Hola de California...

[Amy13]

Hey everyone,

I have been listening to the podcasts & they have been really helpful in refreshing my spanish skills. I lived in Alicante for 6mos. & have wanted to return so badly...just decided yesterday that I am going to move and hopefully live for a year working in Spain! I'll be done w/my Master's in June & I figured if now is not the time, while I'm young and unattached to anything, then when will? So, while I'm searching for plane tickets & plans on what I'm going to do...(think teaching Eng. is my best bet), hope to participate in the forums to learn more about life & spain & all of your experiences!

Salud!

Amy

[Ben]

Hi Amy,

Welcome to the forums! We'll be happy to help with any questions you have before the move!

Ben

[Marina]

Hola Amy,

¡¡¡Mucha suerte con el cambio!!!
Esperamos leerte por el foro.

Saludos,
Marina.

[Amy13]

Thanks Ben & Maria! I heard about notesinspanish from my local newspaper - they recommended your site as one of the top ways to use internet for learning Spanish! I'm sure I'll have questions as I get closer to the move. I'm trying to get TEFL certified before I go. Besides teaching, does anyone know of some other common positions that foreigners hold in Spain?? Just want to keep my options open. Hasta Luego,

Amy

[greytop]

T.... Besides teaching, does anyone know of some other common positions that foreigners hold in Spain?? Just want to keep my options open. Hasta Luego,

Amy
Hi Amy and go for it while you can!
Round the costas there are a lot of service companies that work for English speaking residents. Things like pool or villa cleaning probably don't need Spanish. Better paid jobs in offices, estate agents, building services etc. will ask for good Spanish normally. There is also bar work but it may be seasonal and has some pretty unsociable hours.
Depends really what you are capable of and where you end up;D
Euro weekly news (http://www.euroweeklynews.com/) and other online editions (http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/spain.htm) may give you some ideas in the small ads sections.
Buena suerte

[Ben]

Hey Amy, that's amazing, what newspaper was that?!

[Amy13]

The Tribune I live in San Luis Obispo, CA ~ I think the website is sanluisobispo.com

I just discovered the Notes from Spain podcasts about working & living in Spain & they were awesome thanks for the tips!~

Yes, I am pretty open about what I'm going to do when I get there. Right now, I'm thinking teaching English. Luckily, I have a good hold on Spanish language, having lived there for a semester (Alicante). I was fortunate to have seen a lot of the country & had the opportunity to walk por el Camino de Santiago - from Ponferrada to Finesterre. AMAZING EXPERIENCE. That would be a great podcast. I would love to go back & do the entire Camino Frances, but not in the summer!

Salud,
Amy

[Ashley]

Hi Amy! I'm also finishing a Masters in June and planning on a move to Spain. Between research, holidays, and dissertation writing I haven't been on the forums for a while, but I'm trying to keep up with the podcasts!

Keep us posted on what you end up doing, as I'm probably going to be about 6 months behind you. I'm thinking of doing a university language course starting in October to get my Spanish up to scratch, then looking for teaching positions or a more permanent job early in 2008.

[Acosta]

Sounds like we will need a new sub-forum as part of notesfromspain.com...

CaliforniansInSpain :)

Hopefully I can get away to Spain this spring, work permitting.

[Amy13]

Acosta - I know so many people who have gone or want to go. It is great because at my University (Cal Poly), they encourage Study Abroad heavily and Spain is one of the most popular destinations for sure.

Ashley - Best of luck on making it to Spain. What are you getting your Master's in? Mine is Counseling & Guidance in Higher Education. My ideal job would be a Career Counselor at a University. I will still be looking for Career openings, but I figured I wont be able to live abroad like this once that happens! I'll keep you posted on my travels. It's exciting just thinking about it.

Amy

[Acosta]

Acosta - I know so many people who have gone or want to go. It is great because at my University (Cal Poly), they encourage Study Abroad heavily and Spain is one of the most popular destinations for sure.

Ashley - Best of luck on making it to Spain. What are you getting your Master's in? Mine is Counseling & Guidance in Higher Education. My ideal job would be a Career Counselor at a University. I will still be looking for Career openings, but I figured I wont be able to live abroad like this once that happens! I'll keep you posted on my travels. It's exciting just thinking about it.

Amy

I am well past my college years :(. But it is great that Cal Poly encourages that. Actually that must be a nice place to go to college. My wife and I have different sets of friends near Pismo Beach and Edna Valley.

Look forward to hearing about your experiences there.

My ideal situation is some way to link work situation that alllows a living (jajaja) and be able to travel between the both.

[Jon Hundt]

it's nice to see yet another Californian here. In the last few months we have had several new members from CA, so I'll second Acosta's "CaliforniansInSpain" motion.

Do you get much chance to use Spanish in your town? There are so many Mexican communities in California, I would expect San Luis Obispo to have one too.

I'm from Oakland (but I moved to Holland 6 years ago), there you could easily spend a day talking nothing but Spanish. ....Or Viet Nam-ese... or Chinese (several different dialects)... or Korean... or "Ebonic" (remember that?)

When I lived in Hollywood CA - '80-'82 - Spanish was everywhere, but I remember being surprised by how much Armenian was spoken.

[Ashley]

I'm getting my masters in Chemistry, so I'm hoping there might be a market for an English speaking lab technician or at least an English speaking chem tutor at some of the universities in Spain.

I know exactly how you feel, that this is the best time to move abroad, though there are a lot of people on these forums managing to make the move with jobs and kids in tow!

