Hi everyone.  I studied abroad in Madrid several years ago, and now I would like to come back for a while.  I plan to head there in the fall and stay for about 8 months at this point, and then I’ll probably head home again, unless I get too addicted and feel my Spanish is good enough for an engineering job.

Anyway, I don’t have enough capital to really feel comfortable just moving there and seeing what happens.  I’m an American, and I’ve heard that much of the teaching work would have to be under the table and not pre-arranged since I don’t have a degree or any experience in that area. 

I found a company called Instituto Hemingway which has already guaranteed that they can find me a hospitality-type job in a hotel in Madrid for the duration.  (Receptionist, maid, waitress, etc.)  I would go on a student visa and pretty much be cheap labor for the hotel.  In exchange I get all room and board and a minimum of 50 additional euros a week as pocket money, depending on the hotel.  The lodging is EITHER in a room in the hotel or in a nearby apartment, once again depending on the hotel.  In addition, I have to pay Insituto Hemingway a placement fee.  For an 8-month stint, the fee is about $1500.

My first questions are, has anyone heard of Instituto Hemingway?  Is it a reputable company?

Next, have you heard of anyone with a similar arrangement?  (Student visa accompanied by a low-level hospitality job.)

Do you think it sounds like a terrible arrangement?

If they are on the up-and-up, I think it would be a good arrangement for me.  I like the idea of paying for a couple thousand worth of plane tickets and program costs before I go, but then knowing I have a roof, guaranteed job, and pocket money for the duration.     

Thanks for your input. 😊

This sounds pretty dubious in my opinion. Anyone that goes to the extent of offering this kind of package, in my opinion is either a scam or they will fullly take advantage of you when you get here.

Your 1,500? placement fee is better of spent on setting yourself up in a shared apartment in Madrid which is typically between 300? and 400? a month. Teaching work etc is generally paid at 15?-25? an hour and the average teacher works 20hrs a week.

I would recommend coming without the Instituto. The only advantage the Instituto has (if it?s not a scam) is the student work visa which gives you legal status. So it depends on how valuable that is to you…

Thanks for the reply.  The problem is, I don’t know how important legal status is.  I know lots of people are there illegally, but how does that really work?  When arriving and going through customs, will I need to have a pre-arranged return flight within three months of arrival to show them I plan to leave before I would need a Visa?  Also, has anyone else in here just started teaching with no training whatsoever?  How difficult would it be to find a position under those circumstances?

Megan.. Can you please review this post it might be of help…

http://www.spainexpat.com/spain/forum/viewthread/5196/

If you enter here illegally you will be caught and the Legal implications of you ever to enter the EU again is not really worth risking it!

Mac.

Thanks for the post, Mac.  Even though I have often heard that it is easy to get by illegally in Madrid, it has never really apealed to me.  I mean, I haven’t broken any law anywhere since I turned 21.  (I was known to have the occasional beer before I was legal.  😊 )  It sounds like it might be the right call to wait until I can come up with a legal way to stick around.

Although I am a little resistant to the thought of being taken advantage of as cheap labor, I mostly just want a financially viable, legal way to spend 8 months in Spain.  I will keep looking into that.

Megan—This might be an option for you:

http://www.mepsyd.es/exterior/usa/en/programs/us_assistants/default.shtml

It’s a exchange program run by the Spanish government that allows you to teach English in a public school. The requirements are that you’re North American, have a college degree and can speak a little Spanish. It looks targeted at recent grads, but at the same time it doesn’t say there’s any age limit.

This is the forum post where I read about it:
http://www.spainexpat.com/spain/forum/viewthread/4356/

You get 700 euro a month, and it doesn’t cost anything to participate unless you go through that agency called CIEE, but that doesn’t seem necessary. Plus, if you want to go to Madrid you’d have to go through the program directly.  As someone explained, you can’t choose the city, only the region. But if you choose central spain as the region you will generally get placed in a school that’s in or near Madrid.

