This will come as a shock to many, but I have chosen not to renew for a third year as an Auxiliar de Conversacion. I made this decision after lots of thought and reflection, and while I struggled with it at first, I know this is what’s best for me. 

Why I’m Not Renewing

I didn’t have a plan when I moved to Spain. The program I teach through allows you to renew for up to three years in Madrid, so I came into this thinking I’d test it out. Since the first year went well, I went ahead and renewed for a second. Within two months of being here I knew I’d want to come back; I wasn’t done. So I came back for year two and it has been great. I still love my kids, I still love Madrid and I am still incredibly grateful for this opportunity. But now, I feel done. In a sense I’ll never be done. There are students I’ll miss and continue worrying about, and hopefully keep in touch with, so I’m not done there. I’m done in the sense that this is no longer fulfilling me in a way I’d like it to. 

I came to Spain planning to do this job, travel and build up a freelance career so I could eventually live a fully nomadic lifestyle. Unfortunately that has not panned out the way I wanted it to. Year 1 as an Auxiliar de Conversacion was lots of fun, but I completely ignored my copywriting and business goals. Year 2 has also been fun, and I’ve refocused on writing, freelancing and building out my copywriting business. But if I want to continue upward growth, I can’t afford to come back for year three.

What’s Next

For now, I’m doing it all. Still teaching, writing, freelancing, and traveling. But I’m having to scale back. I no longer have the time or funds to travel as much and eventually I won’t have the time to teach. So rather than really struggle next year and half-ass both teaching and freelancing, I’m putting all my efforts into freelancing and building up my copywriting business.  I wish I were the person who could do it all, but I’m not.

I will say, I’m incredibly excited for the next few months and exciting things ahead! Don’t worry, there’s plenty of news headed this way soon!

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