My one-way flight to Madrid takes off on September 4. When I woke up this morning and my eyes caught August 1 on my planner, things suddenly felt real. *This* is happening next month. I am moving to a country I studied for years but have never been to before. I am doing the *thing* just like the rest of my peers are doing--the thing I would be doing in mid-September anyway: finding an apartment, starting my job post-grad... just, you know, in a foreign country. What?
Yeah, it's happening. So here is what I am doing in these next four weeks to prepare myself for this reality:
Finishing up a self-study TESOL course (that's a need-to-know acronym for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. There are many similar acronyms in the field, but this is the most widely-known) online which involves lots of reading and many notes that should help me feel more like a legitimate teacher
Binge-reading the newest-published Fulbright Online Guide to learn as much as I can about my region, my city, and how to do all of the things one needs to do before and upon arrival
Contacting as many recommended landlords as possible, becoming slave to endlessly scrolling through Airbnb, Idealista, and Fotocasa for piso (apartment/flat) options, and teaching myself that WhatsApp is normal, not weird, actually somewhat superior
Using my impulsively-purchased subscription to Babbel to soak in one to two lessons of its "Words and Sentences" course (extremely helpful to assuage some of my strange vocabulary gaps)
Drafting up lists of questions for past grantees and for my main contact at my school (who I already know is incredibly friendly and ready to answer all of them) such as...when do I arrive on the first day? Which is the wrong door? Are loafers too much or too little? Help?
Tutoring an incoming fourth-grade child in English, Writing, and Reading
Continuing to whip up ostentatious (yet objectively delicious) smoothies and baked goods at the cafe I've been working at this summer
Going to bed as early as possible, even though I recognize that will not be a priority in four weeks since my work-night bedtime will probably become my dinnertime
Avoiding the urge to pack too soon
Attempting to avoid over-planning or prematurely committing to a piso or other important decision before I arrive (this means filling the time with reading, running, calling a bunch of friends, and booking a last-minute ticket to my old roommate's iconic Lobster Bake instead)
Trying to get all of my other ducks in a row
Thinking a lot
Hoping to make writing (in this format) a routine
And
Feeling so, so wonderfully grateful.
So, okay, let's do this thing! More explanation on the name of this blog (unless I decide to change it before I get to that. Ja ja!) and more fun to come.
Un beso,
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