I found this friendly little reminder in my closet to live slowly. And I definitely need to be reminded of that on a daily basis. Friends who have lived in Spain warned me that the way of live here is much slower, especially coming from New York. A few examples of the slow paced, relaxed lifestyle are that cars always stop for pedestrians, ALWAYS! Wherever there is a cross walk with no walk signal, you have the right of way. Another example is my roommate Armando. Several times I have asked him a question about what bank he recommends (Barclays), or how to get to IKEA (take the 1 train to Las Suertas), and even though he is on his way out the door to visit his abuela or run errands, he stops to help me. If I were in his shoes, I would be thinking, I'm on my way out the door and I have things to do so I'll tell you later. There isn't the same sense of urgency here, and I feel that on my walk to Atocha every morning on my way to work. Like New York, it's easy to feel like all these people, walking/living slowly, are just in my way.
Now I'm going to backtrack a bit, because I forgot to mention this in my last post. When I was in Sevilla, my favorite food that Maro (my host mom) made was tomato salad. It's so easy to make and it's cheap! All you need is bread, tomatoes, onion, olive oil, white wine vinegar, and a pinch of salt. Try it!
A week ago I ventured to IKEA with my friend Michelle. And thank goodness Michelle went with me because it was my first time to IKEA! That's right, I lived in New York for eight years without ever going to IKEA. And I purchased a nightstand (which I assembled all my myself), a lamp, sheets, a pillow, a candle, and measuring cups (it's the only thing the kitchen was lacking).
Then we strolled through Retiro Park which is a ten minute walk from my apartment. It's the Central Park of Madrid. The only difference is that dogs run free! That might be another one of my favorite things about Spain. Dogs are rarely on a leash, especially at the park, and are allowed inside bars.
Here is Atocha Station which is about five minutes away from my apartment.
My roommates treated me and Michelle (she stayed with me until Tuesday when she moved into her apartment) to chocolate con churros. Needless to say I didn't eat much for dinner that night.
I'm pretty sure I ate four or five churros? And helped Michelle finish her chocolate. Surprisingly, I haven't gained weight.....yet.
This was my first week at CEIP Antonio Machado. And I already have 3 tutoring lessons set up after school! I mostly helped with English evaluations this past week and assessed students conversational English. The 4th graders will take the Trinity exam in the spring, and it is essentially my job to prepare them for it. Every bilingual school pays to take this test to receive a certificate stating that their students are proficient in English. It's a big deal, like standardized tests in the United States. The test consists of two parts, conversation and a writing sample on a chosen topic. In science, the fourth grade is studying the digestive system and the 5th graders about living and non living things. I'll be doing some research on those topics this weekend, considering I haven't had science since high school!
This weekend I went to El Tigre for dinner. It's always crowded with international students because you can order a beer for 2.50 euros and get a huge plate of tapas with it. Then I went to Tupperware (pictured below), a bar in Malasana that was recommended by friends and my Spain Lonely Planet Guide. I think it lived up to the hype and if you visit me, I'll probably take you there.
Even though I didn't like the other bar we went to in Malsana, this FNL poster made me so happy. However, I was disappointed that my friends Denise and Nangi had no idea what tv show I was talking about.
Today I went to church at Iglesia Espanola Reformada Episcopal and then met up with friends at El Rastro, a huge flea market that takes over the streets of Madrid every Sunday.
And now I'm on my way to Museo del Prado! Hasta luego.
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