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The TV in the corner

7/6/2015

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My roommates and I have a slight dilemma. A week ago, one of my roommates bought a new giant plasma TV, which of course, was to the delight of my other roommate and I. It replaced a smaller TV that looked like it was manufactured some time during the Cold War and from what my roommates had told me (I moved into the apartment last week), it had a knack for only working half of the time. We welcomed the TV into our lives like the way you welcome any new friend into your life- you have a few beers and enjoy their company. And that's exactly what we did. We got to know our new friend by playing videos games and watching movies.

All was good until we realized after a few days tha the old TV was still hanging out in the corner of the room, on top of a small table, taking up a good portion of our living area. I started thinking, we should just throw it out, but then I thought, can you just throw out a TV? And then that sparked several other questions, like, can you just throw away iPods, iPhones, electronics in general? I remember my mom once harping on me for putting used batteries in the trash, but I never understood why and I never invested much effort into finding out the answer. I'm not sure she knew the answer either, she just knew it couldn't be good for the environment. Or maybe there were other reasons. Either way, as of recently I had still been throwing away my used batteries in the trash (even my mom's words in my head couldn't stop me) and not until this little TV became a decorative centerpiece in our living room did I start to really think about recycling electronics safely and responsibly. -Will
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    As a kid I moved all over the country due to my dad being in the Army. I had the good fortunate to see a lot of the US and even spent 3 years in Germany when I was young, which my parents made sure my brother and I saw different parts of Europe. All of that moving and travelling led me to studying International Studies (IS) and Spanish in college at the University of Iowa. In May of 2010, I graduated with B.A.s in both IS and Spanish and an International Business Certificate. On the surface, that all looks great, but as I soon found out, applying for jobs with abstract, theoretical-based degrees, I wasn't quite suited for any particular job. My skill set invloved reading theoretical texts on human rights issues, speaking a somewhat decent Spanish, and basic knowledge of international finance.  Again, that sounds great, but I didn't have any practical skills to bring to the table. After being shut down by all the companies that I applied to during my last semester of college- I say shut down not because I was told they weren't interested in me, they just never responded back to my cover letters and emails- I decided to apply for a teaching English position in Spain. Not having any teaching experience, I applied to a program run by the Spanish Ministry of Education that contracts people from all over the world  to come and work as language assistants that work alongside language teachers in elementary schools, high schools, and in higher education settings. The only requirements needed are any type of Bachelor's degree, a good bill of health and not have committed a serious crime. Luckily, I fulfilled all of those (they didn't catch me!) and spent the last year, from October to June, working in a city called La Coruña, in the northwest part of Spain. 

    At the moment I'm unemployed and without health insurance, however, I do have another contract as an English language assistant that begins on October 1st, this time in a suburb of Madrid, Spain. As I'm writing this, I'm in the process of finding an apartment in Madrid and plan on making Madrid my home until my contract runs out at the end of June, 2012. Over the course of the next year, I'll be trying to shed light on the economic issues going on over here in Spain and in Europe in general. Even though I have a job, I'm like any other recent college graduate, broke, scraping by, and from time to time, relying on help from my family. I've got the good fortune of having a supportive family amidst these turbulent economic times. However, like other, middle-class kids, I struggle with the guilt of having to ask for help from my parents, even when they're eager to help. I hope this blog and project can be a place where all of these issues are confronted and explored.

    Cheers to All,
    Will

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