Back in the UK

I didn't really keep this blog so regularly as I first intended, but I have recorded a few of my memories and I hope it was vaguely interesting for one or two of the people who have read it from literally all over the globe, quite intrigued as to who those people reading my in Russia are.

My year, or rather nine months, in Spain is now over and I'm currently chilling in England with endless cups of tea and being able to understand everyone.

I feel like I should make some sort of summary of my year, or give some helpful tips for future year-abroaders.

I am really grateful to have had the opportunity to spend an academic year working abroad, for many reasons.

1. I got to spend a year out of studying in the middle of my degree. After two years which to be honest were a lot harder than I imagined way back before I moved to Southampton, it was amazing to be able to go and work in what turned out to be not-so-sunny Spain; it snowed in May. Hopefully, I will be very refreshed and ready for final year, not to mention that my Spanish should be a whole lot better, which leads me onto my next point.

2. I have improved my Spanish. I wouldn't say I'm 'fluent', but I can hold a decent conversation on most things, and managed to write a 6,000 word research project anyhow.

3. I have had a year's work experience and decided that I loved it and that teaching could be my future career. The plan at the moment is to do a PGCE after I graduate and then teach Spanish in secondary school.

4. I had the opportunity to grow in my faith, and as a person and generally feel more confident. Seeing God answer prayers throughout the year was really encouraging and knowing for real that his love never fails and he will give me the strength to get through when things seem too hard.

So that is just a few of things I loved about the year abroad. I have to say I missed cadbury's chocolate and my family and friends and of course my boyfriend but I'm so glad I went and did it and I would recommend a year or semester abroad to anyone who has the opportunity because it's a challenge but really rewarding and a pretty unique experience, since I'm not planning to go back and live in a foreign country in future, although who knows.

If you're going on a year abroad next year, feel free to contact me, I would happily answer any questions especially if you're going to Spain/Madrid. Basically I would just say, don't worry about it, don't try too hard to have a good time - just enjoy it. Make the most of the opportunities that come your way, and don't stress about the opportunities you don't seem to have. I'm sure it will be difficult at times, but also really cool and a year isn't really that long after all. Try and speak as much Spanish as you can, and don't be surprised if you don't have six Spanish friends by day two, it may be slightly harder to make friends than you think, and you'll probably have to make more of an effort than you expect, but just don't expect everything to happen overnight, and take it slow, and your Spanish will improve, and you will learn more about the culture, the world and yourself, and you will come back slightly different to how you went, but that is a bonus. You will face challenges, but see them as a way to grow. Make the most of your time, read books, write letters, go for random walks, do something you wouldn't do back home, take up a new hobby, listen to Spanish music, and try the local food. But all in all, don't worry, take it as it is and keep some sort of diary/blog and take lots of photos so that in a few years you can remember your experiences and tell people all about that time you lived abroad.

Cool. Thanks for reading my blog!

April

I think it's definitely time to write another blog since the last one was two months ago, oops.

Quite a lot has occurred since then I suppose.. Dave came to visit during Semana Santa when I had a week off school, and that was super.  We had fun visiting various places in Madrid and going to El Escorial where we went to the Monastry, which is worth a visit. We saw a few of my students who seemed to find it funny seeing me outside of school and Dave got to try the typical San Lorenzo cake things, although they did get a bit squashed on the way back, how sad.  We also took a trip on the teleferico (cable cars) which are near my house and go to casa de campo, and I have to say neither the cable cars nor the casa de campo are worth a trip, so if you were thinking of going, don't bother. Well maybe little kids would enjoy the cable cars. We also went to a nice restaurant which is called A dos velas, which was really nice.

Only a few days after saying farewell to Dave (sad times) Lizzie came to visit, which was great. We went to the Royal Palace with Hanna, which was also worth a visit, and some of the decoration is bizarre.  We had the classic Madrileño snack/dessert of chocolate con churros which Lizzie enjoyed. We also spent a few hours in the Retiro Park, I'm sure I find a different part to it every time I've been, and am never quite sure where I'm going to come out, but it's definitely one of my favourite parts of Madrid, it's really pretty.

