My name is Matilda and I’m currently in my third year of my BA French and Spanish with a year abroad at Southampton University. I chose to work during my year abroad instead of study or do British Council, and I got a job as a teacher in the lovely Spanish town of Jerez de la Frontera. I have certainly had a fantastic time here, however unfortunately this year has presented many challenges along the way and I hope to give some peace of mind to anyone who has worries about various aspects that everything works out in the end!
Preparations
I decided to work instead of the other options for my year abroad as I thought the experience in the working world might serve me well, as I have only worked customer service in the past. The process of finding a job was quite hard, as there were not many resources available through the university to help me out, and all of the jobs on Spanish job-finding websites required prior experience. Due to this, I mainly used the university blackboard website to look at jobs that previous students had done and recommended for their year abroad. I initially contacted a select few organisations, however in typical Spanish style I did not receive replies! Thus, I ended up contacting every organisation on the blackboard and finally I had two replies! One from the university of Valencia and one from an English academy called ‘It Sounds Fun.’ I went through the interview process for both, and was offered a job by It Sounds Fun, which I took. I was to be an English teacher in Jerez de la Frontera, sherry capital of Spain!
Then began the visa process… All I can recommend here for those who decide to work is that you start this process as soon as possible. It ended up being a very expensive and drawn out process, which also had little guidance, so you must leave time to save money and do research! After a 6 month process of applying for, waiting for, translating etc. all the necessary documents, I finally received my passport back with my visa in the post. Unfortunately, it came a day after i was supposed to start work, however I believe my application was expedited without me asking for this reason, which was handy. So that night we booked flights for the next day and everything became very real!
Arrival
I arrived in Spain on the 3rd of September. I had never flown alone before so thankfully my dad was able to accompany me, which definitely helped my nerves. The same day I had my first day of teacher training, which continued for about 2 weeks. It was lovely to be able to meet all of my colleagues and get to know them a bit before we started work, and to get some training so I felt a bit more prepared. On that note, I was the youngest person starting work there, and the only one without any teaching experience, so it was quite daunting!
During
Teaching English has been a very enlightening process for me. Not only has it given me many new skills for the workplace, but it has also allowed me to see how difficult it really is to learn English (very!), which has given me a newfound respect for those who speak it as their second language. I have however found through this experience that I don’t particularly enjoy this line of work. I am however still grateful that it allowed me to experience Spain differently from when I was a tourist, and also grateful for the people I’ve met.
To be honest, the people I have met here have been the highlight of this year. I am super good friends now with 3 girls – two are from Slovakia and one from Poland. They have really allowed me to see the world from outside of a British perspective and taught me many new things. We have taken the opportunity of being in Spain to travel more easily in Europe together. So far, we have gone to Portugal (where I hadn’t visited before!), done a roadtrip around the coast of southern Spain and visited Gibraltar. It has been great to explore more of Spain and Europe.
I said at the beginning that this year abroad has certainly had its challenges, and those have presented mainly in the form of mental and physical health issues for me. Moving abroad and having a complete change of routine, friends, food, profession and more has certainly had a profound effect on my mental health, particularly because I had already struggled in the past. In addition I also was in a difficult living situation, which had negative effects too. However, I have been in contact with the wellbeing team at my university and as always they have been super helpful. Additionally, working with children has definitely tested my immune system – I don’t think there’s been a week where i haven’t been sick, which impacts my mental health as well. I have also developed some kind of disease where I haven’t been able to swallow anything for 6 months, so I’ve had the opportunity to explore the health system in Spain here as well… Lets just say its as slow as the Spanish way of life! Also, you can’t apply for anything online, which makes it a little more complicated.
Currently
At the moment I’m writing this, I only have 3 weeks left of teaching, which is such a relief honestly. However, I will stay in Spain until the end of June when I have a friend coming to visit for a couple of weeks. I am very excited for this, as I don’t feel like myself when I’m without my close friends, and I think it will allow me to see this town in a completely different way.
Overall tips
- Start early! Don’t leave applications of any type to the last minute
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help
- If you choose to work, make sure to pick something you are enthusiastic about so that you can make the most of your experience!