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“Hola visita, ¿cómo estás?” Another long absence, another return. I’m writing this from my shared flat in Barcelona, where I’ve been living for the past 10 months. Like what I wrote in my previous post nearly a year ago, a lot has happened in my life.

I moved to Barcelona last November to do the CELTA, an intensive month-long course to become a certified ESL teacher. It was the most demanding thing I’ve ever done – staying in school until 7pm most days, completing four assignments in four weeks, and an endless amount of lesson planning to do. There was no time for any social life and I was utterly drained at the end. Fortunately, the last day of the course coincided with the Christmas and New Year break, and I did nothing but eat, sleep and laze around during that period. As rigorous as my course was, it was really an introduction to the basics of teaching. Though I had completed six hours of teaching practice with real students, I definitely didn’t feel prepared to step in front of a roomful of students. Most people who did it said you learn on the job and they were right.

I wanted to stay in Spain longer so I enrolled in a teacher development course immediately after. Since January, I’ve been taking teacher development and Spanish classes, and giving private lessons for a few hours a week. I interviewed with several schools and realised they’re reluctant to hire teachers on a student visa as it means more paperwork for them. And it’s been a struggle to make enough to cover rent and expenses. I’ve been living off my savings but eventually I’ll have to dip into my earnings from teaching. The constant worrying about money gets to me and sometimes I feel that I’m not enjoying Barcelona as much as I should. On the bright side, my Spanish classes are mostly excellent and the teachers at my school are dedicated to helping us learn and improve. I have a B1 level now and while my Spanish is far from perfect, I wouldn’t have imagined I would have the opportunity to learn another language, much less in a foreign country.

I finish my course in November and I’m undecided on what to do next. I would like to stay longer but it means having to live the student life for two more years. Hopefully after two years, I’d be eligible to apply for a work visa. I have a lot of thinking to do in the meantime, so hasta luego for now.