Kai's foreign adventures

     As you may know that I've lived in Madrid for 3 months from summer going into fall. I have to say that there are things I love about Madrid and there are a few things I didn't like about Madrid. Let's start with the Pros first.                                                                                Transportation system      I have to give it to Madrid, the transportation system is amazing! It isn't as good as Barcelona's transportation system, but it's pretty damn close! It's very easy to get around using just the metro. Everything is in such close proximity that you can even walk (although I'm a bit lazy and rather take the metro).      You can buy a card add trips (viajes) which is a little cheaper and buying one trip ea...

     Healthcare is something definitely worth mentioning. I really like Spanish Healthcare. I think it's very different and more accessible than it is in the U.S. So what's the difference? Well for one there are two types of healthcare, seguridad social (Universal Healthcare) and privada (private). Lets look at them both in more detail.                                                                                          Seguridad Social      This is your basic universal healthcare available to the public for free. When I say free I mean that if you have it and get sick you don't have to pay anything. I'm sure everyone has to pay taxes to make this type of healthcare work. The downside to this type of healthcare is that yo...

     I know that many Americans (myself including) have used the "traveling is too expensive" excuse. This can be true depending on many factors like: Destination  The airline Connecting flights The time you purchased your tickets IP Address                                                                                                       Apps     There are many apps that can help you locate the cheapest flights. The one I used was called skyscanner . This app tries to find the cheapest flights by searching all the airlines and connected flights to your selected destination. Also keep in mind that if your destination has more than one airport one might be cheaper than the other. ...

      Let me be the first to tell you that Barcelona is gorgeous! it has great food, a rich culture and beautiful architecture. I was there for one month living in an area called Sant vicenc dels Horts. Where I lived no one spoke English so I was able to live the life of a non-tourists.       I had no idea that there were so many languages ​​in Spain other than Spanish. The primary language spoken in Barcelona is called Catalan. When I first saw the language It looked as if Spanish, French and Italian had a threesome and somehow produced a child and called it Catalan.                                                                                                            ...

     If your thinking about moving to another country like I did, but have no idea what to do there are a few things you should consider. First: Cost of living Second: Finding a Job Third: Saving money Fourth: Learning the language Fifth: Finding living accommodations Sixth: The visa process Seventh: Location      Now I'll be honest with you and say that I didn't consider all of these things when I decided to move. I was actually just winging it and using google to help gain information. The only thing I knew about Spain was that my Grandmother was Spanish, paella was popular and people drunk sangria (later I learned that only tourists really enjoy sangria).      However, I did save money before I arrived. I saved about 5k and started to think about what I could actually do to make money and survive. I saw that many Americans would teach English, but I had no clue how to teach English. Also, I was taking classes online to fi...

     So I would like to start off by saying welcome to my blog! I am from Los Angeles California, but I currently live in Spain. I've lived in Spain for more than two years and I teach English. I have moved and been to various places around the country from Barcelona, Andalusia, to Madrid and the Canary Islands. I traveled here alone and did not speak Spanish when I first arrived. I can't say that it has been an easy road, but it has been very fun and exciting.      I would like to share my experiences with you, so if you were thinking about traveling to Spain you'd know what to expect. I know that many people might be afraid to do what I did. I literally just decided that I would like to live in another country (actually I've always wanted to move to another country, but I never had the balls to do it).      I currently live in the Island of Fuerteventura off the coast of Morocco. I am the only African American on the Island. I've seen o...