Still Breathing, 2.0: A Mid-Year Recap…

Surpriiiiiiiise–I’m actually still alive!!…But, I actually have a good excuse for being M.I.A.: Between weeks of suffering with no Wi-Fi in my house, over 2 weeks of Christmas vacation, and just living life in general, I haven’t really paid much thought into updating this thing…But, don’t worry–I’ll try to fill you in on what’s been going on in my life these past several months…

Turning 23 In Style

On November 21, I went to a party that celebrated the 1 year anniversary of Las Morenas De España, the lifestyle/travel blog dedicated to black women living, working, and/or traveling in Spain (and for which I wrote a few articles)…Coincidentally, when the clock stuck midnight, I officially marked 23 years of life on this Earth–and, even though the party was not held in my honor, it was really sweet having all the other girls singing Stevie Wonder’s rendition of “Happy Birthday” to me…Not to mention, we SLAYED with that all-white theme (#BlackGirlMagic)!!…

https://www.instagram.com/p/-YTvaTAgUW/?taken-by=bettyj.ogburn

Best.Concert.EVER.

Last December, I got to see one of my FAVORITE musical duos perform–Kings of Convenience!!…They’ve been touring Europe to commemorate their first album, Quiet Is The New Loud, and the book that was released last year that details the backstory/making of that album…I bought my tix when sales went live at the box office–thank God I got on it immediately, because they were all sold out within the first 15 minutes…In a word, it was AWESOMETACULAR…

Best.Christmas Vacay.EVER.

For 16 glorious days, I finally got to live out my dream and take my first solo international trip, hitting up Munich, Tuscany, Venice, Rome, and Vatican City–more detailed recaps to come!!

Upcoming Meanderings

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to ~~deplete all my bank savings~~ book my trip for Holy Week–so that means I’ll be spending roughly 10 days here:

Looks like I’m headed to Porto and Lisbon!!…You know, after having lived in Spain for almost (cumulatively) 2 years, you think I would have already gone by now–after all, we share the same peninsula!!…But, hey, it’s better late than never, I suppose!!…Oh, and thanks to Courtney from Adelante, I now know what/where to see, eat, and do while in Porto (it’s like she read my mind!!)…

What’s My Direction???

So, it’s that time of year again, when all of us language assistants are scrambling, trying to find out what we’re doing/where we’re going for next year…It’s funny–know where I want to be next year, and that’s right here in Madrid…I mean, I’ve reapplied for the Ministry program (it seems like my school wouldn’t mind having me back, either–WIN), and have had interviews with Meddeas and BEDA, so I assume that at least one of them has to be a viable option for me to stay here…

But then, there comes the question of what would happen after another year in Madrid: I’ve been thinking about perhaps going to Asia and teaching there for a year or two, and then perhaps coming back to Madrid and doing the whole auxiliar thing again–but, who knows???…Perhaps God has other plans in mind–perhaps my plans for next year might fall through…Or, if I’m blessed with another year here, that will turn into 2 years, and then 3, and then before you know it, I will have become another “Spain lifer”…Everything’s just really up in the air/unknown at this point, which is a bit frustrating/scary, but…