On July 31, 2013 I arrive at O'hare with two wonderful women, together, making up 1/2 of my support system. With smiles and kisses they wave me on to the ticketing counter. Though I look back wishing they could join me, I have to move forward on my adventure.
I arrive in Sevilla 18 hours later to begin exploring and learning about Anadalucian culture, only to find 1/2 of the city is shut down in August. Treking to bars with the staff of my hostel and using my terrible spanish to drunkenly fight budgers in the bathroom line, I begin to feel comfortable and excited for what the next 6 weeks will bring. I move in with the de la Chica's the following day and though I feel like an outsider there is a sense of relief to hearing my name for meals and seeing their smiling faces each time we interact.
Leaving Sevilla was difficult after forming a deep bond with 'my family' that taught me so much without realizing. They will forever be in my heart and someday Rocio and I will have coffee in Triana and talk about the grandchildren and her Pueblo again. I will then be able to give her something special from my hometown.
I make another family of friends in Sevilla. Through all the stress and exhaustion three of us fall in love with one another and the Reinas are born. On my last afternoon, We stand next to the Plaza de Armas and I get into the cab seeing their two beautiful faces smiling into my future.
Those two will be the women I come back to spend shady lazy afternoons with; drinking tinto de verano and eating hummus and chips. They are the women that chose me, and even worlds away from our respective homes, we feel at home, together.
I return to Chicago to see my family, genetic and chosen, time stands still for a minute as I come down the escalator and see my parents' faces, I miss the unknown of the Spanish adventure. While battling through torn emotions and struggling with the mountains of paperwork, there are moments I deeply believe I'll never make it back. Seeing the most beloved people I've ever known makes me want to stay. Makes me want to leave half of myself on Argyle or Cole Street.
In those two weeks I saw what my life could be like without Spain, without Spanish nor cañas nor terrace living. I wanted to stay for one reason, but that reason was not my own. I needed Spain and I'll never regret returning.
Arriving in Madrid, and knowing no one, made for some struggles but even more rewarding triumphs. Losing touch with people while meeting individuals from all over the world is difficult at first- but eventually, like all things- it gets better. I serendipitously meet one of the most amazing women in the world and we help each other through difficult and delightful events over the next nine months. We share horror stories, drunken mishaps, celebrations, even clothes on occasion. She becomes my family and through her, I find several other friends. Together we form our own little family, here, something I never thought would be possible.
One year ago I left the United States for the endless unknown that was Spain. I left a life behind in order to grow and indulge myself towards becoming a greater Ida. Leaving Chicago was difficult- all of the amazing people that made it home for so long. But, just as I've grown so have they; some moving across the country or into new relationships, some have changed careers or are finding their passions, some have stayed close and some have fallen by the wayside. Every single one remains close to my heart.
I couldn't have done this without everyone's questions and calls and support. I couldn't look back on the last year and smile at what is to come if I wasn't sure that we will all meet again.
There aren't enough or proper words to say it, but ...Thank you.
I started looking about the living room and changing the frames and telling myself it wasn't good enough,
Then there was a break through; something that's maybe been waiting in the wings of my entire life. I'm good at everything I set out for.
I'm good at it, and being good at it; whatever it is is enough for me. I like being good at the hundreds and millions of things I will discover loving in my life. I say this (and form this sentence appropriately) because being so great at one thing means there is so much less time for the other hundreds of things I love to do.
The 'it" that I speak of is exactly that, a space to be filled.
It can be painting or socializing or cooking or fucking or crocheting or running or drinking or cutting hair or dressing or the hundred-million other things I care about. But I know that now, and knowing I don't have to decide makes me feel like I'm the ganadora. Because let's be honest, I am the one that always and forever wins in MY life.
Since the middle of March I've heard quite an assortment of good news. I will been staying for year two, two of my favorite people here will be staying for another dose and I have a summer job to pull me through the hard time of July -October.
The only sick, sad, and desperate hang-up I have; aside from the reality of being a passport holder of the USA, is a total lack of confidence. I came here with a million reasons to go back to Chicago-I'm very glad I now have very few. I came believing I was going to do so much in one 9 month period-I'm very happy I have so much more to do.
Now, knowing that I have so little grasp of What I want and Who i am these days, the few things I cling to; vanity, charisma, wine, random talents. They no longer work. They no longer DO the work they once did to make me feel confident and cultured and comfortable in a strange environment.
