25 things

Living in Spain has been a true ride. There have been the extreme highs of travel, meeting new people, and navigating new neighborhoods. There have been the lows of dealing with Spanish VISA paperwork, bureaucracies, and a generally unorganized program. It has been very distinct from my study abroad experience, where much was organized for me ahead of time - housing arrangements made, social opportunities built in, field trips set up and travel plans made (which are not bad things- they are the major benefits of going through a study abroad program the first time you live abroad!). Being an English assistant here has involved a lot more independence, which is what I was looking for in my next overseas experience- something that would test me and encourage me to grow as an individual and global citizen. And with this experience comes the normal ups and downs of everyday life that could happen anywhere - plus the occasional frustrations with customs, policies, and lifestyle differences here. But I truly have so much to be thankful for, and this experience has been a once-in-a-lifetime adventure so far. Thus in honor of Thanksgiving and the holidays, I decided to write down 25 details I'm thankful for this year!

Me and my travel bear on a weekend getaway in Barcelona :) When else in
my life have I been able to go visit a famous european city on a whim?

25 Things to be Thankful for this Year (Not in any particular order)

1. Friends to celebrate the holidays with Life has become busy yet comfortable here, as I've found my favorite places, hangout spots, coffee date friends, places to try out new classes, etc. It usually keeps my plenty distracted to miss home too much. Yet when the holidays roll around, homesickness bouts are bound to occur, as even in college December was the one time I was always home. I feel so fortunate to be with my Davis roommates during the holidays, as they are also excited to bring their holiday traditions here and make this time of the year special. Last year we decorated the (tiny) apartment, bought a miniature christmas tree, exchanged presents in our pjs on Christmas morning and even made an advent calendar of wintery things to do in Madrid in December. Is it truly a blessing to spend these holidays with friends! 
2. Family When I approached my parents two years ago and told them I was applying to teach English abroad in Spain for a year, I was expecting a to get a little grief. Many questions. Maybe a sigh. Instead, I got a "We'll miss you but how can you turn down an opportunity like that?" I feel so lucky to have family that supports me in my travel and language endeavors, and has a willing and listening ear to hear my experiences, elation and gripes. This includes those of you, my best friends, who also have supported me on this last year and a half. I love you!!
3. Skype, email, and facebook chat I think it's important to immerse yourself fully in any experience abroad, yet at the same time I believe it's equally important to stay in touch with friends and family at home and maintain these connections. I am so glad that one no longer has to stand outside in the cold at a public telephone, dialing the small numbers on the back of the international phone calling card and listening to directions in Spanish to get my 15 minutes of call time home (this is what I did in Argentina, but at least it was at my host family's home). 
4. Good old-fashioned snail mail Skype, email, facebook chat, are all awesome. They are convenient and practical. But there is something about opening the mailbox and seeing an envelope addressed to you that in unparalleled. (Hint hint! :)) It shows the person took time to think of you and reflect on what they wanted to include in their letter. 
5. My 3rd grade teacher Being back in an elementary school classroom 4 days a week on the other side (up in front and being the one signaling to be quiet, rather than being signaled to be quiet) has made me extra appreciative of all of my teachers, K-12. Teaching is truly a labor of love, and it is energy sapping. Some days I come home exhausted from what I had to deal with that day. Others I come home elated by what I was able to get across to the students today or something funny or sweet my students said. Either way, I am thankful for all of my teachers and the hard work they've done for me and my classmates. Thank you!
6. Friends living in Europe One of the best ways to see a new city is to be hosted and shown around by a friend who is living there. I was extremely lucky to have several friends living in Europe last year who I could go visit! I had a close college friend, Justin Chan, doing his master's in Sweden, and I visited him in Lund (in freezing winter!) and traveled to Stockholm with him. Mary Durham, a friend and co-worker from the Davis Study Abroad center, was doing her master's in Durham, England. I visited her in March 2012 and traveled to York and Edinburgh with her! My old supervisor and mentor Lindsay Mccullom has been living in VIenna with her husband, so Laura and I visited her in the spring. My sister was studying abroad in Siena, Italy, and I took a plane over for her 21st birthday! 
