Packing is hard

Soooo, I have two weeks left in the United States as of today! I have started having mini panics about the immediacy of this journey, mostly because of the length of time I'll be over there, and because I've never done anything like this before. I am starting to really pack and figure out what I need to bring and what I NEED to leave behind. I am trying not to think about everything I have to do. I am trying to find ways to do everything I want to do before I leave. 

There are a lot of things I need to do before I go. I've been observing the ELL classes at Maplewoods to complete my practicum hours for my TEFL online course. It's verifying my theory that I actually do like teaching (I've been helping out a tiny bit, and it makes me really happy when people learn things). It is really nice to have a reminder of that just before I leave. And being with kids will be even better! 

I have been reading all the blogs and talking to everyone on facebook about what we're going to do when we're over there, and the idea is this: I get there on the 10th and mosey around the city for a few days before everyone in my troop arrives to start a kind of training/welcoming session on the 15th. School starts in October, so until that time we will be just figuring out what the hell we're all doing and where and why and how. 

Until then, I'm just going to get back to freaking out and watching a lot of tv to distract myself from the imminent adventure. This is basically the face of my emotions right now. 

One Month to Go

As today is August 9th (although I might not post until tomorrow), and my plane leaves September 10th, I have almost exactly one month left in the United States before my adventure begins in Spain. As you readers know, I will be teaching in a primary school in Alcobendas, about an hour outside of Madrid by public transport (which, since I will be living in the city, is what I will be taking to get to work). I will be teaching English as a Second Language and traveling on the weekends (hopefully!).

To update you all: I received my visa today! On the 18th of July I went to the Spanish Consulate in Chicago to turn in the paper work for my visa, and so it took about a month to get back to me. This is a 3 month visa, so once I am in the country I get to turn in the paper work again for my real long-term visa. (Here's me, being excited about my visa: 

So: until September rolls around, I will be learning how to teach with my online TEFL class, doing observation hours at a local primary school and tutoring some ESL students, stressing about everything I have to do before I leave, and packing (and then repacking and then packing again).