Beginnings!

I decided to move to Spain for a year!

As much as I am unable to resist the opportunity to see new places, it’s always difficult to say goodbye the old places. I love and miss all of my family and friends in Columbus and Honolulu. Thankfully, I’m also completely crazy about Galicia! I now live in the small town of Cangas do Morazzo, just north of Vigo. Cangas is a beautiful town, and I endeavor to understand it a little better every day. When I first arrived some of the administrators from the Instituto I work at picked me up from the airport in Vigo and drove me to my hotel near the school. While I was checking in it seemed that perhaps the concierge and the professors knew each other, so I asked if they did--to which they responded with a funny smile and said “of course!” I've come to realize that Cangas is a small enough town that most people know each other, or at least know of each other. That, and that the favorite pastime here is paseando, or walking. Workdays are short and when stores are closed the main entertainment is to tomar algo at a bar or restaurant or to walk around town. I won't complain about that!

The program that allows me to have this experience is called auxiliares de conversación, which you can read about here. Like me, there are other Americans and Canadians scattered about Spain teaching at public institutions as part of a cultural exchange and continuing education.

Here are some first takes of my new home...

playa rodeiramar

coles de bruselas

el camino de la playa