LA CRISIS hits home... and my wallet

So for 2 years all my students talk about LA CRISIS... the economic crisis that has swept the world.  I talked about the hard times in the US but more from the view of an outsider as I haven't felt the economic hardships of this troubled time for awhile.  I listened with a sense of pity and understanding as countless students told me about how hard it was to find work throughout Spain.  Almost every new class I start, I go around and ask them to share basic information about themselves and at least 3 of my 7 students say "Well, I'm unemployed at the moment hoping that learning English will help me get a better job!" Now similar phrases have been lost on me as the crisis has become more of a symbol of.... (as bad as it sounds) more work for English teachers. 

However, today I was hit with a fist full of reality. 

As some of you may or may not know, since October I've been working partly at the US Embassy here in Madrid.  I can't say much for 'matters of national securtiy' hahaha but no, seriously I can't.  It's a pretty sweet gig.  Only 6 hours a week but relatively easy money.  I've been teaching a lot of their maintanence and housekeeping staff along with chauffers and general Spanish office workers.  Classes were enjoyable.  I've gotten to meet a lot of Americans here in Madrid which is also nice.  Best part... full blown AMERICAN STORE downstairs with non-inflated prices!!!!! So since October I've been able to gorge myself on all those goodies I've been missing from back home.

And then the bad news.....

In the middle of my classes yesterday, my students walks in and looks at me suprised.  He said, 'Oh, I wasn't sure if you were actually going to be here!"   I looked at him with a smile and said, "Why wouldn't I be here.  It's class time."

With a sad face he quietly said, "Oh, you haven't heard yet!"

He goes on to explain in a mixture of English and Spanish that the US government sent in a huge budget cut to the Embassy in Madrid.  And the first thing to go.... ENGLISH CLASSES! Along with that, they're cutting several staff jobs in the residence and extreme power cuts where they can.

I was stunned as this was the first time I was hearing this. I asked when the classes were scheduled to end.  My student replied, "As far as I know, immediately!"  I couldn't believe it.  Surely they had a fixed contract with my agency till at least the end of the trimester??? I mean, RIGHT?

After all my classes, the story had been corroberated by 2 other students and 3 more non-students.  As I left the Embassy refusing to believe that was the last time I'd see my students, I called my agency to demand an explanation.  Apparently, they had yet to receive the memo either... but my colleague that also works for the Embassy informed me just minutes ago that it was true.  I am no longer employeed at the US Embassy. 

But how could this happen.  As told some of my other students and Spanish friends and they simply can't believe that a goverment like the UNITED STATES could be that hard up for money as to cancel a few English classes.  But it's true.... it's the first time in over 2 years that I have felt the sting of the economic crisis. 

Well, crap!

Working Girl (April/ May/ June)

These last few months seemed to fly by at times and others, drag on for an eternity. There were many different reasons that could explain this. First of all my academy has been in the middle of a big move. For the past 30 odd years we have been in the same building expanding over time. However, we’ve been expanding not only to different rooms but to different floors. So our main office has been on the 6th floor while majority of our classrooms were on the 2nd and 3rd floors. This made it frustrating especially trying to cart around the portable TVs up and down the crowded elevators and during the hot summer months when air circulation was a rare commodity in some corner rooms. But during this trimester, my academy administrators announced that we were moving to a brand new facility just down the block. All classrooms are located on one floor with WiFi and air conditioning in every room. But as rumors spread to the students, every other day we were cornered with questions about the timeline and how come other classes were chosen to start in the new place before theirs.  In the 3 month time span, only one of my classes, my one-session Friday night class, was moved into the new building.

Another reason for the apparent stunt in pace was the fact that I was going home to Chicago in July.  So towards the latter of the trimester, all I could think about was my friends and family back home.  However bad my desire to finish at the academy, my classes were quite enjoyable.

