At the start of 2018 I was looking for three things. I wanted to…
- really learn Spanish.
- get a masters degree
- and most importantly, see the world and experience life in another culture.
I graduated from the University of San Diego in 2015 where I had studied to be a primary teacher and continued working at the site where I had completed my practicum teacher training. It was a newer charter school located in San Ysidro, the town just across the way from Tijuana, Mexico. As you can imagine, I had a lot of students who had some kind of connection with Tijuana. A few even were staying with relatives in San Diego while their own parents were on the other side. Let’s just say, the 2016 elections were a tumultuous time in my classroom.
All this to say, my students spoke Spanish. Perfectly. I did not, despite having “studied” the language since 3rd grade. I’ve found it’s really hard to truly learn another language unless you have a need to use it. And even when we had parent-teacher conferences where I thought my minimal knowledge would come in handy, turns out the mamas and papas knew the same vocabulary in English as I knew in Spanish. Which didn’t help when 90% of what we really needed to say was unknown by both parties. I ended up speaking in English full time, only to claim I was in the know when I heard a child use a “palabrota” (curse word). That got them good. (I highly recommend learning those before you start teaching. It helps a bit in maintaining your authority…) So my Spanish skills were in need of some work and it had always been on my mind that I needed to dedicate a summer to an intensive immersion and get a leg up in my language skills.
Another goal was to get a Masters. I don’t know if this is the law in all states, but in California in 2015, you graduated with a preliminary teaching credential. Meaning that you had 5 years to clear your credential by taking more courses or your credential would expire and all your hard work would be for nothing. I cleared my credential by the end of 2017 and with my teaching license safe and permanent, and still feeling the need to fill my time with more professional development, beef up my resume to get to the next pay grade, and use the momentum and young energy I still had, I was looking into masters programs. My first thought was Australia. The school I taught at had a few trainings about Visible Learning by John Hattie, an Australian educational researcher, and I was seeing a lot of amazing educational strides coming from the land down under. Spoiler alert: I did actually end up getting my masters from the University of Melbourne, online and during Covid times, but more on that at another time. But I had a friend experiencing American corporate burnout and was looking for a career change who steered me towards Spain. He was already bilingual in Spanish and English with an ancestor from the Spanish Basque Country and a desire to visit his roots. He had done all the research and found a program called BEDA that worked with Catholic concertado (charter) schools in Spain to provide native language teachers/assistants. The technical title is Auxiliares de Conversación which translates to Conversation Assistant, or Language Assistant. The role of a Language Assistant can vary depending on the program, classroom and teacher, but in essence the program was started in Spain and other countries to improve English education. But I’ll tell you more about this role at a later time, or I’ll get carried away.
This BEDA program also offers university coursework complete with a Post-Graduate Certificate, which I probably mistook as an opportunity to get paid, teaching just 12-24 hours a week and getting a Masters. Another goal, check! A few months into the program, though beneficial for my teaching job, I realized this is not the education I was looking for and wouldn’t add much to my resumé. It is not a Masters program. If that is what you are looking for, there are other programs out there for you. If you’d like to know more about why I chose this one specifically, and the differences between the English teacher programs in Spain, I will mention the ones I know about in a later post.
But my wonderful friend, having done all the thorough research, had me convinced! I felt much safer moving abroad alongside someone I trusted, and knew the language, and It was much easier to jump on board with his plan than concoct my own and convince my mom of the saneness of a young 25 year old girl with a plan to move thousands of miles away without knowing a soul.
That leads us to reason number 3. So, I had this dream when I was younger of spending a summer volunteering in Africa. My mom always made the argument of helping out locally before trying to solve another culture’s -what we consider- problems. But still that desire to explore, understand others, and experience new things, that I think a lot of us have, was rooted deep and really emerged in my third year of teaching. I was going on 2 years single, my teaching credential was finalized and safe, and in need of an adventure. My University had a fantastic study abroad program, offering the opportunity to continue our studies for a semester in one of 30+ countries or to visit multiple while you took classes on a boat at Semester at Sea, the program the majority of my friends participated in. I, on the other hand, stayed in beautiful San Diego, not a fact to complain about, because Oxford was the only place that offered courses that would satisfy my degree and I had actually been there before during my only abroad experience on a 2 week student trip to England and France when I was 12 years old. Another fact to add to my numerous list of blessings. Therefore, I always had it in the back of my head not to worry, that I would eventually grow up and get a big girl job and money and have the opportunity to fulfill this growing void and need to experience life abroad.
So with little hesitation, I told my mom. Her first question was “for how long?” to which I responded, well the program is 2-4 years so, at least 2 years but max 4. Although we never talked about it specifically, we always knew I’m the type of person to become a mom to a big family that I would raise near my parents and siblings which would require coming back to the States with a fairly quick turnaround. So I honestly never thought I would find myself living in Spain for the long run. My friends’ and coworkers’ response to the news was, you’re going to fall in love with a hot Spaniard and never come back. Although, I was quick to assure everyone I was happily single and just wanting to experience life without commitments while I still could and had every intention of returning. My friends were right. They knew.
So yes. This is still something I’m coming to terms with. The possibility of never coming back to live in the States still scares me. Having lived through a rough, isolating period of COVID (as we all did) and having had my first daughter just after getting residency (yay!) but not a job (ugh.), and at the same time her dad decided to join the military and left us completely alone and penniless for bootcamp for 6 months… I was starting to become a little disillusioned
with the Spanish lifestyle. I was very homesick. But now that we are regaining our footing, finding community in our new town of Almeria and moving along (not necessarily up, yet) professionally, I am rediscovering the magic of Spain and it’s people, language, food, festivals and beautiful, diverse landscapes.
I am so lucky to have had the stars align and bring me here. Grateful to my friend for finding BEDA and being my trusty travel buddy in our early days in Madrid. Grateful to my parents for having given me the opportunities leading up to this point that made me the person I am. Grateful to myself for having the confidence and drive to make it here, learn the language, handle the paperwork (which I think is finally slowing down for me, let’s just say it’s definitely not the fun part of life abroad), and persist even when times get hard. Grateful to Spain and the language programs that allow us wanderlust English-speaking folk to, quite easily, make our dreams come true! And I’m grateful for a million other things like it’s healthcare and childcare, but I feel like those aren’t quite relevant right now…
So, I’ll end with this. If you are considering life abroad, do it. I was the shy girl who always got sat next to the rowdy boys in class. No one ever thought I’d be here today. You have your concerns, most of which are probably very valid! But life abroad is a unique experience for everyone and you will never know until you give it a go. I think you will surprise yourself. I don’t know anyone with the same story as me. And I think that’s beautiful. So use your brain and do your research but follow your gut! But if you are traveling, follow the crowds. That’s always my advice. You get off the train in a new village, go where the people go. Then, when you get to a safe space you can look at your phone for directions. In that situation, be a follower, but when it comes to your dream, it’s time to be the main character in your story.
Too mushy? Okay. Next time I will be more matter of fact. I was just reliving the rush I felt when I was making these decisions 7 years ago and let it all out for your reading pleasure.
Besos, Rachel