North American Language and Culture Assistants 2010-2011

[t.c.parker]

Haha,

This is all good training to learn to deal with the Spanish government.

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[halydia]

Haha,

This is all good training to learn to deal with the Spanish government.

VERY well put. Just wait until you're anxious to know about your town, you want to hear from your new boss/coworkers, you need a NIE appointment....

Bienvenidos a España chic@s  "Spain is different."

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[chikita]

If this helps calm anyones nerves... last year I was number 142 or something like that and I got my e-mail notification on May 7. 

Suerte a todos

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[SRedw]

Haha,

This is all good training to learn to deal with the Spanish government.

This is nothing compared to when you get over here and try to get things done.  Get ready, people.    You will have your good days and you will have your bad ones.

Shawn

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[kellidoscope]

If this helps calm anyones nerves... last year I was number 142 or something like that and I got my e-mail notification on May 7. 

Suerte a todos

That does help, thanks!!

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[robert87]

That does help, thanks!!

another way to calm your nerves is to go to last year's forum for the program and start reading right before they started to find out:
http://www.expatriatecafe.com/forums/index.php/topic,2148.225.html

it's actually comical to see that they were going through the same thing we are right now.

best of luck

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[julie]

hahah i was just reading those earlier today... pretty funny! it looks like the first person heard on the morning of the 5th? i am pretty certain i'll be on the waitlist at first but i cant wait for people to start posting where they got in!!!!  i'll be living vicariously until i get placed 

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[robert87]

hahah i was just reading those earlier today... pretty funny! it looks like the first person heard on the morning of the 5th? i am pretty certain i'll be on the waitlist at first but i cant wait for people to start posting where they got in!!!!  i'll be living vicariously until i get placed 

well don't stress yourself out too much, at least you'll be moving to spain this summer. did you ever find out if you have to apply for a visa? when does ecu finish up? the wait on top of exams before graduation isn't the most fun thing i've ever done, and i'm certainly not being productive. good luck

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[julie]

well don't stress yourself out too much, at least you'll be moving to spain this summer. did you ever find out if you have to apply for a visa? when does ecu finish up? the wait on top of exams before graduation isn't the most fun thing i've ever done, and i'm certainly not being productive. good luck

haha i know what you mean... but i am offcially done with college at 4:30 tomorrow afternoon! We graduate on friday! when does CH get done? and yes, i actually talked to someone at the dc consulate today and i don't have to apply for a visa since i have spanish residency already. that will make it a lot less stressful since i'm planning on leaving in july.

buena suerte con los examenes & felidades graduating!!

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[edina]

Hi all!
I was just looking over last year's forum and I feel a little relieved -- Once they actually started sending out offers, they were on a roll... It seems like hundreds got notified within the first couple of days!! 

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[lahabibi]

Sooo I was placed in Madrid today! hooray!  Anyone else know yet? 

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[chameleon333888]

Sooo I was placed in Madrid today! hooray!  Anyone else know yet? 

Congratulations!!!! (or should I say felicidades...) What was your inscrita #?

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[julie]

Sooo I was placed in Madrid today! hooray!  Anyone else know yet? 

Congrats! are you a second year or first year applicant?

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[madridsally]

Sooo I was placed in Madrid today! hooray!  Anyone else know yet?  

lahabibi, don't leave us hanging! We're dying to know: Are you a first year applicant? If so, what was your inscrita number?! How exciting!  

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[ggnarly]

Congrats! are you a second year or first year applicant?
[/quote]

Second year applicant.

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[scatterpillar]

Congrats! So do we think that we may hear relatively soon?? I'm a first year applicant inscrita #1020. I'm actually going nuts checking my email! I need to start applying to other things if we aren't going to hear very soon. Thanks for any insight!

