happy as a clam

Today was such a great day! I went and visited my school this morning; it turned out to be more of an adventure than I would have liked, but after two phone calls and stopping 5 people on the street, I finally found it! The best part is it's only a 20-minute commute from my apartment to my school! So I went on a tour of the school, met some of the teachers, and talked to Patricia and Monica, the two main ones I will be working with. I will be teaching students in the second cycle (grades 3 and 4; 8-9 years old) Monday-Thursday from 9:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Monday and Tuesday I will be helping with English classes and Wednesday and Thursday will be a mix of English and Science. Today I sat down with Monica and we went through the textbook and the year-plan for science, and she even gave me my own teacher's edition of the science book. After our meeting she had class, so I asked if I could sit in and just observe. Because of the Huelga General (strike) today, there were only four students in class! But they were learning about living things in science class and Monica didn't want to get too far ahead today because so many students were missing, so I suggested the kids make Venn Diagrams about plants and animals. I can't believe I taught a lesson my very first day! It was such a great feeling. After class, I went and talked to Patricia, the English teacher, and she explained what grammar the two classes are studying in English and gave me the year-plan for English as well. I am so glad I went to visit today! I have a very good feeling about this year! I can't wait to get started on Monday! : )


More the the HUELGA General! So today across Spain there was a huge strike by workers of all kinds. The strike was well-supported by the Spaniards; over 70% of the working population (some 10 million Spaniards) participated. The strike affected mostly Spanish industry, but commercial operations and public transportation (the metro!) continued to operate. The biggest surprise for me was that all of the "chinos" (the Spanish equivalent of dollar stores, almost all of which are operated by Chinese) were closed! Chinos NEVER close! They are open on Sundays and during the hours of the siesta, so it was very strange to see them all closed today. There was some violence involved in the strike too; strikers vandalized buses, set fires, tipped over garbage bins, and set off small firework-like explosives. In Madrid, one striker was actually run over while she was trying to prevent a distribution truck from leaving a printing press. I didn't go to Puerta del Sol or Gran Via where most of the manifestations were taking place, but I can tell you that my neighborhood was very quiet this morning! : )

Tonight Pazitos and I went to Ikea, where he bought a mirror and a new comforter for my room, and I bought picture frames. My room is coming together, slowly but surely! Now that I'm surrounded by photos it feels more like home : ) and I couldn't be happier.

paseo del Prado

I live within walking distance from many of the major museums of Madrid (The Prado, The Thyssen-Bornemisza, The Reina Sofia, The CaixaForum, and The National Archaeological Museum of Spain) so today I decided to take a little walk along the Paseo del Prado. My favorite stop was outside The Prado, where I sat for a while and watched an artist at work and enjoyed some acoustic guitar. Naturally, I snapped a few photos : ). The painter caught me taking one and winked at me...and from then on we were friends.

finalmente... fotos : )

i finally have photos of my apartment!

just some thoughts

So I am all moved into my apartment (as of Friday!) and it's going really well so far. I live with a Spaniard, named Pazitos, who is 33 years old. He is a phy-ed teacher in a high school in Toledo, about 45 minutes outside of Madrid. I will post pictures soon...I need to charge my camera!

Friday night I went out without a jacket : ( and I think I caught a bit of a cold. I woke up with a sore throat yesterday, but I still went running with Pazitos and a friend of his in Retiro. We went twice around the park, which is something like 7km (4.3 miles)...I was exhausted!! I haven't ran that far in a very long time! Since Pazitos is a phy-ed teacher, he also led us in some ab exercises, stretching, and push-ups afterward. My legs are sore today, but I can only imagine what shape I'll be in by the end of the year! I didn't realize I was moving in with a personal trainer! : ) After the run, I pretty much laid around all day. My throat was pretty sore so I went to the Farmacia down the block and I got some tablets to suck on and spent the rest of the day lounging on the couch. I hate to waste a Saturday, but I just did not feel up to much.

