Hasta la vista Avila...

So, it's a new year and I now have a new home! I was supposed to be in Avila until the summer but alas, I had to leave early. This is the story...

As I mentioned before, in Avila I was becoming bored and disappointed in life there. I didn't really feel a connection to the children, the city, the family, or anything. It wasn't horrible but it was like having a job that you don't particularly care for. I just did what I was asked to and in my free time I would watch TV or movies or go on mini-adventures in the city. On some weekends, I would go visit another city (Barcelona, Madrid, Sevilla) and do some shopping or hanging out. I began to feel like I no longer wanted to stay as long as I had planned because I wasn't learning Spanish as quickly as I wanted to nor was I particularly happy.

So as the holidays approached, I was excited because I could spend three weeks in Belgium with my sister. I had my ticket and was getting everything packed when two days before I left, my host told me that she had lost her job and so she could no longer have an au pair. I felt really bad for her but at the same time relieved because it meant that I could leave without causing any trouble.

(random picture of my care package)

Because it was so close to my leaving I was not able to arrange to take all of my things and at that point I didnt know ifa I was going to be able to come back and get them. I told my parents and they said that if I needed, they could pay for my plane ticket home. I also told my sister and she said we could look into my working on the base in Belgium and stay with her for a few months. I also talked to a friend who was an au pair before but is currently backpacking/volunteering in Europe who encouraged me to look into doing the same. Finally I emailed the director of the au pair company and explained what happened and asked if there was another family that I could be placed with.

Of all of my options, I wanted most to go backpacking and volunteering around Spain but I just didn't have the money for train tickets. I was skeptical of being an au pair again because of my first experience but when the director told me there was a family that was looking, I decided to learn more about them. After reading their letter and application, and after speaking with them on the phone, I decided to try it one more time and I now live close to the eastern coast with a family that I am really enjoying!