Xmas Eve in Disneyland

Twas the night before Christmas
and all through Amsterdam
Many creatures were stirring
Including drug dealing Hungarians

The lights were hung shining
Thru the streets like bright flares
And the dutch people really truly spoke
Beautiful American English without a care

We walked and walked
Thru icy cold streets
And never did manage to fall to the ground in defeat

There were museums and breweries
all visited along the way
But knowing tomorrow will be Christmas
We do not plan to stay

The gift I will be receiving
Oh the one gift I will get
Will be a one way flight to Bilbao
On a wonderful Vueling Jet
(soo much better than RyanAir)


I'll be home tomorrow, Spain to all your jamon glory. Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo a todos!!!
<3 Coty Lee

Good times.

It´s Friday afternoon after my one day work week in the midst of wsu finals and I am nothing but smiles. Perhaps it´s the ever so welcome tshirt weather in the middle of december. Or maybe it´s the fact that I am about to head out on a road trip to Málaga with some very fun chicas for an impromptu weekend adventure? Who knows.
As for my renewal application scandal I have decided I am going to spend another year in the south of Spain because there is no place like it. However, I am trying to move to the Mediterranean coast or perhaps back to Sevilla. There is quite the lack of internet in my house no matter how many times I go talk to señor Julio at the Phone House, so I´m at the wifi cafe as usual setting up my new ultra-sexy Spanish laptop. Best Christmas present I have ever bought myself.
Hasta luego. Real update on Spain life hopefully before I head out to Amsterdam.

Entre pino y mar

Rain rain go away I´d really love to have clean clothes today... oh what I would do for fluffy warm clothes straight from the dryer, smelling of bounce static control sheets.. mmmm, America. The cabbage smelling rain in Huelva definitelyyy is not my favorite weather pattern, but, oh well. I´ll take it over the blizzards in Washington state any day of the year.

Life in eSpain has been just as good as usual, though very busy the past few weeks. The week days had been so full that I was managing maybe 4 hours of sleep a night.. it was like a university days flashback, except better because all morning I get to play teacher instead of student and I find that a lot more fun. My days at work are a mix of learning experiences, ridiculous hilarity, frustration, strange strange comments, and all kinds of language issues. Sometimes I can´t even speak the English correctly after hearing it be butchered all day. Then, I return home to my Scottish and English roommates and that´s a whole nother story of dialect fun... everyday is another adventure.

Too make up for the crazy weekdays, I have been having even better weekends. Last weekend I took a trip with some members of Team America and a London bloke over to Faro, Portugal. It was a great time. Some happenings of the weekend involved: friends getting detained at the Portuguese border and sent back to Spain, Obama in Lisboa, fake train rides, a drunken Brit who believed America was still a British colony, a mariachi man singing Juanes songs, boat rides to desert islands, churches made of human bones, a German who believed he was barbie, a science museum, street hot dogs with extra carrots, just the usual.

Human skulls and bones. How festive.


The highlight of this week was definitely being able to celebrate Thanksgiving with a great group of people in Cartaya: 4 ´mericans, 2 Kiwis, and 4 Spaniards. So much fun, good food, rioja, arts/crafts, Macy´s day parade, and thankfulness. I ended up falling asleep on their couch and woke up to find the blanket fairy had put a table cloth over me to stay warm. Definitely a holiday well done.


Thanksgiving dinner at the usual 10pm

It´s a nice rainy saturday and I need to get out and do the shopping, work on some projects, clean the casa, and then probably go out with some friends to see what there is. Christmas holiday plans are almost complete and Christmas day will be spent on a flight from Amsterdam to Basque Country, Spain, with my amiga, Allison. Thanks Vueling Airlines for your great deals.

Besos y abrazos, Cotrina

Viva las vacaciones..

The holiday season is in the air. Carrefour has been decked out in Christmas lights since Halloween, street venders selling roasted chestnuts are popping up all over, the chino stores are filled with 6euro Christmas trees and flashy ornaments, the nights are dang cold without heating, and I'm feeling my usually lack of holiday excitement. Lesson plans are being made to teach about the wonders of American Thanksgiving and I'm considering roasting some sort of poultry to celebrate the occasion after work next Thursday. My favorite part of all this madness: many weeks of vacation are headed our way in December and it is time for a very untraditional holiday season.