7. Sight, taste, touch, smell, hearing There are so many things that we take for granted in life, and sometimes we need to be reminded of that. This year I'm tutoring a sweet 18 year old named Alba. She's a big fan of music, laughs so hard when I make a mistake translating in Spanish for her, loves chocolate- and is blind. Basically, she's your normal shy teenager. There is so much she still can do- but so much she hasn't experienced and never will. And it's interesting to get this perspective working with her. As we work on her vocabulary and study song lyrics, I have a feeling she'll be teaching me a lot more than I'll be teaching her this year.
8. My 4th grade students My 4th graders are so adorable and sweet. Everyday they make me feel like the most interesting and special person in the world! I love it when they ask me questions about myself or tell me their birthday and such in the hallway, as it makes them practice their english- they have to use it to get to know me! Most of the time I leave that class feeling fulfilled and content. Sometimes I feel frustrated, but it is usually just because they were especially chatty that day, or because it was harder to teach them comparatives and superlatives than I thought it would be!
9. Continuity It has been so great to come back for another year and continue where I left off. I already have one year under my belt- a year in which i was figuring out how to live here, how to speak Spanish here, and how to teach English as a second language. This year I've been able to pick up where I left off last year and continue at the same school and living in the same apartment. I cannot tell you how amazing it felt to return to my school after a summer in CA and see my 6th graders, a few inches taller and a little darker after our months apart. They gave me such genuine smiles and hugs when they saw me again, and I felt so warm in my heart to see them and realize I get to spend another year teaching them. It's been a blessing so far to continue to develop my relationship with them and to see their confidence in English, and with me, grow! 
10. My concierge who wished me "Happy Independence Day" on Thanksgiving Our concierge, who also happens to be our next door neighbor, is awesome. Not only because she gives me advice, says hi to me everyday as I head out to work, and enjoys random chats with us, but because she was thoughtful enough to wish me "Feliz Día de Independencia" on Thanksgiving! (Many spaniards mix up these two most well-known American holidays). I appreciated the effort and told her with a smile that today was Thanksgiving- kinda similar, but a different holiday of ours :)
11. Aggie Roommates Living abroad entails many things, and it's nice to have others experiencing the same thing along with you for the ride. Danielle is a good listener, very energetic and determined, and is always so upbeat. Laura has as calming presence, inspires me to cook with her creations, and creates joy out of the smallest things in life. Plus, it's our 6th year living together! Cheers to good roommates. 
12. Having a Job in Spain-despite the economic crisis My job is so well-paid and so ideal (working 20 hours a week while receiving an above-average monthly salary) that I rarely speak about my job in front of Spaniards. It can often be a sad situation for many Spaniards and other foreigners. I've met many bright, unemployed recent college graduates who have to go abroad to find jobs. There are so many people on the street or asking for money on the metro. People and businesses have had to make sacrifices and cuts. I feel so fortunate for the job I have as a foreigner here, but I sometimes feel bad about it when I see all of the rampant unemployment here. But I also have to remember that by helping my young Spanish students learn English now, they will hopefully have more job opportunities in the future. 
13. Salsa salsa salsa How amazing is it that we can express ourselves through dance? At the end of the week I am just ready to go out and dance salsa, let off some steam, bring some friends along, and meet new people who also use dance as their creative outlet. The great thing about living in a big city is that it brings all the dancing opportunities you could want- dance clubs, studios, conferences and performances. This year is all about taking the opportunity to speak as much Spanish and dance as much Salsa as I can! It also helps there is a great dance place a 10-minute walk from my apartment that's free on Fridays! I've also been giving informal lessons to friends and coworkers as often as I can :) 
14. Spanish tortilla There is nothing like hitting up a good old greasy neighborhood bar and getting cheap tapas and spanish tortilla. Or going to La Latina on Sundays and touring the aesthetic street full of amazing tapa bars and restaurants. Whoever came up with the simple but scrumptious spanish tortilla- an egg omelette with potatoes, onions, and plenty of olive oil- deserves to win a prize. 
