Sunday, August 28, 2011

Auxiliar de conversación

As some of you may have already heard, in a couple of weeks I'm headed back to Madrid for another year.

When I went to Valencia two Decembers ago, Richard and I met some college graduates at our hostel who had studied abroad through the same WIP program that we were in.  They were back in Spain as "auxiliares de conversación," - language assistants in Spain's public schools.

I applied to the Peace Corps back in February, as well as some jobs.  At the very last minute in March, I applied to the Auxiliares program I had heard about in Valencia.  People can apply November - March, and applicants are accepted based on order of application.  Applying so late in the game, I was applicant number four thousand and something; it didn't look good.  So I scolded myself for applying so late, and decided if I really want to go back to Spain, I can always apply right away in November some year to guarantee a spot.

Then mid-summer, during a budget crisis at work, I unexpectedly received an e-mail saying I had been offered a position in the Auxiliares program in Madrid, and had 5 days to accept or decline.

When I came back to the states last summer, I always knew I wanted to go back to Spain - but I never expected the opportunity to arise so soon.

I accepted the offer, and a few weeks later I received official letters from the program.

Getting my visa has been a super fun task (it's currently being processed in Chicago.  I'll have to go back to pick it up whenever it's ready in the next week or two), and I'll probably dedicate a future post to this very topic.

I really don't know too many details about the program.  I have the names and addresses of the two schools I'll be working in, but no schedule or specifics.  I think I'm in two high schools;  they're near Retiro Park.

I bought my plane ticket last week, and I'm leaving from Chicago on September 22.  Classes start on October 1, so the plan is to bum at my old roommate Gregorio's apartment for the first couple of days (during which I'll get a phone, open a bank account, find an apartment.... those types of things). 

Lots to do in the next 26 days!