On Easter weekend, I went to a Catholic church which was interesting, and the building itself was pretty cool inside. We also had bacalao (cod) and torrijas which are both typical Spanish Easter things.

Last weekend I went back to Southampton for Dave's birthday and had a great weekend. His friends from home came and we also went to visit my housemates from last year so it was great to see them and catch up a bit. We also went to Pizza hut, which was the first time Dave had ever been there, cyi.

School has been going well, the other day for día del libro (world book day) all the kids dressed up and did a presentation type thing which involved some drama and dance and recitals. It was really cool to see some of the kids who aren't so academic doing something that they enjoyed and really doing well at it.

And I've actually more or less finished my year abroad project/dissertation, and since I could not have imagined getting to this point a few months ago, it's quite a relief as well as a sense of achievement, having written 6,000 words in Spanish. And one of the teachers at my school kindly agreed to read it for me, so hopefully I'll be able to change anything that doesn't make sense before submitting it this week.

Ironically I feel a bit like I don't have anything to do now that I've finished my project, and I'm quite eager to go home soon, but I'm just trying to make the most of the time I have left and sort out my plans for the summer, before leaving Madrid for the final time on the 5th of June.

All in all, it's been a great few months, and I still have a few weeks so we'll see what happens then and I'll try and write at least one more blog before it's all over.

Thanks for reading, I hope you've enjoyed hearing about my experiences in Spain thus far.

palacio de cristal en el parque de buen retiro

el palacio real

lizzie and me in the palace courtyard

dave and me outside the monastery

february.

sooo since i last blogged, what's occured. well I went to Southampton to see Dave which was super, and signed for my house for next year which i'm super excited to live with two of my bestest friends (:

Since then i feel like there really isn't much of my time in Spain left which is crazy.

This week I went to two events at Amistad (church) which were super; good times to listen to/speak span in a natural setting as such and enjoy life and meet with God, always a good combination. I won't go into much but I will say that yesterday we prayed for a guy who had pain in his neck and it completely went. Make of it what you will, but God is alive and loves us in my opinion.

Furthermore school is going well, yesterday the 2nd bachillerato had photos done and I also got mine taken so I will forever be on the school wall how jokes and I also will get the photos of my fave students as a memory of part of my YA so that's nice.

My YARP dissertation type thing is also not going too badly; tomorrow's the deadline to send in a draft chapter which I more or less have finished. I just now have two months to complete my research and write about another 5000 words in spanish. easy...

I guess the next two months will be busy central with everything and various visits; Dave's coming for semana santa when i have a week off, can't wait for that. And then my fave sister Lizzie will be coming for a week at the start of april which is super exciting and shortly after that I'm going back to Southampton for Dave's 21st although just for the weekend.

Part of me feels like maybe I could have taken more opportunities thus far to speak Spanish or do random things, but rather than think about that I'm determined to squeeze every opportunity dry so to speak from now until June before I return to Southampton and Wales and then jet over to France for a couple months for YA part two.

hanna and me buzzing for our visit to soton (:

ps. im currently listening to hillsong united's new album Zion, check it out, its pretty epic (:

trabajo, carnaval y té

This week has consisted mainly of trying to get some of my uni proj done, and since all of the people I usually meet for 'intercambios' weren't able to meet this week, and having a day off having been told not to come in since most of my students wouldn't be there on wednesday due to the huelga estudiantil, which I still can't quite get my head around - either how school pupils are allowed to go on strike, or what exactly the purpose of it is. But I'll just put it down to Spain and their idea that going on strike solves everything. Anyway so I had a good deal of time to do the project, motivation is a different matter entirely as ever.
Yesterday was super after a fairly unexciting week, I went to Carnaval (somehow the Spanish equivalent of pancake day) at my housemate's school, for whatever reason my school doesn't think spending school time having a fancy dress party is worthwhile. It was jokes, and Jackie and I even joined in with the 'difraz' un poquito.
Then I took the train over to Alcalá for a tea party, which was lovely. and gave me the opportunity to be in a group of people speaking Spanish, which oddly enough isn't part of my general life despite living in Spain, classic year abroad problems. Anyway it was also quite amusing since none of us are actually Spanish; either German, French, Italian or English, but Spanish is the lingua franca and I guess what we are all here to learn. Then I had a bit of tapas with Hanna and popped back to Madrid in time to skype the parents.

