mi primer día

So with my personal blog, if I name entries, I name them as if they were titles of Friends episodes, like “The One Where I Move to Spain” or something. I thought with this one, I would go with Scrubs titles, but make it more Spanish by saying “Mi” instead of “My”.

I have many travels to write about in here, but for this entry, I’m going to focus on my job.

I am an auxiliary de conversación, which means I provide Spanish students with the opportunity to converse with a native English speaker, and I help the Spanish teachers teach English.

I am teaching at an IES, Instituto de educación secundario, which is comprised of 12-18 year olds. In Spain, mandatory education ends at 16, but 16-18 year olds who are planning on university attend a “bachillerato” which helps prepares them for the field of study they want to go into (arts, technology, etc).

I am teaching in a bilingual school, which means the school is teaching in both Spanish and English (or Spanish and French) so students will have an edge by knowing two languages.

One major difference between Spanish schools and schools in the United StatesSpain, the students stay in the same classroom all day and the teacher changes classrooms. Also, the entire school has lunch/recreo at the same time. Those were the two biggest differences I noted during my first day.

The group of students I met today seemed eager to learn and use English. They were the youngest in the school, and they had a bunch of questions about us and the United States. I think they seemed to appreciate my knowledge of Spanish fútbol. I guess Real Madrid is the team to root for here, although I still will support Valencia. As long as it’s not Barcelona, eh?

I’m excited about this job and what I’ll be doing this year. It’s good to know I’m on the right path.

Current Music: I Know It's Over by The Smiths

the one that serves as an introduction

Spotted: Señor Brightside in Chicago this time applying for and picking up a visa to Spain. Could it be he's finally returning to Spain five years after he fell in love with the country? What could possibly lead him back, and to a town called Linares in the middle of Jaén of all places? Is he running from something other than a disasterous economy in a country that just declared itself an enemy of Spain because the presidential nominee doesn't know who the prime minister is? Or does he have good intentions in mind? I will dig and give you the answer as soon as I know it. XOXO, Gossip Guy

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One weekend in April, I found out about an opportunity to make my dream of teaching English in Spain come true. The application was due the following Wednesday. I got my medical clearance, police background, letter of recommendation, academic transcript, statement of purpose in SPANISH, a written promise of my first and third born children, etc etc etc done in two days during finals week. I chose Comunidad Valenciana as my preferred choice of location as I have an interest in Valencia and learning Catalán (or should I say "valenciano"?)

Three weeks later, I found out I got the job and was placed in Andalucía, as Comunidad Valenciana wasn't participating this year for whatever reason. In July, I found out that I would be teaching at a CEIP in Baeza. CEIP? Elementary children? A town of 16.000? Oh no! I found someone willing to switch with me, and I ended up at an IES (12-18 year olds) in the town of Linares, about 60.000.

I somewhat felt like Joel Fleischman on Northern Exposure: A big city boy (although I've never actually gotten to live in a big city) stuck in the middle of nowhere but getting to do what he wants to do most in the world. Hence the name: Jaén Exposure.

After two trips to Chicago to apply for and then pick up my visa, after working the world's most boring job all summer to save what little I could, after years of dreaming, on Wednesday, I will be boarding a plane to Miami to board a plane to Madrid that will take me to a brand new life. What experiences await me? Am I totally insane? Will I have all the packing I need to do done? What adventures are in store?

Time will tell as Wednesday is truly the first day of the rest of my life. I'm a mixed jumble of emotions that range from excitement, sadness, hope, fear, the world is my oyster and anxiety. I know this is what I need to be doing and where I need to be, as I feel a calling for Spain, a calling to teach, and a calling to write, which I will also be doing in my free time.

So here's the true story of one Ohio boy chosen to spend a year teaching English in Spain. Find out what happens as he lives the life of a Spaniard and starts getting real...the Real World: Jaén.

Current Music: Don't Bother de Shakira