First Days as a Fulbrighter

Anyone who knows me knows that I. LOVE. SPAIN. I went on a trip in high school, and since then I've been hooked. In college, it was my dream to study abroad in Spain, and after six months of living in Madrid, I knew I wanted to live here one day. So last September, I applied to Fulbright España, never actually expecting to win. Yet there I was, on April 1st, in my classroom reading an email about  how I had won and was going to be placed in the Canary Islands.

Las Gaviotas, A beautiful beach with black sand
and awesome rock/mountain views!
You also have to drive through the mountains to get here!

That was the first time I had to change my mindset. When I had applied for the Fulbright, I had pictured myself in mainland Spain, taking buses easily to different regions, exploring a country that I love so much. I am so happy to be on the Islands (there are so many exciting things to do and beautiful sights to see), but it was not what I was expecting. When I moved to Madrid for study abroad, I was spoiled. My school had someone to pick me up from the airport. The car took me to the apartment (with a host family) that my school had arranged for me. The advisor of my program came to show me around on the first day. She also showed me how to use the metro/buses and even took me to get my new metro ID card.

Barraquito (Coffee from the Canaries)
that I'm addicted to!

The first day I got to Tenerife, I did have someone to pick me up
from the airport. A family from the school that I will be working at so generously offered to host me while I searched for an apartment. Thank goodness for them, because they have welcomed me into their family and their home and without them my experience would not be the same. They have showed me so many traditional canary foods/drinks (peep Barraquito over there), and a lot of wonderful places on the islands.

When I got Tenerife the island was experiencing a heat wave, which only contributed to my imposter's syndrome. I spent the first dew days trying to learn my way around the city, only to be met by lots of hills, lots of sweat, and lots of difficulty navigating the guaguas (buses) here. I also began searching for apartments, and I could not find a single one that would work for me. It seemed so hopeless. It really made me begin to wonder if I was cut out for all of this. Moving to a new city, a new country alone was much more difficult than I expected, because like I said I was spoiled last time.

About a week into being on Tenerife, my grandfather died. I felt so guilty that I couldn't be there for my mom and the rest of my family (no matter how many times they tried to tell me that no one expected me to come back), I really missed them.

It was also hard to have all these negative emotions, because I felt like I couldn't share this with anyone. I had been so excited for this for so long, how would people react when I told them I thought I didn't belong? I tried to stay positive, and the people in my life tried to help me too. They reminded me not to be stressed, because everything would fall into place. My host family also assured me that this was the hottest it would ever be on the island (which strangely helped). Even through these stressful moments, there were so many pockets of joy. So please don't worry about me too much, mom & dad.

Eventually, it came time for me to go to Madrid, to enjoy the city a bit before heading to Orientation for Fulbright in Alcala de Henares. I had a great time in Madrid, seeing old friends, visiting my old host mom, re-living so many of the wonderful moments I had while I was there. Then I went on to training. I was reassured by so many of the sessions. I finally had answers to questions of the things I was stressed about, like how to apply for my resident's card, how to open a bank account, and so much more. Not only that, but so many people had the same concerns and same questions that I did. It was also around this time that I found out I had been approved for the apartment I liked the most out of the 10 apartments that I saw during my time on the island. I started feeling more confident!

I have already learned a valuable lesson through this experience- that expectations can kill a good time. Once again I had to reframe my mindset. I hadn't imagined that I'd need a time of transition. I thought it would be easy, because I was so excited to be back in Spain (and it was so easy last time). I still have some difficult things to do like opening a bank account, applying for my residency card, and learning my way around on the guaguas (buses). After reframing my mindset, I am so excited to start teaching, to meet my students and co-teachers, and to make friends. I can't wait to see what the rest of this year has in store. I do belong, I'm right where I'm supposed to be; in my home for the next year: Santa Cruz de Tenerife.