Be prepared this is going to be a REALLY long one....

So I haven’t updated in awhile just because I started work this week. I had Orientation Monday and Tuesday and then today, Wednesday, I went to visit my school to meet everyone. Orientation was ummm….orientation. The first day Magdelena, the woman in charge of this entire program, spent the morning telling us about everything…..in Spanish! So I spent the entire morning trying to decipher how I was going to be paid, how I got my insurance, what I would be doing for the next year, all in Spanish. That was a mental workout to say the least. The only real comment I have about orientation is that either I am easily aggravated or Americans are just aggravating. All the other Americans were just asking useless questions. I am extremely happy I have already found my friends and surrogate family (Alissa, Erica, Jasmine, Tom, and Meagan). The funny thing is that my family here is just like family in general. Family is never chosen, it just happens…

Besides my aggravation with Americans, the orientation was overall really informative and made me excited about teaching this next year. The program I am doing is in its 6^th year. About 8 years ago the EU wanted each country to design a program in their schools that would make learning at least 2, preferably 3 languages mandatory. So now the way it works is that ½ of the curriculum in all schools is in English. One of which is science. So all their education in science is in English and never learn any science words in Spanish. They do this because it is one thing to have a foreign language class, but another to make English a necessity to learn science, which is a part of the standard curriculum. The other classes taught only in English are art, music, and PE. Something like teaching science in a foreign language would never happen in the states…..

So today I went to my school to meet the director and the other teachers in my school. Paula took us through the school to meet some of the other English teachers and they all gave us dos besos but what was funny is that one teacher said she is afraid that the fear of swine flu is going to force them to stop kissing as a greeting. She seemed really upset about the prospect of not greeting people with besos…….I digress, back to topic!

Let me first give some visuals about my school. It is in a not-so-good part of town with graffiti all over the building (there is a lot of graffiti in Madrid for some reason, but not artsy-graffiti, just pure vandalism). Just imagine Brooklyn. So after being buzzed through this huge gate, I go in and meet Paula, the bilingual coordinator at the school. Her English is decent, very broken, but considered great for Spain. So we sat down with her and she explains that the children in the school really need any assistance that is available to them because a lot of them are immigrants, of lower social economic class, have lots of family problems, etc. She said it is not rare for our equivalent of social services to have to become involved in many of the children’s lives because of things teachers report.

Now Paula is extremely laid back and would probably be considered borderline hippie in the States. She is a great person, kind of crazy, loves to laugh, and just really enjoys life. She then lets us know that we get to make our own schedule (crazy right!) as long as we get our hours in, she has no problem with it. So after talking with me and one of the other new assistants, (the other assistant is 27 and spent the past 5 years being a sign-language interpreter in New Mexico) Paula took us over to the school buildings. The way the school is set up it is an open campus situated in a compound, so the buildings aren’t all connected. So we walk in the buildings and the first thing I see is the teachers standing outside a bathroom handing the kids toilet paper before they go into the bathroom. Then there is another teaching standing outside the door so as the kids come out of the bathroom and she puts anti-bacterial on their hands. So I am assuming that A) there is not toilet paper in the stalls and B) there is not soap in the bathrooms…..

So after meeting all the teachers we went into Paula’s classroom and they were about to change classes. So as the kids rush in she points kids out as the gypsy kids, or the slow ones, or the ones that are lazy. But it was just something so different for a teacher to point to some to kids and say “they are gypsies!”

The kids were sooo cute though and soo excited to ask us questions in English. It made me smile. The kids I talked to today were between age 7-9 and went around saying “hello my name is ___. I’m ____ years old. I’m from_____.” Every kid was able to do it too! They definitely have limited exposure to English so its great to say stuff all the time. So when the kids were leaving I said to each one “I will see you tomorrow” and the first few had no clue what I was saying, but by the end of the line the kids were saying “I will see you tomorrow Daniela”. I am overall really excited about starting work J J

Quote of the day: “if you’re walking down the street and tomatoes starting falling out of the trees, hold on to your belongings and don’t look up” US Consular General (as part of our orientation that Americans that work at the US Consulate in Madrid came and gave a speech about staying safe in Madrid. For those that might not be aware, petty theft and pick-pocketing is a really big problem in Madrid. So the consular general was telling us about an experience she had in Greece when some kids hung out in the trees and threw tomatoes from the trees while having some buddies on the ground to grab the purses and valuables while the tourist were looking to find where the tomatoes were coming from. True story.....

fin de semana en Madrid (weekends in Madrid)

So I was in Spain last weekend, but I feel like this weekend was my first REAL weekend here. Last weekend I felt I was so hung up on the bad differences (such as no stores being open), but this weekend I took note of some of the good differences. For example, yesterday I went to the park and it was full of families. Not just 2 parents and a kid, but even grandparents, aunts, uncles, truly the entire family just spending time together. It made me think about how people in the states use their weekends compared to here. Maybe it is just me, but I always feel like we are doing stuff and running around on weekends, but here it is truly a day off. I think the cutest thing was that I saw a grandpa (probably in his 60’s) playing soccer with his grandson. You could tell it was definitely a natural occurrence here, just hanging out in the parks with family. I definitely have a greater understanding of the emphasis on family in Spanish culture now.

Today (Sunday) we went to Rastro flea market which is really just a huge street market where you can buy ANYTHING for real cheap. I was actually surprised of the amount of Spaniards that go because it is labeled as a tourist attraction. There was all the typical stuff there, but then there was truly just junk. We saw one guy selling light posts….really?? I didn’t buy anything but there was a poster that I wanted but I didn’t get. It was a painting of the statue of liberty with Barack Obama’s face. I loved it of course!!

In other news, I have been noticing that whenever I got out to a club or go shopping at a clothing store, they are always playing American music; however, so few people know English so they have no clue what the song is even about. Friday night I was in the bathroom in a club and there was some Spanish girls singing a Beyonce song and when I asked if they spoke English they didn’t understand a word I said. I just find it funny J

Random note: there is a bingo-rama right down the street from us and the old ladies line up to go inside in their “Sunday’s best”. Therefore, I think its safe to say that Bingo is an international old-lady pastime……..

Quote of the Day: “you never date a guy that has been to prison, not even federal” (Jasmine)

bastante bien

So today I was finally able to go to IKEA and it was very much worth the wait. I was able to get some personal touches to make my room feel more homey which is a great feeling J

Last night I went to my first intercambio at O’Reilleys (an Irish bar in the city center—near Sol). An intercambio is where people from lots of different countries get together and practice new languages. It was a really cool experience. I was talking to a couple from Spain that wanted to practice their English and they were asking how I was adjusting to Spain and I told them the whole no-dryer thing is definitely going to take some time to get used to. (In case you aren’t aware, people in Spain don’t really use dryers, they just dry their clothes on a clothesline). Anyways, he explained that I must remember that Spain is just 30 years and one generation past being a 3^rd world country, so the fact that they don’t use dryers should be of no surprise. For those that don’t know, Spain had a dictator until about 1975. I just thought that was something good to keep in mind when I am complaining about putting my clothes out for everyone to see.

In addition to my daily happenings, today I decided I wanted to cover a couple things on here that have been on my mind:

First, when people arrive in a new city it is very normal to be lost, but Madrid takes being lost to a whole new level because they do not have street signs. Let me repeat that, they do not have street signs; at least not what an American would consider a street sign. Therefore, nobody knows where anything is and when you stop and ask a Spaniard where someplace is they say “es muy leijos” (it is very far) which usually means they have no idea where it is!! One guy told us a plaza was 40 minutes away when it was right around the corner. The point of the story is, embrace being lost when in Madrid.

Second: two days in a row I talked freely about someone with one of my roommates on the metro, and nobody else on the metro had any idea what I was saying. I know it sounds bad, but it is pretty liberating to know you can freely comment about people’s clothes or relationship statuses and them be none of the wiser.

Favorite quote of the day: “Danielle, I think he is talking about shitting”- Erica

(Background: at the intercambio last night Erica was talking with a Spaniard about sayings and he was trying to say that there is a Spanish phrase that people use when they are mad at their bosses and he kept squatting and making a grunting face but we had no idea what he was saying and after a while we figured out that the saying is “I want to shit on my boss”, but we didn’t get it for probably 5 minutes and after he squatted and grunted probably 15 times…great times!)

Updates de Espana!!!

So I haven’t been able to blog since I arrived in Madrid because we haven’t had Internet. So here are a few recaps from my memory, some are more jumbled/fresher than others:

Thursday night 9/17: So after traveling a ton of hours and getting no sleep, we get into Madrid. We get to our apartment and our landlords were waiting for us. They were older than I had imagined, probably in their late 50’s early 60’s. Anyways, they were really nice people but I couldn’t understand a WORD they said!! Talk about a culture shock and a slap of reality. Thankfully, Alissa and Erica are pretty much fluent, but I felt so isolated it was unbelievable. Also, when we were at our stopover in Dublin we drew rooms and I got the smallest room, to say it was tiny would be an understatement. It was probably the size of the bathroom at my house back in the states. So after the landlords left and pretty much considered me a mute, I go into my bed and pretty much cried myself to sleep. I was thinking about how this was a huge mistake and wondering how I could get out of it. I rationalized with everything that was going through my mind that I should just sleep on it and make any decisions at a later date. Is it bad that when I felt myself wakeup, I hoped that when I opened my eyes, I would be back home……

Saturday 9/19: I am going to feel Saturday on my feet for many days to come. But the saddest part is that I didn’t take a camera with me. So me and the roomies wondered around the city today some more, went and kind of got our internet set up, nothing too eventful, but I did make plans to meet up with Jorge, one of my Spanish friends from Australia. Last nice was “el noche del blanco” which is a big street party that happens once a year in Madrid. Each plaza (think cul-de-sacs but more European like) had something different going on. We saw a Tupperware band (yes, Tupperware) and some street performers and such. After being lost for a while trying to find Jorge we finally got to meet up with him and his friends. Something kind of funny. In Spain they do besos (kisses) on each cheek when they are meeting people. Well Jorge had told them that we were all Americans and since they all knew English they greeted us in an “English” style by shaking hands. I guess they think that’s how we greet random people in the states, but it was just really funny. I wanted to say “we don’t do this at home, this shaking hands business”, but I knew it was their attempt to make us feel comfortable because for almost the entire night, they spoke English (which I was so thankful for!) After bar hopping, which is what I guess Spaniards do, we got to this Havana club and it was real cool, I would go back. The only thing is that drinks are expensive, but you only need one to really feel anything. It was 9 Euros for a mojito!! Don’t worry though folks, my head started spinning half way through……oops

What was so cool about last night though was just taking with a lot of highly educated Spaniards that speak English and getting their take on a couple things. One thing that Jorge said that caught my attention. Specifically He is an attorney now and went to the best university in Spain. Anyways he was complaining that him and his friends work so hard and go to school for such a long time so that the rest of the country can keep up their irresponsible behavior and partying (it was definitely said with resentment). He was saying he only get paid 35,000 Euros as a first year associate after taxes, which he said are excessive. It was just interesting to hear that take and how they personally perceived a “socialized” system. There was also another guy that was asking about the cost of healthcare in the US and asked if I thought Barack would get it passed. I said probably not because the insurance companies make a lot of money, but I just thought it was interesting that people in Spain are following our quest for a public provided health care, when a lot of people in the states might not even have a clue about what is going on right now.

Sunday 9/20: Like everyone has said before, absolutely nothing is open on Sunday. There are a few stores, but nothing compared to all other days. So after sleeping until noon ( I have never slept that late in my life, but I usually don’t stay out until 5 walking the streets of Madrid either), I took my computer in search of Internet. Café y Te was closed (shocking) so I walked down towards plaza del Toro. Plaza del Toro is one of the bullfighting rinks in Madrid. It was a BEAUTIFUL building! Imagine Lucas Oil Stadium, but older, and you have plaza del Toro. I ended up not getting Internet down there so I walked closer towards home and went to a park and did Rosetta stone. That was pretty much my Sunday.

Monday 9/21: On Monday we left the piso determined to get Internet. Unfortunately, you have to jump through a million and one hoops to get Internet, one of which is open a bank account. Luckily Erica wanted to open one anyways. So we go to Phone House, which is where our landlords told us to go, and they tried to tell us it would be 20-30 days for Internet!! We asked, no es posible muy rapido? and she said “no”. So we went to Telefonica and that said later this week! So we went to bed happy on Monday.

Tuesday 9/22: I noticed today my Spanish is getting better. I haven’t gotten to the point where I am able to speak it, but I can finally understand people. Thank god! What is the most exciting though is that I don’t find myself translating word for word, I just get it. It is something that cannot be understood unless you have experienced it, but it is a great feeling truly. I have been wondering around Madrid like a lost puppy never far away from Alissa or Erica. Today was a great day overall! This morning Telefonica called and said that they could install our Internet this evening! So we get out of bed with an extra pep in our step and headed off to the metro to meet our WONDERFUL landlords/grandparents for our NIE appointment. They said they consider us their children, and they do truly treat us as such—they even called our schools LMAO. Back to the NIE, For those that don’t know, an NIE is like our version of a social security number and allows me to get paid while in Spain. Typically arranging an NIE appointment takes 2-3 months, but our wealthy and connected landlords knew somebody and got us right in. They are truly incredible and we would have better utterly lost without them. In addition, they took us to see Alissa’s school, which is out in the campo (country). Random note--Spain is very dry!!! Imagine Nevada. There are mountains, dry grass, the whole works. The strange thing is that it struck me as beautiful. It just appeared so natural. It’s hard to describe.

What was even more exciting was that today in the park I was practicing Spanish with Rosetta stone and this older guy (probably 70’s) came up to me and asked me a question (in Spanish of course). First thing to know, is that older men wonder streets and parks everywhere and everyday in Madrid. They are us also dressed up, like suites. They don’t wonder around in a senile way like the states, but more as a thing to do and a way to see people. Anyways he comes up to me and I respond in Spanish that I couldn’t understand him and asked him to repeat it. So he repeated it and I still couldn’t understand so I just explained that I didn’t speak Spanish. So in a very clear and slow manner, he asks where I am from and I was able to respond in Spanish!! We had probably a 5-minute conversation and I almost understood EVERYTHING and was able to respond. I just felt such a high. I really did it!!! The topping on the cake is that 5 minutes after I came back from the park the Internet guy came by and now we have Internet in the piso. What a great day!!!! Now I am just wrapping this up and then we are going to an intercambio (language exchange) tonight. Somehow I have become the evening event planner of our piso and I have something for us the next three nights.

Last notes: My favorite quotes thus far,

“ I’ve been thinking about it and I just can’t understand, how can a pillow be flat and lumpy?”- Erica

“Where are my pants?!?”- Alissa

“I work so all these people can party”- Jorge

I leave the United States tomorrow *gulp*

So I was chatting with one of my closest friends yesterday and she asked if I was sad to be leaving home. I told her that the only way I can move abroad is by not thinking about it at as leaving my family or friends, but think of it as a way of making new friends and truly as an adventure that few people get. I also don't even think about it as "leaving". While I am leaving home for a bit, what is the real difference between this year and every other year I moved into a dorm or away from home in general. While I am going to be a lot further away, I try to approach it like there is not much difference. Maybe I am just in denial, or maybe this is my coping mechanism. I am not really sure, but it works for me.....

The next time I blog, it will be from Spain :)

random thoughts...

So I started this blog to chronicle my life in Spain and the culture/language shock that is going to happen in approximately 7 days, but I have to take a break from that for now and rant. I read the NYTimes everyday and in their attempt to be "fair and balanced" they cover issues that really make my blood boil. First, the Presidents address yesterday to the school, was it really worth all the fuss? Further more, why are people so offended by him encouraging students to do well? We allow the armed forces into our schools to recruit for needless wars by glorifying war and death, but when the President wishes to address the students and tell them that the future of America rests on them taking their education seriously, we vilify him. Something is just wrong with this picture in my opinion.
In other news, as stated I leave for Madrid in exactly 7 days and I am getting really excited to meet new people, experience new things, see sights I can't even imagine, and just change things up a little bit. I do feel overall more prepared for Spain than I did Australia, which is a huge plus. I know myself better now and know what it is like to be away from home and such. Is it bad though that I am excited to meet the expats more than the Spaniards? When I was in Australia I hung out more with the Americans and other expats, rather than Australians, and I had a great time! It is probably just my anxiety about speaking spanish and understanding spanish that is making me apprehensive about Spaniards :/