My experience following my instincts and traveling to Spain

Following a traditional life path was never really in the cards for me, so it’s not surprising that I ended up halfway across the world traveling to Spain. For as long as I can remember I’ve been moving all over the place. Bouncing around with schools, career paths and even states and countries. I grew up in the Chicago area but then lived a lot of my adult life in the San Francisco Bay Area. And what a better place to live than the Bay Area, right?

But still something just didn’t fit, it wasn’t enough. California is beautiful and seemingly perfect, but I needed to find and fulfill my inner passions… and all of that began with a little trip to Peru.
After visiting Peru, everything changed. I fell in love with traveling and even more with children and helping people in general. I had been working in childcare in California already but I needed to figure out some way to combine traveling with some form of teaching. But how in the world is this possible!?

My first thought, Au Pair. Seemed simple enough. So I packed up and gave away my whole life and moved to Ireland, only to find out that me and Ireland were not a great fit… afterall, I was used to living in sunny California. From there I went to Madrid just for a weekend before going back to the United States. But, as it turned out, I fell in love with Spain immediately. My first reaction was, “I have to move here!” So after returned to the United States I was determined to make this happen, in only about 3 months… quite the challenge.

Learn more about being a part of TtMadrid’s TEFL community.

But it was much easier than I thought… with a little research I came across something called a TEFL teaching certification which seemed to answer all of my life questions. Teaching plus traveling… perfect! TtMadrid was literally the answer to everything. They helped with the visa process, moving, the enormous culture change and everything. This huge life change was way easier than I thought!

Doing the TEFL Course with TtMadrid

When I arrived in Madrid for the course, it wasn’t easy by any means, but it set me up for everything. For the longest time I’ve wanted to live abroad and to start a new life of helping others, which turns out to be by teaching English. After the course it was super easy to find work.
I’ve been here now for over 2 years and I absolutely love it. The culture, the language, the food, everything is so different than home, but the huge and seemingly sudden change has absolutely been worth it. Spain has become my new home, which enables me not only to travel all over Europe but also to do what I love to do, to help others. Now I’m working with a great online company for English Skype classes, where I get to teach English to people all over the world, and I do it from home! My dream of a non-traditional adventurous life has finally come to play.

So for all of you out there who don’t really see the traditional American life in your future… take a risk, try something new! It might just be the best decision of your life. It certainly has been for me!