A few bulletpoints about my trip last weekend to Madrid, where I was from about 6:30 AM Friday until 7 AM Monday.
-Started the trip off right by cooking dinner with Sari and Stacy at Sari's apt before we braved the sketchy night bus and went to a bar to wait until it was late enough to go to the bus station, where apparently the entire population of Barcelona was also going to the Ryanair airport in Girona. We got to the airport around 4:30ish, and it was surprisingly busy; we're not the only ones who will do anything for a cheap flight.
-Arrived in Madrid and had to kill a few hours before we could check into our hostal, and we were so bleary eyed we barely noticed the gorgeous architecture, but managed to find a museo de jamon (ham museum) and had a quick bite of ham. Only in Spain.
-Our hostal was near Mercado de San Miguel- this gorgeous indoor market with different food and drink stalls, and it was also down the street from a tapas crawl, where there are restaurants for specific tapas like meson de tortilla( the egg and potato omelette), meson de la guitarra (guitar) and meson de champinones( mushrooms!) The first day was spent meandering the city, taking a WAY long nap, exploring the gay area Chueca where we found a cheap cocktail bar playing musicals, and then meeting up with our lovely friend Kate who was also in our TEFL program and is now living in Madrid as an au pair! We went to a cute little wine bar for 1 Euro glasses of vino tinto (red wine), then explored Chueca again where we met some fabulous drag queens named Vicky and I don't remember the other one, and explored the bars, it was fabulous.
On Saturday we roused ourselves to go check out J & J books, this amazing secondhand English bookstore, complete with a coffee bar! Ridiculous! Didn't get anything but was severely tempted. We then wandered to Plaza Espana where there was a neat outdoor market where we partook in some chocolate and churros, and then went to see the Palace which was gorgeous. Not too many tourist either! We basically then walked through the entire city to Retiro Park, which is the Central Park of Madrid and is simply wonderful. Lush green spaces, the Crystal Palace which is on a small lake, and another big lake where you can rent rowboats or sit at a small cafe next to it. Loved loved loved it. We then went to a small tapas place for some chorizo and patatas bravas, like always, and prepared to head out by buying cheap wine at a supermarket for 75 cents. 75 cents for a bottle of wine? get on that, USA!
We went out with Kate's friend Kathleen who is living Madrid and going to SLU-Madrid campus and has been for the past 4 years, really jealous. We went to the place across from our hostal, Mercado de San Miguel for cheap sangria, and then we hit up the Meson de la Guitarra for the best tortilla I've ever had and more sangria, and then somehow ended up at a Chicago Hot Dog place (!!!) And if you were wondering, a "Chicago Hot Dog" in Madrid consists of "Chicago Sauce", which is small pieces of bacon, or some kind of meat. Gross? maybe. Good deal? you betcha! Another long night of drinking out on the town, yet wonderful to spend time with these girls.
Our last full day began at El Rastro, the huge flea market that stretches for MILES. It was really hot out so naturally I was wearing a dress, and had a lovely encounter in which some sleazy guy tried to take picture down my shirt but Stacy swatted his camera away. Nasty, yet unfortunately, kind of typical. I can't tell you how many times I get touched or shouted at, it's hard to get used to it, and even harder to put up with! Didn't ruin our day though as we finished up with the flea market and then walked near the Prado museum and ended up at a sidewalk cafe with patatas bravas again and some other choice tapas before we did a bit of shopping near Plaza de Sol- the center of Madrid and the center of Spain itself, very big.
I even saw the hotel I stayed at when I was studying abroad in Sevilla and had orientation in Madrid!! We kept walking through the city and even had some man in a bunny suit with balloons follow us for a while. Typical day, really. Kate sadly had to go back to her house, so Sari, Stacy and I found a mexican food place (salivating as I write this) and kept walking through the city until it was time to pack and then head to the airport at 5 AM for yet another Ryan Air flight.
Madrid= TONS of sidewalk cafes, with people congregating in plazas drinking with their friends, and the city barely goes to sleep even on a Sunday, before 2 AM. The architecture is gorgeous, very old yet taken care of, and I found the Madrileno accents easier to understand than Barcelona accents. I loved walking through the city, seeing how many amazing cafes there are, and so many plazas! I could see myself living here at some point in my life, I'll add it to the ever growing list.
Also amazing is how well the 3 of us traveled together- usually I need my own space at some point but we seemed to just mesh so well together, we were so lucky! Also our hostal was wonderful- cheap and clean, and we had a balcony that overlooked the mercado that we drank sangria at. A lovely, lucky weekend!
Funny moment: We were in the supermarket buying wine when this old man with pants up to his armpits comes up to me and points to my dress and asked me if I was cold, and I said "oh no, I just wanted to wear a dress" and he goes, " me too" and opens his coat to pretend he was wearing a dress. He then proceeded to become enamoured of Kate who has blond hair and took her hair and put it on his head, saying he wished he had hair like hers. Ridiculous.
Love Madrid. Go visit, if you can!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Cccccchanges
I feel like since I moved over here on this side of the ocean, I tend to feel emotions much more intensely, and they can change so incredibly fast for some reason. I'm feeling particularly melancholy at the moment as one of my good friends from the TEFL program, Stacy, is leaving in a few hours to go back to the US, and I feel like I'm constantly saying goodbye to people, almost every week! It's even a bit worse as I tend to be a bit crap at handling change, so having people leave who have shared in this experience with me, is really difficult to handle at times. Stacy, Sari and I had a FABULOUS trip to Madrid which I'll recount tomorrow, and that makes it even harder to deal with her leaving, as I tend to see her almost every day, whether it's exploring a new area of the city or giving her Spanish lessons in smoky haven cafes where we leave smelling like ashtrays.
