Maggie May
I'm starting to freak out here. I still don't know where I want to move and I have to decide in 2 months! I've been thinking about this for like, 3 years so how have I not decided already?
The program is like, "If you don't get placed in your region of choice, we will try to assign you to the nearest region" and that kind of scares me because... what if that's the region I'm like, "No" about.
Like Murcia, lol. For some reason, I really don't want to go to Murcia. I don't really want to go to Extremadura either. I feel like Murcia is so close to Alicante that it would make me sad to not be there, and for some reason, Extremadura just makes me nervous (and now Chico isn't there so my interest has plummeted).
My biggest 'yes' is Valencia. I know I love Alicante, I like Valencia, and Castellón as a whole seems cool. I could be placed *anywhere* in the entire comunitat, so one of those 3 cities is definitely not a guarantee, and that kind of makes me think I should go somewhere else just to experience it.
Madrid is a huge yes, my biggest off-put being the cost of living there.
And then the north because I think I'd like the temperature better. Plus, it just seems *pretty*. Green. I had a prof who works in the Pyrenees, and I am so infatuated with that. It's so expensive in the Basque Country and Navarra, and then it rains a ton in Galicia and Asturias. Aragon seems cool, it's so big and I know nothing about it. I'm judging Cantabria on its pics on wikipedia (yes, more research is still needed), and it looks amazing. Santander looks amazing.
Catalunya would be awesome. I have the biggest crush on Catalan. But again, I'm so close to Alicante that I'd be upset about not being in my 'home' community. I know that Castilla- La Mancha and Aragon are closer to Alicante but then last time I was in Barcelona, all I could think about was, despite having a good time there, I wanted to go home.
I love the beach, and I like the warmth, but I think Andalucía is going to be too hot for me to live in for a year. I guess in the winter it'd be okay. And come on- Sevilla? It is apparently magical. And even if I didn't get placed there, I could go there, make friends, and then visit on weekends. And it's so big... and then that "I could be placed *anywhere*" feeling comes back. But then I think about it and Málaga was my favourite city the first time I went to Spain, and Granada was SO AMAZING (I can appreciate it so much more now).
And then there's Castilla y León and Castilla-La Mancha, and I'm not quite sure what to make of them. I've been to Segovia and Toledo... they're nice.
And then the Balearic and Canary Islands! I'm afraid of boats, and so I'd prefer to avoid those, and flying can add up so... probably not for me.
Oh, and La Rioja... which I know nothing about as well, except that it's hilly, no? And it's wine country?
No: Murcia, Extremadrua, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands
Yes: Valencia, Madrid, Galicia, Cantabria
Maybe/probably yes: Asturias, the Basque Country, Navarra, Andalucía, Aragon, Catalunya
Maybe/ maybe not so much: La Rioja, Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha
So, my list is still 10 autonomous communities long :o/
I dislike my language discrepancies. Sorry.
And yes, football does affect my thoughts on these places. I can't help it! Madrid and Valencia win out on the football front, as well as the "I love it" front.
At the end of all this, I'm still wondering why I am not like, "Screw money- GO TO MADRID" but I think for me to be thinking this, I must know there's somewhere else I should be. Thing is about Madrid too, that English is being so heavily promoted that if I said "Madrid" on my form, even though a ton of other people would pick Madrid as well because they don't know anywhere else in Spain, that there are a ton of spots open there. And if it is full, I get relocated. So what? I tried! ... omg Madrid <3 I don't even know. I keep coming back to it. I can do this program for... ever if I wanted, haha, so even if I went to Madrid the first time, I could move for the 2nd year. Or if I went somewhere else first, my next destination could be Madrid. I don't put much stock in dream interpretation, but maybe it'll come to me?
All I hope is that I don't dream about the horrendous bug I found in my room this morning. I am not kidding, it was 5 or 6 inches long, with the BIGGEST antennae and longest 20-or-so legs I've ever seen, I have been hallucinating bugs all day, it really creeped me out.
