…What happens? Good question! It’s been over a year now that we’ve been back in the U.S. It feels like a long time ago—and yet not so long after—that we packed our bags, said farewell to Madrid, and hopped on that Iberia flight. In fact, we were back last October to celebrate my brother-in-law’s wedding, held at a lovely vineyard outside of Toro. (If you know Spanish wine, you’ll know Toro.)
It was a whirlwind visit, leaving on a Tuesday and coming home on Monday (or something like that, my memory’s a bit of a blur), but it was wonderful to have our families reunited again. And, of course, there was a bit of wine, a bit of cheese, and lots of wine to wash it all down.
As for life in the U.S.? Mario’s certainly loving his new job as a paralegal; it’s all the lawer-y stuff without the stress of, you know, being an actual lawyer. He gets fun perks like open-bar office Christmas parties, tickets to the Indianapolis Colts preseason games (a suite!), and dinners with clients from time to time in one of Indy’s hip downtown neighborhoods.
Me? I’m back at school, earning my teaching license so I can continue to work with the little ones. Teaching was not always where I thought I would end up, but turns out that 1) I love it, and 2) I’m pretty good at it.
I’m going to try to update you on more things about our lives, because I just miss sharing from time to time, and who knows, maybe someone out there is still reading.
For more frequent updates, check out my Instagram or Twitter, and please email me if you have any visa questions, because I’VE BEEN THERE. I can help. In the meantime, here are some more photos from the past, I dunno, year.
My birthday in Colorado
Trying to hang with college kids at IU
My beloved alma mater
Friends drinking beer
Mario ran his first-half marathon in the U.S. in 1:29
See you soon (I hope)!
Kaley...& Más 
AHHHHHHHH AN UPDATE AHHHHHHHH
(as if I don’t stalk your life on Twitter and Faceook ya)
(this is still muy exciting)
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, we’ve missed your sharing from time to time! :)
Thanks for the update—I’m curious to hear more about the teaching license you’re working towards.
Wishing you a happy fall!
Like Erin I AM EXCITED!!!
So happy that Mario is enjoying a job that is much less stressful than the one he had in Madrid AND that you love teaching and feel you’ve found your groove (I found I did not really enjoy teaching…at all…thanks to Spain. Which is great! Now I know what I want out of life lol).
I’ll be in Indianapolis for Thanksgiving…maybe our paths will cross? Once a Hoosier, always a Hoosier haha
Yay! So glad to read an update!
Happy to read you again! Greetings from Asturias
Happy to read you again!! Greetings from Asturias!!
Yup….. seems I am still reading! Greetings from Turre, Almeria
Nice to hear that things are going well back in the states. We think about moving back sometimes, but my hometown is prohibitively expensive!
Happy to see an update and to hear things are going well.It must be strange for you to think one year has already passed! After three years in Madrid I’ve been back in the U.S. since July studying for my master’s. I’m waiting for my fiance to arrive with his K1 visa (October if we’re lucky) and I’m nervous but excited to see how he adapts. For me it’s been a struggle, but that’s probably mostly because I’ve been studying non-stop.
Anyways, I’d love to read more reflections in the future about Mario’s personal experience of integrating into U.S. culture as well as your own. I’m sure there are ups and downs. I think it’ll be tough for us for a while (he needs to find a job) but it’s reassuring to see that things are going well for you guys!
I just want to second this comment! I am also waiting for my fiancé to get his K-1 visa, he will also probably arrive in October, and I am also studying for my masters! I am mostly nervous about how he will adapt here, especially while waiting for his work permit (but I think Mario got his green card before you guys moved, right?) Thanks for posting an update!
I hope that I will be able to get him to talk a little bit!
Good luck with the K-1 visa. It’s different than the fiance visa. But actually, Mario got his green card in the U.S. He got a visa while in Spain!
Oh, I remembered wrong then! If there was a period where he had to wait for his work permit when he first arrived I would love to hear how he used the time and how he adjusted if he’s comfortable sharing. That’s the part I’m most nervous about, especially since we’re not in a big city where it is easy to explore, join groups, and meet new people.
Yes, that would be fun! Mario has a lot of opinions about things, especially driving here!
good to hear you are both doing great :)
Thanks for the update. Hoping you start writing more! I’m now in Barcelona, but from Virginia. Before I came here, your blog was the one that had me wistfully yearning to live in Spain…more so in Madrid, but the weather is great in Barcelona! Maybe you could write some posts about how you managed to learn Spanish (you passed the C2 DELE correct?). I started in Barcelona with around a B1 and am still at a B2 1.5 years later…Trying to get my Spanish friends to speak Spanish with me is really hard here!
I’m still reading!! and I check your blog from time to time to see if there’s any updates and today I found one, whee!! So glad to see the photos and that you’re both doing well here in the good ol’ U.S.A.
So nice to see an update from you! I’d wondered what had become of you two in the US. I totally get it though, as my muse has mostly departed as well since I returned back home. I’m curious to hear about what Mario thinks of the US, and how you feel about not living in Spain anymore, how all the integration is going, what you think about teaching in the US vs. Spain, everything (if either of you feels inspired, haha)!