PS From what I’ve read all you need to be qualified for teaching position at an academy is a TEFL course—preferably a CELTA course, which is the European sort-of accredited standard for TEFL training.  These courses can be between 1 and 4 weeks.
Some of the academies even offer their own training… the thing is, most aren’t willing to sponsor an American for a work visa. They will only hire you if you already have a work permit. (And, apparently, there are some that will hire you illegally, but they don’t advertise that!)
Also, it’s tough to get a job with an academy without being there in person.  You’d basically have to come to Spain on a tourist visa, network and interview for jobs, get the job, then go home and apply for the work visa. Then you might get turned down.  Anyway, for more information about teaching in Spain you should check out: http://www.madridteacher.com; there is a ton of info about different employers and what they require.
The “cultural ambassadors” thing seems like it’d be a better option as they accept more than 1000 North Americans each year.. And you apparently only teach around 12 hours a week, so you could do private lessons to supplement your income. Make sure to read the “FAQ” at the bottom of the page about the program. It has a lot of useful answers. One is that if you participate in the program, you’re there on a student visa, not a work visa. so you wouldn’t be able to legally work anywhere else. But you could do the private lesson thing because it’s more casual..
You might also just search around the internet for “volunteer” opportunities in Spain. I Googled “volunteer in spain” and this was the first thing that came up: http://www.volunteerabroad.com/listings.cfm/countryID/82/cityID/1638 (Not sure if any of those orgs are any more legit than Instituto Hemingway, which, I agree, does sound shady) It seems like you might be able to live with a family and teach their kids English, if that’s something you’d be interested in..  Anyway, good luck!

Hi Sally2.  I really appreciate your suggestion, but it is funny that you mention the cultural ambassadors program.  I have already applied and been accepted to that exact program.  😊  The problems are:

1)  They pay 700 euros a month, total, and that IS NOT in addition to room and/or board.  So, as you can imagine, I’d need to arrive with a considerable chunk of change.  I was planning on doing it anyway, though, and looking into various ways to come up with the extra money, but. . .

2)  I told them the regions I would prefer, and not only did they NOT put me in any of the THREE top regions I asked for, they didn’t even listen to the demographics I specified.  I checked the box which indicated I preferred to be placed in a city of over 500,000, and I was in fact placed in a town of approximately 15,000.  It is in the Castilla-La Mancha region, in the Ciudad Real area, though not in Ciudad Real but in the town of La Solana. 

I have only another couple days to say whether or not I want the position, and I’m leaning toward NO.  I have written letters to several people involved with the program, and they have all said that there is no possibility of changing to a different location. 

The program works on a kind of first come, first served basis.  I got my application in about a month BEFORE the deadline for this year.  Apparently, that was so late that I couldn’t get a position in any urban area in any region of Spain.  I’m actually quite upset about it, as I’ve been planning on participating in this program for over a year.  I got a recommendation letter from a teacher a year and a half ago specifically to send to this program. 

Anyway, I think it is a great idea, but for everyone’s future knowledge, you should apply REALLY early to get a spot in the region you’re interested in.  The program allows current assistants to “renew” for the following year, so the ones in really great locations have the advantage over the new applicants, as they are reassigned to the same place the following year. 

As for me, I’m more of a location first, vocation second type of girl.  I don’t want to live in a 15,000 person town for 8 months, even if it is in Spain.

Hmmm that’s disappointing.  My boyfriend was thinking of maybe applying for 2010… I’ll let him know if he wants to do it he needs to get in his application really early! I am planning to study abroad .. probably in Madrid, so, obviously, he would need to be in the same city.  We’re trying to figure out a way for him to make some money while we’re there.. but, you’re right, $700 a month isn’t much, so we’re looking into other options, too.
I got a book from the library “Getting Out: Your Guide to Leaving America” by Mark Ehrman. It has a lot of testimonies from people who have moved abroad from the U.S. It seems like many people are able to find unofficial ways to stay and Spain and other European countries and take English-teaching jobs under the table.  But I’d like us to stay official if there’s any way possible!
I’m researching this stuff a lot, so I’ll let you know if I come across anything that might be useful!

Hi there!

