A learning experience

When people study abroad in college, one comment given pre-departure is that you will learn a lot about yourself that year.  That was definitely true for me.  But this year includes many different experiences that I have never had to deal with before. Clearly, a person right out of college does a lot of "growing up" that first year on the job, but I think because I am in a foreign country, out of my comfort zone, I am learning way more than I would have in the US.

One thing I have learned to do is stand up for myself.  The biggest thing that happened since I wrote last was that I moved apartments. The first one wasn't working out (aka I couldn't breathe because my roommates chain-smoked with the windows closed) so I had to ask my roommates if they could try to compromise with me to see if my allergies got better. When they didn't, I had to call my landlord, explain the situation, show my apartment and rent my room, and find a new place to live.  Yes, I definitely felt bad about needing to move out when I said I would stay, but I needed to do what was best for me. That hasn't exactly been my strongest suit, so I think I am building up an ability that I will need to use forever.  I am a whole lot happier now. I live in a great apartment, have a shorter commute, and live with three really nice Spanish girls, so I am constantly practicing.  There have been a few other cases in which I have had to stand up for myself, and even though doing so in another language is challenging, but I hope it only makes me more assertive in the future.

Besides that, things have been rather calm.  I went on another day trip to Cuenca, Spain. It is in the comunidad de Castilla la Mancha, and I had never been there before! It was really interesting and really relaxing. The majority of what we did was just walk around and look at the beautiful views. 

These are the Casas Colgadas, or Hanging Houses, in Cuenca. They are really well-known, really old houses that hang off of the cliff. And below is a view of the canyon, above which the old town is built.

November went by really fast, and December is (luckily) a short month!  With the holidays coming up, I am starting to get a little sad being so far away from home, but I will be having Thanksgiving dinner with my friends this week and have decided to go to Amsterdam and Paris for Christmas! So my life isn't so bad. :)

Until next time!

October's Adventures

By now, we have been working for about a month! I'm definitely working on getting settled in. I have a daily routine, friends in Spain (mostly Americans- working on the Spanish aspect), and things that I do during my spare time.  I have had a couple of bumps in the road- difficulties with my school and apartment- so I have been working to sort those out. I am currently in the process of trying to move apartments but after that I hope to be settled for good!

One of the weirdest things for me to get adjusted to is that I'm not in school anymore. I like working, but it is weird to not have any homework or anything to worry about at night or on the weekends. That being said, I am getting quite used to it.  I go into school Tuesday through Friday and teach for about 4 hours a day.  Though it seems really quick, there are multiple breaks so I end up being there for around 7 hours a day. The hardest thing to get used to is the school schedule- it starts at 9:00, breaks for recess from 11:15-11:45, and then again from 12:30-2:30. School runs again until 4:00. The two hour break is definitely something to get used to. I actually think it is pretty counterproductive, because the students are impossible to teach and control afterwards- not that they are easy to teach in the first place. Some of the staff at my school are trying to change it, but that schedule is really common in primary schools here.

This past week was Halloween! Halloween is not a traditional Spanish holiday (the day after- All Saints Day- is celebrated here), but because of all the influence of foreigners, many Spanish people have adopted the celebration. We had been decorating for Halloween for the past couple weeks, and this entire past week was focused on the holiday. Early in the week, we read Halloween stories to the students from the preschool. On Thursday, the entire day was dedicated to Halloween. Nearly every student (and teacher) were dressed up, and we did Halloween activities ranging from reading stories to singing songs to coloring.  There was also a haunted house put on by the parents in the auditorium, which most of my second graders were terrified of (me da miedo!). I did manage to go myself, with one of my students clinging to my arm the entire time.  Then the kids went Trick-or-Treating (Truco o Trato) for two pieces of candy.

One huge difference here is that it is considered weird if you are not in a scary costume! I have never been anything scary, I'm pretty sure, and this year I just ended up buying a witch hat for a euro to wear with my black dress. But the kids went all out with their makeup- fake blood, scars, fake bullet holes glued onto their heads, zipper faces, etc. I do not remember getting nearly as dressed up for Halloween as they did!