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[kellidoscope]

So May 5th of last year the 2009-2010 applicants started to find out their regions. Tomorrow is May 5th, fingers crossed 

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[ginajcbsn]

Congrats on your placement!! I have a question about accepting and I'm hoping someone can help me since i'm starting to stress out pretty badly! So on the application I followed the manual instructions of click on "Auxiliares de Conversacion" then clicking on "Gestion solicitudes" then on "Aceptacion y renuncia candidatos." When I click on that final one (Aceptacion y renuncia) I recieve this message: "Mensajes producidos por la ultima operaction: Para poder apuntarse debe tener un curriculum dado de alta." I've been thinking that that message will change when I get an offer, but now I am not so sure. Could anyone please inform me if I am checking the correct way and if they know what that message means or if it will in-fact change if I get an offer?? I would REALLY appreciate any info/advice as panic is now setting in!! Thank you so much and congrats to those who have gotten their acceptance!

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[ginajcbsn]

Yes, you are in the wrong place.  Click "acceso aplicación" [weird, a double consonant in castellano!].  New window will pop up.  On the left, click "auxiliares de conversación," then click "consulta solicitudes," and hit the "buscar" button.  After the page loads, you should see the status of your application under "Situación solicitud"

[for anyone curious about the double consonant:  "In Spanish, a true double consonant does exist with the double "c". When pronouncing words with "cc" such as accidente and diccionario, the first "c" is pronounced hard like the English “k” and the second "c" is soft like the English “s”. "]

I went to the "consulta solicitudes" tab and I recieved this message: "Mensajes producidos por la última operación:

Para poder apuntarse debe tener un curriculum dado de alta" Do you or anyone else have any idea what that means? I know I am admita because the consulate e-mailed me, but I am wondering why this is the message I get? Thanks!

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[coty]

I went to the "consulta solicitudes" tab and I recieved this message: "Mensajes producidos por la última operación:

Para poder apuntarse debe tener un curriculum dado de alta" Do you or anyone else have any idea what that means? I know I am admita because the consulate e-mailed me, but I am wondering why this is the message I get? Thanks!

"Para poder apuntarse debe tener un curriculum dado de alta" I'd translate that as: in order to be able to enroll you must have a registered curriculum. i've been admitida for awhile and when i checked consulta solicitudes and buscar i didn't get any message like that, it just showed me yet again that i'm still admitida.. I wonder if it's a problem with profex or something with your application.
I also checked underwhat ginajcbsn said about aceptacion y renuncia candidatos and my page just said No han sido publicadas las plazas en este programa, which is exactly what we already know, first year candidates still haven't been assigned.

yahoo for more waiting. does anyone know how much longer the wait might be for finding out actual schools/towns? if there is anyone who is already in andalucia, when did you find out last year?

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[serendipity]

according to last year's thread, it seems that some people starting getting school assignments on profex starting may 20, and that was castilla leon http://www.expatriatecafe.com/forums/index.php/topic,2148.480.html

june 1 - someone got an assignment in extremadura
http://www.expatriatecafe.com/forums/index.php/topic,2148.525.html

june 5 - someone got an assignment in catalunya

july 4 - people started talking about madrid assignments they got http://www.expatriatecafe.com/forums/index.php/topic,2148.600.html


anywho, it seems that the actual school assignments really varies depending on each school. it seems like madrid gets assignments later...

also, does anybody know how long this auxilar program has been going on for?

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[SRedw]

also, does anybody know how long this auxilar program has been going on for?

The program started in 2004.

Shawn

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[dizzymizzy]

according to last year's thread, it seems that some people starting getting school assignments on profex starting may 20, and that was castilla leon http://www.expatriatecafe.com/forums/index.php/topic,2148.480.htm

People began getting placements on May 5.... check again. 

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[christina482]

People began getting placements on May 5.... check again. 

i think serendipity was talking about the actual school placements, not regional placements :-)

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[dizzymizzy]

DOh!!!

(self-inflicted facepalm)

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[tfreeman]

Question for those with experience...

When they send out the letters, do they go to your "dirección actual" or your "dirección permanente"?

I will be moving from my current address at the end of July (back to my permanent address until I leave for Spain), so I am afraid that my letter will come to my current address and I won't be here.

...I'm hoping that it goes to your permanent address...

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[dizzymizzy]

Can you change your address?

