South of the Border - Morocco

This last weekend was a holiday in Spain (thank you Counting Crows for the soundtrack) and I was lucky enough to find plane tickets to Morocco for about 25 Euros. A friend of mine booked our tickets and, luckily, we missed la huelga del aeropuerto (another strike with the air traffic controllers of Spain) by twenty-four hours.

After our hour-long Ryanair flight we landed in Tangier, Morocco we took a cab into the city where our hostel was located. We were greeted by a little French housekeeper who handed us a note saying the owner would be gone for the first day & a half of our stay - turns out neither my friend or I speak much French or Arabic so the next two days turned into a hilarious game of charades while we tried to communicate with her.

We went first to exchange our Euros for Dirahams. The banker, who apparently was about to go on a lunch break, offered to give us a small tour of the area while taking us to a local restaurant to eat with him. How welcoming, don't you think? This is just the beginning of a long chain of events that ended up engulfing our time for the rest of the afternoon.

The Moroccans had an interesting way of welcoming us. The banker led us to a restaurant to eat that, consequently, was owned by a friend of his. After we sat he apologized and said he had to get back to work - the two were obviously in cahoots with each other. It doesn't end there, our sever graciously took us to an "authentic Moroccan store" (as if any store in Morocco wouldn't be authentically Moroccan). Here we were treated to an awesome view of the city, treated to Moroccan tea, and given a tour of the store with Moroccan rugs & other souvenirs for sale. Apparently being American ultimately means a person can afford 300 Euro rugs - wrong! We left the store empty handed and tired from getting the run around all day but at least got to see some sweet views of Tangier.

After spending a day walking up and down the winding streets of the medina of Tangier we decided to check out the neighboring coastal city, Asilah. We had gotten pretty used to the people on the street trying to sell us various things and offering a tour of the area for a small price - even people who couldn't speak Spanish or English attempted to tour us around the city by pointing and grunting to gain a few Euros. One guy in Tangier was so persistent in showing us where to go that after we lost him he showed up right before we left for our hostel.

That afternoon we met a few locals of Asilah who gave us a tour of their neighborhood, the city, and a few art shops around the area. One of the Moroccans offered to take us to his sister's house where they were making dinner for the New Year (the Muslim calendar is different than our Christian calendar - New Years was the 7th of December). The sister and her family were stuffing some sort of goat stomach (I'm pretty sure it was a goat) and getting their food ready for the festivities. Drinking isn't common in the Muslim culture and normally when they celebrate their new year it's an early dinner and then off to bed - no midnight countdown.

One of the side streets in Asilah:

Our new friends invited us to have dinner with them and a few of their friends - not going to lie, I was pretty hesitant of this but my friend convinced me to stay & I'm glad we did. The Moroccans cooked us an amazing dish called Tajine with Moroccan flatbread. After prepping the dish we found out that it would be cooked outside the house - in a public oven! We dropped the food off, went back to the apartment for less than an hour, and then returned to pick up the dish that was ready to eat. Apparently this must be how Anthony Bourdain feels while taping No Reservations - I wonder if The Travel Channel is hiring? Below is a picture of our meal and the public oven where we dropped off our food:

Asilah had some of the most interesting culture I have been able to see so far. I loved the white walls and the art covering almost every apartment in the Medina. I left Morocco with, I'm sure, more than 200 pictures of doors, walls, and windows - maybe a bit excessive but I feel like life would be a lot more enjoyable if more towns and cities were as colorful & creative as Asilah.

Un beso, Rachel

Soy de Nebraska

So the last month Madrid has been freezing (or so the Spaniards say) and I am lacking a proper winter coat.

Okay, I wont lie, it has been cold for a few days and we did have a brief snow appearance for about 24 hours but most of the time it's a moderate 45 degrees with sun. I've been busting out my North Face fleece as any other American would and have been surviving just fine. Every time I leave the house, though, my roommate María always insists I wear 5 layers, a scarf, gloves, and my hat. It's gotten to the point where she has actually given me her coat and coerced me into wearing it out one night.

