The missionary position

A while ago I was approached by a few missionaries of the church of Jesus Christ. Two "elders" and one of them was just an ordinary member of the church. Of course they were Americans.
So I thought how hilarious, they want to try to convince me of their beliefs, or rather 'knowledge'. They told me they knew god exists. At that point I thought they are definitely lunatics, as it is logically impossible to know if a god exists(or not) if you argue that a god cannot be detected by scientific methods. On the other hand, if you argue that this god could be detected, than you have no case as this hasn't happened. So I thought well usually these church people are well connected, maybe they could be of use in finding me a room and it would be interesting to see what they would try. I have had many boring/frustrating discussions with Muslims all following the same flawed path of reasoning and I know two people who took part in a "Jugendfreizeit" (I think youth camp might be a workable translation..) by some christian sect. From what they told me it seemed, that they mixed some drugs into the food.
Well anyways I gave them my phone number and after I don't know a week or two I get an SMS that we could meet, if I had time the next days. Of course now that I am moving to Madrid I neither have time nor interest. At least that is how it would have been, if I had gone to Madrid today (I haven't). Then they send me a message that I could come today to a conference about social integration and the role of religion and government. Well since I didn't go to Madrid today already, I could have gone, but I have better things to do than to listen to a speech on how they plan to achieve more power. That's what this is about, the method of a sect to gain power. Draw in people who are in need, by offering them help. Earn their trust and strengthen ties with the government. Draw in the young, for they can be molded to become proper followers or sheeple as some say.
Funny though how young their "elders" were. :)

Well tomorrow I will definitely leave for Madrid!

bureaucracy

It is raining again.. well this will hopefully be the last night in the tent! If I am lucky, I will be moving to a room in Madrid, Hortaleza tomorrow .. or on Sunday. (If that doesn't work out, I'll be sleeping in a Hostel for a while.)
It is far from an ideal place to live(the room), but I will be ok for a while.
I was expecting a bit more enthusiasm from prospective future flat mates. I was shown the room by someone not even living there(I think she was the landlord or something), even though everyone was there. Two of my flatmates didn't even come out of their rooms at first until I said: "Hi!" Well one of them will leave towards the end of August. So cards will be mixed anew.

Then I had been in Madrid two times without too much success. The reason I went there was to apply for a NIE(an identification number for foreigners), although after reading many contradictory things I am not sure I actually need one. On the other hand it is asked for by the employer and will probably make many things easier.
So I went to the police station in Madrid, after searching for the right street for some time. There I waited in a line for some more time and then was told to go to another police station... okay so buy another metro ticket and go there. Then at that police station I was told... to go to another one ..again.. So another ticket and .. too late, because they are only open from 9-14 o'clock .. There were others sitting there (definitely not native Spaniards, so the chance was high they would speak English) and I asked them. They said the station would open again at 16 o'clock. "Strange!", I thought, "Probably just for people with appointment" . After all the opening times on the wall clearly read 9-14 o'clock. I decided to wait and eat a Döner, Moroccan style (with Olives) and in Dürüm instead of bread. So far I have learned one thing, all the 'normal' Döners here in Spain are too small!
Then at 16 o'clock I went to the police station again and they were open, but told me to come between 9-14 o'clock another day. Of course on all the police stations the persons that mattered only spoke Spanish. The police officer at the door speaks a bit of English .. but the persons responsible for foreigners just speak Spanish. One could think there is a policy behind this..
The next time I came with the pictures for the document, but they also want two copies of the passport, as if they can't do the copies themselves..
Whatever, they gave me a form to fill out. The thing is this form is not the simple form for the NIE, but one for a tarjeta de residencia. This is standard for Europeans. We don't need the NIE instead they have us apply for this tarjeta, which we wouldn't need either (afaik). Well the good thing is, I think this means I will have to pay less tax and a few things will be cheaper for me. So it's not bad, but still cheating! Or maybe I just didn't understand enough of what they said ?

