I swear it was just yesterday I was bawling at the airport, choking on my tears as I waved goodbye to my family. Yes, I know. I was being overly dramatic, but hey, this was the longest I was going to go without seeing my family.
*handing my passport to the security guard*
SG: Okay thanks. Good, pass through. *Looks up and now notices me crying*
ME: *while choking on my tears and wiping my eyes* I just said my goodbyes to my family.
SG: *checks the destination* You’re heading to Spain? Well man that sounds fun.
He was right. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and despite my doubts and hesitation, I ultimately made the decision to move out to Vigo. You know when you cry, and you can barely catch your breath and say words? That’s what happened, and it was embarrassing as so many people pushed past (passed? Seriously how am I an English teacher) me to get to security! No wonder he tried his hardest not to laugh at the situation. Shooooot… I would’ve found the situation comical if I were him.
Fast forward several months, and here I am just having wrapped up the first part of the trimester with my students and ready for some holiday traveling! With 2015 creeping just around the corner, I thought it would be appropriate to take you all down memory lane with me and reflect on perhaps some of the best (and not so best) times of my life.
1. You may think you’re prepared for any situation that comes your way, but you’re not.
Example 1: So thanks to my overly worried mother, she packed me band-aids, Neosporin, pain reliever patches, alcohol pads, Ibuprofen, Sudafed, Imodium, Zyrtec, and Halls (as if Spain would have NONE of these). From the looks of it, I was prepared for any situation possible. So what happens when let’s say, the doctor discovers bacteria and plaque in your throat, prescribes you Zitromax, and the moment you take it you break out into rashes. *taking a look through my medicine bag*—Welp, nothing here will help…hospital it is! The doctor told me I had an allergic reaction to that antibiotic Zitromax so she gave me a shot in the ass to clear it all up. Now that is something I could not have prepared for.
2. Mellow House
My apartment is old. It has no heat. There is no elevator—I assure you will be out of breath by the time you reach my floor. An old man pees at our doorstep EVERY FRIKKEN NIGHT and it wreaks. The electricity goes out if you have both the laundry and space heaters going. My landlord has no boundaries (landlord enters the house. *while I’m in the bathroom with the door closed (it doesn’t lock btw)* Hi, Charina I just wanted to let you know *opens the bathroom door* that the new roommate is moving in tomorrow night. Me: Uhh, great thanks. I COULD HAVE BEEN SHITTING. Lucky for her, I was just fixing my hair, but still-- knock next time!
Despite all of that, I love it, love it, love it—from the blue and green kitchen to the abstract and colorful paintings in the hallways to the bright orange bathroom, our place sure has character! Although my landlord does as she pleases, she is so chill with everything. Mellow House is prime location –5 minutes to the port, one street away from the main shopping strip, 5 minutes to the old town, 7 minutes from the bar/discoteca areas –seriously, you could not ask for a better location. It’s so spacious—not your typical Spanish flat, and it means I can have friends over to hang out or have parties—so many wonderful (and not so wonderful) memories from Halloween, Thanksgiving, and our many many pre-games.
3. Kids hate me/High-schoolers love me
If you know me, you know I absolutely adore kids, and I get along with them well! Most of the private lessons I give are with younger children, and while I get along well with most of them, there is a 3 year old lil’ demon who hates me. JK that’s mean-- she’s cute but don’t be fooled. She absolutely hates English, and because I’m supposed to be her English tutor, she automatically hates me too. I have to pick her up every Tuesday and Thursday at the bus stop to a welcome of screams and cries. It honestly looks like I’m kidnapping from her reactions, but maybe the break will be long enough for her to forget who I am so we can start anew in 2015.
I thought high-schoolers would hate me. It’s that age where you are a little bit more rebellious, you think you’re always right, and you judge everyone and everything. First glance they are definitely intimidating. Half the boys are taller than me, and all the girls dress wayyyyy better than me. But then I remembered, I speak English better than them, and that strangely gave me the confidence to just be myself and teach. I honestly don’t know what I did, but they love my class—probably more so the fact that I’m American and I’ve supposedly met many celebrities, but I’ll take it. I love my students, and watching their growth is incredible. Since they run on a trimester system, my schedule changes for the next semester. I was incredibly sad finding out I would no longer have my 1 BAC and 2 BAC classes (juniors and seniors) as I adore all of them, but I’m sure 3 ESO and 4 ESO (freshman and sophomores) will be just as great. The 1 BAC and 2 BAC classes seemed to be heartbroken as well, and either they are really good actors, or they truly meant it:
“Teacher, fight for us!!”
“Wait, what…that’s not fair. We need you more!”
“Wait, no, no, why?”
4. I’m in love with Vigo
So if you followed my blog from the very beginning, you would know that I had doubts about coming. I cried, I tried to switch, but I ultimately made the decision to accept Vigo and move out here. And I cannot explain to you my love for Vigo. Sometimes I feel weird sharing my stories on this blog because honestly, living it is so much different versus reading it! Vigo is a hidden gem. If you ask anyone or tell anyone you are going to Spain, they’ll say something like Oh Madrid? Barcelona? Are you heading to Sevilla? Galicia is a lesser-known region, and for that fact, you get a very authentic feel of Spain. Obviously there are tourists no matter where you go, but it is significantly less. Of course, no city is perfect. Yes, it rains. Yes, it’s cold, but something I’ve learned is that you can’t let the weather affect your mood (although I know how hard that is). And a rainy day always makes you appreciate the sunny days! Apparently last year it rained for 30 days or more straight, but we’ve been blessed with really good weather so far the past couple of months. No day has yet gone by without some sunshine at least. A lot of my friends said I would stay because I would fall in love with a Spanish hombre here. Instead, I’ve fallen in love with Vigo. Vigo, you have my heart!