I'm actually very positive about the next few days as I have plans for each day which tends to make things feel better- kind of like how I love having a weekly routine now, it definitely helps with the rollercoaster emotions. But apparently even that wasn;t enough when I had a minor freakout about money yesterday and started crying when I tried to buy an apple and didn't have enough money on me. Might not sound like a big deal, but it felt like one to me.
Watched the Barca vs. Inter Milan football match tonight with some friends, which is ridiculously fun and anxious at the same time. Sadly, Barca lost, but I'm loving living in a city that appreciates sports other than American football which makes me want to throw myself out the window.
Off to bed, teaching tomorrow and then a break for a few days. Asi es la vida!
I'm actually very positive about the next few days as I have plans for each day which tends to make things feel better- kind of like how I love having a weekly routine now, it definitely helps with the rollercoaster emotions. But apparently even that wasn;t enough when I had a minor freakout about money yesterday and started crying when I tried to buy an apple and didn't have enough money on me. Might not sound like a big deal, but it felt like one to me.
Watched the Barca vs. Inter Milan football match tonight with some friends, which is ridiculously fun and anxious at the same time. Sadly, Barca lost, but I'm loving living in a city that appreciates sports other than American football which makes me want to throw myself out the window.
Off to bed, teaching tomorrow and then a break for a few days. Asi es la vida!
Friday, April 23, 2010
I wanna soak up the Sol
Just a quick post to remark that I'm off to Madrid with my friends Sari and Stacy for the weekend to visit our lovely friend Kate until Monday, should anyone need to know where I am.. just in case!
Fun Fact: Plaza de Sol is the capitol of Madrid which is actually the very capitol of Spain itself. Big fun!
love you all, happy weekends!
Fun Fact: Plaza de Sol is the capitol of Madrid which is actually the very capitol of Spain itself. Big fun!
love you all, happy weekends!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Life's candy and the sun's a ball of buttah
Until I came to Spain, I never realized what an incredibly habitual creature I can be. Sure, I used to loathe getting up at 6:16 AM M-Th for a job I didn't particularly like, but there's something about getting up early in the morning that makes you feel so productive in a way. This week has consisted of me finally getting into a routine, which feels so much better for me.
This week is definitely a lot more cheery than last week, and it all has to do with my mindset, I think. I received a new student on Mondays to privately tutor- her name is Ima and she's pre-intermmediate and just wonderful. I'll be teaching her once a week for an hour and a half, and she was really good at English! Plus I got my nerd on when she asked me to explain the 4 different conditional tenses, which I happen to love for some weird reason.
I also adopted a new mindset for the group of 8 5 year olds. It's a temporary challenge, is how I view it. The classes end in mid-June, so it's not that long of a job, plus if I aim to be a good social worker than I need to be able to work with all ages. So I devised this lame sounding game for them, where I tacked up different pictures of animals all over the room and had them stand in the middle of the circle, and when I called an animal out, they had to run to the correct one. They liked it so much, we did it for an HOUR. I even had them take turns yelling out an animal for each other and it seemed to go well, and even though I had to raise my voice a few times, they're starting to listen to me more, even if they have no idea what I'm saying. I found myself getting into it, enjoying myself and realizing that they're not just little kids, they're little Catalan speaking kids- how adorable!!The director Eva, came over to me today to let me know that one of my students Pol, had told her how much fun he had in class with that game, so that made me feel really positive.
I also really like my class of 3 9 year old girls. They're getting the hang of "I'm going to go" parts of speech, and we spend lots of time with hangman, charades, making up songs, and sometimes I have to switch into Spanish to explain something, but it's just loads of fun, they're really wonderful to teach.
My optimism has made me see this all in a new way, and I'm so grateful. Constantly grateful- for the apartment I live in, for your support, for this job, for living here. One of my friends Gill writes a gratefulness journal and although it might sound lame, I'm starting to copy her in a way, as it keeps me humble, I think/hope.
Although my optimism might turn everything rosy, this is all coming in the nick of time as I'm still seriously stressing out about money. I wouldn't be able to stay here through August without this job, so I'm basically making enough just to survive, which doesn't bother me, I'm just happy to have found a job!
Fun fact: Ran into the gay part of Barcelona tonight in L'Eixample, the neighborhood where i live. It's called "Gayxample" and its about a 15 min walk from my apartment. Really amazing, I saw a drag bar with tv screens showing fake fish on them. Hysterical! I got a glass of white wine with my friend Staci at this place called Plata Bar, where there were rainbow lights and fabulous gay men. Felt almost like I was in Boystown, almost.
This week is definitely a lot more cheery than last week, and it all has to do with my mindset, I think. I received a new student on Mondays to privately tutor- her name is Ima and she's pre-intermmediate and just wonderful. I'll be teaching her once a week for an hour and a half, and she was really good at English! Plus I got my nerd on when she asked me to explain the 4 different conditional tenses, which I happen to love for some weird reason.
I also adopted a new mindset for the group of 8 5 year olds. It's a temporary challenge, is how I view it. The classes end in mid-June, so it's not that long of a job, plus if I aim to be a good social worker than I need to be able to work with all ages. So I devised this lame sounding game for them, where I tacked up different pictures of animals all over the room and had them stand in the middle of the circle, and when I called an animal out, they had to run to the correct one. They liked it so much, we did it for an HOUR. I even had them take turns yelling out an animal for each other and it seemed to go well, and even though I had to raise my voice a few times, they're starting to listen to me more, even if they have no idea what I'm saying. I found myself getting into it, enjoying myself and realizing that they're not just little kids, they're little Catalan speaking kids- how adorable!!The director Eva, came over to me today to let me know that one of my students Pol, had told her how much fun he had in class with that game, so that made me feel really positive.
I also really like my class of 3 9 year old girls. They're getting the hang of "I'm going to go" parts of speech, and we spend lots of time with hangman, charades, making up songs, and sometimes I have to switch into Spanish to explain something, but it's just loads of fun, they're really wonderful to teach.
