Today, 1st October 2025, holds a special place on my calendar. Not only because it would have been my grandfather’s 105th birthday, but because it marks exactly 30 years since I taught my first students in Lorca!

Wow, time flies!

Why did I come to Lorca?

While I was at university in Manchester, 21 years old, I was lucky enough to take part in an Erasmus programme, spending one year at the University of Tübingen, Germany. There, I met quite a lot of Spanish students “doing Erasmus”. We became good friends and they invited me to spend some time with them in Bilbao – my first taste of Spain. They were so welcoming and friendly…. but I felt a bit frustrated because I couldn’t speak any Spanish. 

That’s when I decided that I had to learn – and for that I wanted to live in Spain!

So, I finished university, trained to be an English teacher and managed to get my first job at the inlingua academy in Lorca. I accepted the job after a telephone interview (no video calls then!) and had to find Lorca on a map of Spain in the “Times Atlas of the World” which had been sitting on a bookshelf in our living room for years! Then I went to the travel agent’s in town to buy a plane ticket (no Ryanair then either!) and arrived in Lorca just in time for the fair.

The fair was exciting! I went to a concert in the bullring – Joaquin Sabina – I didn’t know him and it was the first time I’d ever been inside a bullring. In fact, everything was new and exciting! I’d never seen lemons growing on trees before – only in plastic packaging on the shelf of a supermarket!

The language was new too! Fortunately, my Spanish flatmates (who spoke no English) were very patient with me when I tried to speak to them using my pocket dictionary as a guide and inventing some words on the way! They took me out with their friends at the weekends, giving me more opportunities to practise my Spanish and by Christmas I could more or less say what I needed for everyday things. By the following June, I remember feeling satisfied when I went to the old cinema in “Calle Cristal” and was able to understand the film.

So, why did I stay in Lorca?

By the end of my first school year, I had fallen in love with the town, the people – but also the job! Both of my parents were teachers. Not surprisingly, as a rebellious teenager, I’d always said, “I’ll never be a teacher!” But, after all, I had found a job that I really enjoyed – teaching English as a foreign language to students of all ages. So, what started as a 9-month temporary contract after university has become my life-long career and one that I still love!

A big “Thank you!”

Teaching is a two-way process. Learning a language involves communication. And, at least in my opinion, communication is about people (or would you prefer to practise your English with an AI avatar?) That’s why the students I have taught along these years have played such an important part in my career – without them, I wouldn’t have developed as a teacher. They have taught me a lot of things and it has always given me great satisfaction when they have achieved their aims – passing an exam, getting a place at university, going on an Erasmus exchange. 

So, a big “Thank you” to all my former and current students.

Remember, the world is your oyster and languages open doors!