Due to a beloved Spanish "puente" in early December, I will have 6 days off work in a row. I know if I stay in Huelva province too long, I could go crazy breathing in the fresh arsenic air, so I am talking with some friends about exploring more regions of Spain. Up to now I have seen most of the western half of the country plus Barcelona and Madrid, but something tells me I am missing out by not seeing the east coast yet. Also, I found out I only have until February to renew my job contract in order to continue working in Spain next year. The time to do my "new location shopping" is flying past. I am happy with where I work this year, but I think I need to explore some new lands when next fall comes around. Right now I'm between Valencia, Murcia, Asturias, or a new location in Andalucia (maybe Malaga?).

Any input from Auxiliares/other Spain savvy readers on a good place to live = greatly appreciated..

Anywho, besides more travels in Spain, I am planning some international endeavors for my time off between Dec 17 and Jan 9. Right now, I am planning on going to Amsterdam at the start of the break, then possibly to Germany and back to northern Spain (Bilbao), then headin south for a week of relax in Huelva-land. My Christmas will probably be spent on some form of public transportation because there's something about me that has never quite appreciated a traditional holiday season.. Times like these really make me miss holiday times spent with my best friend, kayaking through the snow, digging my truck out of two feet of frost, enjoying the movies of Kevin Spacey and Will Farrell, and drinking good amounts of white zin.

Oh well. Let the games begin

my job, etc.

I've been working at my high school for a good 6 weeks now, and thinking about it, it seems like I've been there way longer, though I guess in hindsight, time always flies. Time is such a strange concept in this country on any level anyway. I can't believe it's already mid-November. Halloween, Election Day, and my big 2-2 all have already come and gone, and Fall is finally settling in. I'm thankful to be here this year and that snow and ice will not be a part of the horrible season called winter.

So far, I have been pleasantly surprised by how well the whole "language assistant" job is going. I never studied education or really thought about being a teacher: this job was simply a means for going back to Spain and to be able to do it legally of course. By some sort of luck though, I enjoy going to work because it seems like I'm doing something different everyday and I haven't fallen into the whole monotony of routine. The teachers I work with keep me entertained and make my job even better. My schedule is different almost everyday and even from week to week. One day, I'll mostly do class prep, working one on one with certain teachers, and another day, I'll be in the classroom helping to teach math, technology, or English. Some days I work evenings as well teaching a private class to a group of students or working with adults (mostly other teachers) who are learning the very basics of English. Honestly I think I like teaching math more than any subject, especially English language.. just because someone speaks a language does not mean they should be teaching it.

When I first started working with my students, I tried to pretend I didn't know Spanish. In the end that hasn't really worked, especially with the non-bilingual classes. I always tell them over and over to only speak English to me, but it doesn´t work all the time. My students´English levels range from pretty bad to almost conversational. Yesterday, I was having a funny chat with one of my students about whether Mexico spoke English and if it was a part of America and not until 5 minutes into the talk, when he said to me, sii entiendes español, and I said nooo, did I realize the whole time he'd been speaking Spanish to me and I was answering him in English.

I really need to sleep more.

Everyday is a Winding Road

I get a little bit closerrrrr

Buenos días, noviembre...

These past few weeks have been real crazy with a whirlwind of problemas coming at me from both sides of the pond and for a good while all of the madness left me exhausted, overwhelmed, and wondering what the heck I am doing so far from home. Luckily though, the support of mama Rosa (and many others), along with a weekend spent with good friends in Sevilla and Granada reminded me why I love being here and yet again, I’m content, pasándolo bien, and stayin on my toes with all that is living abroad.

This morning I woke at 5am, freezing cold, with no hopes of falling back asleep. I came to terms with that fact and just got out of bed, showered, and took the scenic route to work. Thanks to fall back, the sun was already rising at 7am, and I was enjoyin my bus ride, lost in random thoughts staring out over the Atlantic. That was until the bus driver suddenly got on the loud speaker and started speaking German. The woman next to me began giggling like a crazy and I asked her, “es alemán el conductor?” and she just continued giggling, saying, no no, he just speaks german for fun..

