| Moving to Spain |
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The moment I decided to change my life came on a gloomy Sunday in February 1999. I'd been working as an English teacher at a comprehensive in Leeds for the past three years and hated every minute of every working day: the dismal 1960s concrete block buildings; the daily battles in the classroom; the atmosphere of defeat in the staff room. I loved teaching, but the job had drained me, physically and emotionally.
After that it was easy. I bought the Times Educational Supplement, turned straight to the international vacancies section and started mentally writing application letters for my "year out" in Spain. Seven years later, I'm still here, happily living in Mallorca. Teaching is a pleasure rather than a chore now I've swapped endless testing and staff room politics for enthusiastic students and contented colleagues. I'm head of English at Bellver International College in Palma, where I give classes in English language and literature to pupils aged between 13 and 18. We follow the national curriculum in school and students take the Cambridge Exam Board GCSE and A Level exams. This year, we achieved a 100% A-C pass rate in both exams, no mean feat when you consider that, of the nine A Level literature students, not one was a native English speaker. In fact, this is one of the aspects of school life I enjoy the most. I have taught children from all over the world, many of whom speak three or four languages fluently. There's a real atmosphere of the value of education in school and the vast majority of the children are self-motivated and keen to do well, which makes teaching them a rewarding experience. It's also nice when you're out and about to have current and former students come up and say hello and give you "dos besos", something that would never happen in Leeds. As much as I enjoy my job, it's not the main reason I've stayed in Mallorca. Six weeks after moving here, I met Gabriel, a Mallorcan policeman. At first we had some comical dates: his English was limited and my Spanish confined to "la cuenta por favor", so misunderstandings and dictionaries accompanied us to every restaurant. But over time, we fell in love and on September 2 this year our little boy, Christian José, was born. Although we'd planned for the baby to be born in Mallorca, things didn't work out that way: I was diagnosed with pre eclampsia while visiting my mum in the UK and Christian ended up being delivered early by emergency caesarean. The hospital waited for seven hours to perform the operation while Gaby sat in Palma airport trying to get a flight to England, no easy task on the last Saturday of the school summer holidays. Eventually, the operation couldn't be put off any longer and Gaby missed Christian's birth by just four hours. The dynamics of family life in Spain have taken some getting used to. Gaby´s parents are very traditional and have a defined perception of the role of women in the home and there's been some differences of opinion along the way. Gaby´s mother has never worked, spending the day doing housework and preparing three hot meals for her husband and children. In fact, when we first moved in together, his mum was really proud that I had to show Gaby how to use the washing machine. I do all the cooking, but only because I enjoy it, and we share the cleaning – something Gaby´s parents seem to find quite shocking. His family also speak Mallorquin – a local dialect – so the plan is that Christian will grow up speaking three languages fluently. I speak to him in English all the time and in a couple of years he'll join the primary class at Bellver. Although I can't foresee us moving to England in the near future, it's important to me that Christian speaks Spanish and English equally well and that he is close to my family. Luckily, it's so easy to travel between the two countries that I tend to fly there every two or three months and, of course, there's no shortage of people who want to come and visit. The ease of travel was one of the reasons I originally chose to live in Mallorca – I love the fact that I can visit the UK just for the weekend if I feel like it and I always spend August back in Yorkshire, just to get a break from the heat. However, the island's winter climate has to be the biggest draw. Although it does it get chilly, there's usually plenty of sunshine and if you're in a sheltered spot, it's possible to sunbathe even in November. I love the café culture too and we spend a lot of time in our local café, Sa Sociedad in Calvía, drinking coffee and chilling out. Eating out is also a necessary indulgence. In England I tended to socialise in the pub, but here I meet up with friends for lunch or dinner at least twice a week. We're spoilt for choice in Mallorca as there is an endless selection of great quality restaurants to choose from, with menus and prices to suit every occasion. We also like to relax by walking in the countryside or taking trips up in to the mountains to enjoy the amazing scenery and in summer there are the fantastic beaches. It's difficult to imagine living permanently in the UK again. Not that life in Spain is always idyllic: the bureaucracy can be very frustrating and I miss seeing my family every day. But on the whole, if I think back to that February in 1999, I have no regrets about taking the plunge. I've kept the best aspects of my old life and gained a much less stressful lifestyle, and, best of all, met Gaby and had our beautiful baby. |
On a gloomy school night at the end of half-term, teacher Rachel McIntyre decided enough was enough...| < Prev | Next > |
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