Working Girl (August)

It’s the first official day of September. Just killing time until our staff meeting in a few hours to get our new schedules for this coming month. August was an amazingly productive month for working. This was the first month at the academy that I tried working morning classes which turned out to be extremely hectic. However, I loved the craziness of it all. My long breaks for siesta were a bit tedious. The academy closes down from 2:30 to 4:30 every day. So during that time, I had to stroll around the streets of Madrid with nowhere to go. Some of the time I packed a lunch, brought a book and sat in a nearby rose garden; other times I would just sit in an empty classroom and lesson plan; and then the best times were when some of the other teachers and I would go out to lunch and have a few beers. This month not only gave me a long class schedule but also the opportunity to grow closer to my fellow teachers.

Well let’s continue about my work. I was given 2 elementary group classes: one from 10-12pm and the other from 5-7pm. My afternoon class was the continuation of my class in July. I was supposed to have three students returning: Rosa 1, Rosa 2 and Elu. However, one of the Rosa’s never came most likely due to her job. But the other 2 were the highlight of my day. Rosa is an older woman who basically has a lot of free time and money to try different things. She has travelled the world, knows how to speak four languages, dances flamenco, and other add-ons to a huge list. Elu is studying to be a doctor, which causes him to have erratic schedules and little time to do his homework. He arrives late to class frequently because he travels straight from work to the academy. I’ll say one thing for my students, they have motivation. But the thing that made this class so unique is the way all of our personalities clicked. After 2 months, I feel so incredibly close to both of them. I was apartment hunting in Madrid and Rosa spent hours on-line looking for available rooms. Elu constantly brought me drinks and food to share with him during our breaks. They always invite me out for drinks and dinner. We tell stories about our lives, tell jokes about the other’s cultures; yet I am able to teach them everything I can about English.

Angela, Elu and Rosa

My only wish for this month was that I could have connected to my morning class like I did with my afternoon class. They just didn’t have to personalities that my other class had. I tried to make the same jokes and do the same activities, but the charisma just wasn’t there. In this class I had 2 return students that had already taken a group class with another teacher. The other students were new to ALA which posed some serious problems. My 2 returning students had already learned the basics of English (present, past and progressive tenses; grammar rules; sentence structure; etc) On the other hand, the other students had not practiced in years or retained no knowledge of English in general. So this was a task to catch the beginners up to where they needed to be without boring the returning students. Needless to say, I managed to get all the students the information they needed to know to continue to the next level but it was not the most memorable of classes.

My private lessons were very interesting this month. I felt connected to many of them and was sad to see them go. I especially enjoyed my time with a younger student Alicia. She had just graduated colegio (high school) and was preparing for a college entrance exam in English so she could study in the US if she wanted. I saw a lot of myself in her when I was 18 (even with the culture difference). I could tell she was slightly awkward with people her own age and could better express herself to older adults. She had a strong exuberance for learning and living life to the fullest but didn’t know how to do it or where to even start. She yearned to be taken seriously and be seen as an adult. Yes, I definitely saw myself at her age. So I planned that class with care and took time to talk with her about other things besides grammar and pronunciation which she thoroughly enjoyed.

Another student also stands out in my mind as I write this. Vanesa, a young lawyer from one of the large companies (Tecnicas) our academy works with. She was one of my special alumnos because she is one of the few students to receive lessons during siesta time. I didn’t mind having class in August during this time because I had nothing but time during siesta. I was still living in Toledo; I had no where else to go. So for 2 hours/ 3 times a week, I gave Vanesa lessons. I think the reason why I connected to her so much is because she reminded me a lot of my Aunt Colleen (one of the biggest role models in my life). She just turned 30, is well-educated, motivated, extremely independent and self-sufficient. She just received at huge promotion and needed to have a higher level of English because of her new dealings with international clients. She works hard and takes pride in everything she accomplished. She just bought her own home: a much more difficult task in Spain than in the US, especially during the current economic crisis. She is proud of everything she has accomplished (particularly for a woman in Spain) and yet retains such admirable modesty. I enjoy teaching her not only because of her accomplishments but her incredible stature and sense of humor. I can tell that she is a complete professional from 9 to 5 but knows how to get a little crazy when she can. Many of the past classes we have spent simply discussing and debating current issues like women’s rights, abortion, religion, government, economy, and culture. Even after August classes ended and I moved to Madrid, I didn’t hesitate a moment to continue giving her lessons this month.

Well all in all that was what my schedule (and basically my life) consisted of in August. I taught Manu, one of students I gave lessons to in Toledo. But with my crazy academy schedule, I only had time on weekends. So in the end, I only saw him 3 times in the course of the month. Time flew by, probably the quickest and busiest months since my time here.

Benefits of Having a Double Life

Less than a year ago I set out to regain a bit of my heritage. As I wrote before, my father and his family immigrated to the United States from the United Kingdom in the early 80’s. A few years later I was born and for the most part, lived a seemingly normal American life. I always thought is was ‘cool’ that my dad was English but never really gave much thought on how it would affect me. That changed in 2005 when I had the opportunity to travel to London. At first, I just wanted to explore some of Europe and get out of the U.S. But after talking with my father, I realized that I could meet apart of my family that I never really knew existed. This trip came at a great time because my father was in the middle of reconnecting to his family as well. He was able to contact a distant cousin, Eleanor that was living in Birmingham, England near my father’s Aunt Margaret. I never heard much about my father’s life before America and was excited to be apart of something that was obviously important to him. So during my trip, I hopped on a train and met up with Eleanor and later my great-Aunt Margaret. I knew my father wished he could have been there. It was really amazing to hear stories about his childhood and see places that he used to visit as a young boy.