Instead of trying to write about the good times that were passed in Granada for Halloween weekend with some members of Team America, I'll just post a few photos. It's time for me to get going on my chino store shopping experience, the great need for more blankets in my new flat (which, btw, is equipped w a rooftop terrace), and the fact that some gypsy just walked into this bar trying to sell me leaves means I really need to move on and pay for my cerveza...

Never stop exploring.

No puedo leer sin mis gafas, Alberto...

Anywho, I´m very busy the rest of the week with work, study, then fiesta fiesta.. I love life. <3 near and far,
Cotrina

Another week in the life

Thanks to Christopher Colombus, Dia de Hispanidad, and another unsuccessful day with immigration (yay broken intranet), I barely have even worked this past week. It's a nice, warm Sunday afternoon here in Huelva and I'm finally home from a very eventful weekend eating a delicious mango and trying to get going on my studies and prep for english teaching this week.

Here's some thoughts from the week:
I still don't know how things ever actually get done in this country, there is a ridiculous number of differences between British and American English, salmorejo is more of an art than a food, monologues read in a cockney accent are amazing, isla cristina is a beautiful coastal town, spain has so much more pride since winning the world cup, Portuguese sounds a little creepy, shopping, don simon, and skype can be great therapy for home sickness (I was REALLY missing some people earlier this week), my dreams here are incredibly vivid and very much in spanglish, i really want a bike and need to go hiking in some mountains asap, huelva actually has some fun night life, i love nerdy spaniards, the ten day forecast is sunny and 75ish everyday, i have another 6 page paper to write and better get going.

Much love from across the pond, the world, or the Iberian peninsula, wherever you are reading from. Until next Sunday...

The Rain in Spain

Yes, I said it.. In both Sevilla and Huelva the weather this weekend has been a crazy mix of warm sunshine, clouds, then torrential downpours, and I've secretly enjoyed it. I just got back from running, and one of the random spurts of rain (that probably consisted of more water pressure than the usual spanish shower) began. And honestly, I enjoyed it. Running in the rain always reminds me of those crazy days of cross country running during high school in Alaska, except that today was a warm 70F degrees, not 45. Yes, I was repping my Washington State tshirt.

What else have I been up to lately??

Last week was my first week in the classroom, and to my surprise it went really well. I'm assistant teaching in English language classes, as well as a few math and technology classes taught in English. My students are between 11-17 years old and I think its going to be a great year working with them. This week in the classroom mostly consisted of me giving a short presentation on my life/Alaska/AMERICA, drawing some pictures/maps, and answering questions. How old are you? Alaska es frioooo? Do you have a boyfriend? Do you like the Spanish boys? Do you speak the Spanish? I lied a little. It was fun.

I've been rotting away at my computer as well, enjoying the wonders of online classes, followed by the distractions of Skype, gmail, cnn.com, bejeweled blitz, and facebook. This past week hasn't been to full of deadlines, so I've actually been a lot more distracted by books, new friends, and exploring Huelva. One of my coworkers showed me the collection of books in English that's been compiled at the the high school, so I grabbed a few and spent the next few days sitting on my balcony drinking tinto de verano (made with extra classy boxed wine, of course!) and indulging in some great stories.

I've finally gotten to know Huelva pretty well, and have made it a point to discover every park in the city. Last weekend I went to Parque Moret with an amigo who showed me a man made pond with rowboats you can take out for free. It was a fun afternoon, and the park is huge and hilly, I loved it. I also noticed on my map of Huelva that there was a park on top of a hill above downtown, so one evening on my way into the center to meet up with some friends for a drink, I took a beeline to the left. I wandered up to the park entrance and discovered you can see the entire city if you climb a little..



Besides that, I've gone out a few times to discover the umm night life of Huelva, which definitely doesnt compare to Sevilla's, but is still fun enough, and a great way to meet more people. And dance. Lately I've hung out at home indulging in Spanish television, hanging out with the dog, my roommate and her friends, and am slowly learning how to cook more spanish foods. I also enjoy the wonder of life without dryers, hanging my clothes outside, anxiously awaiting for them to dry, then ironing.. Yes, I secretly miss dryers and their fluffiness.
I better get going and finish my homework, which I always leave for Sundays, and is the reason I'm not still in Sevilla. Pero, bueno, eso es la vida. No me puedo quejar. Hasta luego.

