Madrid 2: Revenge of the Spanish Schedule

You’re still in Spain?

Yup. I have renewed to teach in the same primary school for a second year. This summer I spent two months in the Pacific Northwest visiting family and friends, hiking, camping, cycling and not swimming at the Oregon Coast. I plan to blog about this lovely summer soon.

Who are you teaching this year?

I continue to work with the fifth and sixth graders at CEIP Garcilaso de la Vega. I love, love, love my position and I’m thrilled to continue preparing the students for the Cambridge speaking exam at the end of sixth grade.

The biggest change in my work can be seen in my private classes. Last year I taught mostly adults. I had weekly chats with an air traffic controller, a nurse, a cardiologist, two recently-graduated economics students, and an engineering student. The lessons lasted well into the evening, as late as 9:30. Spaniards typically arrive home from work at 7pm, so they can’t meet before then. School children, on the other hand, finish school and activities anywhere from 4:30-6pm. In the interest of having a social life (maybe I’ll even take a yoga class!) I have filled my after-school hours with 11 and 12-year old students. This requires less preparation, as they have similar language levels, interests, and needs, and I finish no later than 7:00.

Are you living in the same piso?

This year I moved to a new neighborhood, Arturo Soria, which is a bit farther from the school. My plan is to ride my bike 15 minutes or, in case of rain or extreme cold, ride the bus 20 minutes to work. This fall has been disappointingly rainy in Madrid so far, so my bike is chained up rusting while I sit on the bus. Here are pictures of the apartment I share with my novio Julio, my bike, and his car.

So now you’re an expert, right?

Even as I begin my second year in Madrid, I’m still having culture-shock moments that are largely based on the Spanish schedule (think late). Just yesterday afternoon Julio messaged me: “I think we need to prepare something for dinner to bring to the movies, because it starts at 9pm and we won’t get out until midnight.” Okay, two things are wrong with this statement. First of all, who brings dinner to the movie theater?! And secondly, we have all the hours between 6:00 and 9:00 to make and eat dinner at home. Why wait?! The answer to the first question is simple. The Spanish cinema employees are not food police. They really don’t care if you bring an entire meal, drinks and all, and wave it right under their noses. (No need to smuggle candy under your big coat.) As for the second question, I’m lucky that Julio is open-minded and sometimes willing to follow a more North American schedule. We made eggplant parmesan and ate it hot from the oven at 8:00. :)

Who do you hang out with?

Sadly, many of my friends from the program did not renew this year, so I am reaching out to meet new buddies. Last weekend I did another Hiking in Madrid and met several interesting people, including a Venezuelan who is completing her masters in wine-making. About eight of us created a WhatsApp group called Menú del Día and we plan to get together to eat out once a week. We already met last Sunday for brunch at an Australian cafe. Chai tea lattes (very rare in Spain), reubens, fried eggs and spinach. Mmmmm...

After brunch, Julio and I took a train to the medieval festival in nearby Alcala de Henares, where author of Don Quixote, Cervantes, lived.

Are you actually going to blog this year?

We'll see! I get very busy teaching and preparing 7 private classes in addition to my work at the primary school each week. My amazing friend Keridwyn suggested that I write shorter entries more frequently...ánimo, Molly!