One thing remains

I was just listening to One thing remains by Jesus Culture. I think way back before I knew I was coming to Madrid I was listening to it and like just found a lot a peace being reminded that whatever happens, God is with me. And actually like wherever I go, I'm never alone. I was actually just reading a post I wrote back in November and found it almost funny how much of the same situation I am in, and yet I forget what is really important, and get so caught up in how much of a conversation I couldn't understand, or how much of my YARP I haven't written, to realise that life is pretty cool, God is faithful, and it's all going to be okay. I'm probably going to get an alright mark in my dissertation. I'm almost certainly going to be better at Spanish in June than I am now. It's all good. I just need to work hard, and rest in the fact that God's got it sorted. And if I think about it, there are loads of cool things about my year abroad anyway, such as enjoying my job as a teaching assistant, and having made some good friends, and being part of a church plant, and living in a capital city, and experiencing a different culture, and many more things I am sure.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

January

So it's February already. My first thought was that January went by super fast, but then again it seems like forever since New Year. It's been a pretty good start to the year. I've met two new people who I've started doing intercambios with, I've got my YARP underway, and I'm generally loving life. I can't wait to go to Southampton in two weeks, and I'm already getting excited about summer. Yet I'm trying to make the most of my time, to enjoy the small things, etc.

Recently I've been thinking about how cool it is that I'm actually in Spain/Madrid. This time last year I had no clue where I was going to be spending my year abroad, in fact part of me wondered whether I'd actually pass second year at all. Then at first I didn't get a place with the British council, but after being put on the waiting list I got a random letter from the Ministry in Madrid being like here's your job contract. So that was pretty cool. And after hearing about the church plant in Madrid, it seemed like some kind of distant idea of something that might be cool to get involved in, but I didn't think I'd actually be able to be here. And here I am. In the past year I can see God working in my life and changing me. I'm beginning to believe instead of give up when challenges arise, to take confidence in the gifts God has given me, and to recognise all the good he has done. Generally I'm just enjoying life. Although I still don't feel like Spain is home, and I probably won't before June, that's cool. My Spanish is still pretty bad, but I'm trying. I still have four months of intercambios, chatting with teachers, watching Spanish TV, reading Spanish books, trying to immerse myself into Spanish somehow, and I'm sure I'm learning something. And after a week of freezing weather and even snow, its beginning to feel like spring. I went for a walk for the other day, and here are some pictures I took. 

El tiempo vuele

I feel like this week sped by in a way, I guess due to doing a bit more than I do on the average week, having realised I need to make the most of opportunities a little more.

I had two intercambios which went well, and have spoken a fair bit of Spanish. Having said this, I've also used the first person when talking about someone else, and forgotten how to conjugate the preterite. Anyway, the main thing is, I'm speaking more Spanish. Also I'm trying to record all the new vocab I come across, as Im generally not very organised with it and I think it will be good to keep looking back over it to remember and to see I'm actually learning something.

This week school generally went well, I basically took a few classes on my own, with the teacher in the room but leaving me to do the talking and they went well and my confidence in teaching is probably improving, which cool. Although I see flaws in my confidence in other ways, which can be frustrating. I feel nervous about the prospect of talking to my teachers about my project, and I also feel unnecessarily nervous talking at church gatherings. Patience being something I've never really had a lot of, I want to improve everything immediately and find it hard when everything is not where I want it to be in life. But life is much more about learning than being perfect, and I like to think I'm learning, whether it be Spanish, or general life, or growing in God.