Today I'm feeling a bit better. My throat isn't as sore, but my nose is really runny. But I met up with a friend and went to the Rastro and then we went walking around. I love the location of my apartment! I can walk almost anywhere--it's awesome. So this afternoon I'm not sure what I'll do--I wish I could meet more people! That's the only bad thing right now. I met one girl at orientation, but I haven't seen her since. Same with a couple other people. I hope it's just a temporary thing, you know, while people are busy looking for flats, getting settled, etc. But I only know a handfull of people, so hopefully once school starts I will be able to meet more people! Otherwise, I don't know, I might try to join a gym, CouchSurfers.org, or some other kind of social group where I can meet people. I would say that's the hardest part about this program--not being connected right away with other people/friends--because many of my other experiences abroad have been with groups from school, but this is more like what I did this summer in Italy. I didn't know anyone there either, but I met a lot of great people. I'm hoping this experience turns out to be the same way. I just have to give it some time.

all oriented now!

Today we had a morning of orientation. We learned about the virtual classroom that is basically the link between all of the auxiliares of Madrid and the Administration (the Consejería de Educación de Madrid). It's actually really cool -- our own little virtual community! With lots of teaching material and resources. It's going to be really helpful when it comes to planning activities, etc.

So, another hilarious Spain moment: Today I saw this old man (so adorable!) scolding this African man who was trying to hand out/sell newspapers on the sidewalk. It was so funny! Usually the salesmen just say, "Buenas tardes señora..." as you walk by without paying any attention to them, but this old man was not having it! He was pointing his finger at poking at the poor man's chest! I don't know what the salesman said, but it was so funny to see the old man not only paying attention to him, but literally scolding him!

I move into my new apartment tomorrow, but Gema told me to take only the 'urgent' things. She said it's an excuse for me to come back next week! : ) Beatrice told me today that she's going to miss me...even though I'm going to be in the same city!

orientation, day 1

Today we had our first day of orientation! It was long (9:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m.), but we got a lot of valuable information. We learned more about the Bilingual Elementary School Program and our role in it; listened to many presentations by teachers offering us lots of activities and resources for planning mini-lessons and time-fillers; and even had a presentation about security and well-being during our time in Spain from the American Embassy! It was really a great day.

I met a bunch of people too. These orientations are always good for getting to know people; the only bad thing is you have to get to know people really fast and get their contact info because apart from the three orientation sessions we have this year, we might not see them again if we don't make it a point to! I sat next to a really nice girl from Chicago and we hung out pretty much all day, so I think I made a lovely friend! : ) I also feel better about my situation because I already have an apartment! There are lots of people who just arrived yesterday or who have been here for a week and still haven't found an apartment, so I'm really glad I got that out of the way! Now the only thing I have left to do is open a bank account...but I want to talk to Gema first before I do that! From our discussions today, it sounds like each bank is works differently and has different fees and services. The problem with opening an account is that we don't have our identification cards yet with our ID number, which you need to open an account. They said some banks let you open an account with your passport, but then you must either pay 18 euros up front or 4 euros a month until you can present them with your NIE...so I want to do a little more research before I open an account. I just have to make sure I have an account before I receive my first paycheck via direct deposit the end of October-beginning of November!

2 days until move-in : )

p.s. today some of the teachers passed around student work and it was so adorable! but also very different from that of American children...let me give you an example: one 10-year-old girl wrote an "All About Me" book that was not your average story! It began with her parents falling in love, then the next page was the fertilization, followed by the stages of pregnancy, etc. etc., all very anatomically correct! It was surprising to say the least! But, hey, welcome to Spain!

Another random thing: You know you are in Spain when there is a man passed out on the metro in the middle of the afternoon, still holding a beer in his hand. He wakes up every couple stops, takes a sip, and goes back to sleep.

-christy-

keys in hand : )

Today I went back to see the apartment, but this time Gema and Beatrice came with me. I wanted to them to see it and get their impressions before I agreed completely to live there. It is funny because I texted Pazitos and asked if it was okay if my adoptive mother and adoptive little sister could come with me, and he laughed and then told me that his dad was going to come too! So I think we are both very much on the same page...we have a good feeling about it, but just needed someone else's opinion too.

So he gave me the keys and I'm going to move my stuff on Friday! I've already been looking at ikea.com for ideas : ) This is going to be fun!

Tomorrow I have my orientation! So I'm excited to finally not be a bum! I did a "test run" today to see how long it would take me to get there from Gema's house, and it takes nearly an hour! So I will have to leave in plenty of time to get there before it starts at 9:30. Tomorrow I will be getting up 5 HOURS earlier than I have been...oh boy... : )

but, overall, i am a happy little madrileña : )

feliz : )

So my friend Pazitos called--and we're going to be flatmates! He still doesn't know where he is going to be placed for work, so it's possible that I might be home alone during the week, but that's fine with me. So tomorrow I'm going back with Gema (my host mother) and maybe Beatrice (my little sister) to look at it again and get all of my questions answered...and then I'll move in on Friday! I am so happy : ) Beatrice is sad that I'm leaving already, but she said at least I'm not going back to the U.S.! But I'm sure I'll see them often! They are the greatest. This experience would be so much more stressful without them.

So tomorrow I will go visit the flat, then Wednesday and Thursday I have my Auxiliares orientation, and then Friday is moving day! Orientation is kind of long...Wednesday it's from 9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Thursday from 9:15 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., but I'm excited to meet other Auxiliares!

We might have a winner!

I visited two flats today and I found one that I absolutely love! It's in the center of the city, near the metro stop Antón Martín (on metro line 1) and I work at a school near the metro stop Miguel Hernández (Also on line 1!) So I would live only 10 stops away ~25 minutes! that is GENIAL! The flat is owned by a 30ish year-old Spanish guy, named Pazitos, who seems really chill. He is a secondary teacher and is also studying English to pass a Cambridge exam, so we can have intercambios. The flat is great...the building is 150 years old, but it was all remodeled about a year ago. It's very modern, with a sunny living room, a nice kitchen, one bathroom, and then the two bedrooms. My bedroom has a window that looks into the center of the building; a twin bed; a desk; a nice, big closet; and lots of shelf space. The whole apartment has laminate wood flooring and it looks like something out of an IKEA catalog. De hecho, when I walked in there was the catalog sitting on the coffee table. He said we can order anything that I need from Ikea! SUPER. The area it's in is mostly a pedestrian-only zone (only the residents of the area can drive). It is near Lavapiés, which is a diverse zone--there are tons of ethnic restaurants, in fact, one thing he warned me about was that the chimney from the Indian restaurant is in the interior of the building, so there is a little humming noise that comes from that (and it smells like curry a lot! But I can handle that! : )) But just so you get more of an idea of this Pazitos guy, there was a thing for climbing in the kitchen...he hopped right up there and did some pull-ups! So I might turn into a climber by the end of the year! We'll see...

I really liked that apartment, but I won't know for sure if he is going to rent it until tomorrow. He doesn't find out until tomorrow where he will be placed to teach this year. So if he is placed somewhere he can commute everyday, he will rent the room; but if he gets placed somewhere where he will be away all week, then he won't rent the room. So I'm hoping that he receives a close placement!

Oh, I also went to El Rastro today and bought a lovely pair of lounge pants : )

I will update tomorrow when I know more!

-christy

Things are looking up...

So I realized that yesterday's post was a little pessimistic. I'm feeling better about the whole apartment search today. This morning I went and saw a few different rooms that a company rents to students. I didn't really care for that style of living; it was essentially an L-shaped hallway with 5 bedrooms coming off of it, a small kitchen, a complete bathroom, and a half bathroom. There was no living room or any common living space at all. It was like a dorm room, but worse. No, thanks.

But this afternoon, I'm going to see a room in a flat shared with two 24 year-old girls about 3 blocks from my host family's house! perrrrrrfect. I'm really excited. Here is the link to the ad (even though it's in Spanish!) : http://madrid.loquo.com/ps/vivienda/compartir-piso-alq-habitacion/buscamos-companera-para-compartir-piso/4576937/buscamos-companera-para-compartir-piso It has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a nice living room, and I hope I like it!! It would be great to be able to get settled in! : )

I also have two appointments to see other rooms tomorrow and one more on Monday! I am realizing how important it is to be organized...I am sending out so many emails and messages through these websites that I am getting responses and I can't even keep track of which email is with which room! Ahi yai yai!! But I don't really care! The important thing is that I'm seeing LOTS of options! : )

So today is a good day. : )

Let the search begin.

So I just arrived in Madrid yesterday! The flight was alright; I went Rochester --> Chicago --> London --> Madrid. The flight from Chicago to London was a lot shorter than flights to Madrid, only 6 hours, so between eating dinner and watching some of my last American television shows I didn't get much sleep. I also decided that I don't like Heathrow. Bad news is that I have to travel through London on my way back home. On Christmas Eve. Not looking forward to that at all. And the icing on the cake was that when I went to pick up my luggage in Madrid, one of my four wheels was missing. So I had to file a damage report. Granted they're going to send me a new suitcase, but I still had to drag the broken one through the metro and for three blocks to my host family's apartment.

I am so thankful they're letting me stay here. I was a disaster when I got in yesterday--just overwhelmed with everything. I know it's going to be a good experience because I am really worried right now (I was really worried before I studied abroad and before I worked in Italy this summer, but both turned out to be really great experiences), but it's definitely a very new experience. If I didn't have my host family, I would have no one that I knew in the city and nowhere to stay except in a hostel (by myself! terrifying!) So I am very lucky to have them.

I started the apartment searching a little while I was still at home, but now that I'm here, it has really begun! I have been scouring the web looking for rooms in shared apartments. I get paid 1000 euros a month, so I want to try and find something for 4oo euros or less...I would also like to share a flat with young people, who speak spanish, prefierably girls, who don't smoke, and I don't want to have to share a bathroom with tons of people. I might be a little picky, but for 9 months, I don't want to be miserable!

One of the English magazines the city puts out has a section about finding a flat. It's really optimistic. The accommodation page opens with: "If it was a choice between flat-hunting in Madrid and having three-hour root-canal work with no anaesthetic, it'd be the dentist's chair every time. Finding somewhere to live in Madrid is not fun." Super, huh? Well, I'm a little frustrated, but I'm not giving up! Today, I saw a tiny dorm-room like apartment. It didn't have a living room, the kitchen was in the hallway (basically non-existent), there was no kitchen table, there were two bedrooms (the free one had bunkbeds, even though it was a single room), and it was for 395 euros plus 20-30 euros for bills. I was not impressed. I continued to look and found a few more options online, but the problem is that all the students are arriving now, so the rooms go super fast! You almost need to look daily and call only the ones from that day, because if the room's been advertised for more than a few days, it's probably taken. However, I do have an appointment to see some rooms tomorrow. There is some kind of agency that must have a bunch of rooms in different zones, so I'm going to meet with her and look at a few rooms. I also have a meeting set up for Sunday, and I am in contact with two other people! So, I have to be optimistic! If nothing else, next Wednesday and Thursday I have my Auxiliares orientation, so maybe I can find a roommate/friend there and we can team up to look for something! We shall see. Until then, lots of searching, calling, and waiting.

--christy

Madrid, here I come!

I leave for Madrid today! My flight is out of Rochester, then I go to Chicago and London before landing in Madrid at 4:30 p.m. (Madrid time is +7 hours) tomorrow! I will be staying with my host family from when I studied abroad (spring 2009) until I find an apartment of my own! Finding an apartment is the only thing I am a little nervous about; other than that I am excited! I will miss everyone at home, but I will be home for Christmas, so it's not very different from another semester at Ripon! : )

Well, I had better finish packing! I will post again tomorrow!

love.