Life in Madrid

 It´s been a crazy whirlwind these past few weeks as I´ve been settling back into life here in Spain. My first two weekends back were pretty crazy, as I was simultaneously unpacking my bags and showing CA visitors around the city! It was tiring but gave me an excuse to indulge in my favorite tapa joints and revisit the beautiful spots in the city right away. It was even more of a whirlwind considering I had just returned from a summer in CA full of trips to Davis and SF to visit college friends, a flight to Nebraska for a close friend´s wedding, and spending time in San Diego with friends and family. The summer seemed to fly by, as it was full of many hellos and goodbyes. As bittersweet as it was, it helped knowing I had a second year in Spain to look forward to. I'm truly excited to have one more year to enjoy Madrid and strengthen my ties here. Last year was all about getting used to how things work here, making connections, learning how to do my job, and traveling to as many European cities as possible... I made it to 13 countries in total and was so lucky to be able to visit friends in many of those places. I got to visit college friends living and working abroad, my sister who was studying in Italy, European friends I had made while traveling in South America 2 years ago, and even a Danish friend who studied at my high school in San Diego. As grateful as I am that I got to see so many places and connect with so many people, I'm hoping to see more of Spain itself this time around and focus my time on really living in Madrid and making it my own.

Claire and I visiting Sofie in Copenhagen! May 2012. It had been at least 3 years since we saw her in San Diego

Ally's Wedding in Nebraska, October 2012. A wonderful celebration and much-needed reunion! I was able to attend right before flying back to start work in Spain

   I´m living in the same apartment as last year, in the center of the city (Plaza de España). This has saved a lot of stress and, and has allowed me live with my two wonderful friends from Davis (Laura and Danielle) again. While we're not always speaking Spanish at home, we often have Spanish friends over, and there are many opportunities for us to speak Spanish daily. I especially like chatting with the consierge who lives next store. We talk about the weather, the best places to buy shampoo, or what she´s cooking or sewing that afternoon, all the while chatting through the glass window where she keeps watch of the building (think of Tim´s interaction with his neighbor in Home Improvement, but involving less philosophical conversations). Our land lady is also very nice, but she is quite the talker- we´ve learned to give ourselves plenty of time when we go to pay the rent. She is your typical old Spanish lady in the sense that she is very short, speaks in a low voice and often mumbles, and likes to repeat the same story or argue the same point over and over again but in slightly different ways each time so that by the time she´s explaining it for the fourth time you realize that indeed there exist five different ways to discuss the disadvantages to not going to bed on time on a Sunday night which her 30 year old daughter who still lives at home often does and... so on. Last year I had trouble following her at the beginning, but this time around I´ve been content to find that I fully understood her from the start :)

My beloved street- Calle Martín de los Heros. Complete with a Spanish cinema and cafes

   I´m also at the same school as last year- a bilingual elementary school 45 minutes outside of Madrid- where I had a great experience working as an English language assistant. Last year I worked with 5th grade, so this year I moved with them and their teacher up to 6th grade. It was so great to see them after the summer and see how much they´d grown! I´m also teamed up with a new teacher for 4th grade this year, and she´s wonderful. She really knows how to utilize me in the classroom, and I´m often up in front of the class team teaching with her. I help with Science and English- the two main subjects taught in English at the school- and also an art class twice a week. The science lessons give me a chance to share what I learned in my geology and biology classes at Davis, and I´ve become known as the ¨one who likes to teach science¨. Since a lot of the teachers have backgrounds in teaching English, and not science, they appreciate that. Since I'm technically a language assistant, the goal of my position is to help improve their English speaking skills. This sometimes means leading pronunciation exercises and activities in class. Other times it means working in pairs on conversation and speaking prompts to prepare for the Cambridge English exams. The great thing about this job is that while I´m not responsible for lesson planning or grading, I have the flexibility to jump in and plan an activity, lesson, or game whenever I have an idea or find a topic that interests me. Today, for example, I led an activity on overfishing that I thought was important (and which the book barely covered). I only work 20 hours a week, always have three day weekends (plus the plentiful Spanish holidays), and make enough money to live comfortably in the heart of the city- and even have extra cash to spend on tapas and traveling. As you can see, it's a pretty good deal for a job I really enjoy. I couldn't help but sign up for another year :)

Elisa, the 6th grade teacher I work with,
and Marina identifying bones

My 5th grade class from last year,
who I have again as 6th graders this year- they look tiny here!

  After school I also spend my weeknights doing English tutoring and babysitting. I watch a little 4 year old boy once a week and play with him in English (it ends up being a mix of languagees and lots of translation, which is also great practice for me). His name is Mateo, and although he's adorable, he's definitely a handful!! His family lives in one of my favorite neighborhoods in Madrid, Malasaña, which I Iove for its plentitude of smaller streets and unique cafes that fill its colorful buildings. Malasaña also houses my favorite Argentinian bakery, which I conveniently (and/or dangerously) pass by on my way to pick up Mateo from school. I also tutor a sly but lovable 9 year old and a shy 18 year old once a week. All of these side jobs not only help with extra money for traveling, but also allow me to experience what it´s like to be amongst a Spanish family in a Spanish household.

Mateo- aka 4-year-old Spanish ball of energy!

   Finally, when I'm not tutoring I use my extra time to read, work on my Spanish, and enjoy what the city has to offer. Whether it be taking dance classes (I tried a contemporary dance class last week!), spanish lessons, salsa dancing (there's a place ten minutes away from my house!) or going to the Spanish cinema (located right outside our door), Madrid has so much to offer. It also has an amazing metro system, many neighborhoods to explore, and so many bars and tapa joints that you could not visit them all even if you lived here your whole life! I could go on and on... but I'll save that for later posts. Hasta pronto!