Hola Canarias! - super excitement

How I've found the opportunity

OMG, I'm gonna be a teacher in half a year - that was the first thought coming to my mind, followed by the next one literally in no time - I don't want to stay here. I have to go far away to collect great experiences. I want to travel. I really need to.

Honestly, I was afraid of burn-out even without experiencing it at all. In Hungary, people in general are always complaining about education; the educational system, salary of teachers, disinterest of students and so on. Thus, it really seems becoming a teacher is not a good decision. On the other hand, I was amazed about English-speaking performances on teaching by watching videos on the Internet e.g. TEDx Talks – those people are so much inspiring for me. I was really curious how that motivation and enthusiasm work abroad. So, I started searching on the Internet without any exact idea and not so later I found an advertisement listed on my university's Erasmus website.

I asked my professors if it is really possible to do teacher traineeship abroad and they said "yes". Obviously, there were some doubts and warnings explained by them such as "You should have prepared for this much longer before", "It doesn't work that easily you think". So, this is the point where I truly experienced something really important towards life: if you want it, you must do it anyway. If it seems possible for you, it is no matter what others say. It may sound an enormous cliché, however it's not a fake my-dreams-came-true story happened in Hollywood movies. I'm saying it as a girl who used to staring at those beautiful by-the-ocean pictures be sarcastically thought that easy for them having much money. Even my friends were thinking this opportunity is just another craze I'm so into because in such a little country as Hungary only pronouncing Canary Islands makes people picturing fairy tales, the ones for sure never happen in real life.

So, I only cared about the "yes", for me that was meant an official acceptance so that I won't miss a semester during my master studies. I sent an email according to the detailed requirements of the Erasmus+ advertisement I've found (and linked above). I enclosed an application letter and a copy of my CV. For my greatest happiness, they answered unbelievably quickly after two days. They confirmed that there are schools in Tenerife - I chose the biggest island based on my online searches - that suit my needs and which are available for me to do my internship. They asked me for the contact data of the person responsible for the Erasmus programme at my university and said it was really important for the schools to get very clear dates and exact duration of the placements so they could organize the activites accordingly, and once they had all my answers they would proceed to find a school that matches my profile. And they did. Three days later I've got a name, CEIP Isabel la Catolica, the name that now means, without exaggeration, the most amazing experience I have ever had in my life, the beginning, I believe, a never-ending story - my journey as for my profession and also for my personal dreams #firstflight #happiness #adventure #ocean #palmtrees

After having all the official documents in, - this process needed time and due foresight that was mentioned by my professors, but I did it all alone according to the documents I got from the person responsible for Erasmus programme at my university, and I got the first answer from the Canarias in the middle of June and I arrived in Tenerife on 29 of August - I posted my very first picture taken not only really far from home beside the Atlantic Ocean among palm trees but in a nice and huge apartment that was all mine found by myself on airbnb.

Let's see what documents you need:

• Application Letter (a Word document in which you apply for the programme you've chosen)
• Curriculum Vitae (europass)
• Letter of Acceptance (from the institution you want work for) - by getting this you can apply for Erasmus+ programme online, for me this online platform was provided on my university's website.
• Erasmus+ contract on financial supportment
• Accident insurance (e.g. AON - accident+liability)
• Liability insurance
• The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)
• Certificate of Attendance (to fill "Arrival" part in when you are at your workplace)
• Traineeship Certificate (to fill in after the traineeship)
• Passport (guess it's better to have even if you are within the European Union)

Accommodation in Añaza

Besides having the required documents only one problem was left: Fabiola couldn't help to find an accommodation in Tenerife even if she was supposed to as a previously sent handout promised. That's how I encountered airbnb and my lovely host, José. We agreed on details by sending e-mails, his friend picked me up at the airport TFS as it was around one hour away from the accommodation (15euros). When we finally arrived in Añaza (15 minutes away by bus from the capital city, Santa Cruz de Tenerife), it turned out that temporarily I could be the queen of a great apartment with three rooms, ok, two were closed, but anyway I could feel the power of freedom :D My reign lasted for three weeks when Raphael, my Brazilian flatmate arrived.

Neighbourhood

Very close to my accommodation, only a few steps away - here is the entry of a big shopping mall, Carrefour Añaza on the left, Media Markt on the right.

Photo gallery