Madison in Spain.

Hello all!

It is a beautiful day today, the sun is shining, it is a crisp 7°C (which is 45°F for everyone else), and I am typing this out while my host family's son plays Mario Cart (very excitedly) next to me on the couch. Firstly I will introduce a little about myself because I am sure y'all are wondering who is this random girl?! Well, my name is Madison Frost, but everyone just calls me Maddie, I was born and raised in the small town of West Monroe in the NorthEast of Louisiana. I am 22 years young, a recent college graduate at the University of Louisiana at Monroe with a Bachelors's degree in Modern Languages concentration in Spanish, and a new traveler of the world! Let me preface, I have never left the U.S. before coming to Spain to volunteer through this wonderful 3-month program provided by CIEE. I also do not have any professional teaching experience before joining this adventure, so if you are like me, do not let a lack of experience hold you back! I decided specifically on this program to Spain because of my experience with the Spanish language and the length of the program seemed to be perfect for a noob such as me. The 3-month program in Spain is perfect, in my opinion, for those who can not commit to the longer programs or want to, like me, start a diverse and wonderful teaching career! Growing up, I have never had a strong idea of what I wanted to do or be so in my last year of college when I tutored people for their Spanish classes, I discovered that I really enjoyed the teaching aspect of learning languages. I hope along this journey that I am able to improve my Spanish of course, but I also hope to build a solid foundation with teaching English as a foreign language and becoming more comfortable in the classroom. Unfortunately, I have been here for almost 2 weeks now and I have had only one day in the classroom before I tested positive for COVID. Before arriving though, I was very nervous to meet my host family because I have heard the horror stories of other situations, but the moment I stepped foot inside their wonderful home, I have felt very welcomed and a part of the family immediately. I am very excited to be able to start my classes again, and I am ready to explore this wonderful city and country! One last piece of advice before I log off and go take a hike in the mountains with my host dad, is if you are even thinking of traveling and teaching abroad I say just do it, when are you going to be given the opportunity to travel and work like this again? Life can be complicated, trust me I know, but this kind of opportunity can really change a person for the better in an infinite amount of ways. With that being said, adios a todos, enjoy some pictures of my beautiful city of Olvéga! 

Muchas Gracias!