My optimism has made me see this all in a new way, and I'm so grateful. Constantly grateful- for the apartment I live in, for your support, for this job, for living here. One of my friends Gill writes a gratefulness journal and although it might sound lame, I'm starting to copy her in a way, as it keeps me humble, I think/hope.
Although my optimism might turn everything rosy, this is all coming in the nick of time as I'm still seriously stressing out about money. I wouldn't be able to stay here through August without this job, so I'm basically making enough just to survive, which doesn't bother me, I'm just happy to have found a job!
Fun fact: Ran into the gay part of Barcelona tonight in L'Eixample, the neighborhood where i live. It's called "Gayxample" and its about a 15 min walk from my apartment. Really amazing, I saw a drag bar with tv screens showing fake fish on them. Hysterical! I got a glass of white wine with my friend Staci at this place called Plata Bar, where there were rainbow lights and fabulous gay men. Felt almost like I was in Boystown, almost.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Sometimes it's not all sunshine and rainbows
It was suggested to me by a very honest and trustworthy source to give an account of my not-so-fabulous days here in Barcelona. I figured out what my problem is- when things are going wonderfully I run to my computer because I'm so excited to write it all down. So when I have a hard moment/time/day, I don't write it down because I don't want to relive it, or make people think I'm being a Debbie Downer.
Truth is, this past week has been emotionally very difficult. I got a teaching job which I started last Monday at this language academy. It was the first job that even was offered to me, the one that my friend Erin here gave me before she left to return to the States. I'm teaching a group of 8 5 year olds for an hour and a half, 2x/wk, and a group of 3 9 year old girls for an hour and a half 2x/wk as well. The first day of teaching 5 year olds was in a word, awful. I HATE raising my voice at anyone, and the kids were running around the classroom, not paying attention. There were random moments when they seemed to like the activities, but there were 2 kids in particular who kept fighting and wouldn't listen me to stop, so I basically felt like a horrid teacher. And of course the director, Eva, came in and told me that my class was out of control and it was unacceptable. I wanted to cry afterwards, but told myself it was just the first day, has to get better.
And I guess it did get better, somewhat. The 9 year old girls are fun, and relatively easy, and love learning so I don't mind teaching them and coming up with fun stuff for them to do. The class I had with them on Thursday was really great as I actually taught them grammar that they remembered! So positive spot in the week right there.
As far as the 5 year olds go, and this is going to sound terrible so matter how I say it, I realized I should have trusted my first instincts. I don't really like children at this point in my life. I don't want to spend time with them, I don't want to babysit, and I really don't like trying to teach kids the colour Orange when they're more interested in beating each other up and yelling in Catalan.
I'm usually a "guilt sponge", as I've heard it called before, but this time I can't shake the guilt. I feel bad that I took a job merely to have a job and some sort of income, but its with an age group I have zero interest in, whereas I know a few people who would absolutely LOVE to work with kids. Not sure what to do, other than give it another week and see how it goes.
I was worried about posting all this, for fear that I sound ungrateful, which isn't how I feel nor is it my intention. I know that everyday here is a gift, and I really do love it, its just that everyday also has some sort of struggle- whether its not understanding how to send a simple letter through the post office, or searching for a word in spanish that I have no clue of, or feeling really homesick and far away from so many people. and feeling guilty for being here in the first place, that's probably my biggest thing.
I'll see how this week goes with teaching, and if I still feel out of place, then I'll talk to the director and see her thoughts on it.
positive thought to end this: Going to Madrid this coming weekend to see my friend Kate from the TEFL program, very excited!
Truth is, this past week has been emotionally very difficult. I got a teaching job which I started last Monday at this language academy. It was the first job that even was offered to me, the one that my friend Erin here gave me before she left to return to the States. I'm teaching a group of 8 5 year olds for an hour and a half, 2x/wk, and a group of 3 9 year old girls for an hour and a half 2x/wk as well. The first day of teaching 5 year olds was in a word, awful. I HATE raising my voice at anyone, and the kids were running around the classroom, not paying attention. There were random moments when they seemed to like the activities, but there were 2 kids in particular who kept fighting and wouldn't listen me to stop, so I basically felt like a horrid teacher. And of course the director, Eva, came in and told me that my class was out of control and it was unacceptable. I wanted to cry afterwards, but told myself it was just the first day, has to get better.
And I guess it did get better, somewhat. The 9 year old girls are fun, and relatively easy, and love learning so I don't mind teaching them and coming up with fun stuff for them to do. The class I had with them on Thursday was really great as I actually taught them grammar that they remembered! So positive spot in the week right there.
As far as the 5 year olds go, and this is going to sound terrible so matter how I say it, I realized I should have trusted my first instincts. I don't really like children at this point in my life. I don't want to spend time with them, I don't want to babysit, and I really don't like trying to teach kids the colour Orange when they're more interested in beating each other up and yelling in Catalan.
I'm usually a "guilt sponge", as I've heard it called before, but this time I can't shake the guilt. I feel bad that I took a job merely to have a job and some sort of income, but its with an age group I have zero interest in, whereas I know a few people who would absolutely LOVE to work with kids. Not sure what to do, other than give it another week and see how it goes.
I was worried about posting all this, for fear that I sound ungrateful, which isn't how I feel nor is it my intention. I know that everyday here is a gift, and I really do love it, its just that everyday also has some sort of struggle- whether its not understanding how to send a simple letter through the post office, or searching for a word in spanish that I have no clue of, or feeling really homesick and far away from so many people. and feeling guilty for being here in the first place, that's probably my biggest thing.
I'll see how this week goes with teaching, and if I still feel out of place, then I'll talk to the director and see her thoughts on it.
positive thought to end this: Going to Madrid this coming weekend to see my friend Kate from the TEFL program, very excited!