I have to cling to a very restricted vocabulary, or avoid political subjects, my age, my nationality, my lack-of-planningness, avoid telling people my sexual orientation and I how i feel about being a queer individual in a world that doesn't know what that means. Avoid making remarking to someone's belief that the USA is a great country, choose to be quiet when the idea the our economic standing means the general population is respresented well and there is no internal conflict. But no one wants to talk about these things.
And its a lack of having one or two or twenty people that I can call and say; "hi, how are you," and waste 5 minutes on the phone with because all those people I thought I had, I don't know much about anymore but I know that's not a conversation they want to have.
To reel it all back in;
I am deeply happy that I have been missing so many things and people and moments here and in other (Chicago/IL) places. I have learned more from my time without the important people and experiences because it forces a deeper look inside and into what makes my old life different than now. So, though the vague sense of loneliness can create a desire for companionship or conversation, I don't know a soul that'd come out of the whole process more aware and ready than I.
And honestly, I'm just proud that I'm good at knowing the fucking difference.
the worst grief is to know that all can be endured.
With this in mind, I'd like to share a chunk of my heart and soul... my writing:
REVISIONS:
It started and I heard their voice "Ida?" and I was caught up in them from that moment. It was like I knew that person inside speaking already, already! and it scared the shit out of me but excited me too.
I'm not trying to be romantic or dramatic or too much but it felt so good that one day, so good. But only for one day.
At first they wanted to be around me asking me to do things when I could't, asking me to go places that I wanted to go. Persistent in their asking yet I was often obligated to do other things but this quickly changed.
We started by seeing each other four times in one week. For many people this is normal, dating, but for me I don't know how to do these things and so I'm all in or not at all. I don't trust that things should have gone any differently or that they ever will and so that's why I'm writing.
It began with glasses of wine and small talk; learning about their intricacies and why we're both in this city. Shared interests became shared values became sharing meals and cigarettes.
I'm easy to understand; I'm up-front, honest, and emotional. I like making happy the person that makes me happy I like sharing and giving and telling them why they're important to me. I don't shy away from communicating even when it might exhaust me or hurt me. I'm an open book. And there in lies my destruction.
One of the first things I remember was them telling me that I would be 'intense' due to my zodiac. And let me be honest in saying I completely agree but that does not mean I want to hear it from someone else, especially someone I've basically just met.
For weeks I tried to prove them wrong, to prove myself, I suppose. Watching documentaries, drinking wine, making dinner... but slowly it fell apart. Almost exactly as I'd expected.
They called me fatalistic. It's as if the idea of me was more what they wanted to change than to get to know who I really am. Like I'm someone that needs help, that I'm someone that's not good enough because I remind them of someone else or several other people or an entire world that needs changing. But I am aware and intelligent and stable and caring. I don't need to be talked down to or coached through how to be more socially aware or have more cultural acceptance and integrity. But they will never know that, because they will never know how to listen.
I didn't always feel that way.
The Beginning:
It was innocent enough; a simple message to someone I believed would never respond.
I think I made a mistake...
In a few hours I had confused myself, made an idiot of myself and, as usual, convinced myself it was much more than it was.
Let’s not forget I’m the one that wants every single person ever involved in my life to be someone that latches on and sticks it out through all of the me that happens.
It’s already too much for me. I’ve invested something into this and I want it but I don’t want this someone else to be the person that is always leaned towards . Or, shall I say, I don’t want to be the person leaning in when the other person’s not even in the fucking boat.
Let's keep in mind breaking rules is normally the way dates, of any kind, go for me. This one was at least pleasant and made me want more, but that’s not to say it’s gonna be the one that changes everything.
The second time I saw their face we kissed, and I was in heaven, and i wrote:
When does it start?
That emotion that keeps us longing for a person only moments after they’ve disappeared… Within hours I met, enjoyed and began fearing what i thought might be the single time I was by your side.
Because like lightning I was stricken instantaneously. Your eyes, your voice, your lips.
15 steps later I felt foolishly nervous for the idiotic comments I knew I’d make. But 15 minutes in I was already taken with you.
Your voice is melodic and sensual and feels so honest and trustworthy as it rushes around me. The simple exchanges and interests shared gave way to bigger questions that neither of us seem skeptical to share.