I had my morning intensive class as usual with a few new faces.  One that particularly stood out was a student named Borja.  He came into my class the first day with baggy shorts, a ripped tee 6 earrings in each ear and covered in tattoos.  It was big change from my gelled-hair, polo and loafer wearing Spanish students.  So I took a special interest in watching him develop his language skills over the month of June.  I asked my students on the first day of every class, ¨Why are you learning English?¨  I get the usual responses: to get a promotion, to travel, to find a better job... but Borja´s answer was the most unique and heart-felt response I have heard.  He said he was learning English so he could write music and poetry that everyone could understand.  For the next few weeks, Borja would stay after class a few minutes and show me some of the things he was writing so I could correct any mistakes and make sure everything made sense  Definitely one of the most intriguing experiences I´ve had here in Spain.   

I continued with my business classes in Tecnicas Reunidas as usual.  But as June passed, I knew that I would have to say goodbye to most of them.  The had been my students for the entire academic year and I had grown quite fond of the majority.  Unfortunately, teachers can only have 1 on 1 students for a maximum of 1 year.  I try not to dwell....

I continued with my 2 trimester classes and they went relatively smoothly.  I had the same group with Mer and Lorena from before which went relatively quickly as we added some new faces to the mix.  My other trimester class was also decent. No one with much personality but luckily, classes didn´t drag too much.  I had problems with 2 girls at the beginning.  They were best friends who sat in the corner talking only with eachother and at times, not paying attention to my class.  Then one day I caught one of the girls putting her fingers to her head shaped as a gun (the same gesture we use in the US to say, ¨Dear Lord I´m bored; someone please shoot me!¨)  Well I was less than thrilled about that so I called her out and said that if she didn´t like my class, she was free to leave at any time.  We didn´t have any more problems after that.

My last class was, as I mentioned before, a 2 1/2 hour Friday night class.  At first I was dreading this class.  2 1/2 HOURS!!!! But in the end, it turned out to be one of my favorite classes from the entire year.  It was all due to the wonderful students I had.  Each one had such a unique personality and they were all quite talkative.  That is, in my opinion, the best thing any teacher could ask for.  Majority of the time, I had to stop them from talking so we could actually learn some grammar.  They loved to debate which was great because the dynamic of the class.  We had one older lady while the other were mid 20s to early 30s; a good mixture of men and women; different cultures; and different professions.  Every class with them was a piece of tortilla española!

So overall, I finished my first academic year on a high note.  I just returned from my vacation back home which will be in another blog shortly! Thanks to all my amazing students and colleagues that made this past year, unforgetable!

Working Girl (Jan/Feb/Mar)

January started a new year and a new semester for all teachers. Having stayed in Madrid doing pretty much nothing for 2 weeks, I was actually excited to get back to work. January would be a rather short month as we didn’t start until the 7th. Picking up my schedule, I realized that this semester would actually be probably one of the best schedules I’ve had since I started at ALA in June. Luckily, over the next 12 weeks of the trimester, my schedule changed very little.


I start the majority of my days with my regular 10 am intensive. In January, 2 of my 6 students were returning from the previous semester but I was also excited to get to know some new faces. It was a pre-intermediate level class but after the first week I knew that I had my work cut out for me. Within this class I had students that had varying strengths and weaknesses. Where one student lacked in grammar, the others excelled and where another had excellent listening comprehension, the others needed things repeated 3 or 4 times. This caused for a lot of wasted time that unfortunately, couldn’t be avoided.

My most memorable student was Conchi. A cute little girl in her early 20s that when she first entered my class was so incredibly nervous, she wasn’t capable of putting 2 English words together without blushing and stuttering to a stop. It became my personal mission to break her out of her shell by the end of the month. She came to me after class by the second week and asked if she could have extra review homework to help her build confidence while speaking. Every other day, I slipped her modal and adverb worksheets and websites for her to build listening comprehension. By the end of the month Conchi was speaking full sentences (not always grammatically correct but with definite improvement in her confidence).

