This program defined me

A few great things about this program were

1) My work schedule was no more than 12 hours a week. This gave me a huge amount of time to see the sights, travel and learn Spanish. I taught myself guitar and many friends took college classes on the side.

2) The work itself is not hard. I was placed in a school of 300 students, age 12-16 and a few 17 year olds an one 18 year old. The hardest part of my job was calming the students down when they got to work with me as they were so excited and willing to speak English. I knew most by name and often went to recess with them to play soccer.

3) The teaching staff was helpful and friendly. Make sure to make a good start with them as they will be your co-workers for six months.

4) The stipend they gave me was 700 euros a month. While this is not a huge amount, it is more than enough to live off of. I shared an apartment for 290 and after eating expenses and travel, I left the country with a hefty sum saved up. Instead of paying to travel and live abroad, I was paid to do it. Amazing.

Things to watch out for

1) Make sure to bring enough money to live off of for a month. The first check doesn't come until the end of the first month, so you'll have to have plenty for an apartment (deposit and first month's rent) and extra for whatever might happen.

2) Look at the apartments in person before you make anything permanent. I had a place set up that looked great and was on the same square where Picasso lived and found out it was packed with people and a total dive. Stayed in a hostal for two weeks, made great friends there, and found a nice place.

3) Make sure you find a place that allows you to live a little. I had a few friends who got places in the outskirts of the city near their schools. While they could wake up an hour later for work, they could never come out at night or stay in the city to site see because the bus to their town stopped running at night and they didn't have a car.

4) I got in the program late and so a lot of my forms were not ready when I got there. Once in the country, it took me about a month to get my visa sorted out and a photo ID set up. While it wasn't a problem at all and everything was sorted out, make sure you take care of yourself when it comes to forms and identification. It is your responsibility.

5) Get Spanish speaking roommates!! You won't be learning Spanish at work, your job is to teach English. If you get someone who speaks English as a roommate, it will be English at home and work. You also want to be able to go out a night with natives of the city to see the right places and listen to Spanish outside a classroom or workplace. It's harder to meet these people and find these places if you have a roommate from Canada, Australia, the British Isles, or the States.

A final note, I made many very good friends from around the world and keep in touch with many of them. I left with a totally different world view and a profound feeling of joy at having been able to participate. I fell in love with Spain and I will be going back.