9 / 11 / 2001 - Barcelona Dreaming

Like Kennedy’s assignation, everyone remembers what they were doing on 9-11.  Cindy and I were living in our house in Ajijic, a small fishing village on the north shore of Lake Chapala (about 30 miles south of Mexico’s second largest city, Guadalajara).  We were watching one of the network channels when the second plane crashed into the World Trade Center (we had cable TV in Ajijic).  That day altered our life plan and brought us back to the USA.

We were in our second year of living in the Lake Chapala Area.  Its moderate climate had brought over 50,000 expatriates from all over the world to live in the area. Most of them were from Canada and the USA.  The favorite expression for the area was “It is 70 degrees F year round in the Lake Area except when it is 71”.

We were in the process of relocating to Barcelona, Spain.  Some of our international friends had traveled worldwide “Teaching English as a Foreign Language” (TEFL).  This intrigued us and we thought that it might be a great way to work our way around the world.  Cindy had her degree in Education (she taught in public and private schools for eleven years) and my degree was in Business.   All we needed was TEFL certification and we would be on our way.



Waterfront in Barcelona



Las Ramblas - Barcelona

There were TEFL certification schools in Guadalajara as well as the United States, but we wanted another exotic place to get our certification.  A school in Barcelona, Spain offered a 12-week certification program that guaranteed (upon graduation) a teaching position in Eastern Europe.  They also had rental apartments for their students at 25% of the going rate.  What a great way to experience Barcelona!  So, our plan was to hang out in Barcelona, take six hours of class five days a week for the next three months, and then take a six-month teaching position in Prague.  We visited Barcelona on a previous cruise and thought it to be a neat city to live and work.



Cruising the Mediterranean





Yeah, a Burger King in Barcelona



We had completed the application process, had our bags half packed, received confirmation from the school when the events of 9-11 happened.  The day after we were notified by the school that they had cancelled all American applications and were only taking applications from British citizens.  They also informed us that there was a Terrorist Cell in Prague and the state department discouraged all travel in the Czech Republic by American citizens.

A few days after 9-11, Cindy and I grew homesick for the USA, left Ajijic, and drove to Houston, TX.  There we spent the next 12 months.