Another important thing is that I am in full swing with the private tutoring jobs! Depending on the week, I tutor 7 or 8 hours. This ends up being pretty good money! Most of my classes are focused on conversation.  I teach one girl that is in my class at school, which is relatively easy since I know exactly what they are doing and what they need to work on.  The most fun one is on Thursdays with two boys- 4 and 6 years old. We end up just playing the entire time- speaking in English. I bought a Bingo game with both English and Spanish from the dollar section at Target before I left- best purchase ever. It distracts them for the entire hour and a half!

Up to this weekend, I had stayed in the city for the past month and a half.  But yesterday I went with three of my friends to Salamanca, which is about 2.5 hours northwest of Madrid. I had actually been there before, but it is nice and I wanted to get out of Madrid! We just went for the day. One of my friends brought her Spain travel guide, so we did a self-guided walking tour and went inside some of the buildings. It is pretty easy to see in a few hours, and then we ate lunch and walked around for the rest of the day.

One of the cool things that we did was go up into the top of one of the cathedrals, where we got to look out over the city!

Salamanca is very famous for its university as well as Plaza Mayor.  The plaza is said to be one of the most beautiful in Spain!

So that is pretty much it! Hopefully I will have more stuff to update with soon!

Back to School..

This past week was the first week of school for us auxiliares! As nice as it was to have time off for the past few weeks, it will be nice to start having a routine again (once I come to terms with the fact I cannot go to bed at 2 am).

A bit about teaching
My school is a primary school, which is abbreviated here as CEIP, or Colegio de Educación Infantil y Primaria.  There are about 700 students total, so it is pretty big! The infantil part of the school is more or less a preschool, and the children are aged 3-5. The primary school is first through sixth grades, ages 6-12.  In total, there will be five auxiliares at my school.  But as of now, only four of us have shown up.  It is really nice to be able to go through this with other people as we have already had a few issues

Only the primary school is bilingual.  This means that from first grade onward, the students take English and Science classes in English, and are able to do Arts and Crafts, Music, and PE in English as well.  In these courses, the teachers generally only speak English, though it is more difficult with younger classes.  The second, fourth, and sixth grade students are evaluated on their English level at the end of the year through official exams, either the Trinity or Cambridge exam.  These are purely oral exams.

I am the auxiliar for second grade, preparing them for their first English exam.  The subject material is still pretty basic and they can form short sentences.  For instance, the unit this past week in English was descriptions and comparisons of people.  For example- straight-haired vs. curly-haired, thin vs. fat.  In Science, we learned about sports, and they would form their short sentences (though I am pretty sure at this point is is only memorization)- "you are cycling."

One important difference is that here, they learn British English! Obviously, I understand what they are saying, but we do have certain structural and vocabulary differences.  For instance, the kids were doing a listening activity with clues in order to figure out the person described.  They say, "Has he got fair hair?" "Yes, he has."  On Thursday, one teacher asked me to play a game and spell out the name of school supplies and the students would have to guess it. Not sure if they were really listening (also, this is probably the worst idea for a game ever), as they kept yelling out pencils! rubbers!  Really, what is more funny than having 25 six-year-olds repeatedly yell out "rubbers!" in the middle of class?  I had never heard the name before (it means eraser), so I was a little confused, but after I figured it out, I of course taught them the word "eraser."

So, my first week of teaching was interesting, to say the least! I like working with kids one-on-one, but I definitely need to learn tactics to teach an entire class. Because I have had minimal instructions (the teacher just hands me the book), it will take a bit to get used to it.  Also, I noticed a few differences between the schools in America vs. Spain.  The classrooms are very rowdy, generally there are side conversations between multiple groups of kids, kids fighting, etc, and discipline does not really exist here (not just in schools, but at home as well).  I was blown away by how crazy nearly all of the kids in classroom are-very different from home.  Also, the kids are very affectionate, will give hugs and kisses all the time, whereas at home this type of affection is not allowed.

Living in Spain
Besides working, I have been able to meet quite a few other people here!  I have met other auxiliars through some organized events, and through other friends. I have also set up a few intercambios, or language exchanges.  During intercambios, the time is usually split between speaking in English and speaking in Spanish.  It's a great way to practice! I am hoping to do some more of these. I speak Spanish when I am out, and I also speak to other teachers at my school in Spanish as much as I can- many of them do not know English!

