Starting My New Life in Madrid

Hi everyone! My name is Deirdre Carberry and I have just moved to Madrid from outside of Boston, Massachusetts. I graduated from the University of Massachusetts in December 2022 with a degree in Journalism and a Film Studies certificate. I have been working as a nanny for the last four years and I absolutely love working with children. Moving to Madrid is a big jump for me and I am ecstatic to be working as an Auxilliar de Conversación. 

If you would have asked me as a child, “what do you want to be when you grow up,” I would have confidently answered you: A popstar… and if not that, a writer. I have been writing stories, poetry, and songs since I struggled to even write the alphabet correctly. I have always had a strong sense of justice, a desire to share, and an even stronger desire to learn. I love children, food, culture, and opening my heart and mind to understand other people, places, and things. But, I have never been able to narrow down a career that fits my free spirit when I still crave consistency and security so much. 

Moving to Madrid is my first experience even visiting Europe. And in just a few weeks I have already visited another country that I could never have imagined experiencing just a year ago. Pushing myself so much over this upcoming year allows me the chance to figure out exactly what direction I want my life to go, while growing emotionally, learning a new language and culture, hanging out with cute kids, and enhancing my writing skills through this blog. I have been wanting to travel for years, but there has never been a time that made sense for me. I would lie in bed at night and send myself to sleep with thoughts of living the life that I am living now. Every morning I am feeling the need to pinch myself because this is real. I am in Spain! And this is my home now.

I have been in Madrid for almost a month and it has already become the most incredible experience of my life. I have pushed myself emotionally (and physically– racking up 20,000 steps a day), started a long distance relationship with someone I really love, said my goodbyes to my family and friends that I already don’t get to see enough, and jumped on a one-way flight to a country I have never even seen in person. My Spanish isn’t great, I did not know a single soul here before the strangers in this program became my good friends, and my understanding of Spanish life was everything I’d gathered from acquaintances and tik tok videos. But now, I am at the precipice of the most influential, life-changing year of my life. 

All of the doubts I faced throughout the complicated visa process, saying hard goodbyes to loved ones, and packing to move my life across the world, have faded in just a month of being here. I am open and ready for all the challenges this experience will continue to throw at me, and I cannot wait to share my continued growth here, with all of you!