Slice of Life in Spain

Instead of reposting all my photos and stories here to my shiny new domain, I thought I'd make just a few posts organized by time period and topic with links to the original content on my previous travel blog, hosted on Tumblr.

Without further ado, here is a collection of stories about finding my way in Espana.

Learning to roll with the punches that time my M.A. program changed the location of my internship school (by 40 kilometers!)

Reflecting on that time I found an apartment in Madrid

Practicing my Spanish skills and social skills those times I hung out in language exchange bars

Time-traveling to the past that time Alcala celebrated Miguel de Cervantes

Giving advice on that time I needed a metro card in Madrid

Appreciating humans and the internet that time I really needed a good Skype date

Trying not to pull my hair out that time an ATM swallowed my debit card whole

Admiring pretty ponies that time Jess and I went to Madrid Horse Week

As much as I love Madrid, I had a really rough year in '14-'15 trying to balance life as a full-time grad student and a full-time first-year teacher in a fairly toxic work environment. But as I look back on these posts, I can appreciate how much I was forced to learn and adapt. Although I still firmly recommend against my M.A. program for several reasons, I have enough perspective now to reflect on that time as a year of growing pains instead of a year of utter burnout.

For anyone interested in TEFL opportunities in Spain, I can happily recommend checking out both semi-private program UCETAM and the government program Auxiliares. Madrid is an awesome and economical city to live in, and Spain is a beautiful country. It's a great place to give teaching English a try!