I have been in Madrid for one week and one day. It has been awful. It’s always raining. The people are rude, and I can’t find any fun people to hang out with.
PSYCH.
Madrid is awesome. Like incredibly ridiculously crazy awesome and I am so VERY happy to be here. I have made a ton of friends, gone out and seen a lot of the beautiful city (although I will admit, I still have no idea which direction is North), and eaten some pretty good food. Also the weather has been perfect. Sunny and in the high 70’s every day. I don’t even know where to start with this post which I think is why I started with a big lie/ joke. In case you don’t know this, I am a pathological liar. Ok, that’s not true. I just don’t know where to start. Let’s break this thing up chronologically…
First Day in Madrid
I arrived in Madrid at around 9 am aka 3 am EST. I got some sleep on the plane but not a ton. Sidenote: This flight was totally different than my last 2 flights to Europe. In the past I’ve been nervous and not able to eat. This time I was like YES. Hook me up with some free food and give me your complimentary wine. I am about to go spend 3 months in my dream country, we (me and anyone else on the plane drinking wine) are celebrating.
After getting my luggage, I met my host dad (Alberto) outside where he was waiting for me. We had some small talk about Spain and America and my work schedule and things for me to do. He dropped me off at home and had to run to work. I unpacked a little and ended up sleeping for a few hours knowing that my ability to sleep as much as I want would make the time zone switch easy. I spent the night talking with my host family and playing with the 2 young girls and walking around the neighborhood a little bit. Everyone in the family speaks English quite well, so it is very easy to communicate. The girls warmed up to me very quickly and I now feel like I have 2 more little sisters in my life (no one will beat the GLSOAT – greatest little sister of all time- though. That will always be Madison.). Went to bed, slept for idk.. 10..12 hours? I don’t remember, but I was rested and ready to go the next day.
Last Week
I am going to cluster all of last week together because that’s really how it exists in my memory. One giant blur of meeting other Au Pairs, walking the streets, getting lost and organizing my life. Thanks to Facebook, I had a good idea of how active the Au Pair community was in Madrid before I got here (hint: it’s very active). I have met up with several other girls and have already made some friends that I think I’ll be hanging out with regularly. One of my coworkers from my previous job also has a daughter who has lived here for 3 years and she has taken me out a couple of times to show me the best parts of the city. One thing I immediately realized upon going out was that my Spanish is garbage. I way overestimated my ability to communicate in Spanish and it is not good.
It all started when I went to the train station to ask the customer service woman how to buy a transport card (this whole process was a pain, btw and I think I heard angels sing when I finally got the card). I had rehearsed in my head what I was going to say during my 15 min walk to the station. I walked up to the window and said something like. “Hola. Uhhhh.. Necesito comprar una tarjeta.. uhh de transporte?” She responds in rapid fire Spanish. I didn’t understand a single word of her response. So I stood there and tried to remember how to say, “Can you speak more slowly please?”. The words never came to mind. I just stood there, staring, probably saying “Uhhhhh” as my mind was searching for the right words. I somehow ended up just buying a single ticket to my intended destination but still had no clue how to get a transport card. She pointed me to the right platform. The security guard overheard my embarrassing attempt at communication and said very slowly. “Platform two” as he pointed to the right door for me to walk through. My feelings at this point? I don’t remember. Probably disappointed. Probably still thinking, “oh, well not too many people overheard that atrocity of a conversation, so I can probably still pass as a local. I know my Spanish is trash but they don’t as long as I keep my mouth shut.”
I don’t know why, but I have an obsession with being portrayed as a local. I like to act like I know where I’m going. I like to pretend I can understand people on the train. I like to pretend I’ve lived in Madrid for years and know this city like the back of my hand. It makes me feel cool and I always catch myself pretending. Is it a survival thing? I don’t know, but it feels right so I’m going to keep doing it. One part of playing this game is that I must stay silent unless I know exactly what I’m going to say and how to say it in Spanish. I only do this on the streets. Not when I’m with friends or out at bars. Then I will yell to the rooftops in my horrible Spanish because, well, I need the practice.
So some of the things I did last week include taking a free walking tour of the city, getting tapas and drinks with other au pairs and my local friend, taking a ride on el teleférico, and signing up for Spanish classes. The food has been good, but nothing really amazing. I genuinely enjoyed some olives for the first time in my life last Friday night while drinking vermouth (vermut) and had some turkey dish which was pretty delicious. The thing I appreciate the most about the food/drinks is that it is CHEAP. You can sit down and have a 3 course meal for less than 10 euros. I had a sandwich and chips the other night for 1 euro. I’ve gone to bars and had a drink + tapas for just 1.50. Even with the strength of the euro, these are still some pretty good prices and I am already dreading going back to paying $7 for mediocre sandwiches.
Overall, the city is just big and busy. It reminds me of NYC but with much more charming aspects to it. There are lots of plazas and outdoor seating is very common. There are smaller streets packed with bars, restaurants, cafes, and local shops. Every Sunday there is a huge market called El Rastro where you can buy anything you’d ever want. I walked through with another au pair and a local friend and we got toast with different things on top. I got octopus and it was actually pretty good! We all had sangria too. I really have been feeling the laid back vibes of Spain as I don’t feel rushed to finish my food the way I always do in the US. It’s totally acceptable to sit and talk and take your time over a meal and enjoy the day. I think what I’ve appreciated the most so far about my time here has been the lack of commitments in the morning. I am ok with staying out late on weeknights (and yes, it is still crowded out) because I know I can sleep until 10 the next morning. It’s not rare here for people to stay out until 8am. Several of the younger Au Pairs have done it, but another 25 year old au pair and I had to make an agreement that we would drag our tired old selves out at least once and party like madrileñas. I think I can… I think I can.
Anyway, I am more determined than ever now to improve my Spanish. Hearing locals speak is like listening to a baseball card stuck between rotating bicycle spokes. It’s so fast I can’t even distinguish individual words, but it sounds so beautiful to me. Each sentence is like one continuous word. Sometimes I can catch a word or two. Sometimes even a few sentences at a time. But I realize a need to practice listening and understanding. I am enrolled in Spanish classes where I hope to get the fundamentals back into my brain and go out to intercambio (language exchange) nights to practice speaking and listening. So far it’s been frustrating to not be able to keep up entirely with conversations, but I know it’s going to get better as long as I keep focusing and remain persistent. I am happy to have a concrete goal to focus on again and can’t wait to see how much I improve while I’m here.
Well, it is now 12:38 am and I have a little bit of homework to do for tomorrow, so it is time for me to stop typing now.
Until next time!
Janee