More things, more things!

¿Más cosas?
Well, my first month of Spain life round two is already coming to an end, time really does fly.. I´ve gone to work out in Cartaya quite a few times already and I officially start working in the classrooms next week! My co-workers are great so far and working at Rafael Reyes is definitely going to be an adventure.
Huelva Capital is a place that kind of has to grow on you because in comparison to other Spanish cities, it´s not that beautiful. It seems like the more time I spend here though, the more cool things I discover and I can´t wait to have more free time so I can get up to the mountains in the northern part of the province for some hiking and explore more of the coastal towns around here. Starting tomorrow, I officially have a 3 day weekend with zero obligations and I can´t wait. Actually starting now I´m free, but since I´ve been sick with some sort of cold on steriods, I´m being tranquila at home for the afternoon (of course I can´t resist going out for tapas tonight..).
I could write on and on about all the things that have gone on this month, but since I´m writing a blog and not a book, how about a list of highlights? Ok.

• My plane not going down.
• Rosa, Noro, Sara, and Katya waiting for me at Plaza de Armas when I arrived in Sevilla. I felt warm and welcome as soon as I got back to Spain.
  
• Discovering the people of Huelva not only have a clearer, easier to understand accent than Sevilla, but are also very nice, helpful, and hilarious in general.
• Rosa´s surprise 50th bday party en el campo.
• Nights out in Sevilla. So much fun.
• Passing my online classes. However, it is not so cool being chained to my computer 3-4 days a week.
• Speaking more Spanish than English.
  
• Rafael Reyes and Cartaya. And a 3 day a week work schedule!!
  
• Chillin by the Guadalquivir. With Simon. And amigos.
  
• Beaching it up. Love love love living near the coast and two rivers. Water is wonderful.
• Free internet from Universidad de Huelva
  
• Yelling in Spanish while I sleep.
• Meeting so many random new people I can´t keep track of names anymore. I´m sorry, I´m a number person, can I have yours?
• Cruzcampo and tapas.
  
• Walking 1-4 hours a day. Everyday.
  
• Being offered more jobs than I have time or energy to take
• I might just stay here forever... or at least a few years.
• Please visit me

I´ll leave you with a photo of the USA booth at the festival of the nations in Sevilla. Our stereotypes are hilarity.

Suerte

Suerte.. there´s your word of the day. Spanish for luck. My life sometimes feels like nothing but a mix of incredibly amazing luck followed by the most horrible luck someone can find. The past 24 hours of my life have been a perfect example of Murphy´s Law: Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.

Yesterday started out oh so beyond perfect that I had to hold myself back from dancing through the streets of Huelva as I walked home from the Oficina de Extranjeros (immigration office). I had gone into the center expecting a horrible waste of a morning waiting in lines and being stressed out in an attempt to finish my immigration documentations so I could get my national ID number and residency card, but that did not happen.

I walk into the center and find Calle Fernando el Catolico, which brings me straight to the extranjería, which cannot be missed: outside there are tons of immigrants sitting in somewhat of a line and inside there are another 50 or so awaiting their turn to process paperwork. I talk to the guards and tell them I´m from the States and they let me right into the building without going thru security. I go straight to the lady at the front desk and explain (in Spanish of course) that I need to see someone ASAP to process my NIE and TIE because I was only given 30 days from my entrance in Spain to do so. She smiles brightly, goes off to the back, then gives me the hand sign to come right on back and talk to an officer. I cannot freaking believe what is happening. I sit down, he gives me my applications, I give him my paperwork, he smiles, tells me stories, there may have been high fives, and once we´ve finished he tells me to come back Monday morning at 8:30 when the employees are arriving and to meet them at their entrance to finalize the process and do my fingerprints. ¿WTF? Being blonde and speaking Spanish definitely paid off to say the least.

Oh, but don´t worry. My entire day was completely down hill from there.