Last night I came home with my hat and gloves on and my roommates were in shock. "Eres humano!" Claro, but I still wont be wearing a hat this week - highs are in the 60's!

Un beso, Rachel

Galicia

Took a weekend trip north to Galicia for three days and was able to visit Santiago de Compostela & Acoruña while battling the wrath of Santiago and his tsunami. The Northwest part of Spain was anything I have ever experienced - I was able to try pulpo, walk through the Puerta Santa of La Catedral de Santiago, and visit the oldest functioning lighthouse in the world. After an hour long flight from Madrid I could have believed that I was in Ireland (until I heard all the locals speaking gaellgo).

La Catedral de Santiago:

Inline waiting to go through La Puerta Santa -

It is only open on holy years when St. Jame´s day falls on a Sunday:

In Acoruña at the top of El Torre de Hercules:

In Acoruña:

Un beso, Rachel

Alcalá de Hernares

Today was a festival day in Madrid. I didn’t have class and Maria and David didn’t have to work so we decided to spend the day in Alcalá de Herenes and enjoy the awesome fall weather. David, my intercambio partner, has a car so we had the pleasure of skipping public transportation (and enduring Madrid traffic - never again) and drove about 20 minutes to Alcala.

Alcalá is the birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote. Christopher Colombus first met with The Queen Isabel in Alcalá to discuss his journey to America in 1504. I had a wonderful time having lunch, wandering the streets, and touring Cervantez’s childhood home.

Un beso, Rachel

Los Conciertos

The last two weekends have been filled with concerts and craziness! Last weekend I went to see Michael Buble with a co-worker from my old job. Michael Bublé attempting to speak in Spanish – life doesn’t get better than this.

This weekend MTV had their European music awards in Madrid. I can’t stand Katie Perry (or Kah-teeee Purrr-y as the Spaniards say) but I braved the crowds with my roommate and two friends to attempt to be blessed with a performance. Sadly (I am being more than sarcastic here) our closterphobia and common sense kicked in and we left after an hour of waiting. Below are a few pictures from the concert and the stage before the mobs of people almost took our lives.

Eva Longoria, the presenter of the European Music Awards, dressed up as jamón:

Before the MTV catastrophe we went to a festival inside Las Ventas in La Plaza de Toros. Las Ventas is the most famous bullring in all of Spain – I have yet to see a bullfight here in Spain but if I can get over my fears I hope to see a bullfight here before I leave.

Un beso, Rachel

La límonada de los limones

I’ve had big (and wonderful) changes lately in my life! A week or so ago I was struggling with my role and reasons for being in Spain. I came to Spain with the goal of improving my Spanish and while teaching English and enjoying life in Europe. After a month of working as a language assistant in el colegio I began to feel desperate – I spent most of my time sitting in a chair listening to a Spaniard teaching students in English and correcting the teacher’s pronunciation (I need to mention, though, that others here in the program have not all had similar experiences and some are being use effectively and correctly in their schools – more or less, I think it was luck of the draw).

Applying for this job I assumed I would have an active role in the classroom and would be provided with the opportunity to create lessons (or activities to supplement the content at hand) to improve students’ understanding of English and American culture, however, I felt that my position was far from my assumptions. Due to a lack of resources, communication and preparation, my role in the classroom was ineffective. Doing nothing has always been difficult for me – no matter the circumstances – thus, sitting in a classroom as a seat warmer day-in and day-out was not appealing (let alone beneficial to my students or me).

After much consideration, deliberation, and talking with the appropriate people I came to the conclusion it would be best to resign from my position and begin taking classes at a University in Madrid to use my time effectively. To quit this job was as much of a disappointment as it was a relief – I let myself down because I could no longer continue to teach students but in reality I wasn’t actually provided with that opportunity. I have signed up for sixteen credit hours at La Complutense in Madrid and will live in Spain through the Spring while teaching English privately to pay my rent ;)

I have already taken a week of classes and am amazed with professors and the university, thus far, and hope that I am able to use my time effectively while still being able enjoy Madrid. I’ll keep you updated – but hopefully this is the camino I’ve been looking for.