Friday, April 16, 2010
In a Gleeful mood
Just a quick post to report that this Thursday evening I made dinner with some friends, opened bottles of red wine, and watched Glee for a few hours along with a couple of chocolate bars. The perfect Thursday night, wouldn't you agree?
Off to check out a yoga class tomorrow, all in Spanish, I'm completely excited!!
Off to check out a yoga class tomorrow, all in Spanish, I'm completely excited!!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
25 and looking fine
Well it's official. I just turned 25, and 2 separate people asked me if I was turning 21. Must be all this helpful skin cream I'm using, keeps me young.
I had a fabulous birthday here in Spain. My lovely friends, Sari and Stacy, came over to my flat bright and early to take me to Sitges, a nearby gorgeous beach town and the gay capitol of Spain- I was sure to love it! I was slightly under the weather as the night before my birthday I'd gone for a goodbye dinner for my friend Erin who was going back to the States, and ended up having a few drinks bought for me as the clock stuck 12. It was very nice!
The train ride to Sitges is only about 25 minutes, and you can see the ocean on your left for most of it. It's fairly good-sized, I think, and we meandered the streets, marveling at the gay bars and little winding streets where a car could barely fit down, when we came upon.. a BAGEL SHOP. We pretty much beat the door down and ordered bagels with salmon and cream cheese and one with pesto, mozzarella and tomatoes. Incredible. They also happened to have soy milk, and I had an actual LATTE on my birthday. Perfect! It was called El Arte del Cafe, write that down.
Our friend Lauren had just moved to Sitges the day before to become an au pair so she came and met up with us and took us all along the beach and up to this old art museum so we could see the views- beautiful. We even had some amazing hazelnut gelato (or at least i did) to celebrate my 25 years, and the amazingness of Sitges. I fell in love with that place immediately, and am so excited to come back when the weather is a bit nicer and go to the beaches that aren't so crowded that you have to practically sit on someone's lap for a space (Barceloneta, I'm talking about you).
We left Sitges so I could go teach a group of 3 9 year olds (more on the teaching experience later), which went fairly well, and then I came home to decompress for a bit when Stacy and Sari showed up with red wine and an amazing chocolate and crema de catalan cake from Corte Ingles, complete with edible chocolate candles!! It was lovely, and my roommates all gave me hugs and wished me happy birthday. We headed out to this irish pub, Wild Turkey Tavern, where a bunch of my TEFL classmates/friends were meeting us, and I ended up being able to see about 10-12ish of my friends here, I felt so incredibly special.
Of course a birthday night isn't complete without roaming around La Rambla and going to an Australian bar where the bartender wished me luck on my 21th birthday (seriously?) and gave me a free drink. The group trickled down into a few diehard members who found this dancing place that was underground and they were playing old school Madonna and Michael Jackson hits, and as we left, we ran into a group of Norwegians who also wished me a happy 21th birthday (I really didn't get it) and bought us some drinks. I was ready to head home, being a whole quarter of a century old, around 3 AM when the last of the partyers- Sari, Justin and I, hopped on a night bus and went home.
It was lovely, and I did get a bit sad being away from everyone this year, but definitely feel grateful for this amazing experience. and spending my 21th birthday in Espana. Que bueno!
I had a fabulous birthday here in Spain. My lovely friends, Sari and Stacy, came over to my flat bright and early to take me to Sitges, a nearby gorgeous beach town and the gay capitol of Spain- I was sure to love it! I was slightly under the weather as the night before my birthday I'd gone for a goodbye dinner for my friend Erin who was going back to the States, and ended up having a few drinks bought for me as the clock stuck 12. It was very nice!
The train ride to Sitges is only about 25 minutes, and you can see the ocean on your left for most of it. It's fairly good-sized, I think, and we meandered the streets, marveling at the gay bars and little winding streets where a car could barely fit down, when we came upon.. a BAGEL SHOP. We pretty much beat the door down and ordered bagels with salmon and cream cheese and one with pesto, mozzarella and tomatoes. Incredible. They also happened to have soy milk, and I had an actual LATTE on my birthday. Perfect! It was called El Arte del Cafe, write that down.
Our friend Lauren had just moved to Sitges the day before to become an au pair so she came and met up with us and took us all along the beach and up to this old art museum so we could see the views- beautiful. We even had some amazing hazelnut gelato (or at least i did) to celebrate my 25 years, and the amazingness of Sitges. I fell in love with that place immediately, and am so excited to come back when the weather is a bit nicer and go to the beaches that aren't so crowded that you have to practically sit on someone's lap for a space (Barceloneta, I'm talking about you).
We left Sitges so I could go teach a group of 3 9 year olds (more on the teaching experience later), which went fairly well, and then I came home to decompress for a bit when Stacy and Sari showed up with red wine and an amazing chocolate and crema de catalan cake from Corte Ingles, complete with edible chocolate candles!! It was lovely, and my roommates all gave me hugs and wished me happy birthday. We headed out to this irish pub, Wild Turkey Tavern, where a bunch of my TEFL classmates/friends were meeting us, and I ended up being able to see about 10-12ish of my friends here, I felt so incredibly special.
Of course a birthday night isn't complete without roaming around La Rambla and going to an Australian bar where the bartender wished me luck on my 21th birthday (seriously?) and gave me a free drink. The group trickled down into a few diehard members who found this dancing place that was underground and they were playing old school Madonna and Michael Jackson hits, and as we left, we ran into a group of Norwegians who also wished me a happy 21th birthday (I really didn't get it) and bought us some drinks. I was ready to head home, being a whole quarter of a century old, around 3 AM when the last of the partyers- Sari, Justin and I, hopped on a night bus and went home.
It was lovely, and I did get a bit sad being away from everyone this year, but definitely feel grateful for this amazing experience. and spending my 21th birthday in Espana. Que bueno!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Alright class, get out your crayons, it's time to colour
About to embark on my first day of teaching! I have a group of 8 5 year old who apparently love arts and crafts, so hopefully this goes smoothly. A bit nervous, as I feel like I'm a wee bit rusty after having not taught for a few weeks, but I'm heading to the language academy early to go over everything with the director, Eva. Keep you posted!