Sometimes I cannot wait to be back in Southampton, living with my bestest friends and seeing Dave every day and just generally being able to understand everything, rather than grasping the general idea, or having absolutely no clue what is going on. At the same time I don't want to waste my life looking ahead and I'm aware that this semester will probably be over much sooner than I imagine and I'm really glad of the opportunity to be here. Classic year abroad really.

The first week back

So the first week back in Madrid! It seems like an age since I was in England already.
Since 'Los Reyes' (Epiphany) is a big thing here, Monday was a bank holiday, so I only had to work three days this week, which was nice to ease back into things after an awesome two weeks relaxing.
I spent the afternoon of the 'dia festivo' with the church plant people, which was really great. We spent some time worshipping, praying and Kevin talked about some of the things we're doing this year as well as talking about the importance of focusing on who we are as a church, not just what we are going to do.  We also had lunch together and I tried some 'Roscon' the traditional Reyes dessert which wasn't too bad for Spanish food lol.
Last Sunday I went for lunch with some people from the Spanish church which was nice and a good opportunity to speak a bit of Spanish. And one girl there told me my accent doesn't sound English when speaking Spanish, winning - although I think I only said about two words to her so I won't feel too confident about that yet!
School went well this week, a couple of the classes I took were all about looking back at last year and making New Years resolutions, which caused me to think about it for myself. Most of 2012 was really good, which I'm really thankful for and looking into 2013, I guess one of my aims at least for now is to improve my Spanish a lot. Also I'm going to try and keep in touch with friends at home more, as I haven't been great at that so far in Spain, and I'll try and blog more often about the goings on of my YA, maybe even weekly, although that might not happen. Having thought about the YA so far and how I haven't improved in Spanish as much as I'd like, I've decided to try and be more proactive to make the most of opportunities and not turn down chances to speak Spanish, and try and have a couple more 'intercambios' - language exchange where you chat in Spanish for a bit and English for a bit, and hopefully that can lead to making friends or at least speaking more Spanish.
In other news this week it was great to see one of my best friends Hanna, going for tapas on Thursday and spending friday trying to sort out various things which included a trip to the British embassy, which wasn't nearly as exciting as it sounds. It was also nice to hang out with my flatmate Jackie; today we went to the botanical gardens, but being January most of the plants were dead which was jokes. Also I sadly had to say goodbye to my other roommate Katie who went back to the States.
All in all I guess its been a fairly eventful week and I'm looking forward to seeing how the next few weeks/months go as I continue to try and improve Spanish and work on my research project...

5 things i love about spain/year abroad

sometimes i forget to remind myself that life is good. living in spain is cool. having a year abroad is excellent.
so, in no particular order...

1. spanish. yes, even though i am still yet to enjoy a coherent conversation without feeling really awkward, i do actually love spanish. this is why im here, this is why im studying it, this is why im frustrated because im not fluent yet. and even though im two months into my year abroad and i cant see a vast improvement, i still dare to hope that at some point in life i will achieve near native fluency, and i still believe by the end of this year i will be reaching it, and by the end of my degree it will be within my grasp.

2. church. i love church. and im blessed to have the opportunity to be part of the newfrontiers church plant here. its already been a massive blessing, knowing some like minded people who are also struggling to get to grips with the culture and the language and how to proclaim the name of Jesus in this nation. im blessed that this year is not just about me learning spanish, its about getting stuck in to God's plan for the city of Madrid. wowza.

3. school. i really enjoy my job, which is almost a surprise to me. im seriously considering doing a pgce after uni now, with the aim of teaching french/spanish at secondary school. i enjoy a job where i am around people all day. i enjoy my cute 1st ESO (year 7) classes where we learn how to say Juana is opposite Raquel. I enjoy my humourous 2nd Bachillerato (A2) class where we have debates about whether sciences or humanities are better. I enjoy being surrounded by spanish conversation at break time and await the day i can work out what theyre saying quick enough to contribute a witty response. i even at times enjoy the 40 minute bus journey as we pass mountains and villages and i just get to relax and contemplate life for a while.

4. knowing myself. i think being thrown into a different culture with no friends and family and a lack of fluency in the language is definitely a challenging thing, but with challenge comes the opportunity to grow. outside of my comfort zone, i find i am realising things about myself, about God, about life in general that may usually pass me by in the busyness and ordariness of life.

