Things I realized here in Spain.

Hello Everyone,

Before I came here I wanted to be a Spanish citizen, or an Austrian citizen. It´s not that I don´t like being a US citizen, but I just thought that having a European passport would be exotic and cool.  I really wanted to be European and have the same rights as a European citizen. Why not ? After all, my mom was born and raised in Austria. I have a lot of family there too, and I like staying connected to my family heritage.

When I came to Europe, I got to see just how hated Bush and the US policies are. There was and still is so much Bush bashing going on. But the truth is, is that right now I am happy with being a US Citizen. Even though I think that our country has a lot of problems (What country doesn´t?) I would rather be a US citizen than any other country. I had to travel outside the US to realize that. I miss being in my own country. Sometimes there is no place like home. Barcelona is officially my favorite city, and I like staying here, but I would rather permanently live in California and be an American.

I realized that I have a lot more opportunities than a lot of other people in the world simply because I was born in the United States. A lot of people complain about the US. But ya know what ? I ain´t complaining. I talk to people from Argentina and the Dominican Republic and they wonder why the hell I am here when there are so much more opportunities in the US. Did you know that they are´t even allowed to set foot in the US without a visa ? And do you know how hard it is to get a visa ? People from poorer countries such as Argentina or the Dominican Republic aren´t even allowed to visit the US as a tourist. They have to apply for a visa first.

If I could give people any advice, it would be to travel and live away from home for a little while. It certainly broadens your mind and makes you more tolerant, not to mention smarter. Okay, moving along....................

I went to the US Consulate today. It felt good. It felt like I took a mini trip back to the states. But anyways, it was an interesting experience.

I have been to or walked by the consulate office of other countries. I´ve been to the Consulate office for Austria. It was a little attic in some office building. The consulate office for Thailand is an apartment space in the apartment complex where my student lives.

The US Consulate office is actually a big white house ( or 2 ) near Mt. Tibidabo (an expensive hill where all the rich people live). Just to GET IN you have to have a US passport, and they scan it. Then after they let you get in they make you walk through a metal detector and leave your camera and mobile behind. All the employees there talk to you through a glass window and there are cameras everywhere. I felt like a VIP member with my US passport and all.

I guess that with all the Anti-US feelings, they have to protect themselves.

I also got a chance to be a tourist all over again today and blew some of my paycheck. I also took lotsa pictures, but I will write more about that later.

Ciao.