Harry Bohun

Hi there!

I'm 30, single, bored etc. Sold my stuff, wound up the business and am heading off to Spain on my motorcycle in Feb. No plans. No fixed abode.

Taking the ferry to Santander and will head down on a scenic tour toward Malaga and have a look at the rental market on the CDS.

Have a PGCE so aim to find some work teaching English to top up my savings ..



- Harry

Bob

Good luck and welcome to BE

Harry Bohun

Thanks! Can't say I am sorry to be leaving the UK ..

But then I suppose they all say that at first.

Sally Redux

Yes they do

Have fun.

dmu

Hi,
you might do well to go on the Spain Forum. Plenty of advice to be got there!

mikelincs

I assume from that that you are fluent in Spanish, as that is what you are likely to need in Spain to get a job at the moment. Unemployment is officially worse than the UK, and unofficially a lot more.

lynnxa

the good news is you're in a great position to have a great long holiday



the bad news is that if you want to get jobs teaching English as a foreign language, most language schools don't recognise a PGCE, and if you are expecting to get a job in an international school that could be a problem too, because vacancies tend to be filled for the school year in September, and many are losing students due to the recession, so cutting staffing levels

Harry Bohun

Thanks again everyone for the kind words and sage advise. All duty noted.

I am not fluent in Spanish, but I have enough savings and enough journalistic work to keep me for a year or so. I speak good French and German however and given the relative simplicity of Spanish in comparrison, I think I'll be fluent in 6-8 months.

I'm surprised most of the language schools wont recognize a PGCE. I'm extremely reticent to spend £1000+ being patronised for weeks on end by numpties to obtain another largely meaningless certificate. I'd dearly like to avoid that but we'll see I guess.

I do appreciate the dire economic situation in Spain tho. For sure. But its the same everywhere - the UK has equally high unemployment unofficially. Life skills, lack of crippling debts and kids alongside some professional acumen seem to be the dividing line here.

I guess I'll have to see what else presents itself and what the reaction is to me in six months or so when the teaching season kicks off. As you can no doubt tell I am deligthful company. Seriously though, I'm sure I'll find some work in one of the fields I am skilled/experienced in before then. If not I'll have to keep writing about the 'wonderful life' I am sorta living for the benefit of voyeurs back 'home'.

Anyway, its snowing again .. grrr. Wherever you are, happy new year and here's to 2010!

- Harry

Aussie30

Good Luck with your adventure! I never want to get back on that Ferry ever again!

lynnxa

it is irritating about the PGCE, but it just isn't recognised - & to be fair teaching English as a foreign language is totally different thing to teaching to someone who speaks the same language as you