Another one of my favorites is Santiago. Being from Extremadura, I quickly took a liking to him for his accent being that’s where my favorite Spaniard, Dani hails. He had been with the academy several months with other teachers but I frequently saw him walking the halls. I was excited on the first day to discover he would now be one of my students. However, he was with me for only a month as he was bumped to a higher level in after. But I see him often and he always comes up and says how much he misses my classes. Although unprofessional, you can’t help but develop the occasional innocent crush!

I also started 2 new back-to-back trimester classes on Tuesday and Thursday nights. This was a schedule change that at first I loathed to no end. With these new classes, I would be working from 8:30 in the morning to 9:30 at night with a ridiculous 4 hour break in the afternoon. But after the first week, I knew that I would grow to love these classes and this schedule. My first trimester class is a pre-intermediate group of 6 women that have been together for the past year with several different teachers. They are all a bit older ranging from 30 to probably about 45 years old. At first I wasn’t so keen about having 6 lower level, very opinionated-- women. However, over the weeks we have grown to appreciate and respect one another. Each one brings a dynamic aspect to the class. Ana Maria is the smarty-pants and over-talker. Estefania is the slightly quiet, slower fashionista. Elena is the very successful business woman who constantly gets interrupted by important phone calls. Ana Isabel is the timid one until she can talk about her belly dancing classes. Finally, there is Concepcion who is the motherly, sarcastic type which keeps the others in check. We can talk about some slightly inappropriate themes in class without making anyone feel uncomfortable. Plus, they eagerly complete any task I set in front of them. They are probably my favorite class this trimester thus far.

My other trimester class begins right after the other. This one is an intermediate group of hodgepodge students that change every few weeks. I’ve had 2 steady students: Mer and Cristina that are very serious and hard-working. Lorena started a few weeks later but I must admit that she quickly became someone I admired. She is probably the hardest-working student I’ve had to date. After every class, she walks upstairs with me, asking me a few extra grammar doubts then takes an array of books and DVDs in English to study before our next class. She really is a rarity in this country. Throughout the other weeks, students have been added or sat in for a recuperation which really upsets the rhythm at times. Plus, being so late, most of my energy has diminished by the end of the class. So this is unfortunately the class where I walk in solely to teach what I have to and leave. I have built a bond with the continuing students that I’ve had since the beginning of the trimester but still not as much as previous classes in other trimesters.

The rest of my classes include my one-on-one TR executives and 1-hour TR group classes in the afternoons. Both of which are easy money with very little preparation needed. My TR group classes start at 1:30 and last till 2:30. Because it’s the key lunch time for my students, I have irregular attendance which can make it difficult to mark their progress. But there is a great mix of ages and personalities to make every class interesting and dynamic.

My new trimester classes start in about another week. I’m hoping for little change as I have become to adore my schedule. But after 3 months, I doubt I could get as lucky this time around. Fingers Crossed!

Working Girl (October/November)

In order to save time and space, I’m combining October and November’s edition of Working Girl. Both months were part of the first official trimester of the academic year. Up until October, I was working either part time or the summer schedule. I never had to deal with a real trimester schedule. The days are a lot busier with a variety of different classes. Plus, everyone is back from summer vacation: not only students but teachers as well. The new academic year brought about 10 new teachers to the academy. We lost a handful of older teachers throughout the last few months for various reasons. However, I was looking forward to the new dynamic that these new teachers would bring. Almost 2 months into it, I have already built strong friendships with many of the new teachers along with building stronger bonds with the older teachers.
Anyways, onto my average work week… I start majority of days with a Pre-Intermediate from 10-11:30 am with exceptions to Tuesdays and Thursdays. I have 2 more Intermediate group intensives: one on Monday and Wednesdays and the other 5 days a week until 9pm. The rest of my classes are executives that I give private lessons. I travel to their offices usually 1 hour a week per executive. I start at 8:30 am on Tues/Thurs for one and the rest are from 12-1, Mon-Wednesday. Twice a week I’ll give private lessons to a regular student who is doing a special program within the academy.
Overall, I enjoy my schedule. It’d be a bit taxing starting everyday at 8:30 am and going to 9:00 pm but I have breaks in between and my night class is my favorite of them all without a doubt. So far, the schedule is bearable. Plus, my apartment is so close to the academy so I don’t have to worry about traveling time which is really nice.
My intensives (daily classes) are so completely different from one another that it’s almost funny. My morning class is fun but they really want as much information as I can cram into an hour and a half class. So we work a lot in that class which is awesome how motivated they are. Most of my students were new but I had 2 returning students that I had taught previously in the summer. For the most part it’s a good dynamic and the personalities work well together.

