Life in Almería

It’s been a year since I graduated from the University of Glasgow with a Languages degree and I still don’t really know what to do with my life. Having spent nine months in Vietnam, I was ready to go somewhere a bit closer to home but not quite Scotland.

Having studied French and Italian at university, I have been wanting to pick up Spanish to make it a hatrick. After a month in the Basque country and a couple of weeks in Italy, I decided that I would move my life to Spain for the year. Of course, that meant doing long-distance again but this time round would be a million times easier thanks to the 1-hour time difference and ease of travelling to and from Scotland and Spain. It is never hard having a long distance relationship but there is no job for me in Glasgow that will provide me with a new experience and the opportunity to learn a new language. Ideally, I would like to have Iacopo in Spain with me but ironically, there’s no work for him here. But this year will give us a new experience and time to decide what we want to do next year. I have already decided that this will be the last year of long distance, and that I will accept whatever opportunity arises in Glasgow in order to be with Iacopo.

Choosing where to go:

I had a few interviews in May and June for various jobs in different cities around Spain. I settled on one in the town of Almeria down in Andalucía. The company is called Anglophone and provides its teachers with free Spanish lessons, Yoga classes and a Book Club. It is good money for only working 19 hours a week from 4-8:30 and a 2-hour drama class on Fridays. It was the ideal post for me; a job with little hours, in a city with sun all year, on the beach… not to mention the amazing free tapas culture of Almeria! I was of course sad about leaving Iacopo again but excited for my new adventure and this time round one of my best friends from home was to be sharing the experience with me! Simona and I had started looking for flats in August but decided it was best to wait until we got to the city in order to be able to few some flats before making a decision.

Getting there:

The 29th of August came and we hopped on our flight form Glasgow to Malaga. From there we got a 4-hour bus that dropped us off in Almeria. When we had arrived it was after 6pm but it was still 36 degrees! We were not acclimatised. We had to haul our luggage for what seemed like a very long ten minutes from the bus station through the town centre to get to our Airbnb. We were dripping with sweat by the time we got the the apartment. Our host was an older couple with a very strong Andalusian accent. We struggled to understand but after a while we managed to understand some of what she was saying. The rooms had two fans inside but that was not nearly enough to deal with the heat. We both had to sleep in our pants for the next 4 nights in order to be able to fall asleep.

Flat Search:

After 3 days of frantically searching for flats online, contacting landlords and agencies, we finally found a flat that suited us. We got the flat through LOFT but we also used easy piso and idealista to search. It was a small two-bedroom first floor flat, literally 2 minutes from the beach. It was ideal. We moved in and set up all of our things, including a massive Scotland flag draped along our living room wall, in order to make the flat more homely.

On the Friday, we had had our first staff meeting and integration day. We got to meet of all the new and old teachers and were told of the schedule and even had time for some class room activity training. It was great and later that night we all went out for tapas at 'La Consentida' get to know each other.

The first week:

Monday came around and it was our first week of class. The first month of any job is hectic but especially in teaching. As more of my classes were Infantile age, the first 3 weeks was made up of me holding a child in each arm desperately trying to stop them crying. There was no book work for the first two weeks which was nice but made the classes seem long. Once the books got introduced, it really broke up the lesson and helped the students and teachers get into a good routine. Now in December, we have all established a relationship with the students and know what to expect from class. It’s so much easier now that everything has settled. With the little ones, they now love to come to English class and are so affectionate and ready to show off to the teacher. The first 3 months were a hurdle but it’s set us up for the year, and I’m ready to start afresh in January!

Things to do:

Whilst being herein Almeria, I have started new hobbies. On a Tuesday, the company offers a morning Yoga class and 1. 5 hours of Spanish lessons in the afternoon. On a Thursday, I attend a salsa and bachata class. I love to dance but the teacher can be intimidating and even scary at times but it’s helping my Spanish and I can’t help by smile in class – I love it. Simona and I also went Horse Riding one Sunday, it was terrifying but I'd love to go back!

Once the good weather comes back out, I know I will be down at the beach most mornings. I have joined the gym here too which I am making the most of with all my free time (We only work from 4-8:30 pm). In the new year I‘m contemplating joining another dance class and maybe even start a tapas club. There are so many amazing bars and restaurants in Almeria but we always go to the same ones. It would be great to explore a bit more next year and meet up with other teachers who I don’t see often. I have a list of great food places already but I want to extend it!

There is a great Christmas market through out the city in Decemeber and a fun Noche en Negro for Halloween. There is always something on in the city such as Oktoberfest, Carnival, Circus, theatre shows and a whole range of Musical events. You just have to find the pages online or know people to tell you about them!

Tapas Places:

La Cala

La Consentida

El Barco de Vino

El Candil

La Mala

Duque del Mar

Aljaima

Restaurante-Tetería Almedina

La Marquesina

I also hope to travel a bit more in the new year. I want to visit Granada and Sevilla and apparently there is a big Carnival festival in Cadiz. It’s also possible to get the ferry over to Morocco and Melilla which I would love to do. With the good weather comes more visitors. There is the amazing National Park called ‘Cabo de Gata’ close to the city of Almeria. It’s a great idea to hire a car and travel around looking for hikes and secluded beaches.

So far Almeria has been great. I love living by the sea in the sun with an easy job. I have picked up extra hours teaching online and I still have so much free time. Living with one of my best friends from home has been so chilled and easy which helps when I’m feeling down or missing home. I can’t wait for the next six months to see the amazing things that we get up to whilst living in sunny Spain!

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