Several months ago, I made a move to La Rioja. I no longer live in the Granada.

You’re probably saying to yourself “okay where in the heck is La Rioja?” If you know me personally, you’re probably saying “okay I think that’s in Spain because it sounds like Spanish and I know Nina lives in Spain. But beyond that, I have no idea.” And if it just so happens that you’re a wine nerd, then you might have heard the name La Rioja somewhere as you did that swirl and sniff thing. Either way, the majority of you probably have no idea where or what La Rioja is.

First of all, La Rioja is located in Spain. It’s one of Spain’s 17 autonomous communities (basically like states in Spain). It is the smallest region and it’s largest city has a population of only about 150,000 people. That city is called Logroño and much like La Rioja, I doubt you’ve ever heard of it either.

I have spent the past month or so exploring Nájera, Spain. Have you heard of Nájera? If not, I’m not super surprised. Heck most people outside of Spain haven’t even heard of La Rioja, the region it’s located in. I would have never come to this town if it hadn’t been for a recent life change.

Those of you who read the blog regularly or follow me on social media know that I moved to Granada, Spain two years ago. You all probably also know that I love Granada. If you’ve been, you understand why. If not, you can probably tell from pictures why I love that city. However my teaching program only lets us live in the Andalucía region for two years. So I looked at that as an opportunity to move to a different region and see what Spanish life is like somewhere else.

I have some very exciting news to share with you all! As many of you know, I’m full of tips for learning Spanish as an adult. I never thought it was possible, but in just a few years I went from nothing to basically fluent. There are days here in Spain where I still shock myself. So I complied all of my tips for learning Spanish as an adult into a book!

So I decided to write down all of my stories and things I’ve found to work for myself and others, and turn it into a book! As both an English teacher and an expat living in Spain, I see so many adults struggle to learn languages as an adult. So I figured perhaps I could help people with tips for learning Spanish as an adult or learning any other language!

I love living in Spain and working as an English assistant. However one tough part of the job is that we don’t get paid for four months in the summer. Our contracts are for eight months out of the year. Those of us who plan to do the program for multiple years need a plan in the summer. One way to earn some extra money is by working at an English summer camp in Spain.

There are many English summer camps throughout Spain and other parts of Europe. Native speakers are gold to them. Parents enroll their kids in camps like these because they obviously want their kids to improve and practice their English. So if these camps can advertise that their teachers are native speakers, they will get more kids to sign up.

I knew I needed to do something to make money this summer. So in March or April, I googled “English summer camps in Spain” and found quite a few. I filled out a few applications and got an interview with one. Perfect, I thought! After the interview, I found out about a week later that the job was mine! I would be working for them the entire month of July.

I cannot believe it. It seems like yesterday that I was moving to Spain with just a duffel bag, a carry-on and a backpack. Two years have gone by so quickly. All I know is that my adventure of living overseas and traveling are just beginning.

In just a week and a few days, I’ll be packing my bags once again and moving up to the La Rioja region. I’ll still be living in Spain, just eight hours away from my beloved Granada. My teaching program gives us a two-year limit for working in the Andalucia region. So I figured this could be a great opportunity to see a new region. I’m not going to lie … the move was hard to stomach at first. I spent all year talking about how I would find a way to stay in Granada. However when I received my placement in my first choice region (I renewed just in case) of La Rioja, I thought “Nina, you’re a travel blogger. Go! You’ll have so much new material at your fingertips!”