What to do, What to do: The Big Decision to Teach in Spain
I'm a little late in writing this, but maybe it'll help someone in the future. All last month I was going through a mini crisis in deciding what to do with my life next year, which is a common Spring occurrence among 18-20 somethings. What college to go to, what major to choose, what classes to take, what job you should apply for. Teaching in Spain (and, as I understand it, in many other countries) is done by year long contracts, which are actually not for a year, but rather beginning of October to the end of May. And when you think about it, eight months is really not long at all. I don't want this post to turn into propaganda for the auxiliar program, so I'll just say this: If you're fresh outta college (or just fresh outta ideas as to what to do next), wanting to improve your Spanish, and in possession of a very open mind, this program is definitely for you.
The application is still open, and from what I'm told, they accept all applicants who meet the criteria (native English speaker, college graduate, not a felon) until they reach their quota, but nobody ever tells you what the quota is. So just apply, k?
I've read a lot of good and bad about the program, and now that we're at the point of renewal, I've been doing my research about what I wanted to do. As a second year, the options are: 1. Go home. 2. Pick a different region to go to. 3. Stay in your current region, select a different city. 4. Stay in your current region and continue at the same school.
Obviously going home is out. The plan has always been to do this for at least two years. I'm not ready to go home and join the real world. Staying at my school would be great, I've come to really like my students and let's be real-I have a great boss and a great schedule (three days a week, are you KIDDING?), but going to a new school would give me more experience and will probably be easier (I'll be able to recycle all the lesson plans I've made), and I'll hopefully get to live closer to the school.
So now the hard part: Do I stay in Galicia or do I select a different region? The thing is, I really do like Galicia. I love that it's a totally different world compared to Spain. I love that it has it's own language. I love that the Auxiliar program here seems to have its shit together (while other regions have had funding problems, and organizational problems that have prevented teachers from getting paid on time, or getting paid at all, the Xunta da Galicia has always paid us on time, everytime). I like Galicia and I know it now. And you have a more "real" living experience if you stay there for longer than 10 months, right?
But then, I couldn't help feeling like if I stayed in one place, that I'd be missing out on the experience of living in a different part of Spain. But you don't have total control of where you go, you only get to register a preference of the region, not even the city. So, I thought, I really like the independent nature of Galicia. Where else has that? Cataluña, certainly, and perhaps Valencia. Maybe Basque Country, but I wouldn't be able to understand them, so let's narrow this down. Turns out, the two regions that I was willing to consider outside of Galicia were two of the few regions from which the program was CUT due to funding issues. Okay. That's shit. But at least it narrows down my choices further.
Here's the thing: You can select three preferences when it comes to the regions, but they're organized in three groups, and you only get to select one from each group.
Group A
-Asturias
-Cueta y Melilla
-Extremadura
-La Rioja
-Navarra
-País Vasco
Group B
-Aragón
-Cantabria
-Castilla-La Mancha
-Cataluña
-Galicia
-Islas Canarias
Group C
-Andalucía
-Castilla y León
-Islas Baleares
-Madrid
-Murcia
-Valencia
As you can see, Valencia and Cataluña are both on the list, among others like Castilla la Mancha and Navarra, when they don't even have the program anymore. It's simply up to you to figure out which ones have had the program cut. In the end, I selected Galicia, Andalucía, and Asturias.
The reason I've decided to stay in Galicia is because I do like it, I know it, and it may seem like I'm playing it safe, but the pros of the work environment outweigh the risks of going somewhere else. There just seems to be too many problems with getting paid or getting a good work schedule in other regions. Not to crap on other regions, they all have their pros and cons, of course. Here is a really helpful post that I've been directed nearly everyone to: A guide to the regions of Spain.
If you've got a good grasp on Spanish, I would recommend Galicia. Gallego is a cool language, and it's easy to pick up with a base knowledge is Spanish. Galicia also has amazing food and a lot of cool cities to visit, not to mention really beautiful beaches and its close proximity to Portugal, which is easy to visit. Oporto also has a big international airport, from which it's easy to get to other parts of Europe. If you're doing it for the Spanish, I would say pick somewhere else, as as much as you'll be learning Spanish, you'll be getting a crash course in Gallego.
Similarly, and also contrarily, if you've got a really good grasp on Spanish (like, so good that you don't feel you need learn much anymore as you're already fluent) or if you have no interest in learning Spanish, I would recommend Madrid. Madrid accepts the most auxiliares, and you can easily get away with speaking English. You'll make an abundance of American or British friends, most of the restaurant and shop workers speak English, and you'll be speaking English at work. If you're doing it for the Spanish, I would say pick somewhere else.