15. The Madrid metro! If there's one thing I can really rave about in Madrid, it's the metro! It is very efficient and frequent, and has several lines that go throughout the city. It comes every 3 minutes during weekday mornings, and only rarely has delays. It is much more effective and cleaner than those of other big cities I've been to. I can say this from personal experience, after using public transportation in London, Rome, Lisbon, Stockholm, Barcelona, Valencia, Paris, Chicago, San Francisco, etc. To be fair, the Madrid metro is one of the newer systems, and has learned from the mistakes and disadvantages of other european trains. As a foreigner living here without a car, I am especially grateful for the mobility it gives me. It's a great feeling to live one more year on this planet without being dependent on a car! 
16. Nerea Nerea is an, intelligent, caring 9-year-old who is also an avid listener of One Direction, Selena, and Justin Bieber and often shares her after-school snack with me. She is a pleasure to tutor once a week, and I look forward to our English lessons, reviewing her science homework, singing songs in English on Youtube, and playing Hide and Seek and other games in english at the end of our lesson.  
17. Random encounters They may not seem monumental, but sometimes the smallest interactions can make your day. The old lady who sat by you on the bus and by the end of the conversation was complimenting your Spanish. The man in the business suit who helped you carry your suitcase out of the metro and up the stairs. 
18. 3 day weekends! Since this never happened with any of my schedules in college, I finally got my 3 day weekends in Spain! Add the large number of Spanish holidays and puentes and you get used to a pretty great lifestyle :)
19. Siestas Sometimes there's nothing better than a nap during the day- a chance to close your eyes, rest your head, and recharge before part two of your day continues. And it's not only the siesta itself that's important- it's what it represents in Spain's culture. It means taking a break, a pause, to be with family and rest. It means slowing down. It means a more tranquil life pace. It means living in the moment. And although siestas are not as common in Madrid (as it's a big cosmopolitan city) 
20. 2-euro bottles of red wine After studying abroad in Mendoza, Argentina, studying an hour and a half outside of Napa Valley, CA, and living in Spain, I finally have an appreciation for good wine. I may not know what exactly makes it good wine or why I like it, nor the terminology to use, but I do know that it is very decent wine that you can find here in Spain for 2 euros. Every euro you invest after that means the quality of wine increases exponentially! 
21. Visitors My sister studying in Italy. My parents making their first trip out to Europe. A college friend visiting old friends in Belgium. A friend-of-a-friend (or two) passing who happen to be in town. And potentially 3 of my best girlfriends visiting me in March? No matter who it is or when they come, it is good to have visitors! 
22. Spanish immersion It's one of the main reasons I came to live in Spain- to really immerse myself and speak Spanish in everyday situations. My 3 months in Argentina flew by, and it left me hungry for a longer experience abroad. I had no idea one year would fly by so quickly and turn into 2!
23. International church community Have you ever been to a church service in a bar before? Well, that's what happens when you go to a small protestant church in a Catholic country. It's been a great way to worship and meet people studying abroad from the US or France, or Latin Americans who've been living and working here for years. Maybe less than a third of the congregation is Spanish! 
24. Living in a big city I'd never lived in a big city before. Let alone the center of the city! Yes, I'm from San Diego, but it's a very spread out city, and I grew up in a rural area. At first it was a transition, and I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. But once I got used to it I truly appreciated all that Madrid offers- the public transportation, the dancing opportunities, the availability of restaurants and cafes, and being in the center of social movements like strikes and cultural festivals. I'm still a small town girl at heart, but Madrid has made it's case for big cities! 
25. Deciding to come back for a second year Sometimes having two hamburgers is better than one!