Once again it has been a long, long time since I posted on this blog. The last post outlined that we would finally be leaving Korea and heading westward - and so we did.
We left Korea at the end of February, a move that was both heart breaking and exciting... there were lots of friends and aquaintances that we might not see again, hobbies that would be difficult (or near impossible) to continue with, and places in Asia that we had still hoped to visit that would, for now, have to take a back seat.
Personally, I am already looking into a return trip... mainly for some archery practice. The bruising on my thumb has disappeared which is a definite sign that I am not doing even the basic practice of drawing the bow.
So, the story goes that during our search for jobs we toyed with both Italy and Spain as countries which we would want to continue teaching ESL. Spain was always the clear favourite and was the main focus of our search. We would check out numerous websites on a daily basis, emailing cover letters and CVs, scan our email and junk mailboxes for responses and possible interviews.
At some point Danielle came across a job post that was advertising for two ESL teachers in Spain and she sent me an email asking me to send our details through.
I replied to her to ask where the job was, what sort of work they do - was it adults or children or both? She had no idea as she could not find the information again so I resorted to a Google search and found out what I needed. The language academy had a focus on younger learners which we both liked. I emailed them, got a positive response and at the end of March we were packed and off to the south of Spain.
Easter Sunday saw us flying from Belfast at a very early hour out to Malaga where we then drove the couple of hours up the coast to Almería - right on the corner of Spain. It is a quiet coastal city that hasn't embraced the tourist money that is benefiting the the rest of Andalusia. The main industry all around this area seems to be agriculture - hence a massive sea of white/gray plastic when viewed from above. The city itself sweeps down from the surrounding hills and focuses at the port. The hills mean that half the city is nicely protected from the wind from the Atlantic that whips in during the cooler days... when it comes from the west we have a warm wind (not a breeze... WIND!).
It took us about 5 days to find somewhere to live - which was made harder by the fact that we were also having to work... well, to be fair it was more to do with the Spanish way of life which means that by 1pm people are taking their siesta time and things just stop. Yes, we were working each evening from 4 until 8.30pm but the Letting Agents, like most of the shops here, don't reopen until 5pm... and close at 8.30! Doh!
The apartment we went for is in the east of the city, it is an area that is still undergoing development but it is close enough to Danielle's work and is a 20 minute cycle to the school I work at. The view from our balcony makes it worth it... especially the year round sunsets!
It took us about 5 days to find somewhere to live - which was made harder by the fact that we were also having to work... well, to be fair it was more to do with the Spanish way of life which means that by 1pm people are taking their siesta time and things just stop. Yes, we were working each evening from 4 until 8.30pm but the Letting Agents, like most of the shops here, don't reopen until 5pm... and close at 8.30! Doh!
The apartment we went for is in the east of the city, it is an area that is still undergoing development but it is close enough to Danielle's work and is a 20 minute cycle to the school I work at. The view from our balcony makes it worth it... especially the year round sunsets!
There is also another girl from Belfast who works for the same language school as us. Funnily enough, she actually lived around the corner from Danielle for about 5 years - though they didn't know each other.
We've been out with her and her boyfriend, met up with them at night to wander into the city and even gone for a bit of a drive down towards Malaga and over to Granada. We now can't wait to get a car so that we can get out to see more of the area. It has a lot to offer tourists who can travel by car... and we want to see more so the saving has started so we can get something sorted out sooner rather than later!
We've been out with her and her boyfriend, met up with them at night to wander into the city and even gone for a bit of a drive down towards Malaga and over to Granada. We now can't wait to get a car so that we can get out to see more of the area. It has a lot to offer tourists who can travel by car... and we want to see more so the saving has started so we can get something sorted out sooner rather than later!
Well, what about the job? What are we doing?
Danielle works with kids from 3 to 9 years old, mainly the focus is learning English through play with a little bit of textbook work to guide their learning. She has been working full-time since we arrived here which initially left me with the housework as I was told that I'd not start work until the end of June (Summer Camp) but as the months have passed I have taken on extra work and ended up working more hours than Danielle.
I have been teaching a range of levels, KET, PET, FCE, Business English and Advanced Certificate with students ranging from 10 year olds to adults. The 10 year old girls are my favourite class - their English is really good for their age, they are bubbly, loud and happy and a joy to teach!
We both also work one Saturday morning a month at a Cultural Saturday which entails lots of different activities all presented in English for the kids to enjoy and use English outside the normal classroom setting. During summer we both have English Camp - so Danielle will concentrate on Dance and I will use whatever music skills I have (hopefully).
We have also noted that Spain, although not as Christian as people really believe it to be, still takes great pleasure when celebrating religious holidays. Granted it isn't the religious element that is most visual - rather the way everyone else piggy backs it by partying and enjoying the late nights!
The most recent was San Juan, a fire based celebration of Saint John or possibly Saint James who has more importance in Spain, especially in the north of the country. We duly attended our local celebration which sees bonfires being lit all along the beaches on the coast here. This is then backed up with a BBQ, alcohol and allnight party!
The most recent was San Juan, a fire based celebration of Saint John or possibly Saint James who has more importance in Spain, especially in the north of the country. We duly attended our local celebration which sees bonfires being lit all along the beaches on the coast here. This is then backed up with a BBQ, alcohol and allnight party!
We were good... and back home by 2am and in bed by 3am! Hey... it was a holiday the next day - why not!
