send you to one.  In Spain, at least one farmacia must be open 24 hours every day in a specific area and the location of the nearest farmacia, that will be open after hours for each day of the week are posted on the door of every farmacia.

After we were settled in Granada, Mike noticed a mole that seemed to be growing and become worried about it.  We made an appointment, with an English speaking dermatologist, in Granada from the health plan network on the Sanitas website.  It took us a couple of weeks to contact the office because it was August and the office was closed for vacation.  When we made the appointment it was on a Friday at 6:30 p.m.

When we asked our friends about the odd time they told us it was because we were “private” patients.  Turns out that the doctors usually work in the clinics in the mornings until 2pm, then take the usual Spanish long lunch break along with the rest of the population from 2-5pm and then see their private patients in their offices from 5-8 in the evenings.

Arriving at the doctor’s office, we were buzzed into the building and again, buzzed into the office.  There was very little traffic in this office building and the only person in the waiting room was the medical assistant.  We were shown to a waiting room that would rival the lobby of many prestigious law firms and we gave the medical assistant our health insurance card. 

The card was returned and we were shown into the doctor’s consultation room, where the doctor himself took a medical history quickly and efficiently.  The physician spoke with us about the problem and took Mike into his examination room which was attached to his office.  After determining that the mole wasn’t dangerous we asked him if he would remove it anyway.  He agreed but explained that we would have to get an authorization from the insurance company for them to cover the 80 to 90 euro procedure.  We scheduled an appointment for two weeks hence and left with the information needed to obtain the necessary authorization. 

Obtaining the authorization was relatively easy, done on the Sanitas website (we really needed our Spanish for this) and the mole was removed.  The doctor gave us the removed mole in a bottle of liquid with the name of a pathologist and an authorization note and told us that if we wished, we could have the pathologist evaluate the tissue…just to be sure.  He was positive that the tissue was not problematic but wanted me to have the choice.  I chose not to.  Total cost 12 euros, each visit – the copay for the office visit.

There is a limitation of coverage in the public health service, for example, one of our friends, a Spanish citizen, needed to have oral surgery to remove a small benign tumor.  This surgery included the removal one of his upper teeth.  He was scheduled for surgery about three months after the problem was diagnosed.  The surgery is covered in full but a bridge or implant after the surgery is not.  He will be out of pocket about 600 euros to fix his teeth.  This is still cheaper than in the US, but a lot of money here in Spain.  He has contacted the University to find out if he would be eligible to have the dental students do the reconstruction work, if so, it will cost about half the normal fees.

Under a private insurance plan the dental work after the procedure would be covered at 50%.  Interesting.

Jumping ahead six months; after we got our final invitation to serve in the Peace Corps it included the need for an updated medical check-up.  Since our insurance coverage was in Spain, with the approval of the Peace Corps we went to the web site, for an English speaking family practitioner and scheduled an appointment for what we in America would call an annual checkup.  Our Spanish was much better but for medical situations we were still more comfortable in English. 

The appointment was scheduled for two days out, we went together.  The doctor was great.  Once she understood what we needed (apparently annual exams are not normal in Spain) she examined us both and wrote out the orders for a complete blood work up.  Then she told us where to go to get the document that is the Spanish equivalent of a “Certificate of Good Health” for her report needed by the Peace Corps (in Spain you must purchase all the forms that are required by the government).  These particular forms cost 3 euros each and the doctor shared a laugh with us when she told us that, believe it or not, you buy them at the estanco (tobacco shop).  Irony at its finest.

We found a lab in the insurance network and were told to come anytime between 8:30am and 1pm on a weekday – no appointment necessary.  We went on a Thursday morning and, after hilariously learning a new Spanish word “orina” (urine – funny, never needed that word before this) we were in and out in less than 30 minutes, with the results to be picked up on Monday.  No cost, it was included in our insurance.  Back to the doctor with our reports in hand, in and out with our certificates signed and a hand written translation done and signed by the doctor in no time at all.

So far, we have to say that our experience with the Spanish health care system has been absolutely fabulous and worth the total monthly cost of about $190 in premium plus co-pays for both of us together.  

Our Insurance agent info:

Susan Warner

http://www.healthinsurance-spain.com/

and new email info@healthinsurance-spain.com

Sanitas Agent 17517

telephone: 951 272 124

Mobile: 615655348

Fax:951239211

Adalucian style

Suddenly our classes were over.  It was strange not to have to get up and go to class and we wondered a little bit about what we were going to do with ourselves.  Turns out this wasn’t going to be a problem.

