ACCEPTED!

I have officially been accepted to become a North American Language and Cultural Assistant... well, technically the email says I'm on the provisional list of candidates, but I'm hoping that doesn't mean anything. They did say they would contact me if there were any problems with my application, and they haven't, so that must mean I'm good to go. I got my first choice of region (Andalucia), which is great! All I had to do to confirm that I wanted to accept the position was email them back the completed form that was attached to the email. Now I just have to wait until "sometime near the beginning of June" to find out where exactly I've been placed and at which type of school! Even though I was pretty confident that I would be accepted, I am so excited! Now I can start thinking about flights!

Time to mail my application

I think I'm finally ready to mail my application package. Although it sure was a pain to get everything finally finished:

For the "passport-sized photographs" I just had 3 wallet photos developed, rather than getting professional passport photos taken, which saved me a little bit of money. Since I just got my "certificate of good conduct" in the mail a few days ago, that's all ready to go. Although it did cost me $35 to get it done and it took a good 4 weeks to finally get it in the mail. And I'm sure everyone knows from my previous post how hard it was to get a 'simple' "medical certificate of good health." I hope my recommendation letter is alright - I can't even read it before I send it to them because it has to be sent in a sealed, signed envelope. Other than that, I just fixed a couple of things in my personal statement and threw in a few more reference letters and an Introductory TEFL certificate I got last summer (just for good measure!) In other words, don't apply for this program unless you're willing to jump through hoops for these people!

Now I'll be crossing my fingers until I find out whether or not I make it! I should know by May 1st. Wish me luck...

Regions

I'm almost done my application now, but I just can't decide in which order I prefer which regions. The choices offered by the Ministry of Education are the following: Andalucía, Aragón, Asturias, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla-León, Extremadura, Madrid, País Vasco, and La Rioja.


Spain is divided into 17 autonomous communities (comunidades autónomas) and 2 autonomous cities (ciudades autónomas) - Ceuta and Melilla. These autonomous communities are subdivided into 50 provinces (provincias). Historically, some provinces are also divided into comarcas (roughly equivalent to a "county" or a "district").

Paragraph in Spanish

Today I also had to write a "300-400 word personal statement, in Spanish, outlining the applicant's objectives in relation to the program as well as what the applicant feels he/she can contribute to the program." Not an easy task, but I'm finally finished! Luckily my Spanish professor has agreed to look it over for me to make sure the grammar and everything is not completely horrible!

One more thing down... only a hundred to go...

Certificate of Good Health

This has definitely been the most frustrating aspect of this application so far! I needed a letter from a doctor for my application, which will also be used later on for my student visa application. However, I can't seem to figure out exactly what is supposed to be written in this letter, other than that I am in "good health." Gisela from the Embassy hasn't been much help, as her e-mails are very vague. I tried calling a couple of Medicentres in the city, but it seems they don't even write these kind of letters. As a last resort, today I went into the University Health Centre to see what they could do for me. The doctor basically looked at my throat and ears, declared me to be in good health, and signed a one-sentence letter stating this. Gisela declared this to be just fine. So much trouble for such a simple letter!

Questions, questions, questions

I emailed Gisela again today, since she seemed to be somewhat helpful yesterday. Unfortunately, she was very brief today. I imagine she gets a lot of e-mails from other would-be applicants as well, so I'll just have to find as much info as I can on my own.

I'm a little bit worried about the 631 Euro grant (that's how much I make each month for working twelve hours a week). It works out to about $1000 CAD. I hope it'll be enough to live off of! Basically all Gisela said about it was this:

"So far we have not had complaints from former assistants in the sense of not being able to cope with their financial situation. Please, bear in mind that this is a grant and not a salary."

So little time, so much to do

I've officially started the lengthy application process. Today I emailed a prof at my university to get him to write me a reference letter. Now I just need to get a background check done, get a letter from a doctor stating that I'm in good health, and get some photos developed of myself. Not to mention finish filling out the never-ending application form... I really think they could organize this form better too. I mean, they leave you hardly any space to type, yet they seem to want your life story!

I also started to think about booking a flight soon... I'm thinking I will try to use airmiles if possible. That way I can afford to come home for Christmas and I don't have to book my final flight home just yet. I'm just not quite sure exactly which dates I would book it for, since I have no idea when Christmas holidays in Spain begin and end. I emailed a woman named Gisela Conde at the Embajada de Espana in Washington, D.C. today, and she was able to help me out, although she did suggest that I wait to make sure I'm accepted before I purchase a flight, just in case, but I've made up my mind to go to Spain either way.

After all, what else do I have to do come September?

MEC Application Requirements

Candidates are required to:

• Hold a U.S. or Canadian passport.
• Be enrolled in the final year of or have successfully completed their BA, BS, MA or MSc. These university degrees must have been earned between 1993 and 2007.
• Be in good mental and physical health.
• Have an intermediate to advanced level of Spanish.

This is a complete list of all of the documents required to apply for MEC's program:

1. Three photocopies of valid passport.
2. Three passport-size photographs attached to three printed application forms.
3. Three photocopies of a medical certificate of good health issued within six months prior to the application indicating that the applicant does not have any physical or mental medical condition that would impair his/her teaching.
4. Three photocopies of a certificate of good conduct issued by the Police Department of the last city where the applicant has resided six (6) months or more in the last five (5) years. The certificate must have been issued within six months prior to the application.
5. Three copies (one of them notarized or original) of academic certification (transcripts) consisting of level (s) of accomplishment, grades received, and current courses enrolled in. If applicable, please enclose copies of corresponding diploma and official transcript.
6. Three copies of a detailed resumé, either in English or in Spanish, including the names of all schools attended (elementary, middle and high school).
7. One recommendation letter, either in English or in Spanish. This letter must be sent to the applicant by the person issuing said recommendation in a closed and sealed envelope, with the signature of the sender across the closing flap. Applicant will include this unopened letter with the rest of the documents.
8. Three copies of a 300-400 word personal statement, in Spanish, outlining the applicant's objectives in relation to the program as well as what the applicant feels he/she can contribute to the program. This should be an extensive version of the 100-150 word statement requested in section 5 of the application form.
9. Three copies of any other submitted documents.
10. Three copies of a dated and signed list of submitted documents.
    

This should keep me busy for awhile!

North American Language and Cultural Assistant

This is the program that is going to get me to Spain! I’ve been looking into taking TEFL courses, and teaching English in Spain illegally, but this program, run by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (MEC), is the perfect way to do it all. My Spanish professor told me about the program and it sounded so perfect that today after school I went to research it. Although they didn’t actually have any info on the program, one of the staff members was able to give me the website, and I think I’m going to go for it!

What is a language assistant?

Every year, the Ministry of Education and Science of Spain provides grants to 1000 University graduates from all over Canada and the United States. These grantees, known as North American Language and Culture Assistants, work 12 hours per week for 8 months (October-May) as assistant teachers in a Spanish school. For 2007, the monthly allowance provided by the grant is 631 Euros per month, including paid holidays at Christmas and Easter.