So cheers to a wonderful past couple of months! Looking forward to 2015
Yours truly,
TLT
*handing my passport to the security guard*
SG: Okay thanks. Good, pass through. *Looks up and now notices me crying*
ME: *while choking on my tears and wiping my eyes* I just said my goodbyes to my family.
SG: *checks the destination* You’re heading to Spain? Well man that sounds fun.
He was right. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and despite my doubts and hesitation, I ultimately made the decision to move out to Vigo. You know when you cry, and you can barely catch your breath and say words? That’s what happened, and it was embarrassing as so many people pushed past (passed? Seriously how am I an English teacher) me to get to security! No wonder he tried his hardest not to laugh at the situation. Shooooot… I would’ve found the situation comical if I were him.
Fast forward several months, and here I am just having wrapped up the first part of the trimester with my students and ready for some holiday traveling! With 2015 creeping just around the corner, I thought it would be appropriate to take you all down memory lane with me and reflect on perhaps some of the best (and not so best) times of my life.
1. You may think you’re prepared for any situation that comes your way, but you’re not.
Example 1: So thanks to my overly worried mother, she packed me band-aids, Neosporin, pain reliever patches, alcohol pads, Ibuprofen, Sudafed, Imodium, Zyrtec, and Halls (as if Spain would have NONE of these). From the looks of it, I was prepared for any situation possible. So what happens when let’s say, the doctor discovers bacteria and plaque in your throat, prescribes you Zitromax, and the moment you take it you break out into rashes. *taking a look through my medicine bag*—Welp, nothing here will help…hospital it is! The doctor told me I had an allergic reaction to that antibiotic Zitromax so she gave me a shot in the ass to clear it all up. Now that is something I could not have prepared for.
2. Mellow House
My apartment is old. It has no heat. There is no elevator—I assure you will be out of breath by the time you reach my floor. An old man pees at our doorstep EVERY FRIKKEN NIGHT and it wreaks. The electricity goes out if you have both the laundry and space heaters going. My landlord has no boundaries (landlord enters the house. *while I’m in the bathroom with the door closed (it doesn’t lock btw)* Hi, Charina I just wanted to let you know *opens the bathroom door* that the new roommate is moving in tomorrow night. Me: Uhh, great thanks. I COULD HAVE BEEN SHITTING. Lucky for her, I was just fixing my hair, but still-- knock next time!
Despite all of that, I love it, love it, love it—from the blue and green kitchen to the abstract and colorful paintings in the hallways to the bright orange bathroom, our place sure has character! Although my landlord does as she pleases, she is so chill with everything. Mellow House is prime location –5 minutes to the port, one street away from the main shopping strip, 5 minutes to the old town, 7 minutes from the bar/discoteca areas –seriously, you could not ask for a better location. It’s so spacious—not your typical Spanish flat, and it means I can have friends over to hang out or have parties—so many wonderful (and not so wonderful) memories from Halloween, Thanksgiving, and our many many pre-games.
3. Kids hate me/High-schoolers love me
If you know me, you know I absolutely adore kids, and I get along with them well! Most of the private lessons I give are with younger children, and while I get along well with most of them, there is a 3 year old lil’ demon who hates me. JK that’s mean-- she’s cute but don’t be fooled. She absolutely hates English, and because I’m supposed to be her English tutor, she automatically hates me too. I have to pick her up every Tuesday and Thursday at the bus stop to a welcome of screams and cries. It honestly looks like I’m kidnapping from her reactions, but maybe the break will be long enough for her to forget who I am so we can start anew in 2015.
I thought high-schoolers would hate me. It’s that age where you are a little bit more rebellious, you think you’re always right, and you judge everyone and everything. First glance they are definitely intimidating. Half the boys are taller than me, and all the girls dress wayyyyy better than me. But then I remembered, I speak English better than them, and that strangely gave me the confidence to just be myself and teach. I honestly don’t know what I did, but they love my class—probably more so the fact that I’m American and I’ve supposedly met many celebrities, but I’ll take it. I love my students, and watching their growth is incredible. Since they run on a trimester system, my schedule changes for the next semester. I was incredibly sad finding out I would no longer have my 1 BAC and 2 BAC classes (juniors and seniors) as I adore all of them, but I’m sure 3 ESO and 4 ESO (freshman and sophomores) will be just as great. The 1 BAC and 2 BAC classes seemed to be heartbroken as well, and either they are really good actors, or they truly meant it:
“Teacher, fight for us!!”
“Wait, what…that’s not fair. We need you more!”
“Wait, no, no, why?”
4. I’m in love with Vigo
So if you followed my blog from the very beginning, you would know that I had doubts about coming. I cried, I tried to switch, but I ultimately made the decision to accept Vigo and move out here. And I cannot explain to you my love for Vigo. Sometimes I feel weird sharing my stories on this blog because honestly, living it is so much different versus reading it! Vigo is a hidden gem. If you ask anyone or tell anyone you are going to Spain, they’ll say something like Oh Madrid? Barcelona? Are you heading to Sevilla? Galicia is a lesser-known region, and for that fact, you get a very authentic feel of Spain. Obviously there are tourists no matter where you go, but it is significantly less. Of course, no city is perfect. Yes, it rains. Yes, it’s cold, but something I’ve learned is that you can’t let the weather affect your mood (although I know how hard that is). And a rainy day always makes you appreciate the sunny days! Apparently last year it rained for 30 days or more straight, but we’ve been blessed with really good weather so far the past couple of months. No day has yet gone by without some sunshine at least. A lot of my friends said I would stay because I would fall in love with a Spanish hombre here. Instead, I’ve fallen in love with Vigo. Vigo, you have my heart!
So cheers to a wonderful past couple of months! Looking forward to 2015
Yours truly,
TLT