I Will Be Teaching in Andalucía!

I’ve finally received my regional teaching placement, and I’m in Andalucía! Not only is it beyond exciting to finally receive my placement, but I will be returning to southern Spain – the place I fell in love with so much when I was studying abroad in Granada. Flamenco, tapas, olive oil, wine, warm weather (generally), and all the festivals are just some of the reasons I’m absolutely ecstatic about returning and living there, for an entire year – well school year – this time!

For a little background, Andalucía, or Andalusia in English, is the autonomous community in southern Spain. It stretches from Portugal on the west to the autonomous community of Murcia on the east. It’s bordered on the north by Extremadura and Castilla-La Mancha, while the Mediterranean Sea abuts it to the south. Covering such a large amount of land, Andalucía is the largest autonomous community in Spain, but the second most populous after Madrid. The provinces that make up Andalucía are: Almería, Cádiz, Córdoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Málaga, and Seville with each of their capital cities being the namesake of the province itself.

I’ve traveled quite extensively through Andalucía when I was studying abroad and plan to do so again while I’m living there. It’s a truly fascinating region that many consider to be quintessential Spain. While knowing I’ll be in Andalucía itself excites me, I’m still dying to know what city I’ll be located in. That way I’ll be able to see where I will actually be living and learn everything about it and the area around it that I can.

Plaza de España – Sevilla, Spain

Granada, the city I’ve most fallen in love with, calls to me on a daily basis and I frequently walk around town on GoogleMaps street view, exploring the nooks and crannies of the winding streets I would walk down daily about 3 years ago. While being placed in Granada, or most likely a smaller city outside it, would be thrilling, I would be just as enamored with a new city that I haven’t lived in or haven’t visited for more than a quick weekend. The newness of discovering an unknown city would be just as fun as when I discovered Granada for the first time.

There is no specific timetable for when I will find out about what city I will be placed in, and even though its killing me to wait, I am content knowing that I’ll be in Andalucía for now. Maybe after another week I’ll be getting anxious. A few auxiliares have already found out their city and school placements, but the vast majority have not. City and school placements are done at random based on when your school is ready to place someone, has their paperwork in, or just generally gets around to offering the position to you. If past years are any indication of how long I’ll have to wait, it could be tomorrow or mid-July, so keep checking back for an update!

Cordoba, Spain

While I’m waiting for my elusive placement, I have a myriad of activities that will be keeping me busy…and from incessantly checking my email to see if the Spanish government sent me anything. As you can imagine, I can hardly wait to find where exactly I will be living next year! This is both an incredibly exciting and somewhat exhausting process, but I do know that in the end it will all be worth it.

Have you been to Andalucía before? What did you think of it? Do you have a favorite city in Andalucía or somewhere specific you would want to be placed?