This was a whirlwind of a weekend ( but I'm realizing this statement is written about every weekend, almost). On Friday, my roommates Marcelo, Ana and I went to Monjuic, which is this really beautiful mountain-y thing where there's the MNAC (Art museum of catalunya) and also all the olympic stuff from the 1992 Olympics. Marcelo was meeting a friend to go rock climbing in this crazy tunnel place- open to the public, you can bring your own gear and then climb on the tunnel ceiling and walls! I'm going to try it eventually but Ana and I preferred to meander around the hills- there are beautiful views of Barcelona since we were so high up, and it really wasn't that far from our apt. I like getting to know my roommates better, they've been so welcoming- Ana and I are on about the same level of Spanish and it's interesting to learn more about her- she's 22 and has been married for almost a year! We're planning on doing some sort of intercambio where I teach her English and she teaches me German. I apparently have a slight obsession with Romantic languages.. ah well!
Met up with my friend Nate who was staying with me for the weekend and we headed to this weirdo karaoke bar in the middle of nowhere where all of a sudden like 17 people that I know through my own TEFL course or the TEFL course in Jan, all showed up! It was kind of fun, being in a huge group of people, but also exhausted me. Then we went to the Villa Olimpica place, where I'd swore I would never go again- and went to some bars there, and ended up having to walk about 2 miles to a metro stop to wait until it reopened at 5 AM since it was only 4 AM. A bit ridiculous? you bet.
Saturday was a gorgeous day, so we made some lunch and then hit La Rambla so we could go back to this amazing little tea place I found called La Clandestina- you can even get hookah there for very cheap! Then we meandered through La Boqueria, that huge food market where you can buy everything from a pig's foot to pineapple for 1 Euro. The evening's festivities began with watching the super important Barca vs. Real Madrid football match, in which Barca WON so everyone was super excited, and we watched it at the biggest Irish pub in Barcelona, George Payne, which was really fantastic. Then somehow someone wanted to have a house party (am I in a teen movie) so the same huge group of 20 people went to this party, and after a while I needed some major air so a few of us walked down to the beach, and I immediately felt rejuvenated.
Spent all day Sunday at the beach, in the sun, sans sunscreen since I'm an idiot, apparently. It was already so crowded in April, there's no way I'l be coming to this beach during the summer! But still glorious to soak in the sun and be near the water, I feel so lucky to be near the sea all the time.
Tomorrow is... my birthday?! I'm celebrating during the day by going to Sitges, this nearby beach town where my friend Lauren just moved to be an au pair, and its supposedly beautiful. Then I'll come back and teach, and then hopefully see a bunch of my friends for some celebratory drinks. Feels weird to be out of the States for this one, but I'm sure it will be lovely.
Onwards to teaching!
This was a whirlwind of a weekend ( but I'm realizing this statement is written about every weekend, almost). On Friday, my roommates Marcelo, Ana and I went to Monjuic, which is this really beautiful mountain-y thing where there's the MNAC (Art museum of catalunya) and also all the olympic stuff from the 1992 Olympics. Marcelo was meeting a friend to go rock climbing in this crazy tunnel place- open to the public, you can bring your own gear and then climb on the tunnel ceiling and walls! I'm going to try it eventually but Ana and I preferred to meander around the hills- there are beautiful views of Barcelona since we were so high up, and it really wasn't that far from our apt. I like getting to know my roommates better, they've been so welcoming- Ana and I are on about the same level of Spanish and it's interesting to learn more about her- she's 22 and has been married for almost a year! We're planning on doing some sort of intercambio where I teach her English and she teaches me German. I apparently have a slight obsession with Romantic languages.. ah well!
Met up with my friend Nate who was staying with me for the weekend and we headed to this weirdo karaoke bar in the middle of nowhere where all of a sudden like 17 people that I know through my own TEFL course or the TEFL course in Jan, all showed up! It was kind of fun, being in a huge group of people, but also exhausted me. Then we went to the Villa Olimpica place, where I'd swore I would never go again- and went to some bars there, and ended up having to walk about 2 miles to a metro stop to wait until it reopened at 5 AM since it was only 4 AM. A bit ridiculous? you bet.
Saturday was a gorgeous day, so we made some lunch and then hit La Rambla so we could go back to this amazing little tea place I found called La Clandestina- you can even get hookah there for very cheap! Then we meandered through La Boqueria, that huge food market where you can buy everything from a pig's foot to pineapple for 1 Euro. The evening's festivities began with watching the super important Barca vs. Real Madrid football match, in which Barca WON so everyone was super excited, and we watched it at the biggest Irish pub in Barcelona, George Payne, which was really fantastic. Then somehow someone wanted to have a house party (am I in a teen movie) so the same huge group of 20 people went to this party, and after a while I needed some major air so a few of us walked down to the beach, and I immediately felt rejuvenated.
Spent all day Sunday at the beach, in the sun, sans sunscreen since I'm an idiot, apparently. It was already so crowded in April, there's no way I'l be coming to this beach during the summer! But still glorious to soak in the sun and be near the water, I feel so lucky to be near the sea all the time.
Tomorrow is... my birthday?! I'm celebrating during the day by going to Sitges, this nearby beach town where my friend Lauren just moved to be an au pair, and its supposedly beautiful. Then I'll come back and teach, and then hopefully see a bunch of my friends for some celebratory drinks. Feels weird to be out of the States for this one, but I'm sure it will be lovely.
Onwards to teaching!
Friday, April 9, 2010
Next stop.. employment!
Yes, the heading is true.. I'm gainfully employed as of a day ago! Gainfully meaning I will now be working 6 hours a week, starting on Monday. But hey, it's a good start!
