Student Blogs/Phil in Spain
Too much has happened since my last blog post! I traveled home for Christmas, traveled to numerous European countries and cities, started a new semester, finished exam period and celebrating fallas is just around the corner. The trip back home for Christmas was a much needed a rest and relaxation time with family and friends that I cannot complain about! After I got back to Valencia, I felt like I have a new mindset and an overall new thankfulness for the opportunity that I have been given with my year abroad.
Part of my New Year’s resolution is to seize the moment as much as possible. I feel like I have been doing that almost too much and have not had time to reflect on the fantasticness that has been my life over the past couple months. With my trip back to Valencia from Canada, and the realization that came with it, and just remembering to enjoy the different culture here, enjoy the opportunity to travel, enjoy the opportunity to make new friends, the opportunity to learn a new language, and the opportunity to learn in general.
I have tried to make the most of those opportunities with trips in January to Rome, Madrid, London, and Amsterdam. It was an action-packed month! I saw new sights, learned to travel by myself, had my passport stolen in the process, experienced my first hostel, and saw some of the best things in Europe. I just can't get over how much I love traveling and experiencing new things.
The trip to Rome was the first of the metropolises that I managed to visit. I stayed there for four days, with the first day doing my favourite activity when I visit a new city: just walking around and stumbling upon some hidden gems. Of course everyone knows Rome, the eternal city, but there is honestly so much to see. From the Vatican, the Roman Forum, the Coliseum, and much more. I also did my best to climb the Seven Hills of Rome (but not in the same day).
While in Rome I visited the Coliseum and Palatine Hill, which history buffs might know as the historic site where the first known inhabitants lived intents of Romulus (the legendary founder of the city and empire that came from it). I spent almost a full day on Palatine Hill, seeing the Roman Forum, the ruins of previous emperors’ homes, and the tents of Romulus. So after seeing all these I decided to grab lunch and relax for a moment.
Unfortunately while relaxing and eating my lunch, someone decided to come and steal my back pack, where I kept my passport! I had become one of the many people that have had a personal possession stolen while abroad and probably the most important one at that. After it was stolen, I scrambled around searching, praying, hoping that I would be able to find it tossed aside by the thief, but to no avail. While opening garbage cans to see if I could find it, I ran into an English lady, an Italian man, and a French man wondering what I was doing. Luckily they calmed me down and told me what to do next. This was to go to the police station and report the stolen passport. I did so and called the embassy from the police station. They redirected me to Ottawa and told me that I would have to wait until Monday to get to the embassy, which was unfortunately the day that my flight was scheduled to leave. With my day somewhat ruined I decided to walk around and see some more of Rome.
The next day I tried to not let this event dampen my spirits, so I decided to walk down to see the Coliseum and bought an audio guide for my visit. For next time I would definitely recommend a registered tour guide, as you can go to places that are off-limits to the public with them, as opposed to just walking around. But it was still definitely worth the visit.
Because I was visiting on a Sunday, I realized I could go and see the Pope’s Sunday address! If I was going to make it in time, I had to scramble. I hopped on the subway, which was probably one of the most crowded I’d ever been on, and headed towards the Vatican. I got to St. Peter's Square and took a seat near the Basilica. As luck would have it, I happened to sit down right beside a Canadian man who, at the age of seventy, had decided to travel to Europe for the first time by himself.
We ended up chatting until we both realized the Pope’s address wasn’t going to come from the Basilica, but from a building in the distance. The pope’s speech was very interesting, even though it was in Italian. My very limited knowledge of Italian told me he was announcing cardinals and it just so happened a Canadian from Quebec had been elected. The fellow Canadian and I let out a small cheer when we heard the Pope say Canada!
After my visit to St. Peter's Square, I couldn't enter the Vatican-proper because I had lost my passport. I decided to go and explore Rome by foot some more. I headed east of the Vatican and explored the part of Rome I had not entered. It was beautiful with the Quirnal Palace in the background I tried to call the embassy again just to make sure that they were aware of my situation. I called and they said my best bet to get back to Valencia was to wait in Rome for a passport (whick would take a couple of days), and that there was an extremely small chance I could get on the flight back to Valencia.
On Monday morning, I woke up and headed to the Canadian embassy in the northern part of the city. When I arrived, I learned I would be there all day filling out information, and also would need to contact family in Canada to confirm my identity. Because it was 3 a.m. in Canada, that would prove to be difficult. So rather than wait around, I decided to try and catch the flight, hoping my charm, good looks and a little bit of luck might get me aboard.
I had the police report and my NIE card from Spain which I hoped would help. The person from Foreign Affairs in Canada I initially spoke to when my passport was stolen explained that I may be able to fly as it is a very short distance and there is an agreement between Italy and Spain when it came to flying back and forth.
I took the hour-and-a-half bus to Fumiciono airport hoping that it wouldn't be for nothing. I walked to the Ryanair desk, hoping and praying they would let me get on the flight and deal with it once i got back in Spain. I lined up waiting and got an older male flight attendant which I hoped would understand my case. I started to explain my situation how my bag was stolen with my passport inside, showed him the police report and my NIE card. He slowly raised his head after looking at the paper work and probably saw the pained expression on my face, and said "I'm sorry you had to go through this during your stay in Rome... Enjoy your flight back to Valencia." I managed to make my flight! Against all the odds and the advice of the embassy, I could deal with it back in Spain, as I had another flight booked to England on the Friday, which gave me 3 days once I landed back in Spain to sort out situation.