Vicky in Spain

So after a month and a half of being the lousiest correspondent who ever failed to correspond (which is par for the course, really), I pulled myself together and wrote to Vicky -- partly about Christmas presents but partly just to say, "Hi, this is my life at the moment, how are you?"

It turns out she's not doing that great. ( details )

On top of all that, she feels guilty because people keep telling her she should be having the time of her life, and she's really, really not.

I am doing my best to lend a listening ear (insofar as one can listen by reading email), but I don't have much relevant life experience. I mean, I taught homeschool for a year and had moments of "What the hell am I doing? I don't know anything about this! I will screw these kids up for life!" but my reaction to that kind of stress is generally to panic briefly and then decide that I am doing the best I can and coherently presenting the information I am supposed to impart, and nobody ever said being cool was in the job description anyway. And so I soldier on and generally stop worrying. The thing is, that's a reaction based on my own emotional temperament and it would never in a million years work for Vicky, who is a lot more volatile than I tend to be.

So what I am asking, basically, is if anyone has advice on A) being a new teacher and coping with the emotional stress of the job, B) moving to a foreign country and establishing a support network, and C) dealing with a job that is not what you were told it would be, and perhaps negotiating for some changes (or at least a raise).