Whatever. Then yesterday I read the information I got from my employer again and noticed that I would get information on these things at my HR Induction. Well so much for trying to get this done before work starts..
After that I decided to stop my fight with the form (I am not sure exactly what I have to fill out) for now and since the visit to another flat I planned for today didn't come to be, because after one mail I didn't get a reply anymore and I didn't find the contact data again, I have a 'free' day today ... with lots of rain (Oh it stopped!). I think I'll eat another Döner today. The last one in Alcalá de Henares or something like that, or maybe a Döner plate would be better...

Rain

I always thought of Spain more as a dry and hot place.. Well I am going to have problems with wetness around here! Just after I left the tent today it started to rain and it hasn't stopped for hours! Good that I tried to fix the tent a bit yesterday. I just hope I won't come back to a swimming pool later on!
I am absolutely not equipped for this situation. The biggest problem are the shoes. I am walking around with sandals.. The other pair of shoes is also totally unsuitable for this weather. This would be less of a problem if I would be in the city, but walking through wet meadows with sandals is just not advisable. There are also far too many thistles around!

Looking for rooms around here also seems is a minefield. Many of the pages are just meant to solicit money from you. How bad is it, if a service that is meant to help you find a room, offers 6 month memberships ..
Of course you have to become a "premium member" to actually be able to use the site!

Oh btw. Hello Sergio! I am a bit surprised that you managed to find this blog, or did I tell you of it ? As you can see I am still around, so if you still want to do the intercambio, you know how to contact me.

First time at the office building

Now there is still some time left until I actually start working (21st of June), but I went to the office building today to fill out some forms. On my way there I got a bit lost in Madrid and wandered around for about 3 hours before finally finding the building. :)

They take security rather seriously there. I was given a card to be able to enter through the main entrance. Then I got a visitor clearance ( I was allowed to walk around with someone else) and I think you only get clearance for the level you work in. Oh and I was not allowed to take any recording device with me. I only read that when I was in there (so I had my mobile with me..).
I was only there for about 15 minutes, filling out the forms and then I walked back to the train station which took about 1 1/2 hours. Yep I definitely should get a flat nearby, otherwise I will pay a lot in bus/metro tickets..

For some completely unrelated thing, to the female world out there:
Please stop applying Makeup while driving! If I had not been careful I probably would have been killed twice here already by women who don't look onto the street..! (Of course, guys should not apply Makeup while driving either. ;) )

The tent will be history soon!

So I have been staying in the tent for the last few days and I am already starting to look really wild again! Why did I stay however ? Well I applied for a job on saturday. I then checked my mails on monday and had a reply, that they were interested. So I had to fill out a Questionnaire and the next day an Email test and then I had an interview by phone. Finally I have a job! That certainly happened rather quick all of a sudden.

Now I just have to find a room!

As for the tent it is currently a rather nasty place to stay at, because it is raining all the time and nothing really dries if it got wet. I think I will move to a hostel a day before I start to work or so, if I can't find a flat by then. So that I can take a shower at least. :)

Luggage, money and disorientation

So tomorrow I will leave aimlessly for an unknown place. The parents of a friend of the students here are going to sleep here. I thought I would have another place to stay, as I had gotten a reply from someone on CS a few days earlier that he had a room etc.. But then I got a mail today, that he currently can't host me. I should should make a decision on what to do, but somehow I am a bit aimless now. Well there is one profile left on CS, so I could write a request and I probably will, but I was told it's unlikely that they have room now ( my host here knows that person and then it is for tomorrow...).

I really would need to earn a bit of money before actually continuing my travels. I was told that it's practically hopeless for me though, because you need to have a working level of Spanish for almost all jobs. The others would be long term jobs.
I am tempted to try just hitchhiking around without a plan for a bit, but my luggage is too heavy for that and if I end up in the middle of nowhere I would be in serious trouble without food etc.. This is the problem of property..

There is rain predicted for tomorrow..
Mmm will certainly be interesting and it may then be a very long time before I will be online again.

Under a roof again

I left the remains of a tent on Saturday. Since then I have been staying with 3 Serbian students, but nothing has really changed. Neither did I find a room nor any work around here. I think I should learn more Spanish first, but somehow little opportunity arises.

I also didn't manage to sleep at all tonight so am really tired now. I have to see where I can go now though. Nothing really seems to work out in Spain.