My Time as an Orientation Leader: Kicking Off my Second Year in Spain

I have now officially been back in Spain for a month after traveling back to the US for the summer. Even though Auxes start on the first of October, I returned early to serve as an orientation leader. This past month has been a wonderful reintroduction to life in Spain – through leading, I have had the fortune of meeting some wonderful people, both participants and fellow leaders.   

Why I decided to be an orientation leader

I applied to be an orientation leader this past spring after confronting a tough reality: many of the friends I had made through CIEE that fall were returning to the US to pursue different career opportunities, like dental and medical school. Rude! While I was excited for my friends’ new adventures, I knew their absence in Madrid the coming year would deeply change my experience. I needed a way to stay connected to the community of teachers from America, and I saw leading orientation as a great way to do that. My friends’ moving opened space for more meaningful connections to make here in Spain.

I also wanted to share the lessons I have learned over my academic year here in Spain with the next group of CIEE participants. I remember coming here in October of 2023 and feeling overwhelmed by the documents and appointments we needed to gather and make. The TIE process frightened me, and it took around 7 tries to find a passport photo booth. Now that I have endured and completed these tasks that all new auxes must check off, they are comfortably memories. I have succeeded in getting them done, and I can now happily help others do the same. It is rewarding serving as a resource for incoming auxes as they adjust to a new city and job. The first year here in Spain encourages so much growth and resilience – serving living proof that the new teachers can succeed here helps them realize they’re not alone and that many have threaded this path before them. I feel lucky to be this point of contact for incoming teachers.

Perks of the Job

As I mentioned before, the chief reason I chose to be an orientation leader was to make connections within the CIEE community. I got to know my fellow leaders, all wonderful people who like me have decided to renew their teaching contract for another year. We have in common that we love Madrid too much to leave just yet, and we were all happy to meet others sharing that quality. 

A group of leaders welcoming participants to the hotel

I also had the privilege of leading lovely participants, all coming from various career paths and life trajectories, hailing from all over the US. It’s inspiring meeting all of these people – some fresh out of college on their first abroad adventure, and some teaching veterans looking for a bit of a career refresh. Some people with years of teaching experience, and some about to embark upon their first year of teaching. It was so rewarding seeing my groups land on their feet here in Spain, and I am so proud to have played a role in supporting their growth. 

One of my orientation groups!

One more added bonus: CIEE puts on a lot of cool events for participants during orientation week! One fun thing about being a leader is getting to go to them again. I’ve gotten to go to several flamenco shows and been able to graze on some tapas at the farewell party. Times like these can almost make you forget you’re working, and they reminded me of the wondrous and eager feeling I had when I first arrived here almost a year ago. 

I also got to run the CIEE Teach Instagram account for a week of orientation -- it was a fun way to get creative and interact with the CIEE community.

The flamenco show

Closing thoughts…

I recommend that any current CIEE participant renewing their aux contract apply to be an orientation leader. The job allows you to connect with all sorts of new people and will remind you how much you’ve grown over the course of just one year.