It’s unbelievable… I actually feel this is my home. I spent my first 7 days in Spain unsettled and unnerved that I would be out of my element for 9 long months. But once I moved in, set up house, slept a full night in my warm big bed, and started teaching at my school, things fell into place! (Thank you Lord!)
We are so perfectly located, it’s ridiculous… the street we live on is the best one around, with jazz cafés, terrazas, 2 quirky movie theaters (one of which is the only English language version theater in the city), various ethnic restaurants, a filmography library, bakery, tea shop, and more! 30 seconds from our door is the famous Plaza de España where they sell trinkets, art, jewelry, etc.; a 3-minute walk leads to the huge Parque de Oeste. The Templo Debod overlooks the city center and Caso de Campo (the outlying forest), and there are running/biking/dog-walking paths leading down to rose gardens and more greenery. Who said living in a big city would deprive me of my nature time…?
A little 10 minute walk will get you to Malasaña, where my favorite odd shops, restaurants, and cafés are located, and 10-15 minutes south is Gran Vía’s shopping and theater areas and Chueca’s nightlight. All of that fun stuff + ideal Metro stop location + banks, grocery stores, & shopping nearby = Danielle, Kelsey, and Laura are 3 lucky girls! Our landlady is a tiny older woman with a strange knack for repeating herself 3 times in completely different ways in conversation… I didn’t realize it the first few times we spoke, because most of what she said went over my head, but then as I started to understand the language more and process her accent and mannerisms as well, it dawned on me and it’s the funniest thing! The other day she was telling us about how to use our washing machine, so she showed us while telling us, then told us again in order, then went on a tangent about how the old tenants would do it, then gave us the steps in order again, then after saying goodbye, decided to remind us again of how they did it wrong before. It’s quite funny; a 2 minute conversation about the price of chicken at the market easily becomes 10 minutes. But she’s sweet and her daughter is extremely friendly, so I’m content.
My job officially started 2 weeks ago and I really like my school, the teachers and principle and other assistants are pleasant and it’s a very open atmosphere. I work 4 days a week, getting off early on Thursdays to start my 3 day weekend. I teach English in grades 2, 3, and 5, and science for 3, 5, and 6. It’s a bilingual school, if I didn’t mention that before, which basically means they have 3 subjects taught in English. It doesn’t mean the kids are great at it, but they are at least getting some exposure to immersion at a young age, which is good for their brains! The younger grades are a bit more difficult. The teachers exert so much effort keeping them in line, and the students don’t see a value in learning English yet. The older grades, on the other hand, are my favorite ones to teach. Their English isn’t great, but they’ve had enough practice with assistants from years past and they see the point of it. They’re also more curious about my life and want to express things to me about their own lives using English. They’re polite and participate and react when I correct them. The curriculum is also more interesting; I love teaching science because it’s the stuff I find important and fascinating. As language/cultural assistants, we make a lot of visual aids for the school, so I made a poster about my life and the state of California and now I’m working on fall-themed hallway decorations. It’s a little bubble of time in the week that I let myself feel like a kid doing arts and crafts for show and tell... so I enjoy it! My commute is about an hour each way, so I have time to listen to audio books or read my bible on my iPod or just zone out for a bit. I’m lucky that it’s a simple process; I take the metro from my house to the end of the line, switch once, then get off about 20 minutes later and walk straight up the paseo to my school. No problema!
I tutor one teacher’s 2 sons once a week, which has been a very good experience so far. They’re 12 and 15, so it’s a lot of grammar correction and test preparation. The older boy is particularly bright and talkative, and animated by politics and current events, so I’m working with him on his oral abilities more than anything. I really like their mom; she mentioned wanting to try an intercambio with me. That means she would spend half our time together correcting/helping my Spanish and for the second half I teach her English. The problem with it is she doesn’t know ANY English and I have no idea where to begin! But we’ll try a couple of times and see if it’s helpful to either of us. Wish me luck/pray for me!
So what have I been up to when I’m not teaching, commuting, sleeping, taking care of business, or relaxing at home? Well, not a ton since I’m waiting for my first official paycheck. But so far my roommates and I have attempted to make cookies with our landlady’s daughter…we ended up just making the dough, since our oven’s plug shorted out and scared us to death! If you know my feelings toward cookie dough, I’m sure you know I wasn’t the most disappointed person on the planet… yummm…! I’ve been out to a couple of cafés with friends and took a tango class put on by my friend’s coworker, and it is SO MUCH FUN after getting over the awkwardness of being a novice! We also found a place that has free yoga once a week, so that’s also active and interesting. Church has been a major blessing, both Sunday mornings and Tuesday nights. It’s good for my spirit as well as for my understanding of Spanish. I miraculously catch everything the speaker says and really get the lyrics and verses on a deeper level that English sometimes. I’m so grateful for that, and for the community that surrounds it.
This has been a much more positive blog post than the week before *late apologies for my pessimism!* But things have been better all around, which is very relieving. However, I am a bit sick right now which isn’t making life very happy at the moment. It was bound to happen sooner or later with the traveling, tons of little children hugging/kissing me, and 2 sick roommates so I’ve come to terms with it… just trying to keep it at bay. I know what to do if it gets worse, but I hope I can avoid a doctor’s visit.
Btw, I’m doing a terrible job documenting this year with photos. *apologies in advance* But everything is so beautiful here, and most of the time I’m too busy soaking it in to worry about a camera angle. Plus, now that this place is feeling more like home, I don’t think about grabbing my camera when walking past the beautiful fountains/buildings/parks that surround me. Also, I like when people assume I’m Madrileña, I’ve been asked for directions 2 times! (Scoooore!)
Still, I’ll try to capture and share some interesting things about my life here next time. :)
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