9th January 2017 was the day I stepped on the plane in Brisbane, Australia and 24 hours later arrived in Madrid, Spain

"It was equally terrifying and extraordinary at the same time."

These types of adventures are memories that will last forever and I won't lie and say that my experience was perfect with no hard times. In fact, day 3 found myself with a broken phone which meant no contacts, Wifi, Google Maps and not to mention Google translate. I think you really forget how much you rely on your phone once it's gone especially in a foreign country. But looking back on it now made me really appreciate what raw life is, minus the reliability of technology. And hey, I survived without my phone for a month.. a real life example that we will be and can be okay.

The reason I ended up in Spain was because of a sign and now by you reading this, I hope to give you that sign too.

HOW TO SIGN UP?

I signed up for the Language and Culture Assistants Program which is an initiative by the Spanish Ministry of Education. The link to the website is http://www.mecd.gob.es/australia/en_AU/convocatorias/programas/auxiliares-de-conversacion-australianos
This particular link is for residents in Australia but the auxiliares of conversation (auxiliares de conversación) has only newly been introduced to Australia whereas the program is very prominent in USA and England. When Googling just add in your location.

Warning the website is in Spanish but with the help of Chrome google translate or if you're already amazing at Spanish unlike I was then this is your biggest hurdle, making sure you understand the website enough to fill out the necessary information. I was given an English walk-through guide to help me upload the relevant documents, so if I get interest in the post, I'll be happy to post it for you.

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WHAT AM I GETTING MYSELF INTO??

You need to be an undergraduate of any degree or first year out of your degree again it doesn't matter what degree. The main criteria is that you are a native English speaker or that have a relevant English test requirements. It most definitely an opportunity for skill development and job creation. To live in another country, learn another language, travel to places you never thought you would and all for speaking your native language while getting paid. Yes, this is exactly what it is. Your job as a Language assistant is to assist the teachers in the school's bilingual program. For my schools and from talking to friends I made through the program, classes are conducted and assessed 60% in Spanish and 40% English so your job is to help cover the English part of it.

This is not your only job as it is very dependant on the teacher and what subject you are in. The beauty of this program is that they are learning to embrace language and culture therefore encourage you to bring with you, your own culture, values and experiences into the classroom. You are required to work 12 hours a week and with that focus on real conversational language and simply just talking about topics and interests that can be relatable to the age range. For me, I was put into a high school with students aged 13-17 years old.

Where you will be located in Spain

The program allows you to pick the region you wished you be placed in along with your preference for a small or large city/town. You are given 3 preferences which they take into consideration. I chose the Southern part of Spain in the region of Andalucía and in the city of Seville. I had the best time here and I found Seville to be the perfect place for acculturation.

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WHAT I ENJOYED THE MOST

• Having the flexibility to travel. My school was happy for me to move my hours around to suit my travel arrangements. This is something you should discuss once given the contact information of the school.
  

• 700 euros a month + free health insurance! Living in Spain is affordable and I found it was easy to pick up private lesson with students for extra cash. I also worked as a teacher in a private academy to give me enough money to travel without needing to touch my personal savings.

• Having the experience to learn Spanish. I had never learnt another language before coming to Spain and having the opportunity to be surrounded around the language allowed me to push myself further in my language learning journey. It was both terrifying and extraordinary at the same time. I took language lesson and also lived with a host family for my first month.
  

• Experiencing the raw culture. Coming from a small town in Australia and being able to embrace the vibrant and spectacular life that is Spain was unforgettable. Festivals, food, wine and local dress are all things amazing that you will find.
  

I had the most unforgettable experience through taking part in this program and completely put myself out of my comfort zone to allow me to appreciate the wider world. I hope to #shareit with you and show you how easy it was for me to work and travel overseas.