Feliz año!

So I have been absent from the blog for quite a while. Once the holiday season hit, it was a solid month of holiday activities.

Being in Madrid for the holiday season was definitely difficult. I really missed home! The holidays were celebrated a little bit differently here.

First of all, Spain obviously doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, which is what I think kicks off the holiday season at home.  However, I, along with 4 of my American friends, made a Thanksgiving dinner on the night of Thanksgiving and invited my Spanish roommates and a few of their friends. The food was delicious, and it was definitely a Thanksgiving to remember! And my roommates and their friends thought the food was delicious. The only thing was that we ate at 9 pm (a terrible idea on Thanksgiving) and I was really upset to be working the next day with my food hangover! Never again.  One good thing- waking up on Thanksgiving morning, there was a little bit of snow! So I felt like I got a taste of home.

This is a picture of me with my roommates and one of their friends!!

 And this is some of our delicious food!! 

Right after Thanksgiving the holiday season started. There were so many Christmas lights up all over the city. Madrid also had a bus, called the NaviBus, that takes you around to look at the lights in the city.

Christmas lights on a famous shopping street in Madrid, Calle Preciados

Lights at Banco de España

Christmas lights at the Christmas market in Plaza Mayor

We continued the season with a gift exchange with holiday cookies! Then we were back to preparing for our trips!

For the holiday season I went to Amsterdam for 3 days and then to Paris for 5. I went with three of my friends, which was perfect! The trip was nice because I hadn't been to either city before. Paris was nice, but I absolutely loved Amsterdam!

First canal shot in Amsterdam!

Amsterdam was a really beautiful city! It was a really nice to start out there. The first day that we were there, we got in early and stayed near the Vondelpark, which is a really big park in the city. One thing that we needed to get used to was that there are so many bikers in the city! They have special bike paths on every street and do not stop for pedestrians! We wanted to bike, but unfortunately it rained our entire trip so we didn't. 

An example of all of the bikes!

We spent a lot of time just walking around. We saw the Vondelpark, the floating flower markets, Christmas markets, Dam Square, the Red Light District, the I Amsterdam letters, and more! We also went into the Anne Frank House, the Van Gogh museum, and the Heineken museum. We took a boat ride on the canals, and ate some great food! Overall, I thought it was one of the most beautiful and interesting cities I had ever been to. And it was very cozy for Christmas!

Our next  stop was Paris on the 23rd.  I hadn't really ever wanted to go there, but I thought it would be good to go one time! Two extended stays in Europe and never going to Paris would be kind of weird.  There was a lot to do here, too. We stayed near the Moulin Rouge and Sacre Coeur. 

Me and my friends in front of the Arc de Triomphe

Our first stop was walking down to the Arc de Triomphe from where we were staying through Parc Monceau! Then we walked down a really famous street, the Champs-Elysees, and saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time.  We went to the top of the Arc de Triomphe that day as well, which was really cool. We spent the rest of the day walking around the Christmas markets on the Champs-Elysees, drinking hot wine, eating macaroons, and finally trying some French Onion soup for dinner!

First glimpse of the Eiffel Tower

View from the top of the Arc

Christmas Eve was a little weird! We did a lot of  things during the day, such as going up to the top of the Notre Dame, going to the Sainte-Chapelle, and going to mass at Notre Dame. Christmas Eve is my favorite day at home, so I was really sad (and may have cried at mass). Going to mass at the the Notre Dame was a really great experience, but was kind of the opposite of home- in a  cold, old cathedral in a language I didn't understand. Whereas at home, I think mass is very cozy and familiar. I don't mean to sound ungrateful! It was just more difficult than I thought it would be.

View from the Notre Dame

Christmas day was nice! We had a Secret Santa in the morning, went to breakfast, and took it easy during the day, ending it with a nice Christmas dinner.

 Though it was sad for 2 days, on the 26th it was strange-- I wasn't sad at all anymore.  The 26th, we went to the Eiffel Tower and to the Louvre and to Napoleon's tomb. The 27th we went to Versailles, which was incredible! And I ended my time in Paris with a last meal of Chipotle (there are only Chipotles in London and Paris so I made sure it was part of my trip!) and I nearly cried. The food in Spain is bland and it was probably the most delicious thing I have eaten in four months!

View from Eiffel Tower

By the end of my trip, I have been to 11 different European countries! I would like to get to 15 before I leave-- we will see if that happens! Just an obscure goal.

After my trip, my friends continued on but I was back to Madrid to prepare for the best reunion ever! My friend from America (who I met while studying here) came to Spain for 1.5 weeks! Another one of our friends is living in another part of Spain right now, and she came for the visit as well. It was very nice, I got a taste of home (and a little bit of food, thanks Mom!), and my roommates were all at home, so it was the perfect situation. We did a whole lot of hanging out and doing exactly what we did when we studied abroad.

During their visit, it was New Years! In Spain, New Years Eve is called Nochevieja and it is a family oriented day with a big meal for dinner. Then at midnight, they eat 12 grapes and make wishes for each month of the year. My friends and I stayed at my house for dinner and the countdown, and then went out at about 2 am! This is very normal in Spain, but on New Years it was very weird to not be at our celebration at midnight!

Spain also celebrates Día de los reyes on January 6th. This is actually a bigger deal than Christmas.  It is when the kids get their gifts (Santa doesn't always come here) from the reyes magos.  There is a big parade in Madrid before, which we went to as well.

So that was my last couple months!

Moving forward, I am planning a couple of more trips within Spain and hopefully one outside for spring break (during semana santa, or holy week).  I am trying to decide if I will be staying here for another year, or what my next move will be! If anyone is bored, please visit me in Spain :)

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!  :)