Y ya está, I’m moving to Spain!

If someone told me while I was growing up that I would be moving to a different country at age 22, I wouldn’t have believed them. I used to get so frightened and nervous about any type of change that involved me being away from home for a few days. Well now, I can happily say that while I am nervous to move to Spain, I am also very excited to begin this new journey in my life. My trip begins in less than two weeks and the anticipation to hop on board the trans-Atlantic flight is stronger than ever. This summer has felt like a non-stop checklist of things to accomplish before I leave, this involved applying for and traveling to Chicago for my Spanish visa, working out grad school applications for when I return, and attempting to work out the logistics, which hasn’t turned out too well as I have procrastinated a lot. I do consider myself pretty fluent in Spanish. I regret not practicing more this summer. Instead, I spent 75% of my time reading Trip Advisor horror stories about how a family lost all of their checked luggage at the Madrid airport or how another person missed their train because customs took too long just to stress myself out more so I can frantically text my friends at 2am about my travel worries…like I need more them. It all will work out fine, or that’s what I tell myself. 🙂

As it is getting closer, more and more details of my all around living situation are beginning to work themselves out well so I am happy that I haven’t stressed out too much about finding a place to live, because it would have been a waste of time. It is not easy to hunt for a piso from 5,000 miles away. Let me tell you. My school emailed me and has offered to help me look for accommodations while I stay in an Airbnb for my first week or so. I will be staying in a shared apartment with a mom who has children that go to my school. Which is awesome! I have even been offered an au pair position with a lady in town that would love to have me live with her family. This was comforting to hear because while I do like living on my own, I know that I do crave human interaction and would like to be immersed in the middle of Spanish culture and what better way to do that than to live with the locals!

Through emails and Facebook groups with other conversation assistants, I have met some pretty amazing people who are going to be in Spain. They are natives and other United States citizens. I am considering giving English lessons to locals to earn some money on the side as well. Many people in my city of Salvaterra de Miño have already been very accommodating in that they have offered help with finding internet companies, what stores I can find certain items at, etc. and I appreciate their help very much. It has made the transition to begin my move easier because I know that I am going to be in good hands when I get to Spain.

As my time in Kansas has gotten shorter, I have noticed that I have become more emotional in a lot of different ways. Not only sad that I am leaving but happy that I am going to be returning to a country that means so much to me. I have found myself reminiscing about the Camino and my first trip to Spain almost daily because it was really what inspired me to apply for this job because Spain felt like home to me. Even though I am feeling overwhelmed with emotion in these final days leading up to departure I remember my favorite quote from “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho, “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”Whenever I start doubting what I am getting ready to do, I take a moment to meditate and realize that I know this adventure is what’s best for my body, my mind, and my soul. It is an opportunity that I have been dreaming about for years and now it is finally a reality.

This post was more just an intro and to show where I am at in the process of getting ready to go. I can post more detailed blogs on the application for the Spanish Visa (bureaucratice hoops, pre-addresses USPS express envelopes, and many fees=visa process in summation), or a blog about packing if anyone wants specifics but most likely I will wait until I have gotten settled into Spain. If anyone reading would like information on how to become an auxiliar, feel free to send me a message through my page. For anyone that is wanting to reach me while I am abroad, you can contact me through any of the social media linked on my blog page, email, Facebook Messenger, What’s App, or Skype. If you have an iPhone, iMessage and FaceTime will work great as well. I will not have international phone plan as I can pay for internet and basically have the same capabilities that regular phone service does through Skype and WhatsApp. So if it uses wifi, I can communicate with you quite easily.