Un beso, Rachel

Trick o Trato

Friday we celebrated Halloween at work with the kids! I taught my third-years how to properly remove pumpkin guts and carve a jack-o-lantern and in the afternoon attempted to manage a Halloween themed game of capture the flag with 130+ Spanish niños running around dressed up as witches, mummies, and goblins; talk about a great way to earn a paycheck.

Halloween isn't traditionally celebrated here, normally only in the bilingual schools where there are English teachers. Surprisingly, we had a few trick-or-treaters come to the door early in the evening and I selflessly distributed the last of my secret stash of chocolate so I didn't end up tainting The American reputation & Halloween. María doesn't know much English but I was impressed to hear her help me try to teach the trick or treaters 'Trick-or-treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat...." song. We definitely got weird looks from the witch and vampire but it was worth it.

Below are some of my first-year students and I after the capture the flag game.

I know I'm not supposed to have favorites but Iker (below) might be in my top 3.

Team Banshees: getting ready to dominate in capture the flag.

Three of my third-year students making their first Jack-o-Lantern:

My third-year class with their Jack-o-lantern:

Un beso, Rachel

Clothes lines and groceries

Day two at home. I am starting to feel a bit better but thought I would take my down time to try and explain how life around the apartment has been. Chores are completely different and have made me feel pretty pathetic when I used to complain about doing laundry back home.

I have been trying to do laundry, at the max, once a week. Our washing machine takes about an hour to wash a load but, like I found out the first time I did laundry, it’s imperative to use softener; If you skip on this, you’ll end up with super stiff shirts and socks. I have yet to see a piso with a dryer. All of my clothes dry on the line outside our window in our laundry room (more like a laundry corner). We had some rain about a week and a half ago which forced me to put together some very interesting outfits because I was lacking most of my jeans that were doing anything but drying on the line.

Grocery shopping is a cultural experience. At home I despise grocery shopping. Wal-mart overwhelms me and I almost always come out spending twice as much as I had planned to spend. Here in Madrid I don’t have the option to buy unneccassry things because I don’t have a car to put my purchases in – instead I wheel my grocery bag (pictured below) from my apartment to the supermercado, lock it in place at the front of the store with a refundable euro, and I fill my cart up.

There are two supermercados close to my piso, a smaller one across the street and a larger, two-story store, a few blocks away. I went to the latter about a week ago with my roommate. If you’re wondering how you push a cart up and down a two-story store, check it out:

Un beso, Rachel

El médico

Apparently my immune system can’t handle the hugs and kisses from 200 plus Spanish niños. Last week I was feeling a bit under the weather and, finally, this morning I woke up and with a terrible sore throat and felt like one of the metros ran over my head. I called in sick to work for the first time and made a few phone calls to figure out where exactly I could go to see a doctor and take full advantage of my all inclusive insurance here in Spain.

Turns out the Doctor’s office is a five minute walk from my apartment but the general doctor wasn’t in until 5:30 P.M. so I bummed around the apartment and caught up on some much needed sleep and drank enough tea to make me feel English.

Last time I was in Spain I didn’t have the pleasure of visiting a doctor. I left with my insurance card, ID, and stuffed up head on a mission to get some magic medicine to end my pain. The office is tucked into the side of a building surrounded by bancos, pastelerías, and tapa bars. There was a receptionist who took my information and then asked me to wait in the sala de espera (waiting room) until the doctor was ready.