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[madridsally]

Congrats! So do we think that we may hear relatively soon?? I'm a first year applicant inscrita #1020. I'm actually going nuts checking my email! I need to start applying to other things if we aren't going to hear very soon. Thanks for any insight!

We should definitely get notification in the next two weeks, so I wouldn't be too worried unless your applications to other things are especially urgent.  Even so, I wouldn't be worried because with #1020 chances are about 99.9 percent that you'll get placed (somewhere) in the initial round.

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[serendipity]

Question for those with experience...

When they send out the letters, do they go to your "dirección actual" or your "dirección permanente"?

I will be moving from my current address at the end of July (back to my permanent address until I leave for Spain), so I am afraid that my letter will come to my current address and I won't be here.

...I'm hoping that it goes to your permanent address...

change your address with the usps. i've moved several times in the past few years and u can do it via usps web site. this has allowed me to receive mail sent to my old address to my new address.

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[serendipity]

This is might seem like a silly question. But when people do private tutoring, especially in the Madrid Area, what do you usually do? I understand that this can vary greatly depending on age groups.

Is there a specific lesson plan? Is it mostly just conversation (intercambio maybe?). Do you help them with homework?

Could someone provide insight into what "tutoring" usually entails for:

adults
children
college students
families...etc

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[SRedw]

This is might seem like a silly question. But when people do private tutoring, especially in the Madrid Area, what do you usually do? I understand that this can vary greatly depending on age groups.

Is there a specific lesson plan? Is it mostly just conversation (intercambio maybe?). Do you help them with homework?

Could someone provide insight into what "tutoring" usually entails for:

adults
children
college students
families...etc

In a nutshell, this depends on the needs of the student.  The student will tell you what their needs are and you have to find material to fit the student's needs.  Some of them will have a book, or ask you to recommend one to work from. 

Shawn

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[madridsally]

Woohoo! Someone posted at about 11:45 a.m. today: Couldn't login into Profex today, so I called the embassy... the lady I spoke with said they are having problems, because they just started doing placements 15 minutes ago!!! SOOO YAY.. She said I should hopefully find out today/tomorrow am.. but she did say welcome to Spain! Hehe..

This person has a very, very low profex #

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[macarons]

Woohoo! Someone posted at about 11:45 a.m. today: Couldn't login into Profex today, so I called the embassy... the lady I spoke with said they are having problems, because they just started doing placements 15 minutes ago!!! SOOO YAY.. She said I should hopefully find out today/tomorrow am.. but she did say welcome to Spain! Hehe..

This person has a very, very low profex #

finally!!!

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[dwhiteside]

Woohoo! Someone posted at about 11:45 a.m. today: Couldn't login into Profex today, so I called the embassy... the lady I spoke with said they are having problems, because they just started doing placements 15 minutes ago!!! SOOO YAY.. She said I should hopefully find out today/tomorrow am.. but she did say welcome to Spain! Hehe..

This person has a very, very low profex #

How low is this person's number? and is he/she a 1st year or 2nd year applicant?

I'm number 108 and these last couple posts have made me very anxious/excited...the wait is almost over!

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[madridsally]

How low is this person's number? and is he/she a 1st year or 2nd year applicant?

I'm number 108 and these last couple posts have made me very anxious/excited...the wait is almost over!

Yes, this person is a first year, she confirmed And her number is less than 20. But I imagine once they get rolling they'll go through these numbers pretty quickly! If not tomorrow, sounds like those of us with fairly low numbers will hear by early next week. I am #145..

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[caraluna]

Yay! Let's finally get this moving! 

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[buffalove]

i'm number 184 and I haven't gotten mine yet.  I will definitely be glued to my e.mail tomorrow tho!

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[ginajcbsn]

I just got this e-mail today:

Dear Gina,

... After processing all renewal applications, we have already started assigning new positions. You will be notified about the outcome.

Thanks for your patience!

Regards,

North American Language and Culture Assistants in Spain

So it certainly looks like we should be finding out soon! Best wishes everyone!

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[Something Clever]

I am on pins and needles right now, wondering if we might hear something today or tomorrow. I am #497, though, so I'm prepared for the possibility that I might receive my email several days after those of you who are higher up on the list.

