Italia!

Last weekend was a long weekend here in Spain, so Erin and I set off to Italy to indulge in this wonderful culture full of delicious food, breathtaking landscapes and a beautiful language. We enjoyed it all, especially in the food!

We started off our trip in Pisa, where we saw the famous Leaning Tower. I was really quite surprised by how small the tower is but the plaza was quite beautiful!

Erin being the tower

Erin felt bad that this little guy never gets any attention haha

When then continued on to Florence for 3 nights. We were lucky to stay in a small hostel where the people were so nice and made sure we had a fabulous time in Florence!

There we explored the city, ate lots of amazing food, went to the Christmas market and ofcourse, got some history in at the Gucci museum! :)

After a great long weekend in Italy, I now have only a week until I am home for Christmas!!! :)

Oporto, PORTUGAL

This past weekend was a "puente", or long weekend so it was the perfect opportunity to do some travelling! Susete, Erin, Maria and I all made our ways west for the break and headed to Oporto, Portugal. I have always wanted to go to Portugal and I had heard that Oporto is a beautiful city on the water so I was very excited to go! I was definitely not disappointed! The city was BEAUTIFUL... it has a very old world feel to it which was very cool. The people were so nice- within only minutes of being off the metro and looking confused, someone had rushed over to us to help us find our way. Not only are they friendly but they are also very accommodating. Being that we were a mix of English/American/Spanish girls, we would often bounce back and forth between languages so usually waiters or people around us wouldn't know which language to speak to us. Then, to really thrown them off, Susete speaks Portugese. So often times, they would just ask what language we preferred because most people could speak all. Very cool!

While we were there we toured the city, went on a river tour and went on a wine tour, since this is where Port wine comes from. Ofcourse the weekend was filled with lots of laughters and new memories! I had a wonderful time and look forward to the next time that I am in Portugal (and travelling with these fun women!!)

Update!

Wow, it has been nearly 2 months since I have updated my blog! It orginally was because my life was quite uneventful without work, and therefore money. But I quickly went from having nothing to do, to a million things to do!!

On October 1st I started work at the elementary school! It feel SOOO good to finally be back! I had missed my students and co-workers so much! The first day we went back (three weeks after the kids started) the kids were so excited! The school is surrounded by a fence and when they saw us (the language assistants) outside nearly 100 of the kids ran to the fence and began screaming our names. They looked like a bunch of desperate inmates hahaha. As soon as we were let into the gates we were swarmed and I was nearly knocked over.
This year I spend the majority of my time with 1st grade, which has been wonderful. Although they are 5-6 years old.. I never realized how much of babies they really are! They are just so precious. When they were told that I don't speak in Spanish, some of them nearly had a heart attack. It definitely takes some patience working with first grade since they start out thinking everything was called a pencil and backpack but the rate they learn is incredible!!! Today I had a girl come and tell me in perfect English, ¨Jaime, you have long hair¨. Little things like that make me know that we are doing something right! And their sweetness keeps me coming back everyday with a smile. I have kids who are like excited little puppies everytime I walk into the room, even if I had just seen them 10 minutes prior.

Aside from school, I have been very busy celebrating birthdays, day trips and meeting new people! Our apartment is completely full now: Erin and I, Coline from France, Gloria and Lily from Spain. We all get along so well and I absolutely love my apartment! Aside from that many of my other friends live within 2 minutes walking from me and I have become friends with their roommates also. We have quite a large and diverse group which keeps us busy and always having fun!

Turning 23 in Madrid

This past week I turned 23 and it was one of the best birthdays I have had. I am so fortunate to have such wonderful people in my life who truly care about me! On Wednesday, I spent the day with friends and later that night we went to an Indian dinner together.

After dinner we all headed to Carlos and Justin's place where we all hung out and had drinks. They were also so sweet to surprise me with a homemade gluten free cake! :)

The festivities continued on to Friday, where my good friend Byron let me throw a party at his apartment. It was a wonderful time with a good mix between Spanish, British and American!

Vogue's Fashion Night Out

This past past Thursday Vogue hosted Fashion Night Out all over the world, from New York City to London to Sydney and to my neck of the woods: Madrid!

Erin, Justin, Carlos, Kelvin and I put on our best attire and made our way for Calle Serrano. We had a good time strolling the busy streets and popping into stores that are far out of our budgets-it's still fun to oogle! :)

Justin kept us all entertained, as he has an eye for spotting Spanish celebrities. So on numerous accounts we would turn around to see Justin running in the other direction screaming, "MARIO!"

Justin shmoozing with Miss España

It was a great night and we all love having Erin here! :)

Erin's big move!!

After 30 hours of travelling, broken planes, delays and missed flights Erin is finally here in Madrid!!! Erin is one of my best friends from the states.. we met in Gamma Phi at SDSU where she became my "big sis" and we have been inseperable ever since! So needless to say, I am ecstatic to have her here!!

Once Erin got into Madrid we both moved into a new apartment living with 2 Spanish girls and a French girl. Our apartment is very cute and cozy... and our roommates are wonderful and welcoming!! This move will definitely throw us right into Spanish immersion, which I have already experienced first hand when I had to jump right into speaking Spanish as soon as I woke up.

Erin will be here atleast a year teaching English as well. And I am already trying to advise a plan for us to stay longer!! :)

These past few days we have been settling into our new apartment and I have been showing Erin all the good spots around Madrid and most importantly introducing her to everyone!!

I am looking forward to all the great things this year has to offer!!! :)