5. friends. as the year goes on, i hope to make more friends and deepen friendships, and i have already met and got to know two lovely housemates and my super friendly language exchange partner and incredible people from the church plant and one of my best uni friends is only a short train ride away.

and this is by no means the end of the things i enjoy about life on my year abroad in españa, but i must admit, im absolutely buzzing to go home for christmas! i guess there is really no place like home. great britain for the win.

Trusting in God.

Nearly two months into my year abroad, and I feel like I can barely string a sentence together in Spanish. Apparently I don't know how to pronounce sí. I have no 'Spanish' friends. I haven't really got anywhere with my YARP. Sometimes I just want to give up, go home and work at October books for the rest of my life. But I know that I'm here for a reason. I know that this is where God wants me. He could have brought anyone to teach at Juan de Herrera this year. He could have chosen anyone to join the Madrid Church plant for nine months. I have to remind myself constantly, that God is with me, and has plans which he is working out for my good. And if, by the end of this year, I have achieved nothing more than understanding more of God, having a bit more faith, being more deeply in love with Jesus, then that is an immeasurable achievement. The purpose of this year, as with every year of my life, is to be more Christ-like. Not to learn more languages, get a first in my dissertation, or whatever else. And as well as that, I know that God is more than able to help me in each and every situation this year.

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

UPDATE on life.

I was thinking today that this is currently the longest time I have ever been outside of Great Britain. And as they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder, and I currently do feel nostalgic for my home country with its tea and politeness and banter.

Having said this, I'm generally enjoying living in Spain. I feel like living elsewhere goes in phases. I'm past the wow I'm living in Spain everything is a novelty and fun times. And I think I'm just getting past the oh my life I'm living in Spain everything is so foreign and ridiculous. Well I guess the whole year I'm going to be in one of these categories to an extent, but at the same time I'm just getting on with life.

Today school was a good day, but I ended up teaching a whole class on my own without another teacher there, which is probably normal for some other assistants but the first time I'd done it. It wasn't a complete disaster, so that's good. Also I'd prepared a song with another class but we realised we couldnt have the language lab at the last moment, so we had to use the CD player rather than a computer and the available song which went with the textbook exercise was Justin Timberlake, always a bonus... or not.

I'm actually beginning to get somewhere with my YARP, by which I mean I have a feasible idea and have read a few articles. Having changed my plan, I still need to write a new proposal, yay. And an abstract, in Spanish. Who knows how that will go, since I feel like if anything my Spanish has got worse since I've got here. 

Definitely need to get on more 'intercambios' to chat Spanish in general life and probably try and actually keep a record of new words/ phrases I come across, and watch some more TV in Spanish, though it is very tempting to just watch in English, especially when there's a new series of Grey's Anatomy. But I'm trying to remind myself that I probably have my entire life to be in England and watch American TV so I should go out and speak Spanish and immerse myself into it a bit more proactively than I am right now. 

Also it's been awesome to see my besties Natasha and Hanna here this weekend/week, although tonight I was too tired after school and my commute to go over to Alcala to hang out with them tonight, they're coming over again tomorrow, so that will be super.

And I literally can't wait to see Dave next weekend.
All in all, loving life. 

Finally got round to writing this!

I've now been in Madrid nearly three weeks. In some ways it feels like a lifetime already, and in others I feel like I just got here, but that's life I guess! I've done two weeks at school, I'm enjoying it :) I've got 16 different classes with a few children in more than one but mostly different so it's quite hard to get to know names etc. So far I've just told them about myself and my life in England and they've asked me questions, done a presentation on the Royal family, quite jokes cos some of them couldn't understand that the Queen is actually called Elizabeth, not the Spanish translation Isabel, and William is not called Guillermo. I don't really know why the Spanish love translating names so much, but there you go.

