Au Pair

So I´ve been in-between thoughts about staying in Spain and going back to California. I don´t know if I´ll do another year here, and the numbers for the program are already very high. If I really wanted to though, I´m sure I could request to stay in Cartagena and continue to work at the schools where I am currently working. I don´t know if I would have to go back to the U.S. to do another Visa application? Just thinking about it makes my head hurt. Another option was for me to stay here during the summer (since everyone has told me the summers here are the best, of course) and live and travel and basically spend all my money instead of making money. I could always find private lessons though. It´d be nice to stay in Cartagena, since i´ve already got a network going here. Another option just came up, Au Pairs. The program is for the summer, and all over Spain, but more positions in Madrid. This would be a good way to stay and make money but still be in Spain. It is a big commitment though. Living with a family gives me less freedom, although I´d have my own room, still. It would be a 40 hour a week job with kids, probably little kids, taking care of them, and I don´t know if that floats my boat. Nannyspeaking is already hard enough. Kids really take the life out of you. But maybe it would be easier if I´m living with them, and actually doing stuff. I would be required to teach them English in lesson form at least 2 hours a week. The program offers anywhere from 2 weeks to the entire summer, so maybe I could do a month, then another month to travel, I don´t know. They would pay for my ticket as well, but maybe I can just have them pay for a date change in the one I already have. So those are my options. Oh, also I could just stick with my return date and go back to work this summer and academic year. But is that what I want? Rent is SO cheap here, I´m talking 140 euros a month, that´s like $200. Way cheaper than anything I would find in California. I´ll apply to the Au Pair program, and see where I get placed, etc.

It´s amazing what you can shock kids with. Today we made Valentine´s Day cards.