I arrived to Spain eager to start the new chapter of my life.
2 weeks later I was ready to quit. Why? Let’s make a list:
- I couldn’t stand the Spanish accent in Spain. In Latin America they spoke beautifully and the language was like music to my ears. In Spain, not so much…
- The people in the Northern Spain reminded me too much of the people in my country – never a smile on the face…
- The children did not want to learn English. It felt like they were there only because their parents could afford to pay for the academy.
- The prep for lessons took up way too much of my free time.
Not to mention:
- I was staying a tiny room in a tiny apartment.
- The apartment was shared with 4 other woman.
- I couldn’t afford a place on my own. The rental prices in town were outrageous!
Not all was doom & gloom, though.
- Wine was good and it was cheap!
I did enjoy going for long walks on my days off.
Some days I’d walk for 10 miles or so.
But as I started working in October, the weather started getting chilly quite fast.
It was definitely not my cup of tea (or my glass of wine).
As soon as I moved there, I instantly clicked with my housemate from the UK. We’d sit at home sharing pizza at the end of the day and ponder about the fact how we ended up in cold Spain. We wanted to be anywhere but there.
I told her all about my time in Mexico. And so our secret plan was born – we would go to Mexico!
2 more weeks later we quit. Well, technically, we just left. Don’t shake your heads now, it’s not something I’m very proud of. It did take a bit of sneaking around to get the bus tickets in advance. Everybody in town knew who we were. And still, only a month after we’d come, we were back on the bus to the Madrid airport.
I don’t remember much about the flight itself or how we managed to get from the airport in Mexico to the town where our couch surfing host was waiting for us. All I remember is waking up the next morning and feeling the humidity in the air. And it felt like home.