Next I would say figure out which regions are really competitive. If you're applying late (and anytime after the first half of February is pretty late, I'd say-even though the application is open until April 1st, it's unlikely that you'll get your first or even second choice of regions after Feb, unless you select one of the less popular ones), maybe try and select one that isn't as highly coveted, like Cantabria or La Rioja. If you're applying within the first few days, pick freely. Decide if you want to be by the sea or more inland. If you want a typical Spain experience (cough-andalucia-cough) or if you want somewhere with a more intelligible accent, like Castilla y Leon.
I've said this before, but an open mind is an absolute must when it comes to this program. You have to go into it feeling positive and flexible or you're going to have a shit time. This is because when you apply, you dream about cool places like Madrid or Valencia or Seville, but the reality is most people get placed in pueblos (villages) like As Neves, population 4,000, about 30 minutes outside of the nearest city. The lucky few happen to be placed in desirable cities, but most will get small towns. No one is telling you you have to live in a city with an hour long commute, but it's obviously the better option. I knew an auxiliar who tried to live in his pueblo, but decided to move to the city after just a couple months because there's just not much to do or see, and getting around is nearly impossible. There are buses but they're infrequent and take a long time.
Anyway, I would never discourage people from applying for the program, even if they get placed in a small town. In fact, most of the teachers at the school won't even live in that town, and many of them will be nice enough to give you rides to school if you live nearby or on the way. They say you do not need to speak Spanish in order to participate in the program, but the whole website and application is in Spanish, and not being able to speak the language makes getting an apartment and settling in a lot harder.They say there is no age limit (except in Madrid, where the age limit is 35), but most people are between 21 and 27ish in the program. They say you get great teaching experience, but most of the auxiliares have no interest in teaching. Yes, you get great teaching experience, but most people are not education majors, they are not planning teaching careers upon their return to the US, and they are not in Spain to help students learn English and to change the world to make it a more multi-lingual place. Sure, that's a great extra, but let's be real: Most of us are here because we didn't want to get a real job and we wanted to live in Spain. And the Spanish government knows that. They know we're mostly just kids without direction, and they treat us as such. 12 hours a week? If they wanted us to be great teachers and really get some experience, they'd give us more. But we all know our real purpose for being here. They market the program as an awesome year in Spain. They do not market it as an awesome year teaching. We get to live in Spain and learn Spanish. In return they get a native English speaker in the classroom, as a nation wide step toward bilingualism. Whether or not that's just for show is up for other auxiliares to decide.
Alright speaking of lacking direction, I'm going to just leave this post here.
El mundo es un libro y ellos que no viajan leen sólo una página.
The application is still open, and from what I'm told, they accept all applicants who meet the criteria (native English speaker, college graduate, not a felon) until they reach their quota, but nobody ever tells you what the quota is. So just apply, k?
I've read a lot of good and bad about the program, and now that we're at the point of renewal, I've been doing my research about what I wanted to do. As a second year, the options are: 1. Go home. 2. Pick a different region to go to. 3. Stay in your current region, select a different city. 4. Stay in your current region and continue at the same school.
Obviously going home is out. The plan has always been to do this for at least two years. I'm not ready to go home and join the real world. Staying at my school would be great, I've come to really like my students and let's be real-I have a great boss and a great schedule (three days a week, are you KIDDING?), but going to a new school would give me more experience and will probably be easier (I'll be able to recycle all the lesson plans I've made), and I'll hopefully get to live closer to the school.
So now the hard part: Do I stay in Galicia or do I select a different region? The thing is, I really do like Galicia. I love that it's a totally different world compared to Spain. I love that it has it's own language. I love that the Auxiliar program here seems to have its shit together (while other regions have had funding problems, and organizational problems that have prevented teachers from getting paid on time, or getting paid at all, the Xunta da Galicia has always paid us on time, everytime). I like Galicia and I know it now. And you have a more "real" living experience if you stay there for longer than 10 months, right?
But then, I couldn't help feeling like if I stayed in one place, that I'd be missing out on the experience of living in a different part of Spain. But you don't have total control of where you go, you only get to register a preference of the region, not even the city. So, I thought, I really like the independent nature of Galicia. Where else has that? Cataluña, certainly, and perhaps Valencia. Maybe Basque Country, but I wouldn't be able to understand them, so let's narrow this down. Turns out, the two regions that I was willing to consider outside of Galicia were two of the few regions from which the program was CUT due to funding issues. Okay. That's shit. But at least it narrows down my choices further.
Here's the thing: You can select three preferences when it comes to the regions, but they're organized in three groups, and you only get to select one from each group.
