I'm back haha

Hello! Long time no see! I know it’s been around 4 months since you’ve last heard from me, so I’ll try to keep it brief. (And to be fair, I did say at the very beginning that I was likely to stop posting these about halfway through my experience here...)

The past four months have been insane and crazy, the time has flown by and I simply cannot believe that I’ll be flying home in three and a half weeks!

February and March were kind of lull months. I was pretty burnt out from all the travel I had done over Christmas and finishing my half marathon. These were months of crafting, eating, and being with my friends in town. It was sweet to spend several weekends at home, without any plans or travel to worry about. My apartment started to feel like a home and I really felt settled in. I went on lots of runs, ate lots of tapas, and slept a lot. I enjoyed being a routine, even if it felt mundane sometimes.

The end of March brought Semana Santa (holy week), which meant my new Spanish friends were all home from university which was so fun. It was interesting to watch and learn more about the culture of southern Spain. I’m so thankful I had friends to teach me and explain the history and purpose of different traditions.

Semana Santa marked the start of a whole slew of trips for me. Jana and I went to Valencia and Alicante that week. Two weekends later I stayed the weekend in Jaen and watched some friends race a 10k in Granada. The weekend after I traveled to visit friends in Norway. A week and a half after Norway, my friends Molly and Kimani came to visit, and we traveled to Sevilla and Valencia. The weekend after that I went to go see Audrey in Edinburgh.

We are now one week post-Edinburgh, and I am so tired. I’ve also discovered I have quite a bad allergy to olive tree pollen, which is perfect (note the sarcasm, I live in the olive oil capital of the world). I only have one more trip planned which is to Nice. Jana and I will go the first week of June. We’ll probably take a day trip to Monaco, as well as to some other cities on the French Riviera.

I am so thankful for the opportunity to travel, visit, and be visited by friends. It has been such a blast!

Update on next year:

I’ll start with this preface: The Lord is so good and faithful even when I am (mentally) kicking and screaming in frustration that my plans won’t work out. I learn more about his grace and patience for me every day, and I would rather be standing in the Lord’s will than in my own.

Last we left off I told y’all that I was going to try to stay and work at an international school in Spain. My goal was to stay for a few years (Lord willing) to invest in the school, and families I would be working with, as well as perfecting my Spanish. Moving to Spain itself was a challenge that I was able to overcome, so I anticipated that the process of staying under a different visa would also be difficult, but doable.

After four months of sending my CV to over 40 schools, several interviews, and being offered a job (which evidently fell through), I realised that obtaining a work visa for Spain was going to be a much more in-depth and grueling process. A process that would take probably over a year to set in stone and move through.

The process of obtaining a work visa starts with the school sending the work contract to the foreign office to be signed and approved by the Spanish government. Then, I take that paperwork home, and gather all the other essential material (stateside). Then, I take it down to the consulate in Miami. Once the consulate has my paperwork and passport, they can approve or deny my visa. The Spain side of this process can take up to five months. The Stateside of this process can take up to 11 months.

No schools would offer me a contract without me already having a work visa. They did not want to struggle with the paperwork or my possibly getting denied.

So, we grieved my current 5-year-plan, regrouped, prayed (a lot), and trusted.

In February, while I was sending my CV’s to schools in Spain, I was emailed by a school close to where my family is currently living. I interviewed, and they offered me my dream position. I was completely honest with them that my intention was to stay in Spain, and that I would not be able to tell them about my decision until later in March. They were patient and receptive. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but the Lord was setting a nice comfortable net in place for me to land in a month later.

I have since accepted the 5th grade science, math, and social studies position at that school near my parents, and will be working with one of my dear friends from college. I am (like everyone in their 20’s) a bit terrified to step into the actual working world, but everyone does it and I know I’ll be fine.

My desire to live internationally has not changed, even if my route has. I am trusting and am excited to see what the Lord has in store for this year. It will be the strangest experience ever to not be listening to Spanish 24/7, or for everything to be open from 2-5, and on Sundays. I am so excited to be back with my family, my dogs, my friends, and my local goodwill (and CFA, TJ Maxx, Trader Joes, Chipotle, need I go on). I keep learning more and more that when my plans fall through, it is because the Lord's plan always leads to bigger blessings.

Anyways, this is all from your local American in Spain. I'll see y'all on June 13th ;) .

Besos!!!

Grace

(And no, I’m not fluent in Spanish, don’t even try haha.)

(Also, I've run out of storage space to post any more pictures on here, you'll have to go to my Facebook to see pictures from recent trips.)