Getting a job, a bank account, and a beach holiday

Good news, y’all! The days may be getting shorter (not as short as Poland, but still shorter), but now I have a job, a bank account, and various friends with beach houses about an hour from Murcia.

My university at sunset (our classes last until 9 p.m.)

Getting a bank account

The bank account I actually got today, after a few weeks of procrastinating because the people at Santander wouldn’t even look at me without my tarjeta nacional. I went to BBVA instead and I was done in 20 minutes. All they needed was my U.S. passport! Honestly, I’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews about opening an account at almost every bank in Spain. One of my Brazilian friends went to Santander and opened an account with just her passport, but when I went, the receptionist literally would not even look up from the page she was highlighting as she told me I needed my Spanish ID card. (Have I mentioned that Spaniards can be a bit rude sometimes?)

Anyway, BBVA offers a youth/student account with no fees if you are under 30. They also have all sorts of fancy online banking features which actually makes me a bit paranoid (Big Google is watching us, and all) but hey, Welcome to the Future, I guess.

Getting a job

But more importantly, I will now have cash to deposit into said bank account! I’ve started giving a couple private English lessons here and there, but I also got a job with VIP KID, the premiere website for teaching English from your bedroom, in your pijamas. I think I will write a whole post about the whole she-bang (interview, mock lessons, nervous sweats, etc) because it is quite a process. It’s not a crazy amount of money, but then again, things are not particularly expensive in Murcia. (Although I did just find out from Ashleigh that auxiliares make 700€ a month and work about 16 hours a week, which made my jaw drop.)

Cabo Roig, after a slightly tempestuous Saturday

Getting a beach holiday

And finally, I went to the beach last weekend! My friends (the ones who hosted the Halloween potluck) have a house down in Cabo Roig and generously took me with them. The weather is starting to turn into winter, which down here means it will probably just be warm during the day, in the sun, instead of hot all the time (and unbearably so during the day, in the sun). Saturday was a bit of a mixed bag, as it started to rain when we got to the beach, abating about an hour later but not quite warm enough to go swimming. On Sunday we forewent our swimsuits, only for it to be perfect beach weather. Nature is fickle, my friends. But southern Spain is still quite beautiful.

Cabo de Palo

Cabo Roig