I have found a few private classes to teach after school, and will do one or two a day- kind of a lot, but it is easy and a good way to make extra money! And I guess I am here to actually work...

Besides that, everything is pretty normal here! I am excited to start my second week of school and hopefully everything goes smoothly!  :)

The Second Time Around!

Hello All!

So as you all know, this is my second time in Madrid! I am so lucky I get to live in this beautiful and lovely city again.

I arrived on Wednesday morning (now a week ago!) at 9:30 local time after a long day of traveling! My flight was at 9am from Chicago to London, and I had a seven hour, overnight layover in Heathrow. I was exhausted! There were tons of other people doing the same thing as me, though I didn't actually end up sleeping! I was worried about all of my stuff. Luckily, I had Bridesmaids and When Harry Met Sally to keep me entertained.

Traveling note- if anyone ever brings a jar of peanut butter as a safety net while they travel- this might be scanned as a liquid! At security in London, my entire backpack (perfectly-packed up to that point, I might add) was taken apart. Thankfully, I was allowed to keep my peanut butter (a rare find in Spain, and when it is found, it costs around 8 euros for a small jar).

Anyway, once I was finally allowed in my hostel (I had to wait about 2 hours to check in), I met up with another auxiliar with who I am sharing a room! We met with another girl in Casa de Campo, a huge park in Madrid, and walked around a bit, then had a drink at the lake!



We finished the night off by going for tapas in Lavapiés, a really cultural neighborhood in Madrid. We had tinto de verano- which is more or less wine with soda or juice added in- and croquetas, salchichas, and berenjenas. 

So the rest of my week was pretty crazy! The most stressful part during the first few days by far is the piso hunt. This is, of course, looking for a room in an apartment to call my own for the next 10 months. It is really competitive and rooms go really quickly! I had to search multiple sites, call and text landlords, and run around Madrid looking for these random places. Not to mention the always-fun WiFi search, where I would take my computer around so that I would hopefully connect to WiFi in between viewings, usually at the price of at least one Starbucks coffee every 45 minutes (really, only 45 minutes of free WiFi).

The first few days of being here were pretty much all apartment hunting, tapas, and sangria. I finally found a place on Monday and moved in on Tuesday! It is simple and cute and in a nice area.

The other highlight of my week was my friend, Livia, getting to Madrid! She arrived Sunday morning and we reminisced for the past 3 days.  As she is teaching English in Lugo, which is in Galicia in Northern Spain, we did a few of our favorite things here (revolving around eating aka Cien Montaditos, which I will explain at a later date). On Monday we visited our old program coordinator (from when we studied here in 2012) and Livia helped me move into my new apartment!

Now for the reason I'm here---
So it seems like I have nothing to do in Spain (partially true), but I have been working on getting prepared for my position! On Friday morning, I went to the school I will be teaching at with another auxiliar. It is a really big school, and the bilingual program is in first through sixth grade.  At then end of second, fourth, and sixth grades, the students are required to take Cambridge exams that test their level of English. This will be a huge part of our job, I think.  We met the bilingual program coordinators and some teachers, and even had the opportunity to meet two of the classes! Everyone seems really nice and helpful. I'm looking forward to a great year.  Our first day is on Tuesday!

While I am here, I am hoping to teach private English classes. There is actually a pretty big demand for them in Madrid. Because we are only committed to working in the school for 16 hours per week, we have plenty of time during the day to do other things! I have a couple of resources to search for classes on, so hopefully it works out.

I had orientation for my program on Tuesday. Much of it was read directly from the handbook, but we need to apply for a TIE card, which is a residency card for the year we are studying here (this program is a grant and we are technically considered students), so that information was helpful.

Anyway, it is about 9:30 here now, so I am starting to think about dinner! Things were kind of crazy this past week with the apartment search, but now that I am more settled, I should be able to become a master blogger.

Please comment or email me! I would love to hear from everyone! :)

Calming my nerves

Now that it is less than a month before I leave, I'm starting to get a little nervous (maybe more than a little if you talk to my mom). Listening to this song, Send Me On My Way by Rusted Root, never fails to make me feel better, and, honestly, like I can do anything I set my mind to. And it will all be okay!