Some things that I've noticed differences with are cool, like people are generally friendlier and say Hola at bus stops to strangers and have a chat with you in the fruit and veg shop and invite you to have a tour of their hometown. Some things are not so cool of course, but generally it's all good. I'm glad I brought my fairtrade tea bags with me, tea here is like grim lol. And I've ordered a kettle off amazon cos they just don't exist here! Another thing I've noticed is that everyone seems to have all the time in the world, even the telebancos (cash machines) take like 7 years to give you your money.

So moving on, after being sola in my apartment for a week my housemates moved in and I suddenly lived with two American girls. At first I was like ahh I'm never gona speak Spanish and at times I think my brain almost thinks I'm on my YA in the US and gets like super surprised when I suddenly hear someone speaking Spanish in the street and then I'm like oh yeah I'm in Spain, cool. But anyway, they're like so nice, I love living with them already. It's also quite nice to just be able to chill at home and speak English, even though they like laugh at everything I say!

Church is also pretty awesome. So I've like got involved in the Madrid Church Plant which is super cool, the team are awesome people, their faith is pretty inspiring just the way they've just taken their family and moved to Madrid and are now just living here meeting people and building church. I'm also going to Amistad Cristiana and it's just a great church, everyone's super friendly and the presence of God is so there in the meetings, and I was super pleased to actually understand the service since it's ofc all in Spanish. Also I went to the meeting for university age people on Tuesday and it was pretty epic.

I guess a lot more has occured, but I'll leave it there for now, with a few pictures :)

mi habitacion :)

the park just down the road

my roomies in sol ♥

In two weeks time...

I have been thinking about the fact that in two weeks time I will have been in Madrid for almost a week, and have spent the first couple of nights there without the parents (they're coming with to take more luggage lol and have a little holiday). And just last night I was feeling slightly anxious about the fact that I have no idea where I shall then be sleeping! But just this morning I got an email from the English teacher offering me a place to stay in her home, which is super nice and very good to know I shall not be homeless lol. So I'll stay with her family until I find a flat! Cool beans. Also it was much an answer to prayer in my opinion because I was just praying about the sitch with somewhere to stay and just general Spain thing this morning and like an hour later I received the email, so yes.
I still have a lot of packing to do, for the YA and the move to Wales lol. And friends to see and things to buy and Spanish lessons to give my parents. Fun times!

The school I'll be working at

The exciting things

I like to be good at things. But there are some things I'm good at which I wish I wasn't, such as losing things, breaking things, and worrying about things. I currently should stop worrying about: the NIE. (Crazy Spaniards and their crazy systems.) And somewhere to live. I’m sure I’ll find a flat when I arrive and anyway the school are not gonna leave me homeless (I’m staying with a teacher until I get a flat, apparently – who and where I have no idea as yet, but I have Ramon’s word) so it’s all good. 

Anyway. I have come up with a list of exciting things about my year abroad.

Madrid Church Plant: getting involved in a new church, exciting times. Worshipping, praying etc in Spanish. Telling people about Jesus. To sum it up, serving God in a local church which has a vision to see people saved: always good.

Learning Spanish: Basics whatever happens I’m going to be good at Spanish by the end of it. which is obv an achievement in itself. Along with less chance of failing my degree. Better job prospects etc etc.

The YA project: lololol how am I buzzing for this? Ok I’m not. But I am buzzing to have completed a project entirely on my own, and to say I'll have written 6000 palabras en español, excelente.

Making friends: I love people, and meeting new people. Although sometimes daunting, especially if they are speaking v rapidly in a foreign lang, but yes, buzzing to meet some amazing people and make some friends for life. 

A job: So I will actually have a proper job for eight months. And only 12 hours a week, so plenty of time for funsies. And I’m hoping this is going to be the easy part, but perhaps not. I have no idea what I’m expected to  do, but I’m sure all will be revealed.

Visiting other places in Spain/Europe: From Madrid I can super easily get to other places, I’m thinking Barcelona – I went with college and it’s a v nice place; Portugal – never been, seems fun, and perhaps I haven’t forgotten all the Portuguese I spent first year learning, And France, seeing as French is half my degree and one of my best friends will be in Bordeaux. Howevz money may be a slight issue on this one.

