Hannah’s Thoughts on… Spain

Happy Spanish Independence Day!

It’s not news to say that 2020 and ’21 have been rough… For me, some of the added stress has come from a feeling of incompleteness. Of a lack of purpose (it’s kind of overrated, but nice to have, let’s be real), of needing a life reset.

So I applied to teach English in Spain!

Well… first I himmed and hawed about it for about a month and almost missed the deadline, but I’ll get to that in a minute. See, here’s the thing–I love traveling, I long for adventure… but I’m a wee bit timid. I think some of it (a lot of it) comes from the fact that I’m a petite young lady and while the idea of traveling more or less alone is exhilarating, it’s also pretty scary!

Anywho, after doing copious research and talking to a friend who did a similar program, I felt comfortable enough to apply for a teaching assistant position through CIEE’s Spain program. And the wait began…

First I was told I was on the waitlist’s waitlist–weird, but okay; and then I got on the official waitlist… I. Was. So. Close.

One Monday morning, between phone calls at my day job, I got the email: I WAS GOING TO SPAIN! I’m so excited, y’all–I’ll be somewhere in la comunidad de Madrid, so somewhere either in or outside the city proper, for almost six months.

Why Spain you may ask? Well, let me tell you–soy Latina, but I’m fifth generation, so for most of my life, I’ve been on a mission to reconnect with those roots. One way that I’ve sought to do that has been through learning Spanish, in fact, I minored in the language in my undergrad and had an amazing time. On the note of my minor, my professors were all from Spain and I took a number of Spanish-culture, literature, etc. classes, so I thought it would be a good fit.

Also, I love Europe–each of my travels (mainly to Italy) have been so fun and fulfilling, I’m excited at the chance to see more of that. On top of that, I’ve got one #WritingCommunity friend in the UK (hey, Hannah!) and another college friend who’ll be in Germany at the same time.

I am accepting positive vibes so that COVID doesn’t ruin everything (again) and that I can do some cross-continent exploring!

But of course, I want to see other parts of Spain too–my grandmother always gushes about her time in Seville, I really want to check out la Sagrada Familia, and my inner academic is like “show me all the places in Barcelona that I had to read about!!”

I’m also accepting any recommendations of places to check out too, so comment/contact page away, friends!

I’m thinking that my next few “Travel-Posts” will be on this trip, so stay tuned. I’ll tell you more about the application/visa/etc. process, and then once I’m there, I’ll be sure to share my thoughts and adventures.

Hasta Luego!

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