Second Languages and Castillian Spanish

I had my first taste of Spanish in sixth grade, when I was eleven years old. We did a sort of language sampler program at my middle school, each a portion of the year, to determine if we would choose Spanish, French, or German after that. At the end of the year, we had to turn in our first and second preferences.  Fun fact- at first I turned in my card with French as my first preference and Spanish as my second. I remember coming home that day and telling my mom, who (pretty easily) guilted me into flipping my choices around the next day. Isn't it weird to think about how a seemingly small decision at age 11 impacted your life?

However, this process isn't the same everywhere in the world, or even everywhere in Illinois! In the globalizing world, many other countries seem to value the knowledge of multiple languages more than we do (c'mon, USA). I mentioned it before, but the simple fact that I'm an English assistant in a primary school is awesome; it is really emphasized that they start learning at a young age, which is best for picking up the native accent. 

Back to the USA. Here in Chicago, we have a pretty big Spanish-speaking population, so it always seemed really useful and gave me the perspective pretty early on that not everyone speaks English. I loved learning Spanish in high school. But you know those verb charts that are engrained into our heads from day one?

When we filled it out in class, the vosotros form was always blank! It got thrown away because it is only used in Spain.  In reality, Spain is one of the most popular countries for overseas study in college, so I would argue it is important to be exposed to it. So instead I found myself sitting in my first college Spanish class with a professor from Madrid, trying to decipher colloquial castellano, distracted by the theta, and trying to keep up with an accent that seemed about 5 times faster than what I was used to. Flash forward, and I now speak (most of the time..) in that accent.

So now I attempt to tie together these ideas. Learning another language is beneficial in more ways than one. I admire that European students are exposed to more than one language beginning at a young age, and wish we would adopt that practice here.  But on the other hand, if I had learned at a younger age it may have been easier, but learning at any time in your life will help you become a more global citizen and expose you to a culture in a way you may not have been without the other language.  But the other point is that you never stop learning. Even if I had started in second grade, my Floridian school would have taught me a different accent than what I spoke in college, and regardless, I would have had to put effort into developing my Spanish. And finally, relating the lack of the vosotros form to a larger scale, we can't forget that we are part of something bigger, and shouldn't ignore a certain culture just because it's easier to set it aside.  We are part of a diverse and globalizing world, and if we are able to, we should try to develop and flourish as global citizens.

So... sorry about the deep thoughts! Really, I just think it's so important to know another language and be aware of other cultures, and know that there is so much out there that we don't even know about. And I love to learn. And I hope that this adventure lets me do just that!

Things I'm Looking Forward to (minus a few)

I thought that living abroad was something I would just do in college, and I think that a lot of people have this mindset. Whether it is a summer, a few months, a year, or just a eurotrip, any time you can spend abroad, in my opinion, is extremely valuable and really worth it.  It's super cliche, but you really learn a lot about yourself and grow into independence when you are so far away from home, knowing no one- even more than you do by just going away to college a few hours away from home.

For me, I didn't expect to go back to Spain this year.  I thought I would be fine starting my life at my desk, earning a steady paycheck and hopping from job to job to grad school until I found some stability in my life and could pay my way into some sort of happiness, even if that did include travel. But over the course of the year, even as I was deciding to take a trip to Ireland and Spain at the beginning of Summer 2013, it became more clear: if you don't do this now, when will you?

I read somewhere that the 20s are your time to be selfish.  See the world, try out different careers, make time for yourself, and really do what your heart is telling you. That's why I'm going back.

That being said, there are some things that I am really looking forward to about going back.  I clearly love Spain, and cannot wait to be in the same city that I studied in.

Here are a few things I'm looking forward to:

The Global Connection
I believe that knowing another language is a huge gift.  I love how common (and required) it is in Europe to be bilingual, trilingual, etc. I mean, come on, the government implemented a program that brings native speakers of English in from abroad to help their students learn- how cool is that?  And the students start learning as young as 2 (remember the kids I taught English to in 2012?). One of my roommates knew five languages. I love how valued it is here and maybe one day I will get the chance to learn another (or be able to afford Rosetta Stone).

