In case you´re a new reader or in case you may have forgotten, it took almost five months for me to officially receive this job here at the Univeristy. I had to beg for the staff here to send me the application, rush it back to Spain because they sent it to me at the last minute, wait to hear if I got accepted, wait to recieve the official letter of acceptance (the orginal I never saw), and then wait for my visa. This all should have taken no more than two months.
So I´m finally here, and it´s been one month. Guess what I´m still waiting to do?
Sign my contract.
I´ve been attempting to do this since my third day here. But once again I had to do the leg work of contacting the right people, obtaining the right documents, and making the right appointments.
This morning I was determined to accomplish my goal. I was going to sign this contract. I´ve attempted to do this three days in a row now, but this morning I was determined.
When I first arrived, the receptionists spent about 10 minutes searching for my paperwork that I had just dropped off to them the day before. To give you an idea of how organized this office is, let me provide you with some photos that I snuck. The receptionists literally started sifting through individual papers in these stacks of papers for the my contract:
They ended up telling me to wait for their boss, whom I spoke to before and wasn´t too thrilled about speaking with again. I waited 1.5 hours for her to come back from her "lunch break." (Keep in mind that the office is only open from 9-2 in the mornings.) She finally came in and asked me if I brought the university letter from the Extranjería, the foreigner´s office (the letter for which I had to make the extra trip to the Extranjería last week--thirty minutes outside the city). She gave the letter to me last month and I guess she told me to bring it back, but I didn't understand. The Extranjeria told me that they needed the original letter, so I let them keep it. I believe that this woman knew this would happen and just wanted to set me up.
Long story short, she caused a big, unnecessary scene in front of a 5-6 people waiting in line behind me, being sarcastic with me and arguing with her colleague. I couldn't even defend myself in Spanish. I was going to tell her that I refused to teach another day until she let me sign the contract, but she kept interrupting me.
I felt completely defensiveless, trying to form phrases explaining my situation. My tongue got caught among my anger, mental translation, and processing of everything she said, and I started speaking shamefully broken Spanish in an American accent. I started pointing to certain documents with shaky, sweaty palms that were ready to slap upside the head.
She must have been mocking me because when she asked a question and I answered "sí," they guy behind me started laughing.
I sharply turned around gave him a glare--a glare that released all frustration, embarrassment, and rage.
If death stares really killed, this guy would have been dead before he even hit the ground, and he would have been knocked down so hard that you would still be able to see the imprint of his body in that hard, concrete floor.
I´ve never seen anyone´s face turn from humorous amusement to absolute fear in such little time.
No Spanish was needed to express my thoughts with him.
Luckily the woman´s colleague came to my defense. She brought me into her office to save me from further public humliation, sat me down, called the payment office, assured me I'd be paid this month, and arranged for me to receive another letter. She's going to call me when it's done so I can sign the contract. She was really nice and told me to come to her from now on.
As long as they pay me, I don´t care if I never sign the contract.
The entire scene was unnecessary, and the problem was easily resolved. That woman is lucky she´s working in Spain and not at any American help desk.
But looking back on the situation, it was an experience that will serve me well in the future. Being humbled and reduced to nothing more than the faces you express and the sounds you mumble gives you a lot of respect for people who may be judged by the way they speak on a daily basis--other foreign language speakers, people with severe speech impediments, stroke victims, people who are deaf. Judgments and assumptions are made and opportunities are denied. Somehow and some time this experience will help me in the future.
If anything, at least I will always have that comical image of making that guy in line behind me go pale.
So I've decided I need a vacation from Spain.
Next week I only to work on Thursday, so I'm taking advantage of this time off and visiting my friend Rachael in Germany. We met during our third year of college but didn't become close to our fourth. We became good friends with two other girls. For the last year and a half of school, the four of us were inseparable.
Here is my favorite picture of the four of us. I think it captures the essence of our friendship. This was taken during our day trip to the Carnegie Art Museum in Pittsburgh. (Rachael is on the far left.)
(photo by Paige Butcher) A link to her site is on the sidebar of this blog. Check out her photography!
I'm so excited because I haven't seen her since May, and I've never been to Germany. I'm going to have my own personal guide.
I may be MIA until Wednesday, but I will return with many pictures.
