I recently finished a "Teaching English as a Foreign Language," or TEFL course. I'm now certified to teach English, well, in any foreign country. It was a great course, but the most useful part was the observation hours I put in with a high school ESL class here in Birmingham. It was priceless to learn from experienced teachers that already have a well-worn bag of tricks and activities for helping English students.
Now I'm truly in the preparation stage--Lord willing, I'll be flying to Sevilla, Spain on August 21st. First, however, I need my visa from Houston; I'm just waiting for the phone call telling me that I do indeed have an approved visa. The timeline for getting my visa and leaving later this month is a bit tight, but waiting is the best and only path for now. And I have plenty to occupy myself with in the meantime! :)
I also might have an apartment! Mutual friends connected me to a University student in Seville named Sandra, and she found a "lightful and beautiful" apartment near the center of Seville earlier this week. Many emails later, I'm hoping that my friend Katie and I are set for living with Sandra and another university student in a 4 bedroom apartment owned by one of the professors at the University of Seville. It would be so wonderful if this works out, because we'd be renting from an acquaintance of Sandra's, and Katie and I would have the chance to get to live with two Spaniards rather than with a group of Americans--what a great blessing!
So there we have it. A few steps closer (hopefully!) to Seville.