I arrive home, turn on my ancient Dell, and start on my homework and making a plan to somehow get everything done before my big due dates on Sunday and Tuesday. I get an hour or two of work done before I decide I´m hungry and need to cook some croquetas. Of course the oil is super hot and as I try to move the pan over to another burner it splashes my right hand with boiling grease, and I feel a pain I can only describe as horrific. My roomie wasn´t home and I didnt even know what to do, so I stick my hand in a glass of cold water and try to google up some remedies with my left hand. Meanwhile I´m on gchat and get horrible news about a family emergency with a friend and I´m freaking out about that. I try to take my hand out of the water, scream, put it back in, ahhh, then get on skype to make some phone calls while wondering if I should just go to a doctor and wishing my roomie was home. After no straight answer on what to do, I decide to walk to the farmacia because that is always the solution here in Spain. I get some cream, the lady and I giggle a bit, then I return home, realize I have got no homework done and say screw it and just chat with my roomie til I go to bed at 11 and watch some Craig Ferguson on youtube (aka my sleeping pill). I pass out while the computer is still on, then wake up to find my computer battery has died even though it was plugged in, and now my adapter no longer works. putavidademiera. I get ready to go to work and to stop by the electronics store to see if they have Dell adapters/how much a new laptop would actually cost. As I´m packing my purse I grab my ipod touch to put it in its protective case and of course drop it on the floor and the screen halfway shatters. Tears. At mediamarkt, computers are way over priced, they dont have adaptors, and I´m sorely dissapointed. I catch the city bus towards the bus station, the bus breaks down, I walk to the station from there, almost miss my bus to Cartaya, and here I am, sitting on my boss´s computer waiting to go to the staff bbq in the countryside and forget all my troubles for awhile.

Tomorrow I am headed to Sevilla because Julia IS coming and I want to throw WSU online out the window. We´ll see what happens. Until then, gracias for reading. Adios.

Contenta.

Contenta. That basically explains how I feel after my first week in Spain. Contentísima may be a better word. I got to spend quality time in Sevilla with the amigas and familia, found a beautiful apartment in Huelva and already settled in, have a great roomie and a dog, have spoken zero English, hit the beautiful beaches, gone shopping (ultimate Spain fashion makeover, jejeje gracias a Sara and Katya), laughed at the randomness of society, and all the while kept up with the ridiculous homework load of WSU online.




Punta Umbria, that is where I spent all day yesterday sleeping in the sunshine (with spf 50, of course) and swimming in the warm waters of the Atlantic. Without seeing any sharks. Thank you Shark Week for forever changing my view of swimming in the ocean.

Buenoo, I cannot believe how smoothly things have gone here already. From the moment I stepped through customs without being asked a single question, I haven't had any major problems. It seems like this time in Spain is so much easier because I knew what to expect coming in and I can actually speak their crazy language now. It is so valuable to be able to communicate because here in Huelva, I haven't come across a single person speaking English, which is actually pretty awesome because that means I'll be able to find a lot of work with private lessons, translating, etc.-- plus I already have my real job at the high school.

Well, I better get going on my mountain of homework I left for today. Being Sunday, the true day of rest in Spain, I get to stay at home all day learning the arts of Statistics, Geology, and Communication, then I´ll go for a long walk when it cools down tonight. I'm excited to see what kind of adventures this week brings with my visit with the police to do my residency paper work, my trip to Cartaya to meet co-workers, and Sevilla on Friday for some weekend fun, and a very special someone's birthday.

¡Hasta la próxima!

