The Begining

So my adventure in Spain begins. Many anxious weeks after the original notification date, I finally found out that I'm going to Spain and I'll be in the region of Andalucia (Southern Spain). Another couple of weeks later I found out that I will be in the city of Algeciras in the Province of Cadiz.

Algeciras is the Major port linking Spain with Africa. Tangier, Morocco is only a short ferry-ride away. Algeciras was founded by the Moors, probably on the site of an earlier Roman town. The name comes from al-Jazirah al-Khadra, Arabic for Green Island. The wikipedia pages in English and Spanish have more information if you are interested.

While the travel guidebooks I've looked at for Spain usually only reserve a paragraph for Algeciras, if they mention it at all, I think it will be an interesting place to live. The population size is between that of San Marcos and Austin. Many other people who are going on this program want to be in larger cities, but I think this will be the perfect size for me to become immersed in Spanish culture. Besides, the breeze of the ocean and the exotic flavor of Arab culture sound like a perfect location for an amazing experience. And Gibraltar (30 minutes), Málaga (1.5 hours), Granada (3.5 hours), Sevilla (3.5 hours), and Madrid (8.5 hours) are only short bus-rides away.

I will be working as a teaching assistant at I.E.S. Kursaal. I don't know exactly what I'll be doing, but I think I mainly help with conversational skills. The school is the equivalent of 7th through 10th grade. I guess I'm going to have my hands full. I think those are the trickiest years.

The school is located at
Avienda Virgen de Europa, 4
11201 Algeciras (Cadiz)

I’m getting really excited. Currently I'm kept busy with a part-time job and figuring out what to do with all of my stuff while I'm in Spain. I will be in San Marcos/Austin until the end of August. Then I'll spend of a couple of weeks in Seattle with my parents before I head to Spain in the middle of September. I'm going to visit a friend in Madrid, and then I have to find my own apartment. I attend training in Granada October 1st, and then the school year starts October 3rd. I thought everyone would enjoy being updated about my life in Spain. Hopefully I will update often. I’ll leave you with a last picture of Algeciras.