Group A
-Asturias
-Cueta y Melilla
-Extremadura
-La Rioja
-Navarra
-País Vasco
Group B
-Aragón
-Cantabria
-Castilla-La Mancha
-Cataluña
-Galicia
-Islas Canarias
Group C
-Andalucía
-Castilla y León
-Islas Baleares
-Madrid
-Murcia
-Valencia
As you can see, Valencia and Cataluña are both on the list, among others like Castilla la Mancha and Navarra, when they don't even have the program anymore. It's simply up to you to figure out which ones have had the program cut. In the end, I selected Galicia, Andalucía, and Asturias.
The reason I've decided to stay in Galicia is because I do like it, I know it, and it may seem like I'm playing it safe, but the pros of the work environment outweigh the risks of going somewhere else. There just seems to be too many problems with getting paid or getting a good work schedule in other regions. Not to crap on other regions, they all have their pros and cons, of course. Here is a really helpful post that I've been directed nearly everyone to: A guide to the regions of Spain.
If you've got a good grasp on Spanish, I would recommend Galicia. Gallego is a cool language, and it's easy to pick up with a base knowledge is Spanish. Galicia also has amazing food and a lot of cool cities to visit, not to mention really beautiful beaches and its close proximity to Portugal, which is easy to visit. Oporto also has a big international airport, from which it's easy to get to other parts of Europe. If you're doing it for the Spanish, I would say pick somewhere else, as as much as you'll be learning Spanish, you'll be getting a crash course in Gallego.
Similarly, and also contrarily, if you've got a really good grasp on Spanish (like, so good that you don't feel you need learn much anymore as you're already fluent) or if you have no interest in learning Spanish, I would recommend Madrid. Madrid accepts the most auxiliares, and you can easily get away with speaking English. You'll make an abundance of American or British friends, most of the restaurant and shop workers speak English, and you'll be speaking English at work. If you're doing it for the Spanish, I would say pick somewhere else.
Next I would say figure out which regions are really competitive. If you're applying late (and anytime after the first half of February is pretty late, I'd say-even though the application is open until April 1st, it's unlikely that you'll get your first or even second choice of regions after Feb, unless you select one of the less popular ones), maybe try and select one that isn't as highly coveted, like Cantabria or La Rioja. If you're applying within the first few days, pick freely. Decide if you want to be by the sea or more inland. If you want a typical Spain experience (cough-andalucia-cough) or if you want somewhere with a more intelligible accent, like Castilla y Leon.
I've said this before, but an open mind is an absolute must when it comes to this program. You have to go into it feeling positive and flexible or you're going to have a shit time. This is because when you apply, you dream about cool places like Madrid or Valencia or Seville, but the reality is most people get placed in pueblos (villages) like As Neves, population 4,000, about 30 minutes outside of the nearest city. The lucky few happen to be placed in desirable cities, but most will get small towns. No one is telling you you have to live in a city with an hour long commute, but it's obviously the better option. I knew an auxiliar who tried to live in his pueblo, but decided to move to the city after just a couple months because there's just not much to do or see, and getting around is nearly impossible. There are buses but they're infrequent and take a long time.
Anyway, I would never discourage people from applying for the program, even if they get placed in a small town. In fact, most of the teachers at the school won't even live in that town, and many of them will be nice enough to give you rides to school if you live nearby or on the way. They say you do not need to speak Spanish in order to participate in the program, but the whole website and application is in Spanish, and not being able to speak the language makes getting an apartment and settling in a lot harder.They say there is no age limit (except in Madrid, where the age limit is 35), but most people are between 21 and 27ish in the program. They say you get great teaching experience, but most of the auxiliares have no interest in teaching. Yes, you get great teaching experience, but most people are not education majors, they are not planning teaching careers upon their return to the US, and they are not in Spain to help students learn English and to change the world to make it a more multi-lingual place. Sure, that's a great extra, but let's be real: Most of us are here because we didn't want to get a real job and we wanted to live in Spain. And the Spanish government knows that. They know we're mostly just kids without direction, and they treat us as such. 12 hours a week? If they wanted us to be great teachers and really get some experience, they'd give us more. But we all know our real purpose for being here. They market the program as an awesome year in Spain. They do not market it as an awesome year teaching. We get to live in Spain and learn Spanish. In return they get a native English speaker in the classroom, as a nation wide step toward bilingualism. Whether or not that's just for show is up for other auxiliares to decide.
Alright speaking of lacking direction, I'm going to just leave this post here.
El mundo es un libro y ellos que no viajan leen sólo una página.
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