Arriving: Don’t Stress it

“WORRYING DOESN’T TAKE AWAY TOMORROW’S TROUBLES; IT TAKES AWAY TODAY’S PEACE”. ANONYMOUS.

And this is the journey…

I was just one six-hour flight away from Europe and I would enter to a completely different culture. A culture where tapas are expected with a drink, where public transportation can take you wherever, where “vale” is the most common word you will hear and where the smell of cigarettes hits you in the face as soon as those airport doors open.

Arriving in Spain was a mess for me. From the airline breaking my luggage to not remembering the address of my hostel (which was totally my bad), but after taking a taxi and being able to arrive at my hostel and settling down everything started falling into place (or just falling). 

FIRST THOUGHTS:

I’ve been to Spain before, but as a tourist. This time around I’m walking the streets and breathing the air with a deferent mentality. I’m here to work with La Comunidad de Madrid, gain experience, travel and have fun, but unfortunately, fun is not the first thing on the list. Stress, worry and constant thinking of surviving as gracefully and strong as a tango dance until I find permanent housing well those…those are the thoughts that are always in my mind. I think I’m surviving like a tightrope walker who is afraid of heights.

All I was really thinking about was what I needed to do, and if you’re with the CIEE in the Teach in Spain Basics group like me, you start working really fast and your orientation is basically one day. Everybody called our orientation a “hi and bye” type of orientation and it’s understandable since most of the participants have already lived or studied in a Spanish speaking country before.

Our orientation starts with a welcome dinner the first day. The second day is a full day of reiterating what was in the Canvas pre-departure course and putting a face to the CIEE team. The third and last day you check out of the hotel. As you could read, it was a “hi, thanks for coming” followed by a “bye, see you” and that was orientation for the program.

I arrived 5 days before orientation to give myself more time to do things, and everything I was thinking about those first five days in Madrid was:

- I need to find a sim card to have service and be able to communicate with people.
- I need to find a "piso" to live in, because the streets aren’t an option.
- I need to figure out the public transportation, because where I live this  isn’t even a thing and that’s how I’m going to get by.
- I need to find temporary housing if I don't find a “piso” soon, again, because the streets aren’t an option

These are pretty basic worries to have but there was one in particular that just consumed my mind and that was finding a “piso.”

Moving can be stressful and when you’re moving to a different country it can be even more stressful. If I could go back and give myself a pep talk during those five days I would say:

DON’T STRESS IT, BE PREPARED AND MAKE TIME TO HAVE FUN AND MEDITATE.

Looking back on those first days, I could say I added a lot of unnecessary stress. Everywhere I went I couldn’t enjoy to the fullest, because in the back of my mind I was overthinking everything I needed to do. There was no need to overthink anything, in 1 day I found a sim card in a “locutorio” which are EVERYWHERE so I would tell myself DON’T STRESS IT.

In five days I visited 4 “pisos” and found the one for me (although I haven’t moved in yet) so I would tell myself DON'T STRESS IT. It will happen when it happens. I figured out most of the transportation around the center and now know where to go purchase a monthly metro card so I would tell myself, DON’T STRESS it. Lastly I found temporary housing in a hostel. Hostels are very accessible, common and best of all affordable. I found a bed for €17 so I would tell myself DON'T STRESS IT, there will be no living in the streets here.

It’s funny how you can be the most prepared person, but when you’re making a decision that’s important to you and you put a lot of weight in it you over think it and over complicate it. Just, don’t do that. If you’re just moving to Madrid or Sevilla or Granada or anywhere abroad by yourself, don’t stress it. Everything will fall into place.