You’ve been through a lot in your shorter life and I can't help but feel I’m nowhere near as interesting or intelligent. I try to make myself seem more worldly or self-aware but I pale in comparison to your knowledge or ability to enlighten others. The efforts you put out into the world in order to help others understand themselves and the socially demonized, and your expansive resume that you casually discuss, only further my self doubt.
hour after hour, drink after drink, and broken rule after broken rule lead me to wish the night would last longer.
The Analysis:
I am so concerned I need to push them away and leave the feelings on the line to drip and be wrung out again, leaving me dry and hard like every item of clothing I have in this gorgeous place.
They are here in my bed and I drunkenly and disorderly speak about what I want from them, and i know I shouldn't but I say it anyway; I want them to want to call me 'theirs' and therefore, call them 'mine'. As the words leave my lips, I know it will scare them right out of my bed, apartment. Right out of my life.
Yet, they are here when I wake and we kiss goodbye before they leave for work. Maybe this means we are both working to be better to and for each other. Maybe they just didn't want to have to get on the nightbus. I'll never ask, because that truth, isn't very promising.
I’m not really sure if this is what it’s supposed to be ‘like’ but I could give a shit because I like what it is.
And now, we are in this something. We are seeing one another a few times a week. We are sleeping and snuggling in the same bed regardless of what the next day has in store, regardless of how fucking uncomfortable the twin mattress on the floor might be or how loud my metal springs can be in the early hours of the morning. We seem to mutually ignore the problems and instead, sigh in harmony.
I can’t really describe it, I’ve never been with a person that had a schedule anything like mine or that lived close enough to sleep together. It’s lovely to wake up next to the person you care about and just smile at one another for the brief moment before the magnitude of the day hits. Each time, I roll over to look at them and I am hit with this rush of ‘yes.’
For now, I'm not scared.
The Elation:
With this year, in this place, with this new person in my life I felt no real pressure to celebrate America's biggest February holiday. In fact, I didn’t plan anything for them at all.
Just for me and my two favorite people in this great old city. A tradition from my Big Windy years; a nice slasher movie and some artisan pizza with a beer/whiskey chaser. Perfection.
And then, they asked to join. We enjoyed the film and the pizza and the fun moved from just chatting to dancing to more drinking to drunk.
And this is when things get, more or less, hectic. They touch me lightly on the cheek and kiss me in this precise way that makes me want to melt my body to theirs. They make me feel beautiful even when I don’t feel that way about myself. I smile and breathe and sigh and feel the blood in my body begin to boil as they are just laying next to me.
it evokes something else in me. It evokes a need in me to slow down while simultaneously telling the entire world that I feel as though they and I are a WE.
The Panic:
So here I am at the end of the rope, dangling with two fingers still fully wrapped around the unravelling tentacles of snarled fiber. On the edge of something else I will deem a disastrous relationship-almost. On the brink of just stopping altogether.
I thought I was making the right decision calling to end the strained relations. Calling to prove to myself that I am strong enough to walk away. To be the decider. To be my own savior.
I hear their voice and their exhaustion and pause and I said, “So, that’s it?” I don’t want to give up. but I never do.
But that’s not going to happen. They’re too angry and disappointed in me and my actions to let themself be alone with me now and maybe never again.
They say, “we both know this isn’t working” and that’s where its going to end.
I let it happen again, seeing all the signs that we'd never be a We and they'd never accept me and my flawed existence. For a brief moment, I was their mirror image, unable to listen to a single word from my counsel.
Sometimes the other people who see my pain and weakness and breakdowns are right. I can let them be right.
All I really wanted was to hold their hand for a little while and touch the nape of their neck and say how sorry I am and that this moment is what i had needed all along.
The End:
We caved and we met, like so many nights before. But I wasn’t the most interested in every moment of conversation. I wasn’t the most delighted with the lulls. I wasn't intoxicated by the surroundings of the first place we ever sat together. I wasn’t enamored of the idea that i had to prove myself. And yet, I can’t help but smile and laugh and love their stories and enjoy their company.
8 glasses of red wine and 28€ later we walk to the edge of Plaza Mayor and they say, "this is where I leave you." With Besos and their hands in my pockets, they pull away. I beckon them to me again for one last embrace, one more time.
Maybe tomorrow, maybe this weekend, maybe they'll come back to me.
I've only ever wanted to spend my days wrapped up in blankets and books together, drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes and hoping no one ever comes to the door again.
Though at the start of it all I was worried about being the only Auxiliar at my school and making friends and learning the language and being active and stable, things change so quickly its always hard to tell if I'm here or there.
