The decision

Well, after weeks of being haunted by a Gordon Gecko look-alike I came to a decision which in the end was rather easy. I am staying in Madrid.

The race to finding a job in Madrid was not as exiting as portrayed on this weblog. Whereas Gecko served as an interesting metaphor the frustration was real. I did call many consultancies in Spanish, begging for a placement at their offices. I did chase leads on infojobs.net which resulted in interest from companies wishing to utilize my three languages for – mainly – customer service.

The envelopes handed to me by Gecko where – in fact – a telephone call from Brussels and an email from Madrid – both received on the same day last Friday. After a telephone interview with Brussels and a face-to-face one in Madrid I was convinced. My new Spanish boss would personally teach me a lot about the design and development of social projects throughout the European Union. After a six month trainee period I will be offered a contract – if everybody is happy that is.

Although Carmen was a very very important reason for staying I also made this decision in a professional way. After speaking with people who know about it I concluded that in my field there are many more opportunities in Brussels than in Madrid. Therefore, it is much easier to develop experience in Madrid and then – maybe later, you never know – go to Brussels (or any other place in the world!) and use it, than it would be the other way round.

Next week it will be exactly one year since my arrival here in Spain. If I look back I am very happy with what I have achieved and where I am now. Although I need to improve I can perfectly defend myself in Spanish. I have pocketed experiences at Just Landed and the NGOs (Comisión Española de Ayuda al Refugiado and the Centro Hispano Colombiano). My life as an English teacher has made me a confident public speaker and I have met many interesting people and businesses because of it.

Apart from the professional side I am happy that I shall remain in Madrid for some time to come. I would not like to lose moments like enjoying a coffee at the bar whilst reading el Marca (which as a rule tells lies about players on the verge to sign for Real Madrid) in between classes or missing another easy chance playing football on an old basketball field close to Moncloa. Neither do I want to say goodbye to our friends here who take us to nice places like Buitrago, share a Mahou with me in a random bar, or just listen to me talk about why Gordon Brown should win the next election (whilst wondering what I am talking about).

So it’s good news all around. Carmen has got herself a great new traineeship with plenty of opportunities and I can’t wait to begin my career as an assistant project manager. To top things off Tyler found himself a flat after a month (I read the other day that 50.000 young people are looking for a flat in Madrid!!) which meant no more couch-hopping. We celebrated this with a delicious Rioja (Marques de Riscal dating from 2000) and a meal prepared by Carmen. Salud!