Dreams- Spain: yes! Bug: no!
Opinions? Suggestions? Decision-making tactics?
The program is like, "If you don't get placed in your region of choice, we will try to assign you to the nearest region" and that kind of scares me because... what if that's the region I'm like, "No" about.
Like Murcia, lol. For some reason, I really don't want to go to Murcia. I don't really want to go to Extremadura either. I feel like Murcia is so close to Alicante that it would make me sad to not be there, and for some reason, Extremadura just makes me nervous (and now Chico isn't there so my interest has plummeted).
My biggest 'yes' is Valencia. I know I love Alicante, I like Valencia, and Castellón as a whole seems cool. I could be placed *anywhere* in the entire comunitat, so one of those 3 cities is definitely not a guarantee, and that kind of makes me think I should go somewhere else just to experience it.
Madrid is a huge yes, my biggest off-put being the cost of living there.
And then the north because I think I'd like the temperature better. Plus, it just seems *pretty*. Green. I had a prof who works in the Pyrenees, and I am so infatuated with that. It's so expensive in the Basque Country and Navarra, and then it rains a ton in Galicia and Asturias. Aragon seems cool, it's so big and I know nothing about it. I'm judging Cantabria on its pics on wikipedia (yes, more research is still needed), and it looks amazing. Santander looks amazing.
Catalunya would be awesome. I have the biggest crush on Catalan. But again, I'm so close to Alicante that I'd be upset about not being in my 'home' community. I know that Castilla- La Mancha and Aragon are closer to Alicante but then last time I was in Barcelona, all I could think about was, despite having a good time there, I wanted to go home.
I love the beach, and I like the warmth, but I think Andalucía is going to be too hot for me to live in for a year. I guess in the winter it'd be okay. And come on- Sevilla? It is apparently magical. And even if I didn't get placed there, I could go there, make friends, and then visit on weekends. And it's so big... and then that "I could be placed *anywhere*" feeling comes back. But then I think about it and Málaga was my favourite city the first time I went to Spain, and Granada was SO AMAZING (I can appreciate it so much more now).
And then there's Castilla y León and Castilla-La Mancha, and I'm not quite sure what to make of them. I've been to Segovia and Toledo... they're nice.
And then the Balearic and Canary Islands! I'm afraid of boats, and so I'd prefer to avoid those, and flying can add up so... probably not for me.
Oh, and La Rioja... which I know nothing about as well, except that it's hilly, no? And it's wine country?
No: Murcia, Extremadrua, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands
Yes: Valencia, Madrid, Galicia, Cantabria
Maybe/probably yes: Asturias, the Basque Country, Navarra, Andalucía, Aragon, Catalunya
Maybe/ maybe not so much: La Rioja, Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha
So, my list is still 10 autonomous communities long :o/
I dislike my language discrepancies. Sorry.
And yes, football does affect my thoughts on these places. I can't help it! Madrid and Valencia win out on the football front, as well as the "I love it" front.
At the end of all this, I'm still wondering why I am not like, "Screw money- GO TO MADRID" but I think for me to be thinking this, I must know there's somewhere else I should be. Thing is about Madrid too, that English is being so heavily promoted that if I said "Madrid" on my form, even though a ton of other people would pick Madrid as well because they don't know anywhere else in Spain, that there are a ton of spots open there. And if it is full, I get relocated. So what? I tried! ... omg Madrid <3 I don't even know. I keep coming back to it. I can do this program for... ever if I wanted, haha, so even if I went to Madrid the first time, I could move for the 2nd year. Or if I went somewhere else first, my next destination could be Madrid. I don't put much stock in dream interpretation, but maybe it'll come to me?
All I hope is that I don't dream about the horrendous bug I found in my room this morning. I am not kidding, it was 5 or 6 inches long, with the BIGGEST antennae and longest 20-or-so legs I've ever seen, I have been hallucinating bugs all day, it really creeped me out.
Dreams- Spain: yes! Bug: no!
Opinions? Suggestions? Decision-making tactics?