SInce the holidays I feel like a different person, my old self... I have 3 private classes with children and another with adults each week. I started painting again. I am finally making friends and tending to social engagements! I'm happy to look in the mirror again. I'm happy that I see my smile there, even when I'm not smiling.
The biggest change of all is probably the fact my horizons are being torn the fuck open thanks to one very special person in my life. My roomie! Something I've never been good at is keeping control of my excitement and taking things in stride, taking account of my surroundings, being logical... all that just isn't in the anemic veins that inhabit my beautiful bod.
Since my last attempt at allowing new people in, I have slowly been transforming the way i think and react to these emotions. By taking the time to just be myself with her, Alyssa and I are both working on our things, insignificant as they might be, and putting my (and hers respectively) needs first as well as communicating a ridiculous amount about everything under the sun, I force the change on myself that I never would begin to feel I could embody.
As I wake each morning I think about what I want to do and what I have done. I think about where I am going and what the pay off or most pressing item might be. I think about what it means for my future and where the tiled sidewalks will lead.
In the end, I'm a narcissist- I love making sure I looke good/feel good/behave well/ project the image of person I want to be percieved as being and maybe that is why the only person in Madrid (even though I love making friends) is the one person who will look at me and say "use your inside voice" And I'm so grateful for that.
On Sunday the 15th of December, moving into the 16th, I am speaking with a dear friend while drinking my second bottle of alimentacion wine (I am a bit under the tabel, to say the least) when the topic of the holidays gets the best of my less-than-sober state of mind. Though I have moved past the issues I once had about being far from home I am less than able to deal with the onset of holiday tidings and the distance between my family, friends, and traditions I have grown so acustomed to over the last 26 years. I begin to cry as I hang up the call and quickly realize that, I have made my home here and I am happy, but the lack some things leaves a void that cannot be filled with alcohol and care packages.
Let me say, this does not mean I was asking for, or expecting the following evening's surprise from my enduringly supportive family... A last minute plane ticket home.
I begin to worry over the customs process and my passport renewal (as I am undoubtedly a nervous Nellie) but after getting all my ducks in a row, I begin to pack. I go to school the following day with the news, planning to have to make up time and possibly excuses for the trip. Instead, I am met with smiles and the support of my co-teachers and administration. This is only the beginning of the amazing time I will have.
I leave Thursday morning, saying goodbye to my amazing roomies with hugs and 'Feliz Navidad's and quickly find my way through the crowds to my terminal gate. Speaking my last few words of Spanish for the next two weeks, I find my seat in the exit aisle and pass out. After my 3.75 hour layover in ATL, I am on the brief flight into O'Hare when I begin to realize how Chicago no longer feels like home.*
*Chicago is the city that embodies the woman I am today. It's history and ever-evolving culture have always reflected the respiring ebb and flow of my own growth as an individual. For 8 years I walked the North Side, studied everything from biology to fine art, read, laughed, ate, smoked, fucked, and transitioned from a 'small-town city girl' to a well-read and open-minded woman that needed more than a great apartment and less-than-inspiring job. I have no idea now if Chicago will ever again be the city I live in, but there are places and even moreso people that will forever be in my heart.
I meet my adorable and amazing Father at the luggage carousel. As we enter the lobby of the hotel I could consider my third home, I mention how very different it is to be in the States again, everything is cold and foreign feeling. We joke about the weather and upcoming family traditions as we settle into the bar and before i know it we are 4 drinks in and my jetlag is reaching lethal proportions.
After a quick visit to the passport agency and the promise I'll have my renewed passport by Christmas, we pick up Nellie and head to the homestead, stopping for some real American diner lunch en route. The next few days pass rather quickly and before we know it, it's Christmas morning. Gifts are exchanged and naps are taken and as we pile into the car for our yearly cinematic excursion, Mom stops to relfect on how thankful she is that we are together and I think conflicting thoughts on being home in the States v Madrid. These are thoughts I'd never share with my family, especially my Mother as I don't want to offend them or have them thinking I don't love being with them.
The Christmas celebration turns to New Year's Eve and Nell and I head to Chicago with hopes of a snow-free drive and little traffic but both descend upon us in bulk and we are in the car for 5+ hours. Arriving in Andersonville ready for a stiff vodka water, the smiling face of my dearest Cait helps me to remember how Chicago is a beloved but changed city in my heart. We dress and enjoy a short, chilly, and snowy-ass walk to Tom and Pat's for some pre-party drinks.
