Tomorrow marks a month of life in Spain, and I feel like I just now can breathe and get comfortable in my new surroundings. But wait! Tomorrow I start my job as a language and culture assistant in an elementary school here in Andújar. Queue butterflies and overwhelming fear all over again.

Honestly, I’m really excited to start my job as a teacher.  A month and a half of basically being on vacation sounds awesome in theory, (And, yes, it was pretty awesome) but I’m ready to be a productive member of society again. I’m especially ready to be a part of something where I feel I am making a difference! Molding the minds of the future and all that. 

ANYWAY…back to the meat and potatoes of this post…

I am baffled by time. Some moments stand out so clearly in my mind and others pass in a blur. I did nothing exciting last Wednesday, therefore, did it really even happen?  I want to catch you all up on these last four weeks, but I am clueless on how to do it efficiently. There are so many stories! So then…settle in with a relaxing cup of café con leche (Spain joke...) because this post is gonna be a long one.

September 1 (Holy Cow, that was forever ago) 

My parents came to Indianapolis for a final hug goodbye and to take my beautiful, luxurious, 1998 two-door Cavalier back to Marion for the year. My sister and her friend drove me to the Chicago O’Hare Airport to catch my flight. I cried at security after my goodbye with Bree which is funny because I get to see her in seriously, like, three weeks. 

I was seriously in a panic at the gate. “You don’t speak Spanish. Why are you doing this? What if it sucks? Can I back out still?” And then, I ran in to my Grand Little’s best friend and fellow Phi Mu sister. What a ridiculous coincidence! (Thanks, Mary, Mary, and Martha for helping a sister out! LIOB) She was a freshman when I was a senior, but still! Seeing a familiar face somehow made me relax. She’s studying abroad in Sevilla for the semester, and we had the same flights. Great to have a travel buddy. 

A quick 8hr flight to Dusseldorf, Germany, then 2 hours to Madrid, Spain, and a final leg to Sevilla, and I HAD ARRIVED. 

HOLY SHIT, I'M IN SPAIN FOR THE NEXT NINE MONTHS. (Sorry, Mom, but I gotta tell it like I felt it.) 

I’m teaching abroad for the Junta de Andalucía (the government for the southern area of Spain called Andalucía) through an American program called CIEE. Through them, I spent my first three weeks in Spain in Sevilla, going through a week-long orientation process and a two week language immersion process where I lived with a host family and took Spanish classes daily with a school called CLIC. 

Anyone who has ever moved to a new school or gone to Summer Camp or done something when they’re suddenly thrown in to a group of strangers surely understands my next big worry. What if no one likes me? Yes, at 24, this is still a thing. Judge not, lest ye be judged. 

There were 35 people in my branch of the CIEE program, and, obviously my apprehension was silly. We got along great! (Shout out to you all! I miss seeing your faces every day) Orientation week was a blur of daily classes to discuss everything from teaching expectations to how to successfully find an apartment to rent once we moved to our new towns. And the nights were full of exploring Sevilla as one big, touristy group! 

The Friday of orientation week, September 6, we met our host families and moved to their homes for the next two weeks. But, not before we spent our Thursday night out like true Spaniards! Thanks to the three to five hour break in the middle of each day (Siesta), the Spanish day lasts well in to the night. Dinner is generally around 9:00pm, and if you're going out for the night, you linger at various tapas bars until 2:00am. No respectable person goes to a discoteca until after that. Don't even think about it! That night we traveled from El Sur for tapas and cocktails to Alfalfa for beer and chupitos to Bilindo, an outdoor discoteca complete with gogo dancers. Needless to say, when I dropped in to bed at 5:30am, I was beyond tired. How in the world would I ever get used to that lifestyle? 

With just a little time, a lot of tinto de verano (basically wine mixed with Sprite), and the help of my new friends, of course! 

Next time - Lost in Translation - my homestay adventure and my ongoing battle with the Spanish language!