My attempt to explain...

Very few people know that I've changed my plans for the upcoming year, so let me try to explain!

I originally planned on going to Costa Rica with a great program called WorldTeach. However, I recently had some medical issues. Ok let's be honest, my kidney stone...everyone who knew seemed to tell everyone else they knew so this probably comes as no surprise. I've never done anything major like break a bone but in my experience, it was the worst physical pain I have ever been in! I had already been rethinking my decision to live in a rural and remote town in Costa Rica for a year and wondered how I would get along without at least somewhat easy access to internet or a telephone to call home. As most of you know, I am very close with family, and simply not being able to talk to them when I wanted or needed to might be hard for me. But I figured, hey, I'm a big girl, I can handle it. However, after the two weeks of pain the stone caused me, along with multiple visits to the doctor and an extra special appearance at the ER after being in major back pain for 3 hours and continually vomiting from the pain, I realized there was another reason to doubt my ability to live in such a remote area for a year. My health! Of course, I could go through the year with no major problems. Kidney stones can take years to form (says my dad), so they might not bother me again for quite some time. And the gallstones that were discovered from my catscan for the kidney stone...well those could also not bother me for the next year. Or they could. I could ask myself, "What if something happens?!" and brush it off with the typical, "But nothing WILL happen!". But after all the problems I had with a tiny little 2-3mm stone moving out from my kidney, I realized that things CAN and DO happen.

When I first started getting nervous about Costa Rica, before the kidney stone nonsense, I returned to my original search for a program in Spain. Original in the sense that before I stumbled upon WorldTeach, I looked for options in Spain but did not find many. Maybe I just did not do a thorough search. Because this time around, I found several options. I kept the idea in my head, realizing i would LOVE to move back to Madrid. I really only seriously considered it though after the stone announced its presence. After doing a considerable amount of reasearch, I realized this was going to be a tough decision. First time throwing up at home from the extreme back pain..."wow...I don't know if I can go to Costa Rica". 2nd time throwing up from the pain in the middle of the night..."wow...I don't think Costa Rica is the best idea anymore...what if this happens there?" In the ER with the IV pumping lots of nice medicine into me, including a wonderful 4 doses of pain meds, "Dad...i'm not going to Costa Rica!" The last incident was the most dramatic, because after I made my announcement to my dad, I started crying. I think this was justified, because even now, the thought of not living in Costa Rica and not teaching amazingly sweet elementary school kids makes me sad. But I'll give my dad this, I cried a little too much for simply saying this one sentence. I blame it on the drugs. I think he did, too, since his response was, "Ok Sarah...why don't you just close your eyes...". I then tried apologizing for crying and placed total blame on all the fun things coming through the IV. And I had to do this twice, since I started crying twice (I don't even remember what the 2nd time was about...but was most likely related). So if you followed all of that, you will realize that at least three different times I realized I did not feel okay going to Costa Rica knowing that I could have another experience just like this. Yet somehow, after I had "recovered", I felt the need to freak out again and go back through all my options, apparently forgetting about my decision. I met with my friend's cousin who participated in WorldTeach's Costa Rica program (and later became the country's Field Director for several years). I also met with an advisor from the Chicago branch one of the programs in Spain I was looking into. All of this helped greatly, but did not make the decision any easier. Maia (Costa Rica contact) made me feel certain that if I requested it, I could be placed in a rural town that wasn't very remote...maybe only an hour from San Jose. Sounded good, but if 15 minute drive from my house to the ER at Evanston Hospital was excrutiating...how could I deal with being an hour or more away?! Patricia from the Spain program was also very helpful. The company has tons of info online, but it always helps to talk it through with someone. Plus, I was also able to talk about some things that are not discussed on their website (or most others for that matter). Such as the fact that Spanish work visas are very hard for US citizens to get...A.K.A...I won't have one. Anyway, so I got home and finally followed the advice of several friends...make a pro/con list! I had to cut it short because it was time for me to get off work...but here's what I came up with.

COSTA RICA:
Pros
-set price
-job set up/known what to expect
-housing taken care of
-international flights taken care of
-live with a family-improve Spanish greatly
-live close to work
-set up work visa with WorldTeach
-teach children
-set return date
-sense of community
-easy group of friends-1st month
Cons
-no possibility to earn money
-at least 1 hour from San Jose (doctor)
-hard to communicate w/ home
-may not have friends my age in my town
-not much to do in town
-if sick, must communicate in Spanish
-school does not have many resources

SPAIN
Pros
-cheaper initially
-earn hourly wage-cover living exp?
-live independently/no family rules
-possible flight direct from Chicago
-flexible return date/time period
-live in city-contact, doctors
-choose where to live in city
-live with people my age
-easier to have visitors
-nightlife/more to do during day
-group of friends?-1st month class
Cons
-unknown total price
-work visa issues
-finding an apartment
-no job secured-find once there
-more isolated in large city?
-unsure what age I will teach


My list wasn't just about which had more, but I planned on then color coding the list by importance of each bullet point. Yes, I'm a dork... I like making lists and I like making them organized. However, I never got to the exciting color coding. Instead, due to some other minor health problems/sickness I had as a result of all the vicodin I was instructed to take for the kidney stone pain, I realized that this time I was serious. I was not going to feel comfortable going to Costa Rica anymore. I would rather deal with the insecurity of job and apartment in Madrid than worry about and possibly deal with health issues for which a hospital is required in Costa Rica. I feel like I more or less know the city of Madrid from studying abroad so those tasks don't feel quite as daunting. Plus, if there really is an issue there, I'm not locked in for a year...I CAN come home. Or if I'm having a problem or am sick, I also will have easy access to internet/phone to either contact someone in Madrid, or at home! I know my parents aren't arguing with that idea!

So. As a wrap up of this super long entry which I started out thinking would be really short. I'm moving to Spain! In January (just like Costa Rica would have been). I hope to be able to stay at least a year...longer would be cool, too! Now I just have to figure out which program I want to do. They both offer a month-long TEFL course that will certify me to teach English. They both offer apartment assistance and job assistance. One seems to do more in terms of housing, at least for the first month, and has a Chicago office (where I already met in person with an advisor). The other can be reached only by email or a 1-888 number, but seems to do more in terms of job placement, offers student references, and is $500 cheaper! Choices, choices. Wish me luck!

By the way...while browsing through Madrid apartment listings (just for fun at the moment), I realized that if I live near one of my favorite places in the city, Retiro Park, I will be very close to not one but TWO hospitals! ;)










Crystal Palace, Retiro Park, Madrid