I met up with my friend Erin on Wednesday for coffee- I'd met her at DePaul in an Italian class and randomly she did the same TEFL program as me in Jan, so I've crossed paths with her a lot since I've been here. Well unfortunately she's heading back to Chicago next week, and had only just decided the morning we met for coffee. She asked me to take her English classes at this language academy, and of course, I said SI SI SI immediately! I met with the director of the language academy, Eva, who said they need someone from 5:30-7, Monday thru Thursday to teach a group of 5 year old boys and a group of 9 year old girls. I'm so excited!! It's only through the end of June, but she said they have loads and loads of positions in September, for full time work. Oi.
So, yay, 6 hours a week teaching English! I've been applying like crazy to some other places, but feel pretty good about it. Oh, and I've also started teaching my friend Stacy the basics of Spanish for 4 hours a week and she's lovely and paying me for it. Swell!
These past few days since I got back from London have been surprisingly busy, and I even managed to make time to hit up this club called Bikini which has fantastic hip hop on Wednesday nights. I went with about 7 other kids from my TEFL class and it was hysterical and amazing, although I stayed out later than I wanted and ended up getting home at 5 AM, whoops. Thus is the clubbing life in Barcelona! I can't handle it more than once a week, seriously.
This morning I went to Montjuic with my roommates Ana and Marcelo- Montjuic is where the MNAC museum of art is, and it's on this mountain where you can see all of Barcelona, its GORGEOUS. My head hurts from speaking nonstop Spanish the entire day, but it's been so wonderful. Marcelo brought one of his friends and they went rock climbing in this weird tunnel in Montjuic, where you can climb the walls inside and outside of the tunnel, I'm going to go with him next week to try it!
Ana and I meandered down the mountain, and I learned that Ana ( who is from Georgia and speaks Russian, German and Spanish) is married to our other roommate, Ariel, who I've only seen once! Ariel is from Argentina, and apparently so is my other roommate, Marcelo. Marcelo and Ariel met at university here since they're both studying engineering. Interesting! I really love this apartment. It's so international feeling, and Ana and I have decided to do an intercambio- she'll teach me German and I'll teach her English. Fun!! I feel so blessed to feel comfortable in this place, and to have these roommates. So far, so good!
My buddy Nate is coming from Zaragoza for the weekend, yay! We're going to celebrate my birthday tomorrow - turning 25 next week, yikes!
I met up with my friend Erin on Wednesday for coffee- I'd met her at DePaul in an Italian class and randomly she did the same TEFL program as me in Jan, so I've crossed paths with her a lot since I've been here. Well unfortunately she's heading back to Chicago next week, and had only just decided the morning we met for coffee. She asked me to take her English classes at this language academy, and of course, I said SI SI SI immediately! I met with the director of the language academy, Eva, who said they need someone from 5:30-7, Monday thru Thursday to teach a group of 5 year old boys and a group of 9 year old girls. I'm so excited!! It's only through the end of June, but she said they have loads and loads of positions in September, for full time work. Oi.
So, yay, 6 hours a week teaching English! I've been applying like crazy to some other places, but feel pretty good about it. Oh, and I've also started teaching my friend Stacy the basics of Spanish for 4 hours a week and she's lovely and paying me for it. Swell!
These past few days since I got back from London have been surprisingly busy, and I even managed to make time to hit up this club called Bikini which has fantastic hip hop on Wednesday nights. I went with about 7 other kids from my TEFL class and it was hysterical and amazing, although I stayed out later than I wanted and ended up getting home at 5 AM, whoops. Thus is the clubbing life in Barcelona! I can't handle it more than once a week, seriously.
This morning I went to Montjuic with my roommates Ana and Marcelo- Montjuic is where the MNAC museum of art is, and it's on this mountain where you can see all of Barcelona, its GORGEOUS. My head hurts from speaking nonstop Spanish the entire day, but it's been so wonderful. Marcelo brought one of his friends and they went rock climbing in this weird tunnel in Montjuic, where you can climb the walls inside and outside of the tunnel, I'm going to go with him next week to try it!
Ana and I meandered down the mountain, and I learned that Ana ( who is from Georgia and speaks Russian, German and Spanish) is married to our other roommate, Ariel, who I've only seen once! Ariel is from Argentina, and apparently so is my other roommate, Marcelo. Marcelo and Ariel met at university here since they're both studying engineering. Interesting! I really love this apartment. It's so international feeling, and Ana and I have decided to do an intercambio- she'll teach me German and I'll teach her English. Fun!! I feel so blessed to feel comfortable in this place, and to have these roommates. So far, so good!
My buddy Nate is coming from Zaragoza for the weekend, yay! We're going to celebrate my birthday tomorrow - turning 25 next week, yikes!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Drag queens, digestive biscuits and Prince Albert
"Anyone who is tired of London, is tired of life"- not sure who said that but I'd like to give them a high five. London never fails to utterly and completely woo me.
Arrived a bit bruised and battered after shoving my way through the RyanAir line to fly to Gatwick airport. RyanAir is incredibly cheap, which made it somewhat worthwhile that I had to take an hour bus to get out to this special RyanAir airport in Girona, Spain. I always complain about this airline but then remember that I once flew to Berlin for only 1 Euro so that shuts me up.
Got to London, whizzed through the tube lines, half of which were done for the Easter holidays, and arrived at the Caring Hotel where my mom was waiting!!! So exciting!!! We immediately set out to find Italian food for me since I've been literally salivating over ethnic food these past few days-I swore I would've screamed if I'd seen another jamon or patata placed in front of me.
