Around this time six years ago, I was waiting to receive my visa for Spain. My passport was held hostage, and I ticked off the days before my flight left, bound for Madrid. I recall not knowing if the pit in my stomach was from nerves or just anxiousness to leave and see what it would be like to live in Spain for a year and teach English at a local high school. Look at me now! This post was written by Tamara from Traveling Natural as she prepares to head off to Galicia, one of my favorite parts of Spain.
I started this post AGES ago and by ages, I mean in April, but so many turns of events have happened since then, that it must be re-written. Initially I wanted to inspire the masses of procrastinating future auxiliary language and cultural assistants (which I will refer to as LACAS) with extremely high numbers, of better planning and execution for next year.
But then I decided to take the Peace Corps philosophy of (yes, I have applied to the PC, and probably every awesome program known to twenty something’s that have changed careers a million times already since graduating college, you can read about that here) “hurry up and wait” and see what happens.
First of all why did I apply late? Because I decided that I only wanted to apply to BEDA and take my chances, especially since the ministry program had so many issues last school year. But the coaxing from a friend and the fear of getting waitlisted with BEDA, had me fumbling around PROFEX for over an hour the next day, March 27th to be exact.
Well I received my number–à 3,543
…and thought “This is a complete joke and I’m never getting placement with such a high number!”
A word of advice:
- Apply early! Especially if you have your heart set on living in Madrid ( I actually didn’t)
- Set an alarm on your phone and a reminder in your calendar to apply early!!!
- Apply to more than 1 program
- Wait
Yup! You read número cuatro correctly. Just wait! See what happens. Future LACAS drop out of the program all the time for various reasons and slots open up. Or maybe that’s all you can do since you didn’t follow #3 and only applied to one program.
Well this, my friends, is where the turn of events happened. On June 27th, exactly 3 months to the day I applied, I received placement in Galicia, España!
And according to the website they have placed up to 3,765 LACAS thus far! So there is hope if you are in (or above) the 3500’s!
I actually ended up getting into and accepting the BEDA option instead. So número 3,544 lucky you!
Future LACAS I hope this was helpful to you. If you take away anything, remember to just wait it out…and everything will fall into place! Or in the words of Cat Gaa “it will work out in the end.”
You can catch Tamara blogging over at www.travelingnatural.com. When she is not blogging she is looking to create an extraordinary experience out of this thing called life.
Have any other questions about the auxiliar program? If you’re waiting on a high number, or unsure if the program is for you, why not consider an internationally recognized TEFL degree with job placement help? Mine has been the difference between getting the job or not.
About Cat Gaa
I applied to the LACAS program and not BEDA. My number was 780, and while low, it still felt incredibly high as I had to read about everyone being accepted before me for about a week. In hindsight, I should have applied to BEDA or another program so I’d have another option, just in case. Anyways, congrats on teaching in Galacia! I’ll be in Almunecar, Granada and look forward to following your experience!
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Hey Mike! I am looking forward to your posts about your experiences as well! Granada is a lovely city! I visited for a weekend in 2010. Can’t wait to see again ^_^
Woo yay Galicia!!! I’ll be in Santiago de Compostela so hopefully we’ll run into each other at the orientation. Congratulations on getting a placement in spite of having such a high number!
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Thanks Trevor! Actually I decided to take the BEDA option and have been placed in Toledo. But if I head up north for a visit I will let you know. Your blog has helped to inspire me to take on the Camino de Santiago next year. Yayyy!
A LOT of people say no, or can’t for myriad reasons, so having a higher number doesn’t mean you should despair! Have fun in Galicia!
When I first applied to the program, they had to extend the deadline twice to cover the vacancies!
Kaley you are so right! I definitely thought my number was way too high. But I hope this information is helpful to anyone in the same position next year.
Thanks again Cat for the feature
I hope I can meet you at some point when I get there!
I just reluctantly said no to a second year…hopefully someone will be happy getting my place in Priego de Córdoba!
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Oh boy, big news! What’s your plan, lady?
Hi, Tamara. Enjoyed your guest post on sunshineandsiestas. May I ask a quick question:
you mentioned that having a high Inscrita number didn’t seal your fate since “according to the website they have placed up to 3,765 LACAS thus far!” My question is this – can you direct me to the spot where they post the number of LACAS that have been placed? Looked around a bit but couldn’t find it on my own.
Thank you much!
Joshua
Hey Joshua,
Numbers flux quite a bit from year to year, and it’s impossible to know what inscription number the ministry will get to, as it really depends on how much funding they get, and how many people accept their positions or not! Your best bet for info is joining one of the Facebook groups (this is the general group for next year: https://www.facebook.com/groups/590661094346622/), and here are the most recent numbers I could find: http://www.mecd.gob.es/eeuu/dms/consejerias-exteriores/eeuu/auxiliaresusa/Data_2012.pdf
Good luck!