I am met at the door with exceptionally warm hugs from the perfect couple and the always conspirative Nicholas. After 2 drinks and a shot of whiskey we re-bundle and shove off for boystown and the bi-annual extended friends' reunion party, the other taking place on pride Sunday each year. I didn't tell many people I would be at this party as I figured everyone likes surprises!
I was greeted warmly by so many people! Though a blur of drinking, hugging, laughing, and dancing. I remember how amazing it felt to see everyone, even for just a brief moment and remember the family and friends that Chicago has always held for me.
The following day after brunch and some more time with my queer posse, I picked up Nell and we stayed at the Palmer House Hilton. OH, I can't even describe the overwhelming happiness it brings me to walk through that lobby, memories galore of all the stays there as a child. We settle in and sleep as I prepare myself to potentially not have a passport in time for my flight.
I wake and rush to the passport office, without an appointment and things actually go smoothly. They have my passport in office, but because it's been packed to ship, they won't hand it over to me. I panic and immediately send my parents the tracking number. My Father, the amazing man he is, calls Fed Ex immediately and begins to set up a speedier delivery with notifications for every port, as well as set up a hand delivery from their offices in Blo-No. BREATHE, Ida. BREATHE.
So i get home later that day and pack as we will go to Chicago again the followng day for my last night in the states for just short of another year.
We get to the hotel and Every Weekday by Camera Obscura is playing and all of the emotions of the losses and gains of the past few months rush back. Later, when everyone else is asleep, I wake and begin sobbing. I'm so very lucky i think to myself. Everything I've wanted, shy of a few minor details, is falling into place and I feel complete for the first time in a long time.
The holidays always make me sappy, but I'm so very thankful that I've had this amazing experience with my family and loved ones. There's no greater gift than the moments we share with our most beloved people.
There was a long period of time I really believed something would stop me from building my life here. i never knew what the feeling was or where it came from but it was there, just sitting in my stomach, making unbreakable knots round and around.
It began with the application process in February; waiting and waiting to hear if I'd be in the Aux program. Then the concerns of my passport expiration date and visa processing timetable began to create anxiety. Finally, the re-arrival in Spain and first days of work started me thinking that my visa might actually make it impossible for me to stay past the 18th of this month.
I must first admit that many emotional rollercoasters have coincided with the anxieties of staying or going. When I began the journey I was in a long distance relationship and we had too difficult a time trying to make our lives coallesce while I was looking for a place to live and trying to make friends. After that collapse there were issues of staying in the program longer to continue my language immersion which naturally led me to contemplate how loneliness and distance will affect the holidays and general contentment I feel day to day. It's been difficult to wake somedays without thinking I should throw in the towel, while other days I think maybe I'll never go home.
Now, this process has taken a lot of effort and perseverance to work through, I know I am not alone in that. It's difficult to adjust to the way another country runs; their timetables, policies, cordialities even. I just remember, no matter what (even when I don't mean it) to smile and say Gracias. This is a commitment I made to myself just about a year ago and if it weren't for the amazing Spanish people to have created this program, and allowed myself and so many others to benefit, I'm not sure where I'd be.
OK; to sum it all up- I have had my cita with the Ayuntamiento de Salamanca en Madrid and I am now the proud owner of an Empadronamiento. I have had my cita with the Oficina de Extranjeros and I will be receiving my TIE in about 1 month. All the things that I thought for so long would never happen, are coming my way. I never thought I could do this alone but it's another reminder that this decision and process from start to finish have all been done by me and me alone.
My advice to anyone with a dream; even when things tell you it won't happen or you're on the wrong path, exhaust every option. The things that are supposed to work out in our lives do work out, it's when we keep pushing that we really see how passion can make a dream into reality.
Now that i've been here for about 2 months, things are starting to get into a routine. I still have a few things to add to the daily schedule but numero uno, i need a TIE card. This is a process that is time sensitive as well as patience trying.
Here are a few helpful links and steps for making this happen.
The auxiliar website has some helpful link from the dropdowns at the top:
How to obtain a TIE.
Setting up an appointment to be Empadronamiento'd:
1) find you local office
2) set up the cita with Ayuntamiento in your barrio or city.
