the beginning of an era

Since college graduation

In March 2009 I moved to Rome with the intention of staying six months in order to improve my Italian. It didn't take me long to realize I would not be returning to the States any time soon. The six months in Rome flew by. Before I knew it, I was on a plane back to Florida on the day before my 23rd birthday. Spending time at home was great, especially because I knew I'd be returning to Europe a few weeks later.

I moved to Barcelona in October of that year to do a Masters in Graphic Design. Although I never studied Graphic Design in college, it remained a hidden interest of mine since I took visual design courses two years prior. The Masters lasted until July and as far as I was concerned I'd go back to Weston, FL to get back to my real life. Once again in Europe I could not even think about what my life would be like if I was forced to return home. I needed a way to stay in Spain, but not being European, finding a job would be difficult.

Finding a way to live and work in Spain

Just before going home for the winter holidays I remembered that the Ministry of Education of Spain sponsored a program to bring Americans to help students learn English. It took me about 1.7 seconds of Googling to find out that applications for the 2010-2011 school year had just opened up the week before. I read all the information to see if it was something I'd be qualified and interested to do.

Program requirements:

• hold a U.S. or Canadian passport
• be a native English speaker
• be in your junior or senior year of college or graduated with a diploma
• have an intermediate level of Spanish

Background info:

• mid-September to mid-June
• 700 Euros/month
• 12 to 16-hour work weeks
• school holidays off

What the job entails

Basically the job is to work with the teachers in bilingual public schools and help the students out with English. The students are anywhere from kindergardners to high school students. The grantee(me) also plans activities with the teachers in order to make learning English more effective and interesting. English in education is fairly new. Today, most students are learning English since their first years in school. Most of my Spanish friends in their mid-twenties didn't take up the language until their last years in high school. They might be able to read a text and coprehend it, but to carry on a conversation is rare. In most of these cases it's because the teachers are usually Spaniards who only teach reading and writing , but lack pronounciation and conversation skills. (Application for 2011-2012 school year)

I fulfilled all the requirements so it couldn't hurt to just apply. It didn't hurt at all but it was a little tedious. The process involved signing up on-line, creating your CV, writing a short essay and sending a bunch of legal documents. Luckily, I had kept copies of most of the needed documents from the Spanish Visa application. Three weeks passed from the moment of signing up to when I got my confirmation that they had successfully received all the paperwork. I was application number 265. My odds were almost guarenteed. There were around 1,200 spots available and were given on a first-come-first-serve basis. On May 12th 2010, I got the e-mail I was longing for, my acceptance to be an Auxiliar de Conversacion in Castilla-La Mancha.