I'm baaaack

I can remember this moment like it was yesterday. A little over a year ago, my mom, dad, and I sat outside having dinner on a perfect summer night when I opened up about my dream, my dream to move to Spain. I knew it sounded crazy and I knew I was already becoming one of those study abroad kids who wouldn’t shut up about the best semester of their life but I needed Spain back. It had become a part of me, a part of my identity and I knew I would be soul searching until the moment I found my way back.

Fast-forward 14 months; I’m in Barcelona working with high school students from around the world studying business at a prestigious university. Fast-forward another two months and here I am in Guardo (Palencia), Spain, just days away from starting my job as an English teacher. Yep, you got that right, living and working in Spain. While the road to Guardo was not the easiest, I’m happy that I pushed past the naysayers and even doubts of my own. I woke up this morning feeling whole again.

So, first impressions! When I say this place is a small town, I’m not being dramatic. Sure, my city standards are a little askew having grown up outside New York but 6,000 people total? Now that’s small. I think of it as my high school student body x2 and in high school I felt like I knew everyone. So when I walk around Guardo, I assume there is an invisible sign on my face that reads, “I’m the new girl”. By the looks I’ve already gotten, I’m certain of it.

Anyway, I’ve spent the last couple days walking around trying to get familiar with the place and here are a few random conclusions of mine:

• I'll never run out of places to get a drink (rumor has it there are 80 bars in this small town)
• I'll need a winter jacket sooner rather than later
• My real estate agents are heaven-sent
• The local librarian is amazing too
• The grocery store doesn't have pesto
• I may walk the river path everyday until it starts snowing
• I'm not positive but the modern building right outside the center of town that says "Spa" might actually be a spa
• I'd be lying if I said I didn't just hear a rooster crow outside my window

As for my living situation, I was lucky to find an apartment in a good location with enough space that my roommate (another teacher from the US) and I could have our own bedrooms and bathrooms down the hall from each other. We also have decent closet space, a nice kitchen (because it’s a luxury to have a dishwasher), a living room and dining room, as well as TWO extra bedrooms. We are living LARGE over here for the small price of… well maybe I won’t put the cost of my rent online but it is considerably less than what I would pay for this place in the US.

Lastly, I’ll add that before leaving I prepared myself for going months without Asian food by going on an Asian food binger. Well, that binge could be seen as unnecessary now that I’m living with a Vietnamese-American girl who cooks Asian foods on the regular, but I’m not upset with my decision to eat at my favorite Asian-fusion restaurant at least once a week this summer. Happy Liz = waking up to Vietnamese iced coffee. This school year in Guardo is really looking up.