Sevilla

Well, there's photographic proof. I have made it. 3 flights, many bus rides, and a lot of sad goodbyes and happy holas later, I'm in Sevilla. I really hate the fact that I cannot sleep on airplanes and that for some reason, I am now very afraid of flying. I was sweating some painful bullets during every take-off, landing, and strange sound I heard the airplanes make. Teleportation really needs to hurry up and be invented.
Anywho, I am a very busy chica here trying to get my whole new life setup while trying to keep up with the online courses I'm taking through WSU, but things are fantastic. After finally sleeping last night and having a few cafe con leches on ice, I'm not even jet lagged. Despite not sleeping my entire 24-hour trip here, I arrived to Sevilla at 7pm and was full of raging Spanish energy til 1am.. only to wake up at 6 am way too hot to go back to sleep. Its about 100 degrees here everyday. Without air condicioner. Yum.
Tomorrow I'm going to Huelva to check out a few apartments, though I am pretty much set on a 2-bedrom with one other 21-year old girl who is Spanish. She has a dog, and a clean, beautiful place which almost makes it a done deal for me. I really only want to live with Spanish speakers so I can speak take as much advantage of my time here to be completely fluent.
Buenoo, I don't start work for another few weeks, so I'm sure things will slow down after a bit. Until then.. Adioooo

Adios America

I cannot believe August is already ending and that this time next week I will either be asleep at Mama Rosa's casa due to major jet lag or roaming the streets of Sevilla with the chicas. All I can think is 'how did this summer go by so fast'?? The time has finally come to pack my bag, say my goodbyes, make lists, print itineraries, keep a firm grip on my passport and visa, and pray American Airlines flight 94 doesn't go down over the pond. Thank god I am not flying with Samantha Heller. "I don't think were gonna make it" are not my favorite words to hear as we dive around through turbulence 6 miles above the ocean. It's such a whirlwind mix of emotions to be leaving the country with a one-way ticket, but one thing is for sure: I am excited.
I've been waiting and counting the days for this for a very long time, but this past week there's some strange nostalgia that's been hitting me about leaving so many things behind for a few years. Friday was my last day of work in Pullman followed by an awesome goodbye party, and it finally dawned on me that I have really loved my life there lately, and I'm going to miss my college friends and wheat field life a lot. When I come back, they're all going to be done with Pullman, and I am finishing my degree online anyway. It's weird that my home base will be gone in a way, and that I have no idea where I'll live when I return to the States.
I am currently in Oregon visiting my grandpa and choosing which things I will store here and what few things will be shoved into my one checked bag to take to Spain. To sum that mission up: putting your life into one single bag is a huge challenge. I feel like I'm voting so many clothes and momentos off the island. However, since I will be carrying all of those things through New York City, Madrid, and then Sevilla, it is so much smarter to simply pack light (and not pay outrageous fees airlines now charge for luggage..). I had to wash and clean out my truck today, and even saying goodbye to my pair of wheels was kind of sad. I am going to miss driving and crazy road rage and shouting whatever song lyrics fit my mood at that moment.
Tomorrow I am headed back towards Clarkston to say my goodbyes to some great friends there and catch my flight to NYC at 5am Wednesday. I'll spend a few days there with friends I met while studying in Spain, then Saturday evening I'll be headed back to Iberia. I don't think it will hit me that I'm actually moving back to Spain until I land on the runway of Barajas and see the Spanish sun rising.

Until then, I am soaking up every ounce of American goodness possible.

¡¿Cuántos días faltan?!

As my countdown for leaving to fly back across the pond gets smaller and smaller (less than 40 days!!), I continue getting more anxious and excited to get on that plane. My tickets are bought, visa paperwork is processing, and September 1st I fly out to NYC. Then, three short days later I´ll be boarding the red-eye for Madrid!

After a 2 month vacation of travels around the NW and Alaska, I´m finally back to work at two temporary jobs for my university and it´s a great distraction from thinking about Spain and everything I need to do before I leave los Estados Unidos.

Sitting at my desk today, I couldn´t stop thinking about what is driving me to leave America for the next few years and whether I had even thought much into the negatives of the situation? Being the list-maker I am, I started writing the whys and why nots of this whole endeavor. Of course there were only about three reasons to stay: actually finishing my degree on campus, being closer to my family and friends (and not miss the million weddings in the next two years, though I am bummed I might miss my bestie´s...), and well, saving money.

But then I started making a list of why I am actually going, and was ready to hop on a plane before I even got through the second bullet point.

• Another new adventure, pretty much self explanatory. I have trouble with routine and doing the same old thing for very long. I can´t wait to spice things up again.
  