3) prepare your documents; #790 code 012 and payment slip of 15,15 euros at a local bank, carta de nombramiento (2 copies), pasaporte (original y photocopy), and photos (obtainable in most Metro stops) and the form for Empadromentacion
4) go to cita and get empadronamiento'd
Next: TIE cita with the police. (the ministry sets these appointments up for the auxiliars but it can be set-up online)
1) prepare the Impreso EX17 and take with you
2) take the same documents from the Empadronamiento
3) take your carta de Empadronamiento
Wait 40 days and return. THEY WILL NOT NOTIFY YOU WHEN IT IS READY!!!
In case you are needing help in other ways, here is another link to the Autorizacion por regresa instructions.
Enjoy the experience, hopefully it will be easier next year.
To begin; this post is dedicated to a dear friend: Agent Blackburn...
Here are some links to help you make some decisions:
Why CELTA
IH Madrid: CELTA
The post about deciding (this includes the links to the Sevilla/Cadiz program)
I think that if you really want to invest in your teaching skills, not just for right now, but as a long term investment, the CELTA program will serve you better. For starters; its really stressful but nowhere near as difficult as an actual classroom will be. You will be scrutinized by teachers, peers, and students alike. You will not enjoy every moment, but it's through turmoil and hardship that we learn the most about ourselves.
Hope this has been helpful. Also; you know where to reach me if you need anything else. I'm always willing to help out a felllow Way-farer.
in less than one month's time my entire life has changed. Its the exact day, one month, en pasado, I re-arrived in Madrid to live. Live.
Here's a run down of the program, Auxiliares de conversación en España.
And here is the update for those of you that haven't grown bored with my trials and tribuations. Everyone knows...already!
To begin, Madrid is the capital of Spain, meaning its more expensive, more expansive and in general the people are much more transient than people like myself expect. I will be filling this entire entry with songs,that's an FYI and and a GET READY.
OK. for starters; I came back to Spain needing many things. A legit Visa, A legit apartment, A legit job. I lucked out having 2 halves.
My visa wasn't ever correct. I worked really hard to get where I am. (If anyone that hasn't gone through this process is reading this there are some gems in this post.) I wasn't supoosed to get my visa in time. I did eveything wrong and simultaneously did everything right! If you are wanting to get into the Aux Program TRACK EVERYTHING! Keep physical notes and to do lists, set up reminders and leave up notepad on your mac/pc to remind you everyday to do whatever is next (i.e. call the state office) and more. This is vitally important! It's not ever going to be a 'get the email, follow this step next' type of program. EVER.
So here is the basic step by step:
To begin, Get a passport if you don't have one! (obvi this is necessary for int'l travel)
1) Begin collecting the following:
a) Photo of main page of passport
b) Copy of College/University transcripts/degree
c) Letter of intent on letterhea
d) Letter/Certificate of good health from Dr.*
e) Letter of recommendation from prof/co-worker on letterhead
f) Background check*
* These will need to be notarized AND Apostillated before they will be accepted at the Consulate!
2) Create a Profex Account (VITAL)
3) SERIOUSLY, keep working on compiling #1
4) Submit all of your profex materials ASAP: this is a lottery system and the lower your number the more likely you are to get a placement you want!
5) Be patient. It is a looooooooong process. Don't give up hope, if I can make it here... Anyone can.
6) check your email and the Profex page everyda. Once you're number comes up, you only have 5 days to accept!!!
*After accepted, let your mind run free. ALSO, save money.*
Here are some ideas for what to think/do in the meantime...
finish up your college education or plan your last few months of work
keep working on your spanish
plan a nice few days of Vacation beforehand
have a party and say goodbye to your favorite people
visit the places you've always wanted to see in your current town/city
make a list of thing to pack
begin to digitize your photos etc to bring along for the ride
learn some world geography/history!
Keep in mind: the school year doesn't begin until Octoberish and you'll need to be in your city for Orientacion at the end of September/early October.
Remember there's a cycle to falling in and out of love with your new home. For every moment you long to be at home/with your friends/in your bed, you will have a moment you couldn't be happier to be here! And eventually, you will be on the plane home. <No one wants to regret the time in their life they made a huge leap of faith and landed in another country> This is a dream for not only oneself but for all the people who will never be able to do it themselves. So, DO IT all the way!
Wa-Ha-Whoa! So much has happened in the last few weeks/months.
I finally arrived in Madrid!
Expecting the worst and getting the best is a wonderful feeling; relief.
Though this is my first time in Madrid it is home to it's three best art galleries, as well as hundreds of other amazing, sights, sounds, tastes and experinces to be had.
1Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
2Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
3Museo del Prado
I have had churros since being here but this, this is one of the other deeply wonderous things i have to look forward to... Churros de Chocolate
So, though it's a very exciting time, very nerve-racking as well...
For starters: I'll be in Spain for 3 months before my current visa ends, which starts the cogs-a-clickin'
1 Visas are supposed to be gathered around 90 days before departure/start time of visa'd stay.... Hmmmmm this didn't happen
2 Visas are meant to keep people there for the length of stay but my visa is subject to change as I am supposed to receive my TIE/NIE bc of this program.
3 My visa is the wrong kind for this program and I am not sure how i can fix it, though I plan to out smart the system as needed to keep myself working w La Poveda.
I have come to know my city, school, and a few potential neighborhoods in a very short time. Thanks, mostly, to the Metro system. It's really dense but pretty brilliant. Color coded and numbered, its also has buses and trains and a light rail. HOLY CRAP, I don't care if its nerdy this is the best I've seen ever.
My favorite part about this thing, though, the circular train (much like the Loop trains in Big Windy) doesn't go only one direction, saving everyone and their mother a crap load of time.
The school I'm in is called IES La Poveda and is totally more adorable than the webiste boasts. I am one of 2 AdC's there, but the only Aux for the ingles department. They are all lovely people, willing to help me out with Spanish outside the classroom as long as I only speak English in the classroom. I have only been there 2 days but I think its gonna be a good year.
The next test: finding an apartment! GUH it's a lot to do but also very exciting! Wish me luck!
It's been a long strange trip but I'm BAAAAACK in Madrid! I will write more soon and do an update post on all of CELTA and my trip home to Big Windy. But for now, Please come back in one week- that's a promise!
I left Chicago around 17:00 on 31/7/13 and slept the entire flight! had an 8 hour layover in Madrid where I got a bite to eat with a San Miguel.
Tried to speak Spanish with a few people in and outside of the airport but only seemed to frustrate people, other than the Señor who just needed uno euro, he was delighted to chat.
I spent sometime wandering once inside security and finally got to sleep again on the plane. We arrived at 18:00 and I grabbed a cab. He was very helpful and didn't charge me too much or drive me around in circles like an ass. He probably could've gotten away with it, as I was so exhausted. In fact, it was so bad, when checking into my hostel I thought I'd lost my passport, causing a mad panic. It was in my wallet... por supuesto.
After venturing out for a few things at Plaza de Armas, I chatted to the vendadora at the Orange mobile kiosk. She was super helpful but they had no microsim cards for my 4S. She asked me to return on Sabato and she'd have it. I returned with bread, cheese, champú, y suavizante. I ate quickly on the floor of my hostel dorm and went to the terrace to send some emails. Worst idea yet, I was in my pjs and the 'concert' was staged right next to the door putting a giant spotlight on my paperthin mumu... super.
I slept well, shortly after the night gown incident, waking up at noon for a café y tabaco. I went to the balcony and emailed everyone and anyone I need to be in contact with while in Sevilla. In the meantime I got a nice tan and enjoyed a couple drinks. As the hours dwindled I made friends with some of the hostel staff members and shared some funny travel stories with them. Went to my room when the terrace closed and passed out for a few hours before the heat got the better of me.
Finally able to sleep, I again woke late in the day and enjoyed some brief conversation on the terrace after I'd gone back to the Orange store to walk out, again, empty-handed. I picked up some other supplies and went back to the hostel to shower etc. I was offered a tapas outing with Evan of Evan Travels and Helen. It was divine and after the 26th de Agosto, EVERYONE should go to Enslava. Seriously awesome menu, changes everyday based on the fresh veggies the owner GROWS IN HIS GARDEN!!!
Until the weekend, check out those awesome links! I love the transient nature of a hostel but I'm quite glad I'll be here for a while.
it is vitally important to acknowledge the fact that I am a grown ass woman, but I have the patience of a 9 month old in a shiny things store. Give it to me NOW! I've been waiting for a few months now, knowing full-well that it is likely I won't be placed, just due to numbers.
Once placement is received, send an email to your location's contact. Maybe it's not necessary but starting the relastionship with your him/her will never be bad.
I heard back in one day-simply "details to follow." I feel better knowing that My name is out there now, and I haven't accidentally been receiving the placement emails or something equally as horrible!
Entiendo mi vida es un loco vida. Pero yo voy a espera por un mención del ministerio de educacion, cultura, y desporte. Tiempo y mi vamos a ser amigos mejores.
