Dear friends,
Once again, several months after, here I am. This time, at a library -that sacred place- trying to do something productive. I am tired and I need to do something different for a while so I thought about this abandoned blog…
As I said in my last post, I left the US after one year and a half teaching there, and at the verge of Trump being effectively the president of the US. Some friends asked me if he was the cause for my leaving: he is not any important in my life path. Work just finished and I had no meaningful reasons to extend my stay.
So I came back in Christmas, reuniting with family, especially the little sweetheart of my sister I had missed so much. And good friends. We all come back for Christmas break. Well, almost all. Those who study or work in non-tourist-oriented-jobs-with-horrible shifts. My plans were to stay at my family’s place for some 2/3 months and then move to Madrid or Barcelona to find/start working. We are trying to start up a family business, so I had things to do. Afterwards, I would try one more time to find a decent job here in my sector for as much as 2 years, and would definitely emigrate somewhere else if I did not succeed.
However, as my father always said, “Humans propose, but God shall dispose”. Not that I am religious, but I well, that’s the education I had… Can’t help it.
I took a month break, resting, partying, I travelled to neighbouring Portugal with my significant other and came back. Then I was socially bored, with almost no friends here anymore. We are all travellers for jobs or by heart. Those remaining are former high school classmates, with whom I don’t really have a friendship… Some sollitude and reajusting problems were approaching. But , on the other hand, I could not leave home yet. My mum had what we call ‘hijitis’ (when you just want to hold your child close to you after a long time without seeing them, literally: child -sweet- pain). So I conceded and decided to stay more while tutoring and teaching private language lessons in the afternoons to keep busier. I was soon overflooded by work and with no time at all during the week thanks to my social net who helped me so early: from friends to high school teachers… So much love and support! Only two weeks after I started tutoring, I was searched and ‘hunted’ by a mayor local company that works within the metal industry. They desperately needed a French translator and they came across my announcement offering French lessons as a native speaker. I was interviewed and started woking in two days. The role and salary was pretty good by Spanish standards and the company’s professional perspectives were solid and bright -and they have branches all around Spain, including Madrid and Barcelona.
So far, they have extended my contract and I will be here for a whole year, and then, supposedly, I will move to a permanent traditional contract for life (or until I am fed up, as my boss nicely put it). I accepted because of the featues of the job position, which implies supporting the International department, with translations, but also commercial tasks, travels to fairs abroad… I would like to learn about that to broaden my professional opportunities in the future, just in case.
Besides, my mum is super-mega happy that I found a job so close… while I would have preferred a bit further… And that I can contribute to country’s economy.
Now I am in the step to move out and find my own place. I have started to relearn and love the beauty of my northen city region again. The coast is so beautiful, the inland mountains are so inspiring, and cultural offer is just so made for me. Theather, independent movies, jazz concert for small crowds… After all it might be true that there’s nothing better than home. But I need to have my actual private home to be completely in peace.
And as a plus: most of friends seem to be finding their ways up. My best friend just found a good job in Barcelona. Another one just read her PhD in Bio-physics after 4 long years, and others are working in Madrid or abroad. And… some are even starting to get married or have had kids recently!!! This is scary. Upps.
And that’s all for now. Let’s see how things develop now on. If I finally decide to stay permanently here (wherever in Spain), then I will have to apply for the Spanish citizenship, eventually. After 20 years linked to this country, and ten years of thinking about its convenience or not if I ultimately think about Africa every single day.
All I want now is to have my own small place to host some couchsurfers 🙂
Black Stories From Spain 