I took part in the same program run by Instituto Hemingway. I had a GREAT experience and it was easy, simple and low-cost to organize it. My Spanish improved A LOT and made tons of friends. I worked in a resort and at the end of the day I just can say that although at the beginning I was suspicious of the program, now I just can say THANKS to Instituto Hemingway. I also took Spanish courses with Instituto Hemingway. It is much better to take Spanish lesons to adapt yourself to a new way of life, language and culture. I strongly recommend it to you even if your Spanish is good enough.

Hey Everyone,

I’m participating in an Instituto Hemingway program starting in 2 weeks.  I will be in Madrid for 2 months, and the program fee was 560 USD (400 Euros) and my round trip flight for 580 USD.  I think it’s a good deal, considering I’m a recent college grad and always wanted to travel, this is the cheapest option I found.  I’m already fluent in Spanish, and this was the only program that I could find that wouldn’t force me to pay and take Spanish courses that I didn’t need (I was a Spanish TA and tutor in College, I could probably teach the classes myself haha 😉)  Anyway, I think it sounds like a great deal (especially since the US job market is terrible and it doesn’t look like I’ll find a job anytime soon!)

let me know what you think!
-Jess

Jessica—When do you start? Let us know how you like it!

Ok, another company with programs in Spain which I’ve been looking at is BEST Programs.  Does anyone have any experience with them?  Thanks!

Hello Everyone,

I have already been at my program for about a week.  So far, it really isn’t going well.  I was told I would be in easy access to the center of Madrid, but the hotel I was placed in is located on the side of a highway and I have to walk along the highway for about a mile and then cross a dangerous traffic circle (with NO pedestrian walk) in order to get to a bus stop, which will then take me to a metro that takes an hour to get to Madrid.  The hotel is located in an industrial park and the only way for me to get to any store, restaurant, pharmacy, or civilization is if I venture down the highway and cross the dangerous intersection.  Please keep in mind, I am a young woman (20 years old) and with the truckers and male drivers, this does not feel safe at all.

Also, I am a college graduate and expected to have a job that would utilize my abilities.  Instead, I am cleaning the kitchen and restaurant and being bossed around by my coworkers.  While theyre taking cigarette breaks and chatting it up with customers, I’m washing dishes, mopping the floor, and cleaning.  I know that my placement was to work in a hotel, but I never would have expected to do this kind of work.  Maybe I wouldn’t mind the work if the coworkers were friendly and helped out, rather than blatantly using me.

So, I contacted the institute with my concerns and asked if there was any way I could be placed in a different setting, or possibly a different program.  I was told that the only option for me would be all the way up in Pais Vasco (Basque Country) where I would work in a rural village of 100 inhabitants (not something that seems enticing either).  I was also told that this would be my only switch allowed, and that if I was still dissatisified I could not get a refund.  I asked if they could please do some more searching for a new placement, and they said this could take up to a month.  If I have to wait for a month- I might as well stay here!  It’s

Another lie that they told me was that everyone who was placed at my hotel was satisfied, and that they never received any complaints.  There is a young man who has been at this hotel as a chef’s assistant for about 2 months now through the institute, and he said he complained to them many times about the deceiving location to no avail.  It shows that there was someone who did indeed complain, when they made me feel as though I were the only one who ever had a problem.  I really can’t believe it…

If anyone else has any experience with the program, please post below.

Hi there!

When I took my internship in Spain I found other guys who were working with me and were in the same situation like you. I must say that the company (In this case Instituto Hemingway) had TONS of patience with this type of participants. At some point I just thought some interns looked to be clients of the hotel rather than interns. They didn?t stop complaining 24/7. The program is not a cheap place to stay in Spain but a cultural and new way of life inmersion to adapt to. I LEARNT A LOT throught Instituto Hemingway and NEVER got dissapointed with them. The director is a nice guy with an important cultural and linguistic background and is there to meet the needs of everybody but not to put up with situations that have to do more with emotional problems rather than with the program. I am sure that after some time there you will make friends like the guys I met and globally it will be a rewarding unforgetable experience

Thank you, Chema- I sure hope you’re right!  When I complained I felt like they wanted to send me someone else ASAP however they only offered one option.  I was sure that they would have more contacts.