We were frustrated with our language skills at this point so we hired one of our favorite teachers, Felipe, to work with us one day per week and he took us right back to the basics and we were shocked to find that we really needed the review.  In hindsight we think it would have been better for us to take 4 to 6 weeks of intensive courses and then spend a few weeks putting what we learned into practice before taking additional lessons.  Trying to learn the entire grammar structure of a language in 12 weeks had left us with just too much information to process during normal conversation.

During August many of our friends began to finish their classes and we went to going away parties every week.  We also had some decisions to make.  We had phone interviews with the Peace Corp both in June and in August and had been asked if we would be willing to postpone our service yet again, to the beginning of next year.  We agreed but were beginning to wonder if our Peace Corps service was going to happen for us at all.

We thought we had time to brush up on our Spanish and take the ACTFEL test which would open up the possibility of serving in Central or South America; thereby increasing our flexibility and making it easier to place us as a couple.  The logistical gymnastics required turned out to make this impossible.  We also needed to continue to think about our stated agenda of living in the world and exploring new places, cultures and making new friends.

After long and careful thought we decided that we needed to explore Uruguay, for several reasons.  Although we hated the idea of leaving our new found Spanish friends, South America was a place we intended to explore.  Among the places we had quite a bit of interest in was Uruguay so we decided to start at the bottom of the continent and work our way up, perhaps even “woofing” a bit until the Peace Corps called us to serve.

Lo and behold we found a 3 week cruise from Venice, Italy to Buenos Aires leaving in November that cost just more than half the price of an airline economy class ticket.  Considering that the cruise price included living expenses for nearly a month and we loved the idea of spending a few days prior to the cruise exploring Venice we booked the cruise with final payment due in early September.  Marilyn found a centrally located and decently priced bed and breakfast in Venice and made a reservation.  At this point the trip seemed a long way off.  Then the cruise document requirements arrived by email.

We needed to obtain a Brazilian visa for the two stops the cruise line would make in Brazil; San Salvador Bahia and Rio de Janiero.  The visa service used by the cruise line stated that it would cost $400 each and that we would have to be without our passports for up to 8 weeks.  Considering that we were already abroad, we weren’t about to be without our passports for any length of time.  Plus the price seemed a little ridiculous, nearly doubling for expedited service which would still have taken 4 to 6 weeks.  Damn!

Searching for solutions we decided to try the Brazilian consulate in Madrid.  We had been meaning to spend a little more time exploring Madrid anyway and from the consulate’s website it appeared that we could make this happen.  After making the appointments online (we had to make two; one for each of us – back to back) we received a list of documents and information we would need to bring with us.  This we could do after all of our careful preparation.  We needed passport sized photos (easily and cheaply obtained), bank statements, cruise documents, etc.  Our appointment was scheduled for early September and we were assured that if our documents were complete, and in order, we could obtain our visas on the same day.  At no point did we discuss the cost of these visas with anybody (potentially a really bad mistake).

We said goodbye to Ricardo, Klara, Tuva and Greg.  Diana left at the end of the month for a long driving tour around Spain with an old friend.  Andrew and Allison had not yet returned from the states and Kellie traveled to England and Brit was running around Spain with Anabel so we settled in to work on our Spanish, explore Granada and practice our tapas with the professors (Miguel, Rafa, Carlos and Antonio especially) and students from Castile.  During this time we met Mike and Pam, a lovely English couple who were living in the Costa Blanca region of Spain and we spent quite a bit of time listening, after hours, to our friend and wonderful guitarist, Wahdi play the guitar.

We also continued to learn about the history of this wonderful city from our good friend Fernando at Puertas de las Pesas.  Thanks Nando for being so patient with our language skills and for continuing to speak to us until we started to learn to understand the language and the dialect of Granada!

We settled into the late summer Andalucian lifestyle being active in the mornings and evenings, eating the large meal of the day in the afternoon followed by a siesta and then showering and putting on new clothes in the early evening.  The days passed by in an enjoyable blur even though early one morning, in the dark Mike tripped and fell face first into a piece of furniture and broke his nose.  An encouraging sign during this small trauma was: wondering where Marilyn had disappeared to while trying to stem the flow of blood with a very small cloth Mike called out “Que haces?”  Apparently we were beginning to “think” in Spanish a little bit.  After a bit of straightening and many, many jokes from our Spanish friends who found Mike’s two slightly black eyes hilarious, everything turned out okay although the nose does have a bit of a curve to it now.