Saturday we got up early to hit up Portobello Road market, which is one of my favourite things ever, possibly. It's this miles long stretch of vendors- food vendors, vintage clothing, random WWII knickknacks, cookbooks, and it goes on and on! We got lucky with only some brisk weather, rain here and there, and managed to score some really awesome rainbow Converse for me (happy birthday, thanks mom!) as well as going in the Books for Cooks bookstore which has this delightful cafe in the back where I got REAL drip coffee and we split a ginger pear tart. Bliss! We then hopped on the tube and went to Leceister Square to see if we could score any good half price theatre tickets for matinees. I think I did a pirouette when my mom grabbed us tickets to see.. Priscilla, Queen of the Desert-the Musical!!! Based on that 80's movie with Guy Pierce, it featured 3 drag queens in Australia traveling across the country in a neon pink bus, singing disco tunes. Fabulous!
Afterwards, we skipped off so I could see Big Ben and Parliament which is so gorgeous, and then wandered back to the theatre district to see if we could get lucky and snag tickets to see HAIR which my mom had seen in NYC and apparently it was the same cast! We ended up getting fabulous tickets which was so lucky since it had only opened 2 days earlier, and it was AMAZING. The 60's clothes, the message, the way the actors climb up into the balcony and make it more interactive, it just blew me away!! We celebrated our theatrical success night with a bottle of wine and avocado hummus in our hotel room and watched British telly.
Sunday was Easter sunday but it felt so different since we began the day at Spitalifield market, which is another outdoor market but this one has a lot of new designers and is in this really awesome part of London- loads of vintage shops, Indian restaurants, and a huge line for an American Apparel rummage sale. We got some sweet matchy matchy leather bracelets and then had a lovely Indian lunch before we headed off to see another theatrical performance( best weekend ever!!)
We met up with her British friend, Rosalind, to see this black box performance of Cole Porter's "Paris", which is one of his lost musicals. There's this awesome theatre group in London who only performs musicals that have never been seen before, or at least haven't been performed in decades. It was simply incredible. The actors only had a piano for accompaniment, and were so animated, I think they were some of the best actors I've probably ever seen in a live show. Rosalind and my mom had met at a Bed and Breakfast in Ireland a few years ago, and she was so ridiculously awesome! Never married, travels to Greece every year, and is currently working on her autobiography. We ate at a pub afterwards and spent a long time chatting over a bottle of wine and jacket potatoes (baked potatoes), and then headed home and went to bed.
Monday had me roused quite early from the stupid pigeons who live on the window ledge, but it was actually alright since we then had time to eat breakfast at the Craven Cafe, which is this tiny cafe near the Caring Hotel and I had amazing beans on toast (I'm so British). We walked through Kensington Gardens which is really tranquil, and I kept begging my mom to show me the Prince Albert statue since I'm a big fan( especially after seeing The Young Victoria and Prince Albert is played by the very attractive Rupert Friend). Well, it's this HUGE gilded memorial to Prince Albert which is so beautiful- it dedicates it to him because he always strived for the public good and to help his people, it's exquisite! We then went to the Victoria and Albert museum to check out the fashion exhibit- I love that museums in London are all free, it amazes me! The Science Museum in Boston is like 17 $ and its so not worth it. We got some toasties at a pub afterwards and then my mom headed off to Heathrow to cruise back to Chicago while I roamed the shops on Oxford St and got a chai tea, and then went to sit in Hyde Park and look at all the tourists and dogs frolicking about.
I felt ready to come back to Barcelona, even though I got home at 2 AM. It finally cemented in my head that I officially live here, after coming back home to my apartment! An absolutely lovely weekend with my fabulous mum, couldn't have asked for anything better!
Arrived a bit bruised and battered after shoving my way through the RyanAir line to fly to Gatwick airport. RyanAir is incredibly cheap, which made it somewhat worthwhile that I had to take an hour bus to get out to this special RyanAir airport in Girona, Spain. I always complain about this airline but then remember that I once flew to Berlin for only 1 Euro so that shuts me up.
Got to London, whizzed through the tube lines, half of which were done for the Easter holidays, and arrived at the Caring Hotel where my mom was waiting!!! So exciting!!! We immediately set out to find Italian food for me since I've been literally salivating over ethnic food these past few days-I swore I would've screamed if I'd seen another jamon or patata placed in front of me.
Saturday we got up early to hit up Portobello Road market, which is one of my favourite things ever, possibly. It's this miles long stretch of vendors- food vendors, vintage clothing, random WWII knickknacks, cookbooks, and it goes on and on! We got lucky with only some brisk weather, rain here and there, and managed to score some really awesome rainbow Converse for me (happy birthday, thanks mom!) as well as going in the Books for Cooks bookstore which has this delightful cafe in the back where I got REAL drip coffee and we split a ginger pear tart. Bliss! We then hopped on the tube and went to Leceister Square to see if we could score any good half price theatre tickets for matinees. I think I did a pirouette when my mom grabbed us tickets to see.. Priscilla, Queen of the Desert-the Musical!!! Based on that 80's movie with Guy Pierce, it featured 3 drag queens in Australia traveling across the country in a neon pink bus, singing disco tunes. Fabulous!
Afterwards, we skipped off so I could see Big Ben and Parliament which is so gorgeous, and then wandered back to the theatre district to see if we could get lucky and snag tickets to see HAIR which my mom had seen in NYC and apparently it was the same cast! We ended up getting fabulous tickets which was so lucky since it had only opened 2 days earlier, and it was AMAZING. The 60's clothes, the message, the way the actors climb up into the balcony and make it more interactive, it just blew me away!! We celebrated our theatrical success night with a bottle of wine and avocado hummus in our hotel room and watched British telly.
Sunday was Easter sunday but it felt so different since we began the day at Spitalifield market, which is another outdoor market but this one has a lot of new designers and is in this really awesome part of London- loads of vintage shops, Indian restaurants, and a huge line for an American Apparel rummage sale. We got some sweet matchy matchy leather bracelets and then had a lovely Indian lunch before we headed off to see another theatrical performance( best weekend ever!!)
