I’m moving to japan!
I’m living in Valencia, Spain and working as an English teaching assistant in Silla (about 20 minutes south of Valencia by train). I’m really lucky to be a part of such a beautiful community of helpful staff and sweet students.
Valencia Language Exchange event at Atenea Rooftop Bar
I’ve been traveling quite a bit on weekends and taking advantage of having Fridays off. Here’s a travel recap and some updates on future plans!
Travel recap:
Alicante, Spain (Cala del Moraig) (October 2025)
My friends and I rented a car and took a day trip south; this was the first beach that I visited in Spain, and I was blown away by the natural beauty.
Zaragoza, Spain (October 2025)
My first weekend trip in Spain was to Zaragoza. We went on a really awesome hike and saw so many waterfalls. It was very foggy and moody during our time here. The local wine was delicious and the Basilica was stunning.
Brussels, Belgium (November 2025)
My highlights were definitely the food (French fries, chocolate & waffles) and exploring the city’s thrift stores.
Luxembourg City, Luxembourg (November 2025)
We took the train from Belgium for a Lorde concert, but the show was cancelled literally 20 minutes before our arrival. We only had one night here and vibes were low, but we found a pho place and ate ice cream afterward. In the morning, we explored the old town area, which matched our gloomy mood with it’s heavy fog.
Gran Canary Island, Spain (November 2025)
We explored a few cities around the island and saw so many rainbows on our hike in Tamadaba Natural Park. My highlight was huddling with a group of hikers in a grocery store while we waited for heavy rain to pass. A random man from that group went out and found rain ponchos in another store, drove to find us along our hike and delivered the ponchos to my friends and me - all to our surprise!
Barcelona, Spain (December 2025)
We only had a quick weekend trip, but of course Barça delivered with fabulous bars, incredible food and stunning architecture. This was also my first time seeing big Christmas markets!
Lisbon, Portugal (January 2026)
Lisbon quickly became one of my favorite cities. I met really amazing people and had my first solo hostel experience. I love any city with a beautiful walking path along water and vibes along the Tagus River are exceptional.
Marrakesh, Morocco (February 2026)
I was often overstimulated, but in a good way: sensational food, lively markets and interesting museums. We also day-tripped to the tallest waterfall in northern Africa; I enjoyed staying in the city but getting to see some rural areas along the bus ride.
Madrid, Spain (March 2026)
I cheered for my roommates while they ran a half marathon and reconnected with a friend from Ohio University! We also had spectacular food (we stumbled upon endless tapas included with drinks), great energy and proper thrifting.
Andalusia, Spain (April 2026)
I spent two nights in Nerja, bused to Estepona for a night, then Cadiz for a night, then Sevilla for 3 nights. The beaches, the people and the city vibes were all extraordinary. The Plaza de España was a highlight, especially finding “Silla” on the Valencia map (the city where I work, population ~20k).
Future plans:
I’m looking forward to long weekend trips in Berlin, Budapest, and Bilbao. My last day of work is coming up so fast; it’s somehow only seven weeks away. I’m also excited to head back to Imperia, Italy to spend the month of June with my Italian host fam from summer of 2025.
For the more distant future, I applied for another English language assistant position through the JET Program, which is similar to what I do now, but in Japan! They handle your visa and pay for your flight/housing, which is a lot more organized than NALCAP (my current program in Spain). Like NALCAP, the timeline is pretty grueling: I finished up my application in November, had an interview in January, and I just found out that I have a placement a few days ago! I’m so grateful for the opportunity to immerse myself in another culture and continue teaching English. I’ve started working on some simple Japanese phrases in preparation. I will keep you in the loop as I hear more about my placement sometime in the summer!
Securing another visa means that I will be back in Ohio for almost the entire month of July while I send my passport and documents off to the embassy… heyyyy Ohio friends ;p
