a wandering woman writes

Sunday, January 08, 2006

Home sweet ??



Greetings from Chicago!

I'm "home" again, although the first of many weird waves to hit me in my first 3 days back in the States after almost 2 years away was the yeh so if this isn't home and Salamanca isn't home, home would be where? sensation.

I am in Chicago until tomorrow when I take off for Southern California to work for a friend/client for a few weeks. I'll be back in Salamanca January 28, to work the month of February, transitioning my responsibilities until I take off, gainfully unemployed and ready to leap into whatever's next, on my own, bright and early the first day of March. 2006 is looking like a doozy, and the weirdness of being back in the States right on the cusp of another sharp turn (from a job in Spain to ?? in Spain) is looking like good blog fodder.

So far I've:

- Survived the very eerie feeling I got hearing the Iberia employee who checked me in for my flight home tell me US customs demanded a phone number for me in the States. Hmm...now they need to know where US citizens are while visiting their own country? Weeeeiiiirrrd feeling.

-Walked up to a airport security guard in Heathrow and delivered an elegantly structured paragraph in perfect castellano, before realizing I was in London. And he wasn't getting a word. He was amused to hear me suddenly stop, reboot and blurt out a lovely flat, American-accented: "Wait! Where am I?"

-EATEN SUSHI!!!!!!eaten sushi, eaten sushi......sigh, oh, I've eaten sushi.

more to come...off for a pint and what I hope wil be a loooong, relaxing catch-up with my favorite fellow sailor.....
I'll be back soon.

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posted by Erin at 5:47 PM

9 Comments:

  • That sushi part sound REALLY good!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:09 AM  

  • ¡Hola!

    I'm a newby to your blog as I have just found it last week. I've read your messages from beginning to now and really enjoyed your description of your adventures in learning the Spanish language and culture. Short of replying to every post, I'll sum up a few thoughts in this one. I've been studying Spanish independently for a few years now and I can attest to the spelling problem - I used to be such a good English speller, now Spanish has killed my English spelling irrecovably.

    I like you, want to move off to Spain and start anew, but I've been all over this big WWW and can't find any real good information on how to best come over to Spain and get legally authorized to get a good job and become at least a legal resident. Short of being an English teacher it seems opportunities for Americans getting jobs is very limited. I've also looked at job search websites in Spain hoping to find some good jobs, but also don't expect any of the companies I apply for to want to sponsor me for work in Spain.

    Are there any secrets you would be willing to share to help a fellow expat wannabe?

    Le admiro su determinación y su exito. Espero que me pueda ayudar si solamente un poco.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:15 PM  

  • I hope you get back to Salamanca safe and sound and that you find a job!
    I love Sushi! There is Japanese restaurant next door to my Tapas Bar.

    By Blogger Cream, at 11:08 PM  

  • Exciting times - can't wait to see the next part of the 'journey'

    By Blogger hobbes, at 3:03 AM  

  • Sounds exciting! May the next part of your "life adventure" be just as fulfilling!

    By Blogger melusina, at 6:46 PM  

  • Is it cold in Chicago?
    Tell me if you find the blue cap!
    I really please imaging how you are having a good time.

    By Blogger Nomadita, at 7:57 PM  

  • Anonymous, try www.expatica.com.

    WW, I loved the part about speaking Spanish to the guard at Heathrow. Just shows how far your Spanish has come! Hope you are enjoying being Stateside. I am fresh off a week's vacation in southwest Florida, now it's back to the grindstone in Indiana... yuck. Hope the weather in Cali is as nice as it was in Florida!

    By Blogger Angie, at 10:56 PM  

  • Thanks, all of you! I do so love to pop over here and find all these comments. I've landed in California now, so, although I'm beat tonight, I'll be back around here most days, I think.

    The sushi was great j, and I've had sushi twice more since then...Don't think I knew how much I missed sushi as a dietary staple..

    Nomadita, I didn't find a blue cap but a friend gave me a blue Chicago cubs (baseball team) winter cap so that'll get me through...now I am in LA in SUNSHINE and 20 some odd degrees (C) anyway...

    OK, Anonymous, sorry about the delay. You caught me in transit. I would be thrilled to help you, alot of wonderful people helped me so it must be my turn, You're right that it is tough to get a visa to work in Spain as an American, but not impossible, I landed a job that sponsored me (the job I am just now leaving) Once you get residency and a foothold, it's easier. So short answer, just COMMIT to going, tell yourself and every one you know that you are moving to Spain, and then keep an eye out for falling opportunities, that's how I got mine! Worse comes to worse, just come over, you'll have an easier time figuring something out when you get here and can meet people.

    If you send me an email, I'll you some sites, resources, even contacts, if you tell me where you'd like to be in Spain....ok? wanderingwoman42@hotmail

    By Blogger Erin, at 6:58 AM  

  • Seeing your picture of Chicago made me a little homesick! I lived in Indy just three hours away and ALWAYS loved going to Chicago for a weekend getaway! Have a great time and safe return home!

    Cyn

    By Blogger Cynthia Rae, at 12:57 PM  

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