I'd like to say that it's Spain that does everything backwards or makes things so difficult, but in reality I think it is anything official. Let me give you just a few lovely examples...
Banking
So the past few days I've been trying to either transfer Ryan some money or take some more out of my account. Nothing I've done has been successful. First I was going to transfer from my bank account into his U.S. one. Well first I had to wait until 9 a.m. in the states which translates to 2 p.m. here to call. Then the lovely attendant told me I had two options: write him a check or come to the bank to make a wire. Clearly neither of those options are possible since I am IN SPAIN. Scratch plan uno. Then I'll just pull some money out of the ATM like my lovely bank ladies and I had discussed before I left. Down five flights of steps, 4 blocks away, and two banks later I discover my bank had refused me. Okay, I'll just give them a call which still entailed returning the 4 blocks and walking up the 5 flights. Sigh. I called the 1-800 number to discover to talk to a person, they don't open until 7, so I had another 3 hours here in Spain to kill without being able to do my errands. Alright a little sun and reading can't hurt ;) I called and talked to another helpful lady who put a note on my account though she warned me to wait a hour before attempting to use it. Just another hour of waiting....I can do that. So I actually got caught up in my book, Jennifer Cruise is funny, so I really waited a hour and half and then walked back down the stairs and blocks and arrived at the ATM. I scanned the area around me....always a bit nervous when alone and pulling out cash no matter how close la policia are...Guess what???? It STILL rejected me. Back up the steps to call again. The lady of course put me on hold because that is always the penance for asking to get a solution. She said she called someone and the travel notice is finally clear and I can use the card. So now I'm drink a coke trying to relax myself before I go back down and try it all over again. Forgive me but my optimism is a bit shot.
Post Service
In my earlier posts I might have mentioned forgetting a few key items in my hotel. It's the problem with moving too quickly. That and I think I have a deep set desire to leave my i-pod everywhere (I've already lost one to the plane once). So Ryan and I have been trying to figure out how to get the items back since it is an 11.5 hour train ride not to mention the cost of that train. After a few calls and e-mails with the hotel, we finally were given the suggestion to have a postal service pick them up rather than having to send an actual person (thank god). They suggested UPS, which to me is a comfort zone since we have UPS in the U.S. We hope on-line to attempt to start this simple process only to spend the next few hours in confusion and loops and canceling 2 transactions. I'm truly not convinced that they are going to pick it up today since it still told me that the package will arrive in Barcelona today at 10:30 a.m. even though we put in the collection last night at like midnight. Also when we just scheduled a collection it never had me put in my credit card or when it was going, just the zip and city. Even UPS is difficult to navigate! Just send me good thoughts or you may never get any more pictures on my blog seeing as the chargers are in Granada or on a UPS truck.
Spanair
When we were planning our trip to Granada, it turned out that I had to fly by myself since the train was booked. We quickly booked a ticket from Spanair since they were the cheapest and times were the best I could find. Of course a few hours after booking, I received a strange e-mail (in Spanish of course) that said something about the payment not working. Of course it didn't! So Ryan had to call them immediately and fixed it all whilst attempting to work. Ah, problem adverted. When we returned home, we checked his account to not only see the fee for the plan but another 110 Euro charge from them. Wtf???? So Ryan e-mailed them about a week ago. I had been meaning to call them, but was not looking forward to arguing with a Spanish airlines about his bank account. Finally they got back to him today to say it is a retainer or something and after 10 days they recharge his account. Apparently the money should be put back in now, but what is up with that?? Since when can companies just charge an extra 100 euros without telling you and then giving it back....strange happenings.
Unfortunately these are just a few of the lovely occurances dealing with money and companies and I guess life in general have to offer. Though I do think that being in another country clouds it up just a bit. I have a feeling you all have many of your own similar stories.
Bona Tarda
Updates....................................................................................................................................................
Banking: The third time was the charm! I know, can you believe it? When I went back down for that last try it worked and I was able to pull out money. Of course the usual ATM I was going to go to had odd guys standing in front of them, so I had to find a different one, butttttttt I still am now able to pull out cash. Yay!
UPS: This is did not go as smoothly. Wednesday UPS called Ryan's phone in the evening saying there was some kind of issue. Ester, being the sweet person she is, talked to UPS to figure out what the problem was. It helps when you can easily speak fluent Spanish :) She said it was something about there being 2 labels and they are going to charge us twice if we don't call tomorrow with the confirmation number...strange. The next day the package arrived YAY and then I had Ryan call them still to make sure we didn't get double charged. At the moment all is well and I finally have my chargers again which means PICTURES!!!!!!
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