Spain 2022 - Sabbatical (3 months)
- Mar 16, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 26, 2022
It seems like we've been planning this adventure for 10 years. Actually, we have. As soon as Kip learned that Gilman awarded one sabbatical per year, we were like a pair of dogs with a meaty bone. The idea was simply too delectable and we couldn't let it go. The sabbatical award doesn't necessarily mean you have to travel anywhere. If you're an artist, you can spend 6 months in your local studio painting until your heart's content. It's an award that allows you to develop yourself professionally in whatever way that best serves you. For Kip, a Spanish teacher, who has gone too long without complete language immersion (23 years to be exact), he knew that going abroad was the only thing that was going to bring his skills back. After spending the last 18 years with middle school boys, his Spanish has been relegated to the fundamentals and the attrition has been frustrating.
But, how do you make something like this happen? With 1, 2, 3 and then 4 children, all in varying stages of growth and development, and my own job to consider, how could we pull it off? So we did what we do best: Researched and dreamed. We asked questions, sought advice from former sabbatical recipients, had long discussions about our goals not only for ourselves but for our kids. We went to bookstores and sat in the travel sections for hours. We pondered what value this experience could bring to Gilman so that they might one day (fingers crossed) send us on our way. Finally, we knew our time had come. Optimistically, even while in the midst of a pandemic, we were finally prepared to apply. It was now or never. The kids were all in stages that made sense. No graduations and no diapers - It was our sweet spot.
After hours of edits, we submitted the proposal. Then we waited...and waited. I'm not really great at the waiting thing. So, every day I would look expectantly at Kip as he walked in the door from work. "Anything yet?" I'd ask. Then one day last May, I was in the full throes of multi-tasking: Chopping onions, quizzing Gaelan on his spelling words, changing a lightbulb, and conducting brain surgery all at once so I barely registered Kip walking through the door. Casually, he came into the kitchen, and just as I was calling out the word "opportunity," it came knocking. Kip put his arm around my shoulder, leaned in, and whispered, "We got it."
So, here we are. T minus 2 weeks until take-off and we are buckled up and yet not quite ready to go. My list of to-do's keeps getting longer, not shorter! The kids will be doing school from Spain on their own time thanks to their amazingly organized and supportive school community and my school graciously allowed me a leave of absence to pursue this adventure with my family. I am forever grateful.
Here's a sneak peek of our upcoming experiences. We will be traveling across Southern Spain, experiencing the most famous Semana Santa festivities in Seville, taking language classes in a fishing village near Malaga, sitting in on a sword-making demo with master sword maker Mariano Zamorano, volunteering on an olive and fig tree farm, hiking the Caminito del Rey, chocolate making and paella classes to name a few. With a side trip outside the Spanish border to Morocco, we will experience the sensorial profusion that is Marrakech and Fez, traverse the High Atlas Mountains, ride camels into the Sahara Desert, and spend the night under the stars. Our last stop on our adventure is to pay homage to Roman history and culture through the architecture of St. Peter's Basilica, the Colosseum, and more.
Subscribe and follow our adventures, comment or email us through the blog. If you comment, make sure you sign up, otherwise, we won't know who you are! We hope to hear from you!
Now that we are home, you can see the links to all posts from our 2022 sabbatical below. Enjoy!
2. Madrid
https://amyqdigges.wixsite.com/rowhouseroamers/post/madrid-march-30th-to-april-4 3. Marrakech, Morocco
4. Caravan into the Sahara Desert
6. Fez, Morocco
7. Following Don Quixote to Cordoba
8. Sevilla’s Semana Santa
9. Cadiz is its name
10. Marbella by way of England
11. Hiding out in Ronda
12. Se Habla Español en Pedregalejo
13. Malaga on the Move
14. Staying Put in La Cala Del Moral
15. Nerja’s Many Shades of Blue
16. Alhambra, Olives, and Math in Granada
17. Rabid Excitement at Casa Aloe Vera
18. Diving Headfirst into Altea
19. A Taste of Valencia
20. Rome: We Came. We Saw. We’re Exhausted!
I found it under My Site in my “junk” folder, which it definitely WAS NOT and I loved the intro and greatly look forward to the daily ( or weekly) posts that will be coming to me! Best of luck to you all. We will be inconsolable until you return but we are excited for all of you to experience this marvelous adventure.