At least for the next 5 weeks!
That's right, I've FINALLY arrived in Madrid!
I flew in Sunday, checked into my apartment Monday (after a minor hiccup) and I'm preparing to live it up for the next few weeks.
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| the kitchen/living room area - cute and compact! |
My apartment is on Paseo de la Habana, not too far from downtown Madrid. It's more of a residential area, but there are lots of little cafes and shops nearby. And the place where I'll be taking my course for the next 4 weeks doesn't seem to be that far either (I'm a little iffy on that front though, as when I ventured out today I got a wee bit lost and wandered around Madrid for 3 and a half hours). Oh well, no harm, no foul. I really didn't have anything big on the to-do list today and other than my silly need to wear cute shoes over comfortable ones, it was a great day for wandering. And I got to see quite a lot.
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| soooo glad it wasn't a tiny twin-size! |
There's a few little mercados nearby as well, so grocery shopping was easy. I picked up just a few things to get me through the week, namely coffee. Once I get more acquainted with the area, I'll probably eat most of my meals out at little tapas bars and cafes anyway. Oh yeah, that's something new too! Here in España, they don't do the whole traditional 3-square-meals-a-day thing. People have a little something before leaving home in the morning, say...coffee. And then they have a "second breakfast" out, which is usually coffee and churros or a pastry. Then it's tapas (snacks) around lunchtime, before real lunch, which is around 2 or 3pm. Then there's merienda (same as in Argentina!) around 3 or 4, a second round of tapas, and then home for dinner at 9 or 10. Crazy, right?!
So far, I haven't really adjusted to this constantly-eating way of life, but I haven't been super hungry since I've been here. I think the 6 hour difference and lack of sleep on my flight gave me a major case of jet lag. So here's hoping that part's over and I can start living la vida madrileña!
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| the streets in Madrid may have me confused, but I'm already captivated. |
I honestly can't wait for this TEFL course to start. I have an orientation at the "school" on Friday (and I say "school" because the classroom where we'll be is literally, like, a closet. so tiny!) The actual course starts on Monday, and I think it's broken into 3 parts throughout the day, so that will still give me plenty of time to explore. I think I'm more excited for everyone else to get here though, than I am for the actual school part. I need a friend or 2!
