My new home!
Photo credit: http://ja.wallpaperswiki.org

I’ve hinted at something big for a while now, but it’s finally time for me to announce the worst-kept secret in history. I’m moving to Madrid, Spain!

Credit: www.wallpapersus.com

I leave for Madrid on September 12 and I could not be more excited, overwhelmed, scared, nervous, happy, ecstatic…basically name any emotion and I’m pretty sure I’ve felt it over the past three months!  Although I plan to get into more detail about exactly what I’ll be doing in Madrid in a later post, here’s a quick synopsis.

I’m participating in the North American Language and Cultural Assistant program through the Spanish Ministry of Education, also known as the Auxiliar de Conversación program.  The Auxiliar program places Americans, Canadians, British and Australians in public elementary and high schools for 8-9 months to teach students the English language, and in my case, about American culture.  Participants receive a monthly stipend of 700 euros per month and work 12 hours a week, but if you are placed in Madrid, you receive 1,000 euros a month and work 16 hours a week.  For more information about the program, check out this year’s application manual.

I realize that I’ve basically posted the same picture three times but I just can’t stop staring!
Photo credit: Puretravel.com

I’ve been placed in a secondary school (13-18 year olds) about 30 minutes outside of the city center of Madrid, and I plan to live in the city center then commute to school.  I’ve never lived abroad, so I can wait to document this experience for all of you!  Everything from the visa process to finding an apartment to figuring out where the hell to get my hair done in Madrid will be discussed here.  As you may have guessed, there will be a lot of changes to this blog to coincide with my move…mainly the fact that I’ll be covering more European destinations instead of American destinations but I hope you’ll join me on the ride.

Have you ever lived abroad? Where did you go and how was your experience? Any advice for me? Have you ever been to Madrid? I haven’t! Looking forward to any words of wisdom!