I grew up in Norway with a strange mix of curiosity and uncertainty that followed me for years. I wasn’t one of those kids who proudly announced what they wanted to be when they grew up. I didn’t dream of a specific job, a title, or a clearly defined future. What I did have, even very early on, was this strong pull toward the world outside my bubble. I wanted to see things, understand people, and feel part of something bigger than the place where I was born.

I didn’t know how that would translate into a career, but I had a quiet intuition that languages would play a role somehow. So I leaned into that. I started learning English young, then Spanish, not because someone told me it was a smart move, but because it felt right. There was something incredibly empowering about understanding more of the world simply by understanding more words.

For a long time, that was enough. I studied, worked, lived a fairly normal life. But the feeling that something else was waiting for me never really went away. It just sat there in the background, patiently.

Everything started to shift when I began seeing stories online from people who had completely changed their lives by teaching English abroad. They weren’t describing perfect lives, but they were describing lives that felt intentional, full of movement, growth, and unexpected turns. I found myself reading those stories late at night, imagining what it would feel like to wake up in a different country, walk into a classroom, and build a life that wasn’t pre-written.

Slowly, that idea stopped being a daydream and became a focus. Teaching English felt like a practical way to combine everything I cared about: languages, people, travel, and meaningful work.

Why I Chose an In-Person TEFL Course in Barcelona

Once I decided to pursue teaching English, I became surprisingly picky. I didn’t want to rush through an online course on my laptop while multitasking and half-paying attention. I wanted to feel prepared when I walked into a classroom. I wanted to know what it actually feels like to manage students, plan lessons, and deal with real situations, not just theoretical ones.

That immediately narrowed my options. I was specifically looking for an in-person TEFL course with observed teaching practice, real students, and proper feedback. Something that would push me, not just reassure me.

Spain had always been in the back of my mind as a place I could see myself living in one day. I loved the language, the culture, the pace of life, and the way daily routines seemed to revolve around people rather than productivity. After a lot of searching and recommendations, I came across TEFL Barcelona, and something clicked almost immediately.

From the moment the course started, it felt serious in the right way. The days were full, the expectations were clear, and the teaching practice was real. Planning lessons, teaching actual students, being observed, receiving feedback, adjusting, and trying again. It wasn’t always comfortable, but it was incredibly rewarding. You could feel yourself improving week by week, and that built a kind of confidence that doesn’t come from reading materials alone.

Outside the classroom, Barcelona quickly became part of the experience. It was impossible not to fall into a rhythm there. Morning coffees, walking everywhere, late dinners, conversations that stretched longer than planned. It didn’t feel like a temporary student phase. It felt like real life.

On weekends, I took full advantage of being in Spain. I travelled as much as I could, mostly by train, hopping from city to city, letting myself get lost, observe, and absorb. Each place felt different, and I loved that Spain allowed for so many versions of life within the same country.

The Train Ride That Changed Everything

One of those trips ended up changing the direction of my life entirely, although I obviously didn’t know it at the time.

I was travelling by train from Málaga to Madrid, sitting next to a Spanish man. We started talking in that natural, unforced way that sometimes happens when two people share a few hours and no expectations. We talked about where we were from, what we were doing, and where we thought we were going next.

I told him about Norway, about moving to Barcelona for the TEFL course, and about my plans for after. At that point, I was convinced Asia was my next destination. Malaysia was high on my list, along with a few other places in Southeast Asia. In my head, that chapter was already written. Finish the course, move to Asia, teach English, and start a completely new life there.

We exchanged details, stayed in touch, and life carried on. Later, I visited the Basque Country, partly out of curiosity and partly because of that connection. That visit quietly changed everything. The Basque Country felt different from anywhere else I had been in Spain. Calmer, grounded, and deeply connected to local culture. It wasn’t flashy or overwhelming. It felt like a place where routines mattered, where teaching could be part of a long-term life, not just a temporary adventure.

Meanwhile, the TEFL course was coming to an end, and suddenly the practical side of things became very real. I had the qualification, the classroom experience, and the confidence to apply for teaching jobs abroad. Opportunities in Asia were there, exactly as I had planned months earlier. But something had shifted.

The idea of leaving Spain no longer felt exciting in the same way. My life had started to grow roots, almost without me noticing. I was falling in love, not just with a person, but with a way of living that felt sustainable and deeply human.

In the end, I stayed.

Today, I teach English at a school in the Basque Country. I live here, I work here, and I built a life that I couldn’t have designed on paper if I had tried. I’m married, settled, and still deeply connected to the reasons I started this journey in the first place: curiosity, growth, and connection.

Looking back, doing a TEFL course in Barcelona didn’t just give me a new career path. It gave me options. It gave me confidence. It placed me in the middle of experiences that allowed life to unfold naturally rather than forcing it into a rigid plan.

I arrived in Barcelona thinking it was a stepping stone toward somewhere else. It turned out to be the place where everything quietly began.

And honestly, I wouldn’t change a thing.