I just read through the 2009 thread, trying to figure out how many people were notified per day once regional placements started going out. Unfortunately, it seems that the posters were sharing inscrita dates rather than numbers, so there's no way to know for sure.

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[madridsally]

On another note, does anyone know exactly when the school year begins in Spain and around when we'll need to arrive?

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[t.c.parker]

On another note, does anyone know exactly when the school year begins in Spain and around when we'll need to arrive?

I'm pretty sure it states in the manual that the training for our programs begins around the third or last week of September. Am I right?

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[madridsally]

I'm pretty sure it states in the manual that the training for our programs begins around the third or last week of September. Am I right?

Aha you're right, it is in the program manual. It says: "Before starting your assistantship, you will need to attend the orientation scheduled for your particular region in Spain (Comunidad Autónoma). The available dates and venues will be announced soon but it is usually held during the last week of September."

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[Vallista87]

They will probably wait til monday just to make us sweat some more hahahahaha im 714 so im banking on hearing at the end of May or early June... sad face

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[pittel]

I'm in the 500's...not really sure when I'll get my placement, but now that there's word of placements coming, seems like there's a light at the end of the tunnel. For some reason (not sure how/why I think this) but I was under the impression they make the assignments in bulk...I wonder how many at a time. Pretty sure I'm going to set my alarm to about 8 am Spain time to check, lol. Good luck all!!!

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[alpha.bro]

I've been doing some data collection over the past couple of weeks, and it seems as though Andalucia got about 80 more adjudicada statuses today. It could be possible that they're e-mailing and updating people's statuses based on region in alphabetical order by profex number? Don't have any evidence to suggest that, other than the fact that andalucia got a pretty big boost.

Either way, this information might be irrelevant by morning time...

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[SRedw]

On another note, does anyone know exactly when the school year begins in Spain and around when we'll need to arrive?

I know that in the Comunidad de Madrid, you will start on October 1 and that orientation is in September.  I can't speak for other communities.  You won't be paid until November 5th, so bring enough money to cover first month's rent and security deposit, as well as telephone, electricity, gas and water.

Shawn

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[halydia]

I know that in the Comunidad de Madrid, you will start on October 1 and that orientation is in September.  I can't speak for other communities.  You won't be paid until November 5th, so bring enough money to cover first month's rent and security deposit, as well as telephone, electricity, gas and water.

Shawn

Cantabria's orientation has, in the past, been in the first week of October. And Shawn made a VERY important point about money - but for Cantabria, prepare money to last until November 20-25th or so.

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[paracaidista06]

For those of you that followed serendipity's lead and looked at last year's posts, you may have seen this:

New rule! When you find out, post the following:

1. Where you're going (obviously)
2. When you applied
3. What your top 3 choices were

Think about how GRATEFUL next year's group will be to have this documented! (Not to mention this year's...)

SUERTE!

So, on that note, with the assignments on their way (ojala!) I'd like to propose that we follow suit with one adjustment.  When you get your assignment, post the following:

1. Where you're going (obviously)
2. Your "Admitida" number
3. When you applied (date you became "inscrita" and/or "admitida")
4. What your top 3 choices were

As picasso mentioned above, think about how grateful we have been that they did it last year!  SUERTE!

- Paracaidista

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[scclads]

For those of you that followed serendipity's lead and looked at last year's posts, you may have seen this:


So, on that note, with the assignments on their way (ojala!) I'd like to propose that we follow suit with one adjustment.  When you get your assignment, post the following:

1. Where you're going (obviously)
2. Your "Admitida" number
3. When you applied (date you became "inscrita" and/or "admitida")
4. What your top 3 choices were

As picasso mentioned above, think about how grateful we have been that they did it last year!  SUERTE!

- Paracaidista

We've got a GoogleDoc going for that.  Check out https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=t97pDpG6obxD_6z1GhZ5Ogg&hl=en

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[pittel]

Do you think assignments will be made over the weekend? It's 6 pm in Madrid now, so the workweek is over...

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