My Mon/Wed intensive is probably my most troublesome class mostly because they are a little too motivated and I have so short of a time with them. They constantly get off topic and ask me irrelevant questions. Don’t get me wrong, I want them to learn as much as possible but you have to draw a line when Intermediate students are asking questions that are difficult for most Advanced students to understand. Plus, I had problems with some students not liking the textbook we were using. I sympathized with them; you spend all this money for a class during a time of economic crisis, spend good money on a book and then not find the significance in any of the material. However, I don’t control that aspect of the class. So it was trying to find a common ground with them.
My night intensive almost parallels the elementary class I have with Rosa and Elu during the summer (neither of which I have as students anymore). In October, it started with 5 guys but then some dropped and some women were added. From that month my 2 favorite students were Jaime and Jose Manuel: the impossible duo. They took a class together the month before hand and became quite the comedic pair in my class. Both were an absolute blast to have. However, Jaime didn’t continue into November. This month I have Jose and Rocio from the previous month, Natalia and Javier who transferred from my morning Pre-Intermediate class and a new girl Marta. Together, we have the best classes ever. I teach them what they need to learn but they make the classes fun. After class, many teachers come up to me and ask what I was doing because they said they could hear us laughing in their classrooms. That’s my favorite part of my job: teaching thru laughter. Every other Friday, we go to a local bar instead of staying in the classroom for conversation practice. Most of the students aren’t returning in December which really saddened me, but with the holidays coming, it’s understandable.

My executives aren’t much to talk about. In general they don’t want to do grammar worksheets but general conversation practice. My favorite right now is probably Leandro. He’s an Argentinean lawyer for Tecnicas Runidas. I call him the Argentinean pacifist and he calls me the Obama-loving war-monger. Needless to say, our classes are interesting. We talk about all the hot debate issues mostly dealing with cultural differences between S. America and the US, Spain and the US, and Spain and S. America. Most times I’m only supposed to stay for an hour but we loose track of time and before I realize it, I’ve been there for almost 2 hours. I’ve only had actual class with him 4 times because he travels a lot with his job. But I’m sure I’ll have a lot to add in later blogs.

Working Girl (September)

This blog is going to be a lot shorter than the my usual ‘Working Girl’ blogs for 2 reasons: one, it was an uneventful month with a lot of the same students and two, I’m writing this eight weeks after the fact so I don’t remember much. This started the first month that I worked and lived in Madrid. Therefore, I it was the first month I took on a full-time schedule. September is still considered a summer month here so there aren’t as many teachers or students for that matter.

I had a morning class starting at 10 with only two women (Vivi and Patricia). This was a difficult class because they had totally different personalities. Vivi is very outspoken and controlling where Patricia is very shy and insecure about her Englsih. So it was a battle everyday trying to get Patricia to speak English and not Spanish and then keeping Vivi quiet enough to let Patricia actually try to talk.

It was also the first month I had classes in Tecnicas Runidas, one of my academies business clients. I met with 2 of their executives for private classes in the morning. I enjoyed these classes the most because I get to utilize my business knowledge instead of the repetitious travel, food and body parts vocab that I teach normal students.

