For language assistants who have spent at least an academic year in Spain and who wish to renew for the next academic year, there’s a need to (1) request for an extension of stay (prórroga de estancia) and (2) renew the tarjeta de identidad de extranjero (TIE) by submitting the requirements and doing a fingerprint (toma de huellas) at the police station (comisaría). In this article, I’d like to focus on step 1, which are the steps on how to process the prórroga de estancia online using a digital certificate.  Things you need Digital certificate (I’ll write a separate blo ..read more

Photo by JoEllen Moths Spain has many different climates, so it is essential to be prepared for all of them. It can get cold in the winter and hot in the summer, but it will always be sunny no matter what time of year you are traveling! The best way to pack for Spain is with a packing list that includes clothes suitable for any occasion. It would help if you also planned on taking some gear, like a flashlight; if you are planning on hiking on one of the many fantastic hiking trails in Spain, don't forget to pack the 18650 battery for tactical flashlights that you should take with you ..read more

  Planning to get a visa to Spain? Here's part 2 of my visa interview tips! I've been through a lot of hit and miss in terms of visa applications, so I'd like to share my experiences in both. While in part 1 I shared how my successful long-stay visa application went, part 2 focuses on when I sadly got denied a visa to Spain in 2017, sharing what I thought went wrong so that people could learn something from it. YouTube link: https://youtu.be/XYOkcEbA9bU Shelly Viajera Travel ..read more

  It's the visa application season for the language assistants in Spain! As part of my auxiliares de conversación videos and articles, here's a vlog telling useful information and tips about the visa interview, which I myself went through. I tried my best to be as detailed as possible, sharing personal experiences that one could take to prepare for his/her own visa interview. YouTube link: https://youtu.be/wCFnjkbfWuI Shelly Viajera Travel ..read more

Ha sido exactamente seis meses. Ha sido mitad de un año desde el día que hice realidad este sueño mío de vivir en España. Cómo ha pasado rápidamente el tiempo. Aún no puedo creer que ahora estén pasando estas cosas que solamente imaginaba antes. Por no rendirme, por seguir adelante, por no tener miedo de intentar, a pesar de tantos intentos, lágrimas y heridas, por fin aquí estoy en España. Si te interesa ver: ¿Qué tal mis primeras 2 semanas en España? Aunque no os puedo mentir ni a mí misma que cuando llegué, me di cuenta que no sea el mismo España que me enamoré. Ya que estuve aquí dos vece ..read more

They say that if you want to see Spain's beautiful past, there's no way you shouldn't visit Castilla y León. It’s an autonomous region in Spain that plays a huge part in its history, with monuments, churches, and other historic landmarks that depict such Romanesque influence as dictated by its past. The region consists of 9 provinces, namely: Ávila, Burgos, León, Palencia, Salamanca, Segovia, Soria, Valladolid, and Zamora. Located northwest of Spain, what’s also good is that Castilla y León is one of the neighboring regions from Spain’s capital, Madrid. Coming from Madrid, these historic prov ..read more

  Here's a vlog showing how my typical day goes as an English teacher / language assistant in Spain: Shelly Viajera Travel ..read more

Moving to a new country spells a lot of adjustments. As I lived all my life back in the Philippines, my movement to Spain as an English language assistant has been teaching me a lot on how to adapt to the culture and people. While they say that due to the long history of Spain in the Philippines some customs and traditions of the two may be alike, I’d say there are still a lot of differences. When I started a new chapter of my life in Spain’s capital, Madrid, I realized that with the daily activities I experience in this city, there are things I have to unlearn from the culture I got used to ..read more

Visa application could be nerve-wracking, but with proper knowledge and preparation, visa processing can be smooth sailing. As an auxiliar de conversación or language assistant (LA), even after I passed the education adviser's interview, submitted my application via PROFEX, and was given a school placement, I still had to apply for the visa. It’s one of the last steps I had to take to enter Spain. In this blog, I’d like to share the requirements I submitted as a visa applicant under the Ministry of Education’s auxiliares de conversación program. What visa type I had to apply for a long-stay ..read more

  Photo credit If you’re going to travel the world, you’re going to have to make sure that you have everything you need packed in order to have a good time. Of course, you’re going to want to pack as lightly as possible in order to avoid fees at the airport and to make life easier for yourself when you’re carrying your bags. But there are a few things that you shouldn’t go without and that you should make sure you have in your inventory. Here are a few that you should take into consideration. Travel Insurance You should always have travel insurance if you’re heading away and mak ..read more