We didn’t go to the doctor or a hospital for Mike’s nose but at one point Marilyn lost a crown and had to visit a local dentist.  We also made an appointment for Mike to see a dermatologist about removing a mole we were concerned about.  Our first experience with the Spanish healthcare system!

Monday morning we began our last month of classes with the added bonus that soon we were going to get to see Kellie and Brit almost every day, even if just for a few minutes when we are on our morning break since both schools share the same buildings and gardens.

 Beautiful weather made for great outdoor activities and we took advantage of it!

In mid-July, our school offered a special activity.  Granada has an International Ballet Company and every summer they put on a very unique program at the outdoor stage in the gardens of the Alhambra.  Just imagine this 1,000 year-old fortress encompassing what seems like miles of palaces and gardens beautifully sculpted into the top of a hill with majestic views of the surrounding city at night.  Even without the ballet it would have been an evening to remember, but this year I was delighted to find, they were doing a show incorporating the story poems of local poet Garcia Lorca combined with the ballet company and a company of authentic Flamenco dancers and musicians. 

Michael was completely uninterested preferring to hang out and drink beer and speak Spanish badly with his friends but Kellie and Brittani got as excited as I was.  We bought our tickets, had dinner at Puerta de las Pesas before we left to go up to the show.  Being summer in Spain and an outdoor venue, the start time for the production was 10:00pm.  Unfortunately we were asked not to take photos during the performance but it was one of the most memorable of my life; all three of us were moved to tears at one point or another.  It so well performed that we were able to follow the story; even though we did not understand much of the language, or in the girl’s case, none at all.

 After the ballet we made our way to the bottom of the hill where Mike waited to have a beer and walk home with us.

When the girls had time, which was not often during their 4 week TEFL course, we managed to take a few hikes around the surrounding area and get some beautiful shots of Granada from the hills.  It was certainly a summer we will always remember fondly.

We were getting to the end of our school experience, many of the students that we had met were already gone and we were following their new adventures on FaceBook. 

We had a great group of friends and acquaintances that was expanding both in Spain and spreading out into the other places in the world that they called home.

Importantly, we had made some very good Spanish friends who did not speak any English.  We really needed these friends because communicating with them forced us to use the language we were learning.  

The family at Puerta de las Pesas, Fernando, Paloma, Jose and now Adrian and Danielle and sometimes even Ana were so patient with us. 

Incredibly, they didn’t seem to mind the abuse and in fact seemed to enjoy these crazy Americans with bad Spanish language skills.  This was important for us since we did not have a television to use for practicing our listening skills (highly recommended) and we needed Spanish speakers with whom we could converse without feeling the need to speak grammatically perfect as we were required to in our classes.

In addition to listening to our bad Spanish, they talked with us about the history and the local traditions of Granada, allowing us to feel more at home and to help us understand the people and culture in southern Spain.  We jealously watched their grand-daughter Noella speak freely and easily, with very few mistakes and we envied this little 3 year old conjugating machine.

 We were able to watch how she was learning the language and listen to the way she was corrected in her own native tongue.  We spent so much time sitting outside this particular restaurant that all our classmates and professors started referring to it as our salon (living room) and we totally agreed.

One drizzly day, Fernando took us on a walk around the Albaycin and we brought Kellie and Britani with us.  We walked out of Plaza Larga through the new gate and then stayed within 1 kilometer of the top of the hill, on just one side in a small section of the Albaicin and saw more historical features than we could have imagined in this small area. 

We took a few photos but mostly just listened to Fernando explain the history of each place and tried to understand the details of what he was telling us.  Knowing that we were only grasping a very small part of all that he was telling us was both frustrating and enlightening.  We wanted to know it all, right then, but somehow knew that we would enjoy the telling of this history over and over as our language skills improved and we spent more time among and gained a better understanding of the wonderful people who live there.

We were living in a little house that is as old as our country, walking to school every day on paths that have existed for centuries, and learning from the people who live with this everyday of their lives, it is an experience that does not readily translate onto paper. 

This new chapter in our lives was shaping up to be incredibly interesting.  Fernando brought books, drawings and photographs to the restaurant and patiently explained the perspectives and history piece by piece.  There is a lifetime of learning to be done in cities like Granada and we have been delighted that we chose it as our first home away from home.