We met up with her British friend, Rosalind, to see this black box performance of Cole Porter's "Paris", which is one of his lost musicals. There's this awesome theatre group in London who only performs musicals that have never been seen before, or at least haven't been performed in decades. It was simply incredible. The actors only had a piano for accompaniment, and were so animated, I think they were some of the best actors I've probably ever seen in a live show. Rosalind and my mom had met at a Bed and Breakfast in Ireland a few years ago, and she was so ridiculously awesome! Never married, travels to Greece every year, and is currently working on her autobiography. We ate at a pub afterwards and spent a long time chatting over a bottle of wine and jacket potatoes (baked potatoes), and then headed home and went to bed.
Monday had me roused quite early from the stupid pigeons who live on the window ledge, but it was actually alright since we then had time to eat breakfast at the Craven Cafe, which is this tiny cafe near the Caring Hotel and I had amazing beans on toast (I'm so British). We walked through Kensington Gardens which is really tranquil, and I kept begging my mom to show me the Prince Albert statue since I'm a big fan( especially after seeing The Young Victoria and Prince Albert is played by the very attractive Rupert Friend). Well, it's this HUGE gilded memorial to Prince Albert which is so beautiful- it dedicates it to him because he always strived for the public good and to help his people, it's exquisite! We then went to the Victoria and Albert museum to check out the fashion exhibit- I love that museums in London are all free, it amazes me! The Science Museum in Boston is like 17 $ and its so not worth it. We got some toasties at a pub afterwards and then my mom headed off to Heathrow to cruise back to Chicago while I roamed the shops on Oxford St and got a chai tea, and then went to sit in Hyde Park and look at all the tourists and dogs frolicking about.
I felt ready to come back to Barcelona, even though I got home at 2 AM. It finally cemented in my head that I officially live here, after coming back home to my apartment! An absolutely lovely weekend with my fabulous mum, couldn't have asked for anything better!
Friday, April 2, 2010
she went to London..
Just finished packing up my rainbow duffel, preparing to go meet my lady loves for lunch before I venture over to the bus station and figure out just how to get to the airport to go to London! Meeting up with my mum there for the weekend, who is there for her spring break, and I'll be there until Monday night, hurray!
This should actually be a really nice break as I've had a whirlwind of a week: finishing up the TEFL course, moving into my new apt yesterday, and trying to figure out how to find someone to pay me to teach them English.
The last day of the TEFL course was lovely- we came in to get our certificates and each got someone else's certificate and we had to say a few choice words about them and the rest of the class had to guess who it was. It was so sweet and everyone totally loves each other. I can't believe the course is over! I really enjoyed it, even when it was super stressful over the weekend, and would do it again in a new york minute( or a Barcelona... minute?) Some of the people in my class have already left, and one of my good friends Angela is leaving tomorrow to head back to Michigan, but otherwise I'm lucky to have most of my friends stick around, at least for another month or so. The entire class met up Wednesday night after the course to watch the futbol match between Barca and Arsenal and it was really awesome. The only downer is that Irish Pubs here seriously suck- they're so expensive and the Guinness hardly impress me, but I guess you can't have everything.
The move into my new place yesterday went better than I thought it would! The most exciting part was when I spilled my box of rice all over myself on the metro and pretended like it was my friend Lauren who did it. Fun! My roommate, Irene, hadn't been around the entire week so i had left her a note telling her I was moving but wasn't sure if I'd see her before I left but she arrived just as Lauren and I were hauling all my junk out the door. It was a kind of awkward goodbye as I felt like sprinting out of the apartment and into my new one, but overall, it went okay. SO ready for a new place, to be in a central location, and to be living with really nice roommates!
After the move, we headed out to Primark, which is this really cheap department store from England and it was in this huge mall, which was perfect because I could buy rainbow sheets, a pillow and a blazer, all in one store! perfect. Then headed out to meet up with some of the girls for a drink but I came home early to pass out, exhausting but good day. Ready for this next chapter in the adventure!
Alright, cheerio, cheers, I'm off to London for the weekend!
This should actually be a really nice break as I've had a whirlwind of a week: finishing up the TEFL course, moving into my new apt yesterday, and trying to figure out how to find someone to pay me to teach them English.
The last day of the TEFL course was lovely- we came in to get our certificates and each got someone else's certificate and we had to say a few choice words about them and the rest of the class had to guess who it was. It was so sweet and everyone totally loves each other. I can't believe the course is over! I really enjoyed it, even when it was super stressful over the weekend, and would do it again in a new york minute( or a Barcelona... minute?) Some of the people in my class have already left, and one of my good friends Angela is leaving tomorrow to head back to Michigan, but otherwise I'm lucky to have most of my friends stick around, at least for another month or so. The entire class met up Wednesday night after the course to watch the futbol match between Barca and Arsenal and it was really awesome. The only downer is that Irish Pubs here seriously suck- they're so expensive and the Guinness hardly impress me, but I guess you can't have everything.
The move into my new place yesterday went better than I thought it would! The most exciting part was when I spilled my box of rice all over myself on the metro and pretended like it was my friend Lauren who did it. Fun! My roommate, Irene, hadn't been around the entire week so i had left her a note telling her I was moving but wasn't sure if I'd see her before I left but she arrived just as Lauren and I were hauling all my junk out the door. It was a kind of awkward goodbye as I felt like sprinting out of the apartment and into my new one, but overall, it went okay. SO ready for a new place, to be in a central location, and to be living with really nice roommates!
After the move, we headed out to Primark, which is this really cheap department store from England and it was in this huge mall, which was perfect because I could buy rainbow sheets, a pillow and a blazer, all in one store! perfect. Then headed out to meet up with some of the girls for a drink but I came home early to pass out, exhausting but good day. Ready for this next chapter in the adventure!
Alright, cheerio, cheers, I'm off to London for the weekend!
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