I debated long and hard about whether or not to blog about this experience. For the sake of both the family's privacy and my own, I had decided against it. But 25 days into my time, I've caught myself composing posts in my head one too many times and finally gave in. I'm a bit afraid that if I don't give myself this outlet I'll end up channeling it all into overly sentimental, obnoxiously long Facebook statuses.
And nobody wants that.
In March, a break-up left me without post-graduation plans.
I'm headed to grad school in August 2016 to finish my education as a speech-language pathologist, but I had always planned on giving myself a gap year after college. I've been sold on the wisdom of this concept for a long time, based on my experience with my first gap year in Ghana post-high school.
Wanderlust has always defined me.
Maybe it's because I'm sleeping in a baby carrier in my first passport picture. Maybe it's because I spent the first three years of my life as an Army brat in Germany. Maybe it's inherited from a mom with a formidable sense of adventure and a dad who always preached the power of giving yourself options.
So needless to say, within weeks I had purchased two international plane tickets and found employment as an au pair in Spain. The end of that relationship was really only the beginning of a yearlong adventure that should span at least 9 countries, not including my home country.
I flipped my tassel in May and headed to Bermuda for two weeks with three of my best friends - a trip that fortunately was not documented on the internet. The month of July found me in Ghana, doing some serious restructuring of Students of Success Foundation - a trip that was documented in From Ghana With Love, at least as much as the shoddy internet would allow. I came home in time to welcome my amazing niece into the world before leaving for a week in London with Karina, my partner in... well, international scholarship charities.
On October 1st, I moved to Oviedo, Asturias in northwest Spain to be an au pair.
I chose to be an au pair because it is a exciting way to live abroad while using my speech therapy background. An au pair is more than a live-in nanny; we focus on language and culture exchange with our kids. Teaching the girls English is a unique way to practice a wide variety of my new clinical skills.
I chose a Spanish-speaking country because I had studied it for about six years in middle and high school. I took a break in college to minor in French, and wanted to come back to it before pursuing bilingual certification as part of my master's degree.
I chose Spain specifically because I wanted the chance to explore Europe and see as many of my friends on this side of the ocean as possible.
Oviedo is a town of about 200,000 and the regional capital of Asturias. It's situated about an hour inland from the Atlantic and has a mild, coastal climate. Since I'm here on a student visa, I'm taking a Spanish oral expression class at Universidad de Oviedo - founded in 1608 (only some 200 years older than my last university).
My household includes 7 people aside from myself:
B, P, Oldest, Middle, Little, Erika, and Toro.
B is a stay-at-home mom (for the moment) and has studied English for many years. P works in Barcelona during the week and can only come home on weekends. Oldest is 14 and loves surfing, movies and photography. Middle is 12 and loves all sports and has a wicked sense of humor. Little is almost 8, and the family member I spend the most time with. She is hilarious, bright and rarely complains.
I've won the au pair lottery in terms of my girls.
Erika is Colombiana and we've quickly becomes friends, even with language and culture barriers and a 15 year age difference. Toro is a German shepherd/Golden retriever mix, and the only bilingual dog I know.
And so it begins! We'll see what the days bring until March 28th, when I get on a plane for Casablanca! My hope is to see as much of Spain as possible in between class and work, make it to southern France, visit my former exchange sister in Zurich, and spent Christmas in Denmark, New Year's in Germany and - after the Spain visa clock runs out - Easter in Morocco. (That's for the benefit of those of you who were counting the 9 countries earlier. Yes, Mom, I mean you.)
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