I found a seat, took out my latest book that I have been reading (a short kids' novel that David gave me, complete with pictures) and looked around the room. I did my best to hid the book from the other Spaniards - El Principito probably wouldn't be the smoothest conversation starter. There were about 7 people waiting for their turn to see the doctor.There was no nurse to run initial tests – when a patient came out of the doctor’s office the next went in. Patients asked each other who was la próxima (the next patient) and waited for their turn.

After I had waited for about twenty minutes it was my turn to describe my symptoms to the doctor (God willing my Spanish allowed me to do this). I talked with her for a few minutes, telling her how I felt and where I had pain and just like that I walked out with a prescription for amoxicillin to treat my sinus infection. Across the street I gave my prescription to the pharmacist and two minutes later I was on my way home with a cure. Hopefully I will be well enough to be at work on Friday – I will be super bummed if I miss the Halloween fun.

Un beso, Rachel

Work Week

I’m trying my best to keep this blog up-dated weekly. Having busy weekends, full days of work, language exchanges, and my fair share of metro commuting it’s been hard to sit down to reflect as much as I would like.

I have officially been in Madrid for a month and a half now (exactly the same amount of time I spent studying in Toledo in 2007) and at the end of this week I will be done with my first full month of work! My routine has become much more regular and I don’t feel as out of place as I did seven weeks ago.

My four day work week has become much easier to manage and the commute hasn’t been as draining as it was the first few weeks. I leave my house around 7:50 A.M. to catch two trains and a metro so I can arrive to work by 9 A.M. when school starts. Luckily, the hour there gives me enough time to fully wakeup before being bombarded by 3^rd grade Spaniards. I pass the time on the train talking to my roommate María and reading the daily paper Qué - I’ve become a regular horoscope reader and have done my best to keep up with the drama of Spanish fútbol.

My work schedule changes daily - which has been a stressful adjustment. I work with a vairety of classes with students from first through sixth grade. The kids have been amazing and are adorable (except when there are 29 in a classroom screaming at the top of their lungs). I have my favorites (including the student who chucked a pencil at my face my first day of work). This week is Halloween and Friday we are going to use half of the day to let the students play Halloween games and have a little fiesta to celebrate!

Below is a picture of el colegio that I work at:

Un beso, Rachel

Estoy constipada

Well it’s Midnight on Friday in Madrid and I am too tired to leave my apartment. I know, living the crazy life. This past week has been filled with potluck dinners, traveling, work, a play, and a few inter-cambios. After all of this I have caught my first cold and am laying low tonight to recoup before my three-day weekend. To say your nose is stuffed up you would say 'Estoy constipado'. I thought a student was telling me he was constipated earlier this week; Estoy constipada.

Last weekend was my first holiday (weekend) in Spain. Instead of my usual three-day weekend I had 4 days off of work to enjoy Madrid and do a little traveling with some friends I have met throughout the past month. Friday night, following a week of work, I came home and embraced my first (of many I am sure) siesta.

After I recharged my batería I headed over to my coworker’s apartment for a potluck dinner. There I met her awesome roommates who are here from Italy, a few other Auxiliaries, and her friends from Brazil, France, and everywhere in between. The common language was Spanish and it was a great atmosphere to practice my conversational skills and meet some wonderful people. Around midnight, I attempted to meet up with a few other friends for a drink but fell short and went home to sleep – I haven’t been able to hack the smoke filled bars and regular outings that begin about 2 a.m. (ugh, and I feel super lame actually admitting this). NYC shouldn't be the only city referred to as "The City that Never Sleeps."

Un beso, Rachel

Language Exchange

So it’s been a month and I have finally found a few people to hold regular inter-cambios (language-exchanges) with! My two roommates both have Spanish friends who want to practice their English as much as I want to practice my Spanish so at least 3 times a week I will be meeting with Estie and David seperately to talk about our day and various topics while practicing my Spanish and their English.

