I made it!

I am in Madrid and finally almost settled in completely! These past two weeks have been great but definitely not easy.

Once Maggie, Justin and I reunited in the Madrid airport, we set off to our hostel which is what we called home for our first few days. Due to teh large amound of baggage and small room, we were forced to push our beds together to even be able to fit. Needless to say, we kept our time in the hostel limited.

The next day we started our apartment search. Appointment after appointment with the idea of soon being homeless looming over our heads, we finally found our dream piso. We are now happy residents in the Goya neighborhood of Madrid. The area is cute and trendy, with only a short walk to the wonderful Parque del Buen Retiro.

Once we found a home, it then became time to think about work. So last Friday Maggie and I ventured out to my future school. When I got to the school´s secretary she gave me a puzzled look as she called me Jimmy and told me how difficult my name is. She then had Maggie and I sit in a room for 20 minutes, occasionally peeking back in looking more confused each time. Finally, a man came in and spoke to us which is when we realized that we were at the wrong school!
After two hours of searching for my school, accidentally walking along a freeway and having people exclaim ´joder!´ (the Spanish equivalence to the F word) when we told them where we had to wealk to, we finally gave in and flagged down a taxi.
The principal of my school, Consuelo, is wonderful! She showed me around the school and introduced me to the staff. Many of the teachers donñt know any English, so hopefully my Spanish will improve! Once our meeting was over, Consuelo had someone excort us to the bus station so we wouldn´t get lost again :)

Living abroad had been glamourized in my head before I got here- but it is a lot of hard work! it is difficult trying to negotiate in another language, find your way around in a huge foreign city and acclamate to a culture different from your own. But at the same time, those little frustrations are what keep life exciting, makes for good stories and turns you into a stronger person. Plus, it is all worth is to be in Spain!

I apologize to everyone at home who I have been unable to keep in good contact with. Our apartment is still without internet and as our landlord told us, ´Spain doesn´t move fast´.´So hopefully I will be able to catch up with you all very soon!

Miss you all more than you even know! Hasta luego!