The First of Seven in The Entitlement of Soul Discovery

I have been instructed to write seven stories about episodes in my life that contain the following:
1. A goal I wanted to accomplish
2. Some kind of hurdle or obstacle
3. Step by step, how did you achieve your goal?
4. A description of the result
5. Any measurable/quantifiable statement from the outcome

Here it goes.

Back when I first graduated college, I had the dream of moving to Spain and living out the rest of my days there.
That quickly went to shit.
The year was 2010, at the height of the economic crisis around the world. Spain’s unemployment numbers were at an all-time high and no one would hire me. On top of being from the US and not a European citizen, Spain would not even so much as look at me to hire me. I was stuck, and I had to go get a job in the states.
After working several jobs that I was neither good at or liked, I decided that waiting was enough. Maybe if I wanted to practice my own Spanish, maybe I would switch it up to South America and go from there. I decided to completely change my direction and try to teach English abroad.
I found a listing online for a program that does a sort of exchange program. I would be at the oldest they would allow, and I would likely be surrounded by kids younger than me, but I had tried to do the “normal” thing for 5 years since graduating, and I was no closer since than to achieving any sort of life expectations. I wanted Spain, but since I stupidly didn’t study abroad in college (like I should have when I had the chance), I didn’t have any connections there to make that happen. South America was a land where success could happen and the cost of living there was less than what it was in the States. Why not give it a try?
I vetted the program before ever handing money over to them to reserve a spot and accommodation for me when I was there. My fees paid for the training program once I got there and a place to crash land once I arrived.
I taught there for a little over 6 months that ended in my getting fired because of a “lack of work ethic”. Honestly, they changed directions so much on what was expected that it was difficult to build lesson plans when I didn’t even know who or what level I would be teaching that day. I did get a recommendation from one school that I had taught at for my ability to facilitate classes… yet got fired from another. Trust me, it doesn’t make sense to me either, 5 years after the fact.
I came back with a renewed sense of adventure and a language that I had garnered in the 10 months that I was there. I learned how to plan travel, budget my money, and get myself around a huge continent with guidance from friends along the way. It was a whirlwind to experience, but nevertheless, a year worth retelling.