Kira Browne
Senior Writer
Kira was lucky to grow up in a family that placed a lot of value on travel. Thanks to this, she had many opportunities to travel both with her family and through school while growing up. She travelled around Europe and further afield, before she started her adventures travelling solo.
Kira has always wanted to teach, in some form or another. In 2018 she graduated from Durham University, UK, with a degree in Modern Languages (Spanish, Italian and Catalan). After graduating she realized she wasn’t yet ready to study a PGCE and teach in England. Therefore, she decided to apply for a year-long placement as an auxiliar de conversación (language assistant) in Castelló de la Plana. One year turned into two, which turned into three, as she settled more and more into Castellón life.
When abroad, Kira is always determined to experience as much local culture as possible wherever she finds herself! This determination, of course, led to her doing a headstand on top of a human pyramid with the muixeranga, being interviewed and speaking Valencian on local TV, dancing inside giant bonfires for Sant Antoni, and so many more noteworthy adventures! In fact, her friends describe her as more “castellonense” than most of the locals!
During the strict Spanish lockdown (which she spent in a dark flat) Kira’s saving grace were the online flamenco classes she took with her incredible teacher. Having so much unstructured time was a challenge for her, but she tried to channel this into improving her dancing. That year, she concentrated on this style, and became more and more inspired, so much so that September 2021 she made the leap to move to Seville to learn even more!
After having stayed in Seville for over a year (the original plan had been to stay five months!), where she has enjoyed more intensive flamenco classes and the chance to work as a waitress and use all the languages she knows with foreign customers, Kira set off on an exciting adventure, travelling around Europe by bike for 3.5 months. She didn’t have any experience of multi-day cycle touring, so this will be a big adventure. After the freedom of cycle touring, Kira is now enjoyed a slightly more settled life, having taken the decision to move back to the UK, where she is currently studying a Primary PGCE (teaching qualification) with a PE specialism.
In her free time, Kira likes to try anything people suggest – from fire-wielding dimonis to salsa dancing, from hiking to slacklining, and from paddle tennis to rollerblading-flamenco fusions! While living abroad has been incredible, it also comes with many challenges, and Kira believes it is important for people to realise this; it’s not just a multi-year holiday, more like a very intense rollercoaster of awesome highs and difficult lows. She is looking forward to sharing the varied reality of all sides of living abroad.