Some Advice for Potential Auxiliares!

Hi everyone. I am dedicating today´s enty to giving a little advice to those who are interested in applying for the North American Language & Culture Assistant in Spain program since the they are now accepting applications for 2012-2013 year. I´ll try my best to remember the many steps that I took. First of all, you will need to go to the Education office´s introductory page at http://www.educacion.gob.es/eeuu/convocatorias-programas/convocatorias-eeuu/auxiliares-conversacion-eeuu.html which will give you all the basics about the program. There you should find a link to the actual profex application. Personally, I remember it being a pain in the neck because I had to sign in constantly because the application would always kick me off. So, make it a habit to always save your work. Filling out the application in one sitting would also be a good idea. But there is at least one fun part to it: choosing where you want to go on the application!! My understanding is that anywhere you go in Spain will be an adventure. But if you really want a specific region then get that application in ASAP!! I chose Castilla y Leon, País Vasco, and Cataluña, but they ended up giving me Madrid. I kind of applied late so I was expecting Madrid to be full, which is why I didnt choose it, but I got lucky. Go figure. Then again, Madrid is the community that needs the most auxiliares. And my essay was pretty kick-ass too.

You want to apply for an FBI background check NOW because it takes several months to get it! Along with the background check application you also need to send the FBI your fingerprints. I had my fingerprints taken at the New Hanover County Sheriff's office downtown for $15. Anyways, remember, you just have to mail a copy of the FBI application to your respective consulate along with a copy of the medical certificate, a hardcopy of the program application, the letter of recommendation, and the essay. Once you get your FBI background check in the mail and after obtaining a medical certificate then you want to get an apostille put on both of them. An apostille is an international stamp which you can get at the NC Secretary of State office in Raleigh. You can go in person or mail it. Then just wait until you get accepted!

Once you get accepted, apply for your visa ASAP at your respective Spanish Embassy because it takes at the very least 5 weeks to process the visa application, the medical certificate with the apostille, and the FBI background check with the apostille. As far as I know, most embassies require that you apply in person, i.e. the Spanish Embassy in D.C. Bring a self-addressed return envelope with overnight postage. And of course bring your PASSPORT because they are going to place the sticker-like visa inside it. Make sure it is not expired!

All in all, you should consult the program manual just to be sure because they update it every year.

Also, you should start saving up mucho dinero now because the program won't pay you until after the first month and most auxiliares usually stay in a hostal for two weeks until they find an apartment and add to that money for food and it can get costly. This is why I recommend searching for an apartment before coming to Spain. Idealista.com and loquo.com are good websites to search under. I know this might all sound daunting and complicated but it really isn't. It is just very tedious that's all. Now, I think that is everything. If you have a question about anything, por favor, no dudes en preguntarme. You can comment here or send me an e-mail at charlie.chapulin@gmail.com. Hasta luego.