Cruzando El Puente a Madurez

Here I am a week after leaving the US and I already have an apartment, a bank account, a job, and friends. Who knew it would be so easy?

I took this while crossing the bridge back from la escuela.

Well, it actually wasn't. The apartment took a decent amount of searching, and I had to communicate in a different language. The bank account didn't work the first 3 times I went into the bank, and I had to communicate in a different language. The job I visited for the first time today, and I spoke Spanish and English.  The English they had learned was British English so there was some confusion there. And the friends? Well, their Spanish so that's what we primarily speak. So easy? Not so much. Worth it? Yes. 

I don't think I've done any of those things in the United States by myself. Yes, even make friends :P  I imagine it's easier when you speak the same language. But boy, do I feel like I'm becoming an adult now because I have done all these things. 

I shouldn't say that I did all of it on my own. One of my roommates took me to the bank the first time and then did errands with me for food and linens etc. Actually, the first meal I cooked for myself was stir fry; I think that really confused my roommates (3 spainards). They think Americans eat pizza, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, and French fries all of the time. When we went shopping, Maria Jose kept pointing them out to me. Once I started cooking, she wondered if I liked Chinese food.  They really do have the opinion that Americans eat greasy food all of the time.

An instagrammy picture from one of the tallest points of the city

I also had a lot of help in the school.  The main English teacher, who learned a lot of her English in Ireland, showed me around and spoke in both English and Spanish (when we couldn't figure out how to say something in English).  I am the first Auxiliar de Conversación that they have had so not only are the uber (I think that it's a proper time for that word) excited to have me, but they don't know what to do with me.  She told me so many of her ideas but they really don't know.  I think that makes it better.  We can work together to figure out the best way to go about this.

Now, I don't know if I told a lot of people, but I am teaching in two schools.  This one is in the city, only 30 min walk or 15 min bus ride.  The other one is in a pueblo, or town, 45 min drive away.  Obviously, this was a huge concern for me because I have no means to get there.  The first option they presented was a bus.  They volunteered to cover all of the charges, but still, a 45 min + bus drive would be annoying.  Well, it turns out that we called the other school and they have an English teacher who drives from Badajóz.  However, that teacher is on leave for some reason.  The great news is that the substitute also drives from Badajóz.  So even when the teacher returns, I will have a ride. ¡Qué bien!

So, right now things are looking pretty good.  We have orientation this Thursday and Friday in Cáceres, the other autonomia in Extremadura. I start actually teaching the first of October and vamos a ver, we will see what happens.

Finally, the weather here has been brutal.  It has been 90+ degrees (Fahrenheit, not Celsius).  Emma, do you think I can take my parka off now?  They say that it gets cold during the winter, but cold for them might not mean cold for me.  It never snows, but it sometimes rains which means it can't be too cold during el invierno, the winter.

I'm going to try to update this blog once a week.  Obviously, I have been writing more frequently as I've posted 3 posts in a weeks time, but I'll try to keep it to just the highlights.  Below you will see a video of me giving a tour of my new apartment complete with Jacob awkwardness.  ¡Aprovéchete!

Badajóz: Soy Más Terco de una Mula

Hello all,

So I have safely made it to my new home city of Badajóz, Spain.  I woke up early on Wednesday to catch an 8:04 train from Madrid to Badajóz.  It was over a five hour ride with twice as many stops to get here, but I did. 

Once I made it to the train station, I looked at my phone for the directions I had written down.  The first street was no where to be seen.  I went to the information desk and asked about a map.  He had this small, poorly printed map of Badajóz and let me take it.  I found on the map where the street was and started walking towards it.  After about half an hour walking, I asked for help.  I was sure that I was going the right way, but the man told me otherwise.  He pointed me in the right direction and I went off towards el Río Guadiana, the river that splits Badajóz.  Once I found it, I pulled out the directions and saw that I had to cross entrepuentes, or the bridge between two bridges.  This is a great walking bridge that spans the pretty large river.  My hotel was at the end of this bridge and I arrived all sweaty from carrying all of my stuff.

To be honest, I was not happy with the city at first.  It could have been a combination of fatigue and being on the wrong side of the river for so long, but I did not like the look of it or the smell.  Looking back, the smell actually reminded me of Granada or any city in fact.  As for the rest of the city, I should always remember that Spain looks its best after sunset.  I did a lot of walking yesterday.  I saw two apartments.  One was really small and the other was huge.  This image to the left is very close to the large apartment.  I honestly fell in love with that second one online, but I promised myself that I would see one more apartment before I committed.  I went to see the third one today, which fell in between the other two apartments.  It had a nice living space, but small rooms, small kitchen, and small bathroom.  And they are all around the same price.  I am waiting for a call back from the large apartment but fingers crossed that it works out.

