August | 2019 | Be Bold with Buttonwillow

Nalda, Spain

Welp… lots to say. Lots to express through imagery of photos and a lot that just cannot be relayed as clearly as it has been felt. A new type of reality coursing through the veins… This decision is for real.

We are almost 5 months in (as of August 20th) … We are genuinely in the groove. I was aiming for sobriety upon arrival and definitely felt a bit ashamed to say I have (yet again) let myself down but setting these expectations without the safety net of preparation for such a road ahead. As of right now, I have decided it is in the idea/ manifesting phase and I take each day as it comes.

April was a wild ride, we both started school, moved into our first new home TOGETHER (I moved in with Matt when we met and we lived there together until we left the country), so this has been so fun to have a fresh start together. I quickly finished the TEFL Certification program through my beloved school, TT Madrid TEFL. We finished on April 26th and partied hard for the next week. I found so many loved ones through the school program and am extremely grateful to the community that this school provides. After a few weeks, I began my Spanish classes through the Language school affiliated with the TEFL Course at TT Madrid. LAE Madrid Language School is a wonderful way to learn Spanish. For May, Matt continued on for his first term in culinary school and I took Spanish classes for 20 hours a week. I taught a few classes throughout the month and had an amazing opportunity to teach for a one day Entrepreneurship Day on May 24th. It was through Class A Corporate Language Training and Fun Finance. This was one of the coolest experiences I have had since being here.
Later that day, I fell on my way down the loft stairs… I was on my way to an interview so I had no time to really assess the damage but I still have a scar on my back from it. But, I got the job on the spot and was set for July to have this summer camp teaching position.

I began June by going off to camp for my first time. EVER. As a monitor on a team of 10 for 200 kiddos or so. We were in Valladolid, Spain on a property with lots of fun little huts that the kiddos stayed in. It was a fantastic opportunity to decide what I did not want to do 🙂 It was… well one of the hardest times I have had since being here. I was so homesick, like beyond anything I had ever felt before. I poured my energy into the kids to distract from my sadness… It was a fun experience for sure. I am very thankful it was only a week. The rest of June was filled with friends, Spanish Classes, and more partying. I happened upon a teaching opportunity at another summer camp for all of July and began July 1st and finished on the 26th. It was so wonderful to have yet another experience helping me realize what it is that I don’t want to do again 🙂

And here we are now, beginning week two of not having any obligations. I have since been working on trying to figure out how I want to impact the world in this lifetime.

Through these past four months since I have written, I have been reflecting greatly. Since being across the pond, we’ve lost two humans from this earthly existence and it has rocked us deeply through our souls. Matt and I have experienced such a depth of grief, gratitude, and love which ripples far beyond the continent of Europe. Those of you who know and love us, know how much we love you. We truly do. Please know that.And those who have stumbled upon this through happenstance, you are love and are loved.

That is what I feel has really reverberated through me… immense gratitude for this experience. This time to sit back and REFLECT. And fuck, it has been a doozy of memories that come tumbling back. I am remembering a lot of my twenties I had tucked away in the shadows. Turns out, that they are residing within until I choose to release them fully. That is what I am doing each day… Releasing that part of self and moving forward by giving back to the community.

Here are some photos of our life in Spain and I will be writing much more frequently…

We just returned from La Rioja, in 3 days, we drove over 650 miles across Northern Spain. Here are some photos of the miraculous trip!

Wednesday Road Trip: Picked car up at Spain Car Rental at 9 a.m. ROAD TRIP BEGINS