[eazyebeneezer]

Hi everyone-
this is my first post but thought I would put it in this thread as I'm in a similar situation and it might be helpful to amy and ashley. I'm an american doing my master's in bordeaux, france. to support myself i'm working as an english language assistant in primary school. i'm not sure if the same program exists for spain, but it might be worth looking into. i also wanted to say that being an american in europe can be difficult in terms of getting work given our non-EU status. perhaps others have had a different experience, but i think it can be difficult to just come on a tourist visa and look for work. that's what i found so great about the assistantship program- i had my job before i got to france. another possibility (at least in france, sorry, i'm not a spain expert) is to enroll at university in order to have the right to work at least part-time. then you also get to see what a different country's uni system is like- though apparently ashley has already done so ;-)
anyway, i didnt want to bog down the discussion with technicalities, just a quick heads up. so good luck getting ready for the move and i think getting tefl certified is a great idea! teaching english can be great fun, helps you learn about your own language, and facilitates learning another language. oh yeah, and i'm on here trying to revive my college-level spanish which i abandoned in favor of french a few years ago. i love the podcasts; i find them very motivating and helpful. great job on the site and the community you've created here! :thumbs-up:

[Amy13]

Thanks for the info. Sounds like you are in a great situation! Where did you find your assistantship program? I would love to have something set up before I leave, but there is an overwhelming abundance of information on the web.

A

[Marina]

Welcome to the fourms eazyebeneezer!

I agree with Amy, it would be great if you could give us all more information about your assistantship program.

Many thanks,
Marina.

[eazyebeneezer]

hi all-
the program i'm doing is pretty well known by those who study french, as it's run by the french government and hosts hundreds of assistants per year all over the country. a lot of information is avalaible from the british council http://www.britishcouncil.org/languageassistants-ela.htm, but that is mostly addressed to UK citizens. for americans the best source is either http://www.ciep.fr/en/assistantetr/index.htm or the french embassy's site http://www.ambafrance-us.org/culture/education/support/assistant/index.html.
as i said, i'm not sure if the same program exists for spain. a quick web search has led me to believe that it does, but perhaps only through certain universities? perhaps someone wants to read through this with a fine tooth comb to see... http://www.sgci.mec.es/usa/auxiliares/AC%20Guidelines06.pdf. i would be tempted to do the same thing in spain, but alas, i think the time has come for me to return to the states and pay off those college loans :-( the assistantship thing doesn't pay much, but it's enough to live on and do a bit of traveling.

[Liliana]

I am constantly encouraging my son to explore the world. If I had to do it all over again I'd move to Spain for a year or more. Experiencing other cultures away from home is a great way to gain knowledge and a gift that is not shared by many.
Best of luck.

[tjensf]

I am constantly encouraging my son to explore the world. If I had to do it all over again I'd move to Spain for a year or more. Experiencing other cultures away from home is a great way to gain knowledge and a gift that is not shared by many.
Best of luck.


You're so right, Liliana. I'm still kicking myself for not heading off to Spain a few years ago for a summer program at Complutense. I registered for lodging and everything but wound up backing out when a job offer came my way. It really was a good decision but I wish I had been able to spend those three months abroad. As I stare down my 27th birthday, it's getting harder and harder to justify leaving friends and work behind to spend several months or a year overseas. (That said, I still think it'll happen sooner or later.)

Good luck getting back to Spain, Amy!

[Liliana]

You're so right, Liliana. I'm still kicking myself for not heading off to Spain a few years ago for a summer program at Complutense. I registered for lodging and everything but wound up backing out when a job offer came my way. It really was a good decision but I wish I had been able to spend those three months abroad. As I stare down my 27th birthday, it's getting harder and harder to justify leaving friends and work behind to spend several months or a year overseas. (That said, I still think it'll happen sooner or later.)

You're still young. I turned 40 and panicked. Other than my family my passion is to travel and I didn't have to opportunity to travel much before 40. I spent most of my adult years focusing on family a building a career so I decided to give up my career to spend more time with my family and travel. People say that there is plenty of time to travel and experience the world after you retire but I want to travel while I'm still healthy, able to be active and still party with other cultures. Age is a frame of mind but the body many times dictates your frame of mind. Last year I had the opportunity to visit the place I was born Cuba and this year I go to Spain the place my ancestors were born.

Don't let your dream of traveling fade. I believe in making memories with your family and friends and some of my best memories have been made on trips we have taken together. A job/career in order to prosper is necessary but don't let it get in the way of doing the things that make you happy, you can have it all if you work it out.

Best of luck.

[Amy13]

Well said Liliana! Make it happen, even if it doesn't seem easy to do. Ever since traveling Europe, it became addicting & I just wanted to go back & explore more! Last summer I found a way to travel to Costa Rica, even if I didn't have the time or funds to do so & I made it work somehow by working side jobs and figuring out a way to make the time to do it. Now, I will return to live in Spain...even if for only a few months. I'm still in the process of figuring out how & when, but I have it set in my mind that I will! If I don't do it now, when will I have the chance? To me, it seems like it will only be harder & harder to make happen

Amy

[Liliana]

Amy, your right it does get harder and harder unless your independently wealthy. The average person that has the passion for travel has to work sometimes more than one job in order have the funds to travel and then has to be able to take the time from work which is difficult because more time you take off the less money you make in order to survive.

I encourage my son to set his goals towards a career that he is passionate about but to remember that making and saving money is also important to make his dreams happen. There is nothing worse for me than making lots of money but being miserable with what you do in or out of work.

Youth is wonderful there are so many opportunities all one has to do is search those opportunities out. Set your goals and find a way to make it happen. The Internet has made all kinds of things easier to find.

I'm going to Spain this summer and am already looking at the possibilities for future trips to. The puebleingles website that was posted someplace else on this site sounds like a great way to take the trip, spend time with locals for less money.

I'm sure you'll make your dreams come true.