Hello.

Hey everybody. New country, new job, new blog, is the idea here.

In case you don't know, the facts are these:
- I am an American reporter, not far removed from college and not removed at all from college debt, recently arrived in Spain. After two layoffs in 08 and a mostly-luckless 09, the idea of fleeing the US and its tanking job market became more attractive. I'm here, also, to learn Spanish - I am half-Puerto Rican and I speak at the level of a typical American high school student.
- I'm assistant-teaching English, Science and Physical Education in an elementary school that has bilingual classes. The requirements? Speak fluent English, have a college degree, be willing to work not too hard for not much money, and be relatively level-headed in the face of Spanish disorganization. Check, check, check and check.
- Martos, where I live, is a small olive-producing town of about 24,000 people in the north of Andalucia.
- Things move very slowly here, so I've been here more than a month and only have had internet for a week. This means that there's a backlog of notes and catching up to do. I may get to that later, and I may just start with today.