I had an afternoon intensive class as well 5 days a week with 6 more students. The class wasn’t anything exciting but over that month I did encounter something I hadn’t encountered in the 4 months I had been at the academy: my first student complaint. He thought that the information I was teaching was irrelevant and that I didn’t utilize class time in a productive enough way. It was a big strike to my ego as I have always been a little insecure about my teaching abilities. I sat down with my bosses a few times to work out any kinks and to see where I could improve my classes. It took me a week to get my confidence level back but overall I took this as a positive stepping stone.

All in all, September was just another month at the academy. It was pretty under-emphasized in the grand scheme of things as my new life in Madrid stole the show.

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.

Going Overboard with Study Abroad

A year and a half ago I embarked on a journey that would change my life forever. I packed a large suitcase, said goodbye to my loved ones and set off to Europe for my required study abroad program. As the plane took off from O’Hare, I remember thinking, “Please God, let these next 10 weeks go by quickly so I can return to normal college life.” Well those few months did go by quickly and as I boarded the plane in Barajas returning to Chicago, I looked back thinking, “I wish I never had to leave Spain”.

some of my study abroad group in Rome- 2008

Spain wasn’t perfect. The culture has its flaws and I made my share of mistakes but overall, I knew that the Spanish way of life and I were destined to be together. So as I packed my suitcases, said goodbye to my loved one and took off from O’Hare on my return flight to Spain, all I asked was, “God, please let this moment last forever.”

Well when I arrived I knew that I had a lot of hard work in front of me but I also knew that I wanted to share my experiences, good and bad, with other American students. Therefore, a few weeks prior to my return to Spain, I contacted my university and told them of my plans. They put me in contact with the professor that would be leading the summer study abroad group in Toledo, and I offered him my assistance. I found out that the summer program would begin in late June for only 5-weeks, but I still eagerly awaited their arrival. I made plans to meet with them at their first group meeting; however, as chance would have it, I was called in to substitute some classes in Madrid just hours prior to the meeting. I sent my apologies and hoped for a second chance to meet them.

One night following, Dani and I decided to go to O’Brians (a local irish pub) to watch the USA vs. Brazil soccer game with another American he had met prior. As we walked in and did our introductions, I met Cory, one of the OU summer group students. He had heard from their professor about me, and I was glad to finally start offering my help. The same night, as we watched a heart-wrenching Brazil comeback in the late second half, I noticed an odd assortment of Chicago baseball caps. Feeling a little South Side Pride, I ventured over to say hello. Turns out there was another summer group from Northern Illinois University studying in Toledo. I told them my well rehearsed speech about studying here prior and loving it so much that I returned to teach English… blah blah blah.

A few minutes in, I started asking where exactly everyone was from in Illinois. I got a wide range of answers until I got to one guy, Kevin, sitting in the corner. He said he was from the South Suburbs; I said me too. He asked me where; I said Orland Park. Suddenly a shocked expression arose on his face and he said, “No way, I’m from Oak Forest!” I think within milliseconds my mouth dropped to the floor as I screamed, “Oh my God, I went to Oak Forest High School!” Both of us just stared at each other in amazement as we discovered that we both went to OFHS and he had graduated just one year after me. Sure enough in the days following when we became ‘Facebook Friends’ did I discover how many other friends we had in common. Writing this now, my body is covered in goose bumps. It’s moments like those that make you realize that the world isn’t as big as it seems. I also spent a long time talking to another one of the NIU guys, Dave. Like me, he was working on getting a European Union passport through dual citizenship. Even though his group had just arrived in Spain, he knew he wanted to come back in the future to live for some time. I told him about my struggles and any pieces of advice I could offer that he immediately absorbed. As I unwillingly left the bar for the night, I knew that I was in for one crazy summer with all these students.

the night I met a fellow Bengal

The next weekend, Dani, Ana, his roommates, other friends and I went to La Peraleda in celebration of Dani and Ana finishing their exams. While lounging around the table, I bumped into Cory and Matt (another American student). Luckily this time Cory came with more of the OU students that I was so excited to meet. We talked for awhile and I put in my two cents about what to watch out for and the best places for tapas. We walked around and danced as I got to know each of them. I could tell right away that this group had a much better connection than the group I had studied with some quarters before. I told them that if they ever needed anything, day or night to call me, and we made future plans to meet up another weekend.

