Week 2

Hola a todos,
What an inventive title, I know, you must be gripped. This week has been so busy, in fact I can’t believe it’s only been a week. I’ve been to Madrid and back for an orientation day, been for my first night out in Fuengirola, and had my first few days at the school- so buckle up kids.
Picking up where I left off, I headed to Madrid on the 27th for two nights. Getting there was surprisingly easy and I was feeling pretty confident- until I arrived and realised I had forgotten my plug adaptor and my phone was about to die (i.e. no Google maps, no return train ticket, etc.) Clearly this was reason enough for me to lose all confidence and cry at the receptionist, who looked suitably uncomfortable but did manage to find a spare adapter for me. I went for food and drinks with some of my fellow Lancastrian auxiliaries later on. Talking to others about their experiences moving abroad, finding a flat, sorting admin and everything in between made me feel a lot better.
The next day I headed to the orientation day for teaching assistants. It was a decent day with some interesting talks, but I have to say the tapas banquet in the middle was the highlight. We finished up at about 15:30 and some of us decided to go out for a drink afterwards. Nine hours, more tapas, and lots of tinto de verano later we were still out and enjoying the Madrid nightlife. The city is absolutely huge- the main street even reminded me of New York. I met some ace people, so hopefully I’ll get to visit them some time in their respective cities/towns.

Feeling particularly cultural, I decided to wake up early the next morning and check out some of the art museums nearby. Alas, I woke up past midday, late for checkout and only just made my train- oops. When I arrived back in Mijas I started preparing for my first night out in Fuengirola- a coastal resort near to where I live. My new friend Stefania and I started the evening at Mijas Auditorio, where we saw an excellent Spanish choir and watched the sun go down. We headed to Fuengirola to meet some of her friends after this, and I stocked up on tapas and tinto de verano (shocker) before going to some of the bars and clubs. Dancing the night away was suddenly the only thing on my mind, and that we did.

Sunday was spent mostly in bed (of course), although I did treat myself to some stuff from Alehop and a pizza to calm the ever-increasing nerves before my first day at the school.
As for my first couple of days- I’m still relatively on edge and nervous- but starting to feel more comfortable. The teachers are so friendly and the kids are actually super sweet. I’m not sure why but I was expecting young kids to be like little monsters terrorising the place. I guess they can be, but maybe I shouldn’t expect the worst all the time cause they’re just people- cute, small people at that. Next week I start doing some of my own activities with them, which is a bit scary, but I’m trying to take it all one step at a time.

Tonight- rather randomly- Stefania and I went to an aeroyoga class in Fuengirola. I had never heard of it before, but it’s like regular yoga where you’re suspended off the ground on a little swing. Weird, fun, and harder than I expected, but I’ll be heading back next week! Would you believe it only took moving to another country to get me to do some exercise? Anyway, if anyone is reading I hope you enjoyed my little excerpt for the week. Onwards and upwards!