Time never slows down. Just over two weeks ago, I got on a plane and left from Korea to San Diego. Honestly, I was even more terrified leaving than I was upon my arrival the year before. I knew if leaving ended up being the wrong choice there was no way I could come back to Korea and be in the same position with my same students. It was truly one of the most heart breaking days of my life.
But, I got on the plane and went home for 5 short but fun days before starting this crazy expat journey all over again. Suddenly, I landed in a new city for the second time. For me, leaving home was 1000 times easier this time. Comparatively, moving to Spain seems a lot less difficult and so far it is.
Here’s a retelling of my first week:
So I step off the plane and head to the arrivals area where I’m supposed to see my ride, but I don’t. I looked up and down my terminal but couldn’t see anyone who looked like they were there for me. My plane landed late so at first I thought maybe they just left or knowing stereotypes of Spaniards maybe they hadn’t arrived yet. But after a complicated hour trying to connect to WiFi and contact the company it turned out to be all my fault as I had apparently told the company I would be in Terminal 2 not Terminal 1. Finally after about 2 hours, I found my ride and apologized profusely. I heard my first of many “No te preocupes (Don’t worry)” and he took me to my apartment.
I share my piso with 4 other people. Two are Spanish people from other parts of the country here for studying/ internships. One is a teacher from the states in a similar program to me. And 1 I’ve only ever said hola to and therefore am unsure of his nationality and reason for living here. It’s nice to have a big kitchen and a shower with walls around it (I will not miss the shower-attached-to-your-sink business from Korea). My room is basically a glorified walk-in-closet. It’s small but I don’t spend a ton of time in there anyway. I can’t complain because my apartment’s location is the true beauty of it. Just a 3 minute walk to one of the main train/metro stations and about 5 to Retiro Park. There are tons of shops, restaurants, museums and other beautiful buildings right outside my door. 
On Monday, I started my crazy work schedule. It was great to have a few days off to just explore and feel at home here before the madness began. I have a daily commute to work which is not too bad. Since my location is very near to the train, heading to my school’s neighborhood takes about 30 minutes in total including walking time from the stations. We spent the week trying out classes from all grades before receiving our final schedules.
I’m happy to report I will be mostly in 5th grade this year. If you know me well, you know this is not the grade I would have asked for. Actually you can usually hear me talking about my strong aversion to this grade but I’m excited for the challenge. Nonetheless, I’m happy because I really like the Spanish-native English teacher of this class. She’s just a few years older than me and is also named Ana. I think we’re going to be a great team.
So far all the other staff I have met are sweet and I am mastering the Spanish two kiss greeting. We have a “snack” together every day at 12. Lunch here isn’t until 3 but the language assistants (me) leave at or before 2. Every day we have a spread of nice bread, meats, cheeses, coffee, and juice, which is lovely. I also don’t work on Fridays which is even lovely-er.
After that, I head home for an hour or two (depending on the day) before heading off again to my second commitment of the day which is a private tutoring job in the suburbs. It feels weird even calling it tutoring it’s mostly just playing in English. I have (two girls one 8 and one 6) who are completely opposite of each other in all ways including their English abilities. I really enjoy our time together and am glad to have met their family. They live in an apartment complex which feels like a small family. All the neighborhood kids already know me which has helped me pick up another tutoring job in the same complex.
After I get home from that, it’s about 8:00 pm. This week I’ve been dead tired as soon as I walk in the door but I think a lot of that has to do with my lack of sleep and adjusting to a new schedule. I’m still getting the hang of the Spanish eating timetable but since I get home so late it makes it easier to eat dinner at that time.
I ended my workweek last night with a beer and some vegan sushi. I’m very excited for my first 3 day weekend here in Madrid. I even have a friend who I met in Korea coming to visit! 
Hope you enjoyed!
Peace & Love,
Anna
- Anna Goes Adventuring - 