Elliot and I are moving to a city called Badajoz. Although it's very small (probably about the size of Providence, RI) it is the largest city in the region of Extremadura. There's not much else in the region besides farms and tiny pueblos, so we were very fortunate to be placed there. It's about 2 hours east of Lisbon, Portugal, 5 hours west of Madrid, and 2 hours north of Sevilla, which is where I lived the first time I was in Spain. It's also right on the border of Portugal, which means frequent trips into an entirely different country. Hopefully I'll have time to brush up on my Portuguese while I'm in Tiverton for a few weeks. Surprisingly I'm not feeling extremely excited or nervous, mostly because it hasn't had a chance to sink in as I've been so busy bouncing up and down the east coast.
A lot of people are asking what's bringing me back to Spain. The biggest reason is to go on an adventure/escape real life (which I didn't much care for this past year). As for a job, Elliot and I will both be teaching English. He was assigned to 2 high schools and I was assigned to a high school and an elementary school. Yes, we're getting paid... no, it's not a lot of money. But rent is so incredibly cheap there, at least compared to DC, that the money we make will be more than sufficient to live and travel. Anyway, we leave on September 1st. The plan is to find an apartment within our first week then take an impromtu 2-week trip through northern Spain before orientation/the beginning of the school year on October 1st. I'll try my best to keep the blog updated. Wish me Buena Suerte!