To end this post, I'm putting a picture from el parque del infantil, someplace I walked by one my way home last night.  The way that Spain lights up almost all of its buildings always gets me.  This one even had a full moon behind it!

¡Hasta Luego!

La Vida Sencilla

     As of writing this, I've been in Madrid for about 12 hours.  I've already lost my wallet (and found it), my location, and my mind.
     When I landed in Madrid, I could feel that I was in a different country, though I couldn't tell you which one it was.  The flight was an uncomfortable 7 hours where I got to watch the Hangover III and sleep for a measly two hours.  I got two free meals, food that was anything by satisfying.  When the plane finally landed, I was happy to get off.  I claimed my baggage easy enough (I fit my entire life into a suitcase weighing lbs and a backpack whoot whoot!).  I had even made it easy on myself by printing out directions to my hostel.  I looked down at the print out from google maps and saw that the next step was to ride the metro 5 stops.  This also happened fluidly.  Well, the next step was to change from the metro to Renfe, a metro knock off.  I had the directions, but for the life of me, I couldn't figure out how to get to Puerta del Sol, a big plaza in the heart of Madrid.  GMaps said to take C3, which I was near.  The issue was that C3 went in the wrong direction.  I yelled "YOLO" and got on the train that I knew was going the opposite direction of what I wanted.  At the next stop, I hopped on to the train going back from where I came thinking that it must cross Puerta del Sol because it would be going the right way.  Well, this train overshot Puerta del Sol by one stop.  This is when I built up enough confidence to ask a Spainard, "Puerta del Sol" to which they replied by pointing across the tracks where a crowd of people had gathered.  I thanked him and got on the correct train.
     Finding my hostel was another task.  When I got to Puerta del Sol, I really felt like I was in Spain.  I did a lap around the plaza before with my heavy backpack and my 50 lb suitcase before I realized that life is never easy and I should never expect it to be.  I shelled out 3.5 euros and bought a map of Madrid.  I tirelessly found my hostel and I was off.  After 20 minutes, I arrived.  Relieved to drop off my things, I went to the front desk.  He looked up my name and sighed.  Apparently, my room was still being cleaned and it would take another hour.  It was almost 12 oclock at this point and I was exhausted.  The man offered to take my stuff and let me use the WiFi while I waited.  That appeased me because no one knew that I had survived my flight and had not ended up on an island with a smoke monster.
     The first message I sent out was to my parents and then to Facebook.  Finally, I got a hold of my friend, Ellie, who I had studied with me in Granada and was also in Madrid.  We decided to meet up at Puerta del Sol.  Once we saw each other, the tides changed for the better.  We each got a cheap flip phone from Orange and then we went to el Parque del Prado.  This was an enormous park right near the Prado Museum.  We pretty much walked down one side and back another to find this awesome man made lake that had stadium seating on one side.  Behind the seats were several large pillars.  They were all angled facing a giant statue of what I'm guessing represented Carlos III.
     After we found it, it was 3:00 PM.  Having Granada blood in us, we decided to go for tapas.   We found a nice tapas place and ate there for a few minutes.  They weren't free, as we were used to in Granada, but they were cheap and delicious.  After this bar we set off for Plaza Mayor where a waiter flagged us down and convinced us to eat at his restaurant with only hand gestures.  He really talked with his eyes and he said 'croquetas'.  Those are a Spanish tapa that is essentially fried mashed potatoes.  By the end of our meal, we were both exhausted.  I was sweating due to the beautifully hot Madrid climate and tired from only catching 10 winks of sleep.  The problem is that the best way to fight jet lag is to stay up as late as possible.  Well, jet lag KO'ed me and I took a two hour nap.  I woke up to cancel plans I ahd made with Ellie and I started writing this.
     So, I had a very eventful 12 hours.  I'm staying in Madrid until Wednesday when I embark for Badajo and start apartment hunting.  Crazy.  I'll let you know of any more crazy shenanigans I encounter.  Until then, hasta luego!

PS: I'll be adding pictures soon.  Probably when I unpack in Badajoz.  Also, I know that the title of this blog is Mi Viaje a Granada...I'm looking into how to change it.