Estie, who is a few years older than me, was one of the people who saw me make a fool out of myself salsa-ing my first week here. I think my lack of coordination and obvious embarrassment might help her to feel more comfortable speaking English with me. Our first session was Wednesday and we decided to split the two-hour session into an hour of only English followed by an hour of only Spanish. Each hour we will talk about our day in the Language of choice and then discuss vocabulary and sayings about our chosen topics.

David, a friend of María, came over to our apartment last night for dinner and to meet. He lives within walking distance so meeting will, thankfully, be convenient. Last night we cooked fish and David brought over wine for dinner. My roommates, David, and I all had a great time talking and getting to know each other better. David, who went to the U.S. last summer, is obsessed with America – and I love it. I have never seen such enthusiasm about a country (eh, maybe it’s comparable to my love for Spain actually) – it was so refreshing. In the time he was over for dinner I found out he loves California, knows Andy Roderick is from Nebraska (holla), his favorite clothes from the U.S. are Abercrombie and Holister (who would have thought?), he loves the T.V. series “How I Met Your Mother” and shares my love of Jack Johnson and Jason Mraz – I have a feeling our inter-cambios wont be boring. In exchange for my knowledge on American pop-culture we have talked about visiting museums around Madrid, traveling close to the city, and running together while we practice our Language of choice.

I’ll keep you updated on both of these inter-cambios and will hopefully have some new Spanish words to share with you!

Un beso, Rachel

Avenida Q

I went and saw Avenida Q (Avenue Q) tonight with some friends at el Teatro Nuevo Apolo. The play, which I think has been around since 2003 in the States, is more or less a politically incorrect adult version of Sesame Street. The protagonist, an optimistic college graduate who moves to New York City, attempts to realize his dreams (can anyone relate?). Before I went I read a short summary online to brief myself on the play. I was a bit apprehensive to buy my ticket because I thought I wouldn’t be able to understand some of the actors since they are actually puppets – talk about a communication barrier – but, after, I felt so happy I decided to go. I understood, and thoroughly enjoyed, the experience. It was crazy to see how the jokes and music were translated into Spanish but stayed true to the original English version. I got a kick out of entire production and for anyone who’s seen the English version I would LOVE to hear what you thought of it.

Un beso, Rachel

Salamanca

For the holiday weekend I took a short bus ride with some new friends to Salamanca, a city close to Portugal west of Madrid. We stayed one night at a cheap and comfortable hostal (Hostal Tormes – 15 euros per bed and highly recommended). Luckily I figured out a few new settings on my camera and spent a day and a half photographing the amazing arquitecture & meandering through the city. We had some pretty cold weather (for Spain) and some rain but, nevertheless, I had such an enjoyable time visiting the hot tourist spots and sampling new Spanish food with awesome company.

Un beso, Rachel

One and done

One week down and a year to go! I finished my first full week as an auxiliar on Friday. As soon as I made it through my apartment door I partook in my first siesta in Madrid – I am convinced teachers were huge lobbyist for Spain’s daily napping phenomenon. After a week of work I have learned a plethora of things about teaching, English, planning ahead, and Spain’s ‘12 and under’ population:

1. Kids hug their teacher no matter what age or country they are from – a sweaty, twelve-year old boy bear hugged me after an intense game of fútbol and I’m positive he left sweat stains on my shirt.

2. Rubbers = erases in British English.

3. Responding in English to questions asked in Spanish is enough to convince a first grader you don’t speak Spanish.

4. ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes’ is a classic world-wide.

5. Two hour lunch breaks are great in theory.

6. When hard boiling eggs make sure you take the right eggs with you to work. Salmonela kills.

7. Don’t correct a certain teacher’s English unless you can explain your suggestion with a number of specific grammar rules. Instead, let them continue to tell their students, "You are getting me crazy!"

8. All schools should include a 30 minute breakfast in their daily schedules.

9. Students in Spain love to outsmart their parents by talking only in English with their teachers.

10. Spanish kids pass notes in class, too.

This weekend is a holiday weekend and I’m going to Salamanca with some friends for a few days!

Un beso, Rachel