December 23-24, 2020 Today was our second and final day in Málaga. Our next city would be Granada, which we would travel to via bus at 5:30 PM. We checked out of our hostal at 11 AM and headed on an adventure to find coffee and to visit the Catedral de la Encarnación de Málaga,… Continue reading Málaga Day 2
Málaga, Andalucía
December 23-24, 2020 Around 12:30 on Wednesday, December 23, I headed to Estación de Autobuses de Pontevedra to take a bus to Santiago de Compostela. This is where I would hop on a flight to Málaga as the first stop in our trip to Andalucía. Gabrielle lives in Andalucía, so she would take a bus… Continue reading Málaga, Andalucía
Navidad 2020: Andalucía
A couple months back, I connected with an individual named Gabrielle in one of the auxiliar Facebook groups, and we both wanted to do some traveling over break. We hit it off and decided to go for it. Deciding to travel during COVID took a lot of time and reflection. We didn't decide on a… Continue reading Navidad 2020: Andalucía
Holiday Weekend
On December 4, we started a five day weekend from school. Sunday, December 6, was Immaculate Conception Day (observed on Monday for some schools and businesses) and Tuesday, December 8, was Constitution Day. The week before was Thanksgiving in the US, although that is not observed in Spain. In addition to a much-needed break from… Continue reading Holiday Weekend
Reflections on the First Two Months
After the first month, I stopped doing a weekly day-by-day post. In part because I got busier once school started, and in part because things became a bit less blog-worthy. There was less "firsts" and more getting acclimated to a new place and new way of life. Now that it's the beginning of December, I… Continue reading Reflections on the First Two Months
Gratitude
I've been having a lot of mental health ups and downs and really struggling. Getting through it has felt quite impossible and each day is more of a struggle than the last. Yesterday, this cup of coffee was the only thing that sparked some joy. It was one of those low days, a lower than… Continue reading Gratitude
Trip to Vigo
Today, I attempted to go to Vigo, which is a nearby city about 40 minutes by bus. I had not attempted this venture yet mostly because of anxiety around public transit and a new city, and then new COVID restrictions essentially squashed a reason for me to go there anyways. I had planned on taking… Continue reading Trip to Vigo
The Visa Process
I wanted to go back and review what I went through and some tips for the visa process to get me to Spain. While this happened over the summer, it's still pretty fresh in my mind. With my city currently in a shut-down, I had plenty of time to go back through all my materials… Continue reading The Visa Process
Moving Weekend
Today, I moved from my Air BNB in Poio across the bridge and into downtown Pontevedra city. This is a month-to-month rental, but I'll likely be staying here until the end of my auxiliar term. My Air BNB roommate, Ben, drove me this morning to my new apartment, which is in a large building on… Continue reading Moving Weekend
TEFL Meets COVID-19: 23 Changes in My School
Now that I've been settled into my school for three weeks, I've have had opportunities for observation, conversation, and reading written policies around COVID-19 and its implications for school. Here are 23 that I selected to highlight. This should not be taken as any type of formal guidance for education centers. For accurate and up-to-date… Continue reading TEFL Meets COVID-19: 23 Changes in My School