I HAVE A PISO!!!

That's right everybody, I have my very first piso, or apartment!!!  Before I came over here I wasn't too worried about finding anything.  From what I read online, it should have been a simple task.  Notice the word "should" being used in that sentence.  It was anything BUT simple.  I hope you're prepared to read about the adventure that was piso hunting.

During orientation many of our leaders said it was fairly simple for them to find an apartment here.  They looked at maybe one or two places before finding something they really liked.  After hearing this I was like, cool, I have two weeks to find a place, this will be a piece of cake.  It was a piece of angry devil cake, that's what it was.  To find the most apartments online in Madrid, many people use a website called Idealista.  This is a great tool to use when apartment hunting in Madrid, especially being able to use the app anywhere.  However, one issue is that some of the apartments were posted months ago, and you never knew if those were still empty or full.  I started my search by only contacting three or four people a day.  I didn't want to get too confused with different places and numbers, so I thought starting small was a good idea.  Well it came to the point where I was getting no messages back.  After crying to mom for an hour (shoutout to momma Kath for dealing with me!) I decided to contact more than three or four at a time.  So I contacted almost 20 different people.  You read that right...20...different...people.  Now that is quite a lot of people, so you would think I would have many responses (because I only emailed people who had posted with the last two days).  I got seven.  Out of those seven, four were already occupied.  So I went to see three....and they were terrible.  Two didn't have a contract and had a ceiling so low my sunglasses got knocked off my head.

FINALLY after contacting over 30 people and seeing six different places (because that was the number of responses I got back in total) I found a place to live!!!!  I live in a neighborhood called Chamberi and I love it!  It's about a thirty minute walk to the city center, so I am close, but away from all the noise.  I have a very small room, but it has everything I need and the other people who live here are great!!  Here are some pictures of my piso!!!!

Isn't it fantastic!!! I just love it!! Well, I hope you all enjoyed reading the fiasco that was finding an apartment.  As I am typing this I am going through another fiasco: trying to figure out why I can't get to the terrace with my clothes on it.  And yes, the terrace is on the roof.  And yes, it is kind of windy.  So yes, my clothes could fly away.

Until next time!!

Hasta luego!

Why Am I Here?

That is a beautiful question.  Why am I here in Spain?  What am I actually doing here?  I realized some of you may not know exactly why or how I decided to move to Spain, so I decided to dedicate this post to answering these questions.

Now normally my first or second post would be about my flight to my country of destination. But nothing exciting happened. Like...at all. Okay. That's a lie. I did lose my shoe during one of the flights and kept playing footsie with the person to the left, right, and behind me. So that was entertaining for all involved. I did find my shoe, because I know y'all are sitting on the edge of your seats wondering, "Did she ever find the shoe?!" I did. It was under my neighbors seat. Pretty thrilling stuff, right?

So back to the main point of this post.  For those of you who don't know, I studied abroad in Granada, Spain in the fall of 2013 and loved every minute of it.  I knew I wanted to come back to Spain again, to teach this time, but I wasn't quite sure how.  After talking to a Spanish professor at my college, he suggested a few programs to go through; one was CIEE.  So I applied, really not thinking much of it. I knew the Fulbright program was very difficult to get into, and I assumed as much for this program.  I figured, why not give it a try and see what happens.  Then, one day as I was leaving my student teaching school I got an email saying I was accepted into the program and I had 10 days to confirm my placement in the program.  You read that right: 10 days.  Needless to say I was panicking.  I had 10 days to decide if I wanted to pick up my life and move to Spain.  The thought was absolutely terrifying!!  I'm terrible at making quick decisions, and especially when the decision will completely change my life.  But after talking (and crying) to my friends and family, I decided, what the hell! Let's do it!

Now what is CIEE?  CIEE is a program that helps people who want to teach abroad. (They also do study abroad, for those interested)  There is an option to go through the government when teaching abroad.  However, they do not give you the help that CIEE does.  In my opinion, the cost is 100% worth it!! They help you with the major paperwork you need to complete and answer any question you have about anything relating to Madrid.  When I came here I had no clue what to look for in an apartment, but after talking to the orientation leaders, I feel more prepared and confident in finding someplace to live.  On October 1 I will start my position as an auxiliar, or language consultant, at an elementary school in Fuenlabrada, Madrid, Spain.  Here I will be working with students to improve their English speaking and writing skills.  I will hopefully be able to visit my school soon, before school starts, to meet some staff and students.  I cannot wait to get started!!!

And that's my story.  That's how I ended up in Madrid, Spain.  All through a professor recommending a program.  So shoutout to Professor Erwin for giving me the experience of a lifetime: to teach abroad.

Hasta luego!

Big Red

This is Big Red.  My trusty, and slightly dingy, suitcase.

4 Dance adventures.
3 People to People trips.
1 Spring Break to Seattle, Washington.
1 Study Abroad.
And countless trips to Florida.
All totalling in 10 countries and 4 states.

You could say we've been through a lot.  But Big Red and I are about to go on our biggest adventure of all: teaching abroad.

Tomorrow I start my journey to Madrid, Spain where I will be living for 10 months.  During this time I will be teaching English at an elementary school just outside of Madrid.

It still hasn't hit me.  It could be because I just started packing today, or because I don't want to admit that I'm leaving.  Nonetheless, this week has been filled with difficult goodbyes.  I've had to say goodbye to family and friends I may not see for awhile.  I've left them before, but it was always for a short period of time.  Now, who knows how long it will be before I see them again.  I do have to say this though, bless technology.  Even though I will be thousands of miles away I will still be able to FaceTime and message all the beautiful people in my life who have encouraged me to go on this great big adventure.

I like adventures.  They always lead to entertaining stories that I will remember forever.  I expect this trip to be no different.  There will be stories of tears and stories of happiness.  Stories of excitement and stories of "what the hell just happened." But I guarantee you this: there will be stories.

Ever since I was little I knew I was meant to be a teacher (even though I refused to admit it for years).  I also knew that I wanted to travel the world and experience different cultures.  I am beyond blessed that I am finally able to live out both my dreams and teach abroad.  This will be an experience of a lifetime and I hope you all enjoy following me along the way.

Wish me luck!!

Hasta luego!