Well a few years passed, I studied in Spain and later finished college. However, I always had kept this thought in the back of my mind how much I would love to become more connected to my family’s past. I became enamored with England’s history, its culture and of course my distant relatives. So when I was looking into moving back to Spain to teach, I had a thought about my heritage and seeing if I could use it to help me. Remember that it is very difficult for Americans to work legally in Europe (more specifically the European Union). Especially during these hard economic times, the EU prefers to employee people from countries within the EU. A sort of ‘protect your own kind’ of mentality. So my thought was to see if I could become a British citizen because I was a child of a British citizen. Sure enough after a few Google searches, I found my answer: a way to become a citizen of the United Kingdom through family lineage.

http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en
Necessary Paperwork:
Born after 1 January 1983 outside the UK
If you were born after 1 January 1983 outside the UK you must provide:
· your full foreign birth certificate and
· a photocopy of your current photo ID (foreign passport or residence card and driving licence) and
· your mother’s full UK birth certificate or registration/naturalisation document or
· your father’s birth certificate or registration/naturalisation document and marriage certificate and
· a marriage declaration completed by your parents and
· divorce documents (if applicable)
· and the passport used to enter your country of residence (if applicable)

All the required forms for whichever category one would fall under can be found here-
http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en/passports/passport-forms
The biggest strain through all this was of course financial as I stated in my previous blogs. All in all, I spent around $500 in getting everything I needed and receiving my passport. But after a few months of living in Spain, I can tell you that it was worth EVERY penny.

Concerns:
My mother while helping me get my paperwork together, asked a seemingly simple yet vital question: ‘Will becoming a British citizen affect your American citizenship?’ At first I just laughed and shrugged but then realized that I didn’t know. Back to Google I went and luckily found my answer:

“Under present legislation the United Kingdom and the United States both recognise dual nationality, and, if you acquire UK citizenship, this does not affect your right to hold a US Passport.”

I also had to research different embassies for when I travel abroad. Having dual citizenship, I can go to either an American embassy or a British embassy for assistance which is very helpful. So matter what nationality you are, know where your country’s embassy is located in every country you travel to.

UK embassies and consulates in the US:
http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en/our-offices-in-the-us/other-locationsin-us/
American Citizen Support in Spain:
http://madrid.usembassy.gov/cons/services.html
British Citizen Support in Spain:
http://ukinspain.fco.gov.uk/en/our-offices-in-spain/madrid-embassy/

Some of the benefits I have encountered with an EU passport:

The most important came when getting my work papers in order. In Spain you need a special card (DNI) that says you can work legally in the country.
If you are American, these are extremely difficult to get. First, you need to have a job that agrees to sponsor you for a work visa. You then have to return to your home country and wait for your visa from the local consulate. After you have your visa you can return to Spain and make an appointment for your DNI. From what I’ve heard from other teachers, this can take 4-7 months to get an appointment depending on what time of year you make it. If when you go to the appointment, you don’t have everything necessary, you leave and have to make another appointment for a later date. This is why so many employers do not hire Americans, let alone Americans that are currently living in America. During all this time, you can work but it’s technically illegal. Your employer pays you cash under the table and you have to be careful never to tell any government agency where you are working until you have your DNI.

For me, I simply called in to make the appointment, told them I was British and gave them my passport number and contact info. I received my appointment for early the next month. Went in, gave them my passport and other necessary paperwork, received my DNI and walked out within a half hour. I can’t tell you how many dirty looks I got from the other American teachers at the academy. Ha-ha.

My British passport also helped me easily get a Spanish social security number. This can be a bit simpler for Americans but usually more eyebrows are raised. Sometimes for Americans, your DNI is required depending on the SS agent you get appointed, and they’ll usually ask questions about your employment which you cannot say if you don’t have your DNI yet. For European Union citizens, all you need is your passport usually. I walked in, filled out the form, gave the agent my passport and walked out in 10 minutes with my new social security number. But again, I feel I was lucky with getting a very nice SS agent who called me ‘guapa’ as I left his desk.
There are a few extra perks from being an EU citizen like special rates through banks and discounts when traveling in Europe. But the biggest help without a doubt was with my work papers here in Spain.

I do feel a little guilt from receiving so much benefit from something I know little about. I’m hoping that through my time living in Europe, I can learn more about my own ancestry and really make England apart of my soul rather than just information on paper. So to end, I want to dedicate this blog to my father Timothy for which none of this would have been possible. Thanks Dad for helping me through the process and encouraging my decision to go forward with this. Also a shout out to my mother Cheryl who helped me track down a lot of the legal paperwork for my British passport! Thanks Mom for putting up with my shenanigans and supporting me through this journey. Both of you have been incredible and a vital part to my success in living abroad.