The waiting is over! After 5 calls to the consulate (at least) and one blog post about how long I had to wait, my visa arrived in today's mail. My month of laziness has come to a close.

Now it's time to book the flight (already done), contact my school in La Rioja (already done), and pack (not even started). Even before leaving, I know of one hiccup that could be disastrous - the general strike in Spain. Apparently transit of almost all kinds is very hard to come by at the moment, so I'll just have to hope the strikers have made their point by the time I arrive.

My thrilled expression upon receiving my visa. I look slightly devious.

There will be more news to report before long. Thanks for reading.