• Language Benefits. I think everyone should experience what it is like to be in an environment where most people don´t speak your native language. It has changed my whole outlook on communicating, and I´ve gained the advantage of being nearly bilingual. Another year in Spain and I will be! Plus, living in Europe there are so many opportunities to pick up other languages with a little effort.
• Spain´s lifestyle. I could go on for a long time about this one. The social-ness, the walking rather than driving, tapas y cerveza, mañana attitude, late lunch, different foods, amazing night life, siesta, etc., etc.
  
• My teaching job! Working in a bilingual high school in Southern Spain is surely going to be interesting- especially since I´ll be working with math and technology classes taught completely in English to Spanish teens. I´m very excited to see how the job goes and to meet all my co-workers and students.
  
• Good weather, living near the beach. Why not? I used to get S.A.D. pretty bad in Alaska, and year round light and plenty of sunshine are definitely a good way to avoid that.
• Meeting more and more people, and probably some very interesting characters. And getting to spend more time with my great friends in Sevilla. I have missed them very much this past year.

And oh the list went on and on.
I cannot wait to see what Huelva has in store for me. ¡Hasta pronto, España!

The most exciting letter ever.

By some miracle a letter sent from southern Spain on June 16 arrived to my PO Box in Pullman this morning. For 7 longggg months I had been waiting for this letter, and could not believe it finally had arrived. When I tore open that envelope with my destiny awaiting I saw the bold words: Cartaya (Huelva), Spain. To me this was very good news, the best of both worlds: getting to live near the beach, but also being less than an hour from Sevilla, one of my most favorite cities in the world and where I studied in 2009. I ran out to the parking lot and called a friend, half yelling, almost crying, and letting it sink it that I´m really moving back to Spain in 74 days. Oooooh what a feeling. To top off my day, Julia, a friend who´s also doing the program, finally called me this afternoon and said she was placed in Sevilla. No puede ser.

Anywho, Huelva is a small city of almost 150,000 on the Atlantic coast. Even though it´s not exactly the most beautiful of Spanish cities, it definitely has some amazing beaches, low cost of living, and most importantly, it´s Spain!!! (And very near the Portugal border!) I´ll be working in a high school in one of the whitewashed pueblos outside of Huelva called Cartaya, less than a half hour commute. I´m really stoked to be able to integrate more into Spanish life too since Huelva doesn´t seem to be a big touristy destination. I can´t wait to continue improving my Spanish, maybe take on German (or French, or Portuguese!), and forget words in English all over again.

Julia:"Today is more exciting than the day I got into college."
True that...

The journey to get back.

During Spring of ´09, I decided to go to Spain and study for a semester, just for kicks, without the slightest idea that I´d really love it and that the experience of leaving my comfort zone would change my life so much. But, here I am nearly a year after my return to the States preparing all my documents so that I can get my long term Spanish visa and head over in September to start my new job!

Last Fall after a month or two of googling and researching how to legally move back to Spain for awhile, I ran across a program through the actual Spanish government that hires North Americans every year to work as language and culture assistants in their Spanish-English bilingual schools. The job almost sounded too good to be true, work only 12-16 hours per week, earn a monthly salary, free medical, and get a long stay visa residence card to be a legal human being in Spain. But as it turns out, this program is legit and I have been accepted to work in Andalucia- though I may be waiting and checking my PO Box every day til July so that I can know the actual school I´ll be working in. Besides that, the only thing that stands between me now is a load of bureaucratic fun: background checks, medical releases, visa apps, and maybe even a road trip to San Francisco to visit my "local" Spanish Consulate. Anyone up for a 16 hour drive??

Soo, I haven´t quite finished my degree yet, but I have the benefit of WSU´s online program, so I will be finishing my BA part time while working in Spain. I should finish up in another few semesters with a Bachelor´s in Business Management and Ops with minors in Mathematics and Spanish. Oh yes. I have some ideas as to what I might do for a career and with my life later on, but I don´t believe in planning too far ahead...you never know where the road might take you. I just know I like the road I´m strolling down at this moment- I think one of my biggest fears is graduating college, entering corporate America, and then having a hard core midlife crisis before I´m 30, which would probably lead me to do the Camino de Santiago and hike 100s of miles by myself again.. I´d rather just do that for fun.