Well, it’s been awhile, hey?

I’ve finished my year of teaching, and had originally planned to spend the summer in Logroño taking intensive Spanish lessons. Due to some unexpected family circumstances, I’m actually in the process of moving to London/in with G! But worry not, because I have quite the backlog of travels to update on, and a three week trip around Eastern Europe I’ll be leaving for in just a few short weeks. Lots of writing to do before then!

So, how about a quick wrap up of my year in Logroño? I say quick, but I have no idea where to start, really. It was one of the best years of my life, but nothing like I expected. I was expecting something a bit more like studying abroad–a huge crew of friends, drinking maybe a bit too much, feeling like a real visitor. Instead, oddly, I felt at home immediately. I don’t think my schedule or life changed much from LA to Spain. You know, other than a daily siesta.

When I first arrived, at 1 am, jet lagged, lost, overwhelmed, and desperately missing Katie, I parked at Parque Espolon and walked from the beautifully lit park to my flat just around the corner. As I saw my new home and roommates for the first time, I immediately knew it would be an easy settling in process.

Logroño, I hope, will always feel like home. I know the art store next to my flat, the chocolatier a few doors down. The grocer who always gave me a discount on fruit. The bus driver who would wait that extra 30 seconds as I ran from the school right as it was meant to be leaving. Seeing the pilgrims walk the camino I used to dream about, years ago in Boston. It’s a small city, and I know the streets well. I walk them and feel capable and happy. Even Spanish, which sadly I didn’t come close to mastering, stopped being a barrier. Stopped being anything I worried about. I went to the dentist for x-rays, I got my cat a pet passport, and then went back to get it fixed when it was filled out incorrectly, twice. I got a bike fixed, went to the doctor’s a few times, finagled myself a last minute regreso, filled out all my renewal paperwork, and then amended it twice. By the end, I even made some dreaded calls–no hand gestures or facial expressions to rely on. I don’t speak Spanish. But I survived in it. And I’m going to keep taking lessons here in London.

I made friends, but not how I expected to. Other than my roommates, my American/English friends were few. But the kids I taught? They were friends. After my last day all my students found my instagram and one messaged me saying her parents wanted me to know if I ever needed anything, they would try to help. The English teacher and I had plans to meet up and speak only in Spanish. She left me with pages and pages of worksheets the students had had to translate from Spanish to English. I have to do the same. My last days at school I had dozens of letters and gifts from my kids, and it was the sweetest goodbye. Sometimes they were monsters, but I came from a tough industry and luckily a bunch of 6 year olds did not have the ability to phase me. And when I had to leave suddenly because of a family emergency, one of the families I gave private lessons to helped me sort my paperwork and another looked after my cat for almost three weeks, just happy to help. I really met the best people.

 

I’m sad to have left, but so deeply, incredibly glad to have had the time there I did. Am I done with Spain? I don’t know. I want to explore the south so badly–had I gone back next year I would have been in Granada, and that I think will always feel like the city that got away. But I have other things I need to do. Start a life, a daily life, with my incredible partner. Also probably live in Italy, and Mexico, and maybe Amsterdam? But I know this… I’ll go back to Logroño, walk the streets and remember it as home. And I am definitely not done with Spanish.

Hasta Luego, Logroño!

The application to be an Auxiliar de conversación in Spain for the 2017-2018 school year is officially open, and will close this April 18th. The number of people applying this year already feels so different than last. In 2016 I applied in late February and was around number 3500. This year, they had already hit 1,000 applicants within 24 hours of opening. I stayed up and applied right at midnight and am still nearly number 400. That’s crazy!

One of the hardest parts about the Auxiliar program is the application. Maybe as a result of being free (though there are other free government programs that are not the disaster this process is), it’s pretty poorly designed and explained. I’m going to try to make a step by step guide to help anyone who was as confused as I was. I have information both for first year applicants and renewals down below.

First, the profex website doesn’t work with Chrome. Use either Firefox or Safari. If you are renewing, you have to use your old login, otherwise you won’t get second year preference (second years are placed first and much more likely to get their top choice). If you’re a first year, you need to register. Make sure you do so using your passport information.

First years

Need to go to Curriculum and fill out your personal info. You put in your address, college info, teaching experience if you have any, work experience if you have any, additional information (study abroad or ESL certificates), language skills, and anything else you might want to put in. Please note, this stuff isn’t really read. As long as it’s filled in, no one cares what you say. The program is first come first serve, so if you apply and are inscrita number 101 with no teaching/working experience, and someone with a degree in ESL applies and is inscrita number 102, you will get priority.

