Libros Liguori or Liguori Publications

I spent all summer looking for a job once we got to Missouri. Brandon transferred offices from his company in Delaware, so he started working one week after we arrived. I, however, had been teaching at a private school as an unlicensed Spanish teacher and wasn't sure that I wanted to teach again this year. So I began married life unemployed.

All summer I perused online job search engines and life was depressing. I was in a new house in a new state with a new husband who was working overtime and going to a new school and I was home alone all day. I missed my family and I was so frustrated some days because I wasn't really sure that we were supposed to be here.

It didn't help that I couldn't find a job either. I either wouldn't hear back from those that I submitted resumes to or I wouldn't get the job from the companies that I managed to interview with. I wanted to be using my brain and interacting with other people instead being alone all day. The people I had already met had jobs, so it was not as if I could get together with them. And it was summer - no one was at the seminary or had during-the-day activities.

At the end of July, I found an job post for a Bilingual Telephone Sales Rep at a small publications company, twenty miles south of the city. It wasn't really what I was looking for, but I decided to apply anyway because I was becoming desperate. The company called back the same day wanting an interview with me.

I went to the interview not entirely convinced that I wanted the job, but I decided that I had better do my best anyway. I was team-interviewed by the head of sales, head of marketing, head of human resources, and head of Bilingual publications and I impressed their socks off. This little boost of confidence was just what I needed. I was emailed twice with requests for answers to additional questions and then I was called in for a second interview. Finally, I was hired and began working at the end of August.

So here I am learning the basics of this job and really beginning to make it my own because I do a little of everything. I handle all incoming Spanish-speaking calls as well as make calls. I also translate marketing copy for the catalogue and promotional fliers and eventually I will be traveling to book fairs.

Everyday I commute to work about forty-five minutes, but the good thing is that my route goes against traffic. My office is down in a part of Missouri called the foothills of the Ozarks, so there are even some rocks and semi-mountains around here. And I have also seen some signs for camping and national parks, so I am very encouraged by that. My favorite park that I have not yet visited is the Wooly Mammoth (Mastadon) state park and there are two huge replicas that guard the entrance to the park five minutes away. I am determined to give that one a visit.

Work here right now is pretty mundane. I spend most of my day doing this:

Thank you for calling Liguori Pulications, this is Rebecca speaking, how may I help you? And are you making that order for a parish, bookstore or individual?

Or if you are really lucky:

Gracias por llamar a Libros Liguori, habla Rebeca, en que puedo ayudarle?

One positive thing is that my spoken Spanish has improved since I got here since I am speaking with native speakers every single day. And I am getting better at understanding them, too. After a year of speaking only to first-, second- and third-year Spanish students, I am finally getting back to some semblance of grammatically correct Spanish and my old Castillian accent. I guess that's something. . .

I am not sure about this job yet. It is a pretty busy day which makes the day go faster, but I need more time before I can make a definitive decision.