Good weather: Compared to Preston, where it rains far too much (in fact appaz it holds the UK record for the most rain to fall in five mins lol) I am so looking forward to being in a more sunny location! 

And I’m sure there are many other things beside that have momentarily escaped me, or perhaps have never occurred to me, but will be amazing benefits of the YA.

Loving life.

And finally, I may be slightly jel of all the other lang students already in their foreign destinations! But just reminding myself it is a bonus to be leaving on the 24^th as it means I could spend my birthday with the fam and enjoy meals out and the like with my beautiful friends and even spend a week with my boyf, buzzing for that.

a random picture of Madrid (:

Three weeks to go!

I can't believe it's September already - I feel like I have done nothing with my summer. And in three weeks, I'll be on a plane to Madrid ahhhhh! I'm not sure whether I'm excited, nervous, or terrified! I just keep reminding myself that God is with me and it is going to be a great year, although I know I'm probably going to have no idea what is going on for the first few weeks, I'm yet to find somewhere to live, and I haven't spoken any Spanish for three months... But as I like to say, due to my northern roots - it'll be reet. It really is an amazing opportunity to go abroad for eight months. Hopefully in about a months time I'll be feeling like a madrileña already.

the packing process begins (:

Moving to Moncloa...

Having given some more thought to where I might like to live during the year, I'm thinking of living more centrally in Madrid. I've emailed the assistant from last year, and she also recommended living in Moncloa, (central Madrid) rather than the town, because there is more to do, more young people etc. I had thought that transport would be expensive, but I might be able to fit the twelve hours I'll be working to just three days a week and it's even possible that student finance will reimburse travel costs, but I'm not sure. I also emailed the Madrid church plant leader and it turns out he and his family live in Moncloa, so that's really cool! I'm really looking forward to getting involved in a church out there, and just getting immersed in the crazy Spanish culture, and I think living in Moncloa is probably going to be the optimum place of opportunities.

The Countdown Begins….

My year abroad is finally starting to seem real… Today I booked my one-way flight to Madrid and bought nine months of year abroad insurance! I can’t quite believe I’ll be starting my teaching assistantship in less than two months. I think I should get back into practising some Spanish, having just spent a week with a French friend I’ve realised how quickly you lose the language when you don’t use it for a while, and it would be a bit awkward to turn up having forgotten how to say anything except ‘Hola’.

Apart from the language, I need to look into teaching English and prepare some teaching materials, going to use the British Council website for that which looks like it will be quite useful. I also need to find somewhere to live, but I’ve been told the best thing is to find a flat when I arrive so I’m going to stay in a hotel and possibly with a teacher from the school if it takes a bit longer than I’m expecting. I’m hoping to stay near the school where I’m working, (in San Lorenzo de El Escorial) so that I can hopefully get more involved in the community and enjoy the more traditional, friendly vibe than in the capital city itself, but we’ll see. I’m also going to be looking to join a church while I’m out there, which I’m really looking forward to. From what I’ve been able to find out, the only church in the town is Catholic and not being Catholic, I’ll look further afield; at the moment I’m thinking either the Newfrontiers Church Plant, or the Baptist church in nearby Collado Villalba.

Finally, the part I think I'm least looking forward to (except perhaps not seeing my boyfriend for like months at a time), I need to get cracking on my preparations for the YARP; for non-Southampton students, it’s the year abroad research project where we have to come up with something to research and write a dissertation in Spanish. I’ve decided to take the ethnographic approach, hoping people will want to participate; otherwise it’s going to be a bit awkward… And the topic is about the influence that people’s faith has in their lives – sounds a bit vague, I have written a 2,000 word proposal but I won’t go into it too much here. Basically I’m really interested in Spanish people’s lives and culture, as having visited for a month last summer it seems really different to the UK, especially when it comes to religion and that sort of thing so I’m hoping it’s going to be an interesting project.

 

I probably won’t have much else to write about until I arrive in the last week of September, but I’ll try and update as regularly as I can once the adventure begins!