No pasa nada, mañana
In this go, go, go lifestyle in America, it's hard to remember to slow down, relax. Being in Spain before taught me what actually mattered, what I could let go (no pasa nada). I also learned that even though it feels like everything has to get done right away (some things do), sometimes it really doesn't, and it's better to enjoy a game of Real Madrid futbol, have a cerveza (or three), and not let life pass you by.

Travel Opportunities
While I got a lot of traveling in already (since the beginning of 2012, I've been to 10 European countries, Morocco, and 20-something cities in Spain), I am looking forward to a few trips over Christmas break and Semana Santa (before Easter). I love the fact that in Europe you can take a three hour flight and be somewhere with a completely different culture.  Also, I would love to experience more of Spain.  One friend is determined to hit all 17 comunidades autónomas of Spain. Whether or not I do that, I am really looking forward to getting to know the country better.

Madrid!
Of course, I'm looking forward to city itself. The cobblestone streets, the old buildings, my favorite parks, and all the people outside at any given time shopping and eating with their friends.  I also love the daily schedule- I found that things happen just a bit later. Oh, and after a summer of driving or riding the CTA or Metra in Chicago, I'm excited to walk everywhere and use the Metro!

Spanish Immersion
This is the most important reason I'm going. Since the American school system doesn't buy into learning other languages quite to the extent of Europe, I probably started learning Spanish a little too late.  Even though I have a degree in Spanish and can definitely get by fine, I want to perfect my accent and my fluency. During my apartment search I'm going to look for Spanish roommates and try my best to make Spanish friends and come back (?..just kidding Mom) to the USA a little more cultured.
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That being said, I'll miss a few things about home-

My family and friends
Goes without saying. It's hard to communicate on a 7 hour time difference, and I won't see them for almost a year (unless someone takes the hint and comes to visit). Not to mention holiday traditions that will for sure make the winter holidays difficult.

The FOOD
Spanish food is bland. I like it, it's fun to go out for tapas, but I would really like some unlimited ketchup with my fries at McDonalds when I go there out of homesickness. Plus, where is the mexican food? (Hi, Chipotle) But, really, when I can't get my favorite foods, I can always get sangria!

Being Comfortable
This will definitely be out of my comfort zone. I don't know how to teach, no one else I know is in Madrid with me. But this is also one of the best things that I'll miss, so really it is something I'll look forward to.

So, that's it! 2.5 things. I think this will be for the better!


I will end this with a quote from On The Road. I am reading it now, and this quote is very fitting.
"Live, travel, adventure, bless, and don't be sorry." -Jack Kerouac

Round Two.

Glad that the title of this is adventures in Spain, because I'm going back!

I guess I haven't posted since halfway through my time abroad in 2012, but my whole experience was better than I could have imagined.  I have never loved a place as much as I have Spain.  During this whole year, I was nervous that I would never get to go back, especially as I accepted a job that would start at the beginning of July, sending me to Washington, D.C. for a new adventure.

Luckily (I guess), too many things weren't working out with D.C., and while I was on a trip to Spain (more of a last minute panic that I would never see it again), I found out that I was accepted to the Auxiliares de conversacion program in none other than Madrid!

I was definitely suprised- I never expected to get into Madrid, which after I accepted my job, was the only place for which I thought that I would consider restructuring my plans.  The night that I found out, I was in Barcelona (drinking my beloved 1 euro Don Simon) and I freaked out.  I'm pretty sure everyone in my hostel knew.  And of course the good ol' Spanish government only gives you 5 days to accept, meaning I needed to make my choice while I was traveling in Madrid.

So, I chose to go back to Spain.  I decided that it was the most important to me to be fluent in Spanish, and that if I was given the opportunity to live abroad and didn't take it, I would regret it. 

I moved home, told my job in DC I wouldn't make it, applied for my visa, and finally got a temp job.  Now I am set to leave O'Hare on September 17th, and will not be coming back until July at the earliest (everyone come visit)!

So for the next 8 weeks, I'm counting down! Hasta pronto, Madrid!