Que tengas un buen fin de semana!
So I´m finally here, and it´s been one month. Guess what I´m still waiting to do?
Sign my contract.
I´ve been attempting to do this since my third day here. But once again I had to do the leg work of contacting the right people, obtaining the right documents, and making the right appointments.
This morning I was determined to accomplish my goal. I was going to sign this contract. I´ve attempted to do this three days in a row now, but this morning I was determined.
When I first arrived, the receptionists spent about 10 minutes searching for my paperwork that I had just dropped off to them the day before. To give you an idea of how organized this office is, let me provide you with some photos that I snuck. The receptionists literally started sifting through individual papers in these stacks of papers for the my contract:
They ended up telling me to wait for their boss, whom I spoke to before and wasn´t too thrilled about speaking with again. I waited 1.5 hours for her to come back from her "lunch break." (Keep in mind that the office is only open from 9-2 in the mornings.) She finally came in and asked me if I brought the university letter from the Extranjería, the foreigner´s office (the letter for which I had to make the extra trip to the Extranjería last week--thirty minutes outside the city). She gave the letter to me last month and I guess she told me to bring it back, but I didn't understand. The Extranjeria told me that they needed the original letter, so I let them keep it. I believe that this woman knew this would happen and just wanted to set me up.
Long story short, she caused a big, unnecessary scene in front of a 5-6 people waiting in line behind me, being sarcastic with me and arguing with her colleague. I couldn't even defend myself in Spanish. I was going to tell her that I refused to teach another day until she let me sign the contract, but she kept interrupting me.
I felt completely defensiveless, trying to form phrases explaining my situation. My tongue got caught among my anger, mental translation, and processing of everything she said, and I started speaking shamefully broken Spanish in an American accent. I started pointing to certain documents with shaky, sweaty palms that were ready to slap upside the head.
She must have been mocking me because when she asked a question and I answered "sí," they guy behind me started laughing.
I sharply turned around gave him a glare--a glare that released all frustration, embarrassment, and rage.
If death stares really killed, this guy would have been dead before he even hit the ground, and he would have been knocked down so hard that you would still be able to see the imprint of his body in that hard, concrete floor.
I´ve never seen anyone´s face turn from humorous amusement to absolute fear in such little time.
No Spanish was needed to express my thoughts with him.
Luckily the woman´s colleague came to my defense. She brought me into her office to save me from further public humliation, sat me down, called the payment office, assured me I'd be paid this month, and arranged for me to receive another letter. She's going to call me when it's done so I can sign the contract. She was really nice and told me to come to her from now on.
As long as they pay me, I don´t care if I never sign the contract.
The entire scene was unnecessary, and the problem was easily resolved. That woman is lucky she´s working in Spain and not at any American help desk.
But looking back on the situation, it was an experience that will serve me well in the future. Being humbled and reduced to nothing more than the faces you express and the sounds you mumble gives you a lot of respect for people who may be judged by the way they speak on a daily basis--other foreign language speakers, people with severe speech impediments, stroke victims, people who are deaf. Judgments and assumptions are made and opportunities are denied. Somehow and some time this experience will help me in the future.
If anything, at least I will always have that comical image of making that guy in line behind me go pale.
So I've decided I need a vacation from Spain.
Next week I only to work on Thursday, so I'm taking advantage of this time off and visiting my friend Rachael in Germany. We met during our third year of college but didn't become close to our fourth. We became good friends with two other girls. For the last year and a half of school, the four of us were inseparable.
Here is my favorite picture of the four of us. I think it captures the essence of our friendship. This was taken during our day trip to the Carnegie Art Museum in Pittsburgh. (Rachael is on the far left.)
(photo by Paige Butcher) A link to her site is on the sidebar of this blog. Check out her photography!
I'm so excited because I haven't seen her since May, and I've never been to Germany. I'm going to have my own personal guide.
I may be MIA until Wednesday, but I will return with many pictures.
Que tengas un buen fin de semana!
1 comment:
What an awful experience, Ashley--I'm so sorry that happened to you. As for American help desks, though...I think we've all seen non-native English speakers treated just as shabbily on this side of the Atlantic, unfortunately.
But I'm glad that you get to escape after all that! Say hi to Rachael for me, and have a great time!
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