With my insane work schedule and their busy travel plans, we all finally met up a couple weekends later. I invited them to my apartment to pregame before we returned to La Peraleda. This time, the rest of the OU group was there so I got to see how everyone interacted with one another. Though they all had different personalities, they complimented each other very well. We sat in my apartment for a bit, drank, snacked and watched a fire breakout in a nearby field; they asked me about my life here and back at OU. I shared some of my funniest stories and some of my scariest experiences, and I listened as they complained about some of the culture differences and reenacted some of their craziest moments here so far. That was probably the best part of the night for me because I saw in them the same expressions and emotions that I had experienced when I studied here. We caught a few cabs and spent the rest of the night exploring La Peraleda, drinking and dancing. For the first time in a long time, I remembered what it was like to be in college again.

the OU summer study abroad group

The next few weeks went by quickly as my work got busier and busier. Before I knew it, it was the OU and NIU’s last week here in Toledo. I had tried to meet up again with the NIU group prior to their last week but couldn’t with both our crazy schedules. So when they invited me out on a Tuesday night, I went even though I had work early in the morning. We stopped at a few bars and went back to my place for after hours. We talked, drank and watched Kevin pass out. I saw the sun come up that morning and woke a few hours later to teach a full day’s worth of class, but it was worth it. That Thursday was the OU groups last night to Toledo. So once again, I met up with them, went to a few bars, met some other Americans and had an amazing night. Then I did it all over again on Friday for the NIU groups last night too.

some of the NIU summer abroad group

That week was one of the most tiring yet best weeks I’ve had in Spain. It made me realize a few things about myself; I am older and can’t party as hard as I used to in college, but in retrospect, I’m okay with that. I had my 4 years of keggers, late nights and bad decisions. However, I’m not in college anymore and I do have responsibilities. I also realized something that has been bothering me since I’ve been back in Spain. I don’t feel the same as I used to when I was here for study abroad. Those emotions of magic and mystery have now been replaced with feelings of routine and familiarity. It saddened me for a long time that Spain wasn’t the same for me anymore. But being with these study abroad programs, I realized why.

Spain is a magical place to be especially coming from America. The buildings and monuments are older than our entire country. The culture is rich and empowering. The people are unique and inspiring. You see this for the first time and you are mesmerized. However, these emotions themselves are fleeting. The reason why these emotions are so powerful is because you know that they will not last. You know that as soon as you board the return plane home, your adventure is over. So you spend your time basking in the majesty of the amazing things you experience because after you take that final exam and sip on that last café con leche, you return to normalcy. I know I did. So when I walked off that plane in Barajas for the second time, there were no angels singing from the heavens, no mirages of a Spanish paradise. I was no longer that foreigner looking in from the outside. I was on the inside looking out. Spain is now my life and my home.

People, especially Americans that I’ve talk to here always tell me how much they envy my life and how incredible it must be. I love my life here, there’s no denying it. I know that I made the best decision of my life to move here. However, the truth is that I’m the one that envies them. I envy the looks in their faces as they walk through Toledo for the first time. I envy their naïveté about the cultural differences. For them Spain is still a magical place to be and that’s how I wish it would have always remained for me. But it didn’t. I was sad when I realized this at first. I knew that I would never feel they way I did when I first arrived in Spain with the study abroad program. However, I know now that I have something even better than that; I have the opportunity to be apart of the magic. And I’m starting to think that that’s even better.
So to all my study abroad groups- past, present and future, all I can say is enjoy it; soak it all in and never miss an opportunity to experience something new. Because once you get back on that plane to go home, you are leaving not only Spain but the magic of your time here!

Working Girl (July)

This new segment will be solely dedicated to my work experiences throughout each month.

We’re coming up on the last week of July already. Still can’t believe how fast summer is going.
This month started my first actual work schedule with a regular class and steady private clients. So this meant that I had to travel to Madrid 5 days a week. I have to say that I couldn’t have asked for better students. My private clients were all decent. I had a few throughout the month that I saw for an hour or so 3 days a week. Then I had some that just came in for a particular purpose like a work-interview or traveling to the U.S. I picked up a few subbing classes and last minute clients for extra money. So all in all, it was a busy month of teaching.
For my first group class ever, I was given a Monday thru Friday, 5-7pm Elementary-level class. When I first saw my schedule, I have to admit I was terrified. Being a new teacher, I was comfortable teaching adults with a higher understanding of English. But now I would be in charge of 5 adults that knew little to nothing about the English language. So the weekend before hand, I grabbed all my grammar books and course materials and came up with lesson plans for my first week. I have to say that my first day was rough but after the first few days, I settled in nicely to the routine. I have probably the best class in the whole academy… no joke! I teach them what I need to but at the same time we laugh and joke around about everything. Each one has such a different personality. They range in ages from 20-45. Two work retail (Rosa #1 and Rosa #2), one is studying to be some sort of doctor (Elu), one is a university student visiting from Ecuador (Mery) and another is getting his doctorate in political science (Juan Carlos). Yet we sit there and talk about the difference between the words “slut” and “skank” and gossip about certain celebrities. They love to ask questions about my life in America and how I’m adjusting to Spain. Two even invited me to stay with them for a weekend to show me around their villages sometime later in the summer. I can’t express how lucky I was to get this class in the end. It made me realize how much I love teaching. I have only 2 classes left and I know I’m going to be so depressed to say goodbye to them. 3 of them are returning for August classes and they all requested that I be their teacher again. However, August is a relatively slow month at the academy, so I’m not sure what classes I’m going to get.

my Elementary classroom

I also finally received some responses to my carteles that I put up around Toledo for private English lessons. I had about 10 calls asking for my terms and rates over the month of July. A few weren’t willing to pay as much as I was charging (although according to other teachers I talk to, my rates are on the lower side of private lessons) But with the world economy right now, I understand how 15 euro/hour can be a bit high for some people. I had 2 men say that they wanted to receive lessons; however they never followed through. I did give private lessons to a very nice woman, Inma. She had a relatively high level of English but she had more of a confidence issue when using it. I worked with her out of my apartment for 2 hours on Saturdays. She also helped me through the most traumatic experience of my time here in Spain, which will be in another blog. Currently, she’s on vacation with her family, so hopefully in August, I will continue working with her.
The best job I took was these 2 siblings: Laura (14) and Manu (13). They are both high school students whose parents are extremely well off. Their parents are both lawyers and live a few miles out of Toledo in a very upscale ‘urbanizacion’. I traveled to their home 6 days a week for an average of 90 minutes a day for about 2 weeks. In that time, I made over 200 extra Euros. The main reason for a private tutor was that Laura is spending all of August living in London. So her mother wanted to make sure her English was up to par. Currently, the family is in Austurias on vacation. Come August, I will continue giving Manu private lessons a few days a week. Some days were better than others but towards the end, we became very close. We watched Adam Sandler movies like Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore and another day we laid in their pool playing ‘Marco Polo’ for our entire session. They were really a fun pair to teach.

Between teaching Laura and Manu then traveling to Madrid to give my other classes, my only available time to private tutor was on weekends. So in the end, I had to turn down a few private lessons from people who wanted classes during the week. In August, like I said before, work at the academy will be slower, so I’ll probably be able to pick up a few more private clients here in Toledo. I’ll keep you posted in next month’s ‘Working Girl’ blog