Renewals

You will have details saved in the system from prior years. 

Everyone

Note, that your documents do not have to be uploaded when you electronically submit your application. You can add your passport page, your photo, your letter of recommendation, and your transcript under “Documentos Anexos” at a later date (make sure you do so before you mail in the PDF version of your application). This is HIGHLY recommended, because you get your inscrita number once the electronic application is submitted. So get that thing in ASAP and upload any documents you might be waiting on at a later date!

Click the Auxiliar de Conversacion tab in the lower left of the screen. Then Presentación Solicitudes. Then on the drop down select “Auxiliares de Conversación en Espana Extranjeros” and the corresponding year you’re applying for.

RENEWALS, make sure you click renovacion solicitud. This means you are renewing. If you select nueva solicitud, you will be processed like a new applicant and lose any priority.
First years, you click nueva solicitud.

Then you’ll be brought to a page to upload all the documents it says you need to submit the application. For first years this is the passport page, letter of recommendation, transcript, medical certificate, and letter of intent.

For Renewals, this is your motivation letter, passport (if it has changed), and your Informe del Centro Escolar (recommendation form from your school).

Just check all the boxes and upload them later in Documentos Anexos. Every year it says you can’t do this and every year it is perfectly allowed.

Then you’ll go to a page with España and Andorra as options. Make sure you’re doing España! Some people have accidentally requested Andorra, and I’m not totally sure what’s going to happen with them. You have three groups with the different regions. Pick your top three regions (one from each group, so unfortunately for example, you can’t pick Madrid, Andalucía, and Valencia as they are within the same group), and order each group your preference, 1, 2, or 3.

For first years it will ask what language you’re applying to teach. Select which one you’re applying for, and hit Inscribir Solicitud when you are finished! This will electronically submit your application. You won’t be able to change it other than adding documents in Documentos Anexos, so make sure it’s correct/everything you want.

For second years, you have more questions about if you’re changing regions, etc, shown below.

This is asking if you’re renewing for the first time. Then it asks how many renewals you’ve done (for people who aren’t renewing for the first time–it goes up to six! For first year renewals this is a redundant question to B.)

D.: Do you what to be placed in the same school?

E.: Do you want to stay in the same region but be placed in a different school?

F.: I left this blank, as I wasn’t sure what I means. Maybe put in your current school’s information? I don’t know, but I’ll report back if it becomes a problem. REPORT: My application was accepted, so it’s fine to leave blank.

G.: Do you want to change regions?

H.: They used to have a section that asked about your desired city size and age group, so I used H to put that stuff and say my ideal city placement within the region I had selected.

Once everything is submitted, you should get an email with your inscrita number. When you’ve uploaded your documents, go back to the “Presentación Solicitudes” page, again click on the drop down and select “Auxiliares de Conversación en Espana Extranjeros” and the corresponding year. From here you can see your status (it will still be inscrita if you haven’t mailed anything in), your inscrita number, the date you submitted, and so on. Click the little PDF icon next to these, and your PDF page will be generated. It will be two copies, one to mail and one to keep for your records. Make sure you sign the one you’re mailing! First years and renewals switching regions mail it to Madrid. Renewals staying in the same region will mail everything to their regional coordinator.

Important take aways:

1.  Submit your application ASAP, upload your documents later through Documentos Anexos.
2.  Renewals, make sure your hit renovación solicitud. You do not want to lose that renewal preference.
3.  Don’t slack on signing and mailing in your stuff. Just because you’re inscrita doesn’t mean there isn’t still a cut off date, and there are rumors that they start processing people earlier than the deadline.
4.  Don’t accidentally apply to teach in Andorra!

A little while after Halloween, there was a festival to commemorate the anniversary of the Basque witch trials, which took place in Logroño. There were stalls selling tons of handmade crafts and food, and they put on a truly creepy show about the history of the event. And then, because it’s Spain, we all got to go on stage and drink mead from the cauldron.

We also bought wool socks and heating pads filled with beans that you heat in the oven because our flat has basically no heat and is freezing at all times.

Honestly, it’s little things like this that make me love Logroño so much. Even though it’s a city, it feels like such a community. There’s always something on and it just feels so magical that I get to live here and be part of it.