Introductions: Nice to meet you!

Hello everyone!

Let’s play a game! My name is Claire White and I will be one of the CIEE bloggers sharing about their daily life and tips and tricks of living in Spain. With a little less than a week until my arrival in Spain, I thought it’s finally time to introduce myself! Now onto our game…

We’re going to play 2 Truths and a Lie in which I’ll give you three statements where one of them is a lie and you have to figure it out! Just a way to help you get to know me better! There will be a few rounds and the answers will be at the end. 

Round #1: 

1. I’ve tried guinea pig.
2. I’ve tried octopus.  
3. I’ve tried eel. 

Again, hello! My name is Claire White and I’m moving to Spain from Raleigh, North Carolina. I graduated from NC State in May 2023 (Go Pack!) with a major in Business Administration and a double minor in International Studies and Spanish. During my time at NC State I was in the Delta Zeta sorority, Women in Business Club, and president of the Alexander Hamilton Scholars Club. After graduation I worked a year long internship at Red Hat, a technology company based in Raleigh, and when that came to an end I thought now would be the perfect time to fulfill my dream of teaching in another country! 

Round #2: 

1. The main character of Avatar was based on my uncle. 
2. I’ve watched the movie ‘Elvis’ 7 times.
3. I’ve never seen the movie Avatar.

I’m really excited to be living in another country and working with kids. I was a camp counselor for 3 summers at the summer camp I attended growing up (a total of 15 summers spent at that camp!). I attribute so much of my outgoing personality and confidence to that summer camp and will always cherish the memories and friends made. Working at Camp started my love for working with kids because it’s a chance to show love and support and change the lives of so many children. It’s also a great chance to be able to be a kid again as you connect with them. 

I’m also excited for the opportunity to travel as exploring new countries is one of my biggest passions. I’m really fortunate that my parents have always valued experiences and I’ve had the opportunity to travel to so many places throughout my 23 years. I’ve been to 6 out of 7 continents and just over 20 countries. I grew up in a small town where there’s so much of the same thing and getting to travel made me realize that there is so much more out there than my little town. There is a huge, vast world out there with all kinds of people with different ideas, languages, cultures, food and therefore endless amounts of learning. There is truly no feeling like visiting a new country and getting to experience so many things for the first time and learn so much. It has brought a great, open-minded perspective to my life and there’s still so many places to check off the bucket list! 

Round #3

1. I’ve spent NYE in New York City, NY.
2. I’ve spent NYE in Tokyo, Japan.
3. I’ve spent NYE in Sydney, Australia. 

Whether you’re one of my fellow Auxiliares or someone deciding to join the program, I hope you find my blogs interesting and useful! I’ll cover my day to day life as an Auxiliares, experiencing the culture of Spain, my weekend trips, tips and tricks for traveling, and personal reflections. I’m looking forward to sharing my life with y’all via this blog and I hope you all can get something out of it! To those moving to Spain with me, I can’t wait to meet everyone so soon! 

Now that you’ve gotten to know me, let’s see how well you did with my little game! 

Round #1: I’ve tried eel - I have never tried eel but guinea pig (Ecuador) tastes just like chicken! 

Round #2: I’ve watched the movie ‘Elvis’ 7 times - I haven’t but I know a friend who has seen it 12 times (I’m not exaggerating). And yes, despite my uncle being the inspiration for the main character of Avatar, I’ve never seen it. 

Round #3: I’ve spent NYE in New York City, NY. I spent NYE in Sydney in 2015 and NYE in Tokyo this past year and both were amazing experiences. To be honest though, spending NYE in Times Square seems like a nightmare to me!

Talk to you soon!