I finally got a job, without the need for an interview, for something I'd applied for about a year ago. I'm now a classroom English language assistant in Madrid.
The email came out of the blue - it arrived when I was at a weekend in CenterParcs with a group I'd not met before, I was too stunned to acknowledge it then. The program is organised by the Department of Education in Spain, and they wanted an answer immediately. A week later, having attended and heard back about another unsuccessful interview, I decided to accept it.
I flew over on the night of 1st January, and stayed in a hostel for the first week. My mum came with me for the first eight days to help me look for accommodation, and to provide moral support. I've been here for 11 days, and have only had three blips so far, which I think is pretty good considering I've left everything and everyone behind, on top of not being fluent in the language and having social issues.
So far things are good - the job's great, the kids I'm teaching are sweet, the other staff are friendly, and my live-in landlady's lovely. I'm now living in a suburb of Madrid, about half an hour from the centre by train, and I've tried two meet-up groups so far. I didn't think much of the first one (too many people in too little space), the second one was a writers' group where we wrote in complete silence for hours, so not quite the environment I was looking for. Still, I feel okay being here, which surprises me to be honest. Hopefully things will continue this well!
The email came out of the blue - it arrived when I was at a weekend in CenterParcs with a group I'd not met before, I was too stunned to acknowledge it then. The program is organised by the Department of Education in Spain, and they wanted an answer immediately. A week later, having attended and heard back about another unsuccessful interview, I decided to accept it.
I flew over on the night of 1st January, and stayed in a hostel for the first week. My mum came with me for the first eight days to help me look for accommodation, and to provide moral support. I've been here for 11 days, and have only had three blips so far, which I think is pretty good considering I've left everything and everyone behind, on top of not being fluent in the language and having social issues.
So far things are good - the job's great, the kids I'm teaching are sweet, the other staff are friendly, and my live-in landlady's lovely. I'm now living in a suburb of Madrid, about half an hour from the centre by train, and I've tried two meet-up groups so far. I didn't think much of the first one (too many people in too little space), the second one was a writers' group where we wrote in complete silence for hours, so not quite the environment I was looking for. Still, I feel okay being here, which surprises me to be honest. Hopefully things will continue this well!
