Working under the Spanish sun for a whole month - where others go on vacation, together with colleagues from the Guardia Civil, learning new things, passing on what you know, improving your language skills, being close to the Mediterranean after work and being able to enjoy it.
It all sounds a bit like a dream, doesn't it? And it is - a dream, but one that came true. In , I was made aware by a colleague, who knew that I had been studying Spanish at the adult education center since , that there was an opportunity to apply for a temporary assignment in Spain to support the Guardia Civil in high-traffic tourist areas.
At that time, I had not yet learned the required language level, but in September , the time had finally come. He wrote to me that he was my contact person and would pick me up at Palma airport. When I arrived at Palma de Mallorca airport, I was warmly greeted by him and another colleague and we waited for my suitcases. The colleagues took me from the airport to the first hotel of my stay, Sea Club in Alcudia, where I was allowed to spend the first two weeks of my stay. Both hotels were highly recommended, although I would actually prefer the Viva Blue, as it has excellent cuisine.
I should also mention that the staff at this hotel were super friendly and made me feel really comfortable as a guest. The Cabo the person responsible for duty scheduling really took me and my personal needs into consideration when organizing my daily duties. Apart from one night shift, I worked early and late shifts. One night shift, however, took the form of a so-called "double shift". Friday morning early shift from 7 am to 2 pm and then, on the same day, night shift from 10 pm to 6 am.
It really wasn't a pleasant shift, but it reflected the normal rotation times of my Spanish colleagues. We spent the night shift together with a dog handler who was leading a drug detection dog. First of all, we set up various checkpoints, typically at the neuralgic traffic circles.
