Adventures of an Irish girl wandering through Spain
So up until this point on my blog, I’ve only talked about my travels and my experiences here in Spain. I thought it was about time that I discussed how I actually got here! Continue reading “How to get my job and why to do it”
I’m sorry I haven’t posted in a while, I can’t believe it’s been so long. The reality of the situation is that over the past two weeks I haven’t been myself. Continue reading “I’m sick of being sick”
Before I headed home for graduation, the English coordinator in the school, and our boss, started to talk to Cathy and I about a trip the kids would be taking to “a farm” at the end of November. At the time, we weren’t sure if we would go – we were given the option of going with 1st to 4th grade (5-9 years old), or staying at home and working with 5th and 6th grade, who we never see. Continue reading ““La Granja””
About a month ago, I was talking about all the different day trips that you can take Madrid, from cities like Segovia and Toledo, to hikes in the mountains and Franco’s tomb, with my French housemate. Like me, she’s eager to see as much of Spain as possible while she is here. Understanding how enjoyable it is to see things in a group, she invited me along with her university class group to go see El Escorial. Continue reading “El Escorial”
Since I arrived in Madrid, I’ve kept hearing about this city to the east, of Alcalá de Henares. I originally presumed that it was like the rest of the towns that have been absorbed into the city, extending the reach of Madrid into the countryside. But when I brought up Alcalá with the teachers in my school, I could sense it was something different. Continue reading “Alcalá de Henares”
Late on Friday, 2nd November, I flew home to Ireland for the first time since moving to Madrid. It was the weirdest feeling, heading to Dublin for a trip, a holiday, during my days off from work. I struggled to deal with it in the days before, but once I drove up my driveway and opened my front door, it was like I’d never left. Continue reading “Graduation and Going Home”
Last week while flying back from Dublin (more on that later), I realised something quite sad. Despite aiming to see as much of Spain as possible during my time here, I hadn’t left Madrid yet. I know that most of my first six weeks was spent settling in and getting to know the city, but still, there was so much of this country to explore! So nearly as soon as I arrived back at the school on Thursday morning I invited Cathy, my fellow Auxiliar, to take a day trip with me on Sunday to Ávila, which she happily accepted. Continue reading “Ávila – The fortress on the hill”
Despite only having started work less than two weeks earlier in Buitrago de Lozoya, I found myself with an extra day off on Friday 12 October. A festival day, I was told, a great excuse for a puente, a long weekend. As you might know, Spaniards love their holidays, with every month of the school year (bar February) containing at least one extra day off. With Mondays off too, I’m looking forward to a lot of long weekends! Continue reading “12 de Octobre”
Madrid has suddenly gotten colder and darker. