First Week in Madrid

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Buenas
I am here in Madrid and will hit the one week mark this Saturday. Flying in was a pain, only because 8 hour plane rides are awful! I had a 4 hour layover in Amsterdam and ended up taking a short nap on the floor at my gate because there were no benches nearby. My flight to Madrid was short (I actually fell asleep) and I did not have any delays. Once I stepped out of the airport a taxi whisked me away to Hostal Aguilar where the other student teacher Amanda was staying. I was SO tired that I ended up going to bed right after I got in, around 9:30 or so. Although I had a full nights rest I woke up feeling like I hadn't slept a wink . Amanda and I spent the next day walking around Madrid since our hostal was located pretty much in the center of the city. I saw a few of the big plazas, had café con leche-my favorite-and just enjoyed being outside. The next few days were the same, spending the afternoons wandering around and the evenings relaxing watching Harry Potter or some other DVD I brought. The hostal room was not bad, but after a few days I got claustrophobic! I has been a while since I have had roommates so that was a factor I think.

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Monday night Amanda and I met someone who had an apartment to rent in the Delicias neighborhood, pretty far south of the city center. The rooms were basicaly IKEA showrooms, and the apartment itself did not blow me away. At 410 Euros a month it was not the best solution. Luckily, on the first day at King's College, Amanda and I had an opportunity to tour the small dorm section of the school. A few teachers live there, including the res director Matthew. The rooms were ok, we'd get our own rooms, with a closet, desk, windows, shelves, and a bathroom just for the two of us. Meals are served three times a day, with a snack-type thing at 5pm, dinner being at 8pm (early for Spaniards!) The best part about the res is that we could live there for FREE . Saving near $600 a month was definitely worth it, so Amanda and I said yes and moved our stuff in the next day.

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The school itself is a bit different from what I am used to in the American school system. The textbooks are quite small, but are written in such a way that all the 'fluff' is taken out, and many primary sources are used throughout each section. Students use workbooks to do homework-I don't think they ever use loose leaf paper to turn in-so that might be a challenge when I start teaching full time! There also doesn't seem to be much paper for posters or artsy projects. The students all wear uniforms, and look quite professional. I have been spending these first few days in the Humanities office starting to lesson plan, and also sorting out Global Student Teaching assignments and requirements. I've observed a half a dozen lessons and will teach my first lesson on Monday to the year 10 students (equivalent to our 9th grade) about the KKK. Should be interesting!

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Most of the teachers are from the UK, so don't be surprised if I start typing words such as loo, bullox, or use the term "bloody" for emphasis. I'm starting to pick up on their accent because it is what I hear all day (plus continuous Spanish from the students), but I don't think I will ever lose the Midwest "O".

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Currently I am sitting in my room after visiting the school nurse about some cold/sinus issues I have been dealing with for the past few days. I really just want to go back to bed and make up on the lost sleep from the past week but I should at least observe a few classes today...Maybe after lunch I'll take a personal siesta...
Until next time!

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Comments

[Lindsey]

Bloody Hell
You live at Hogwarts! I'm glad you told me about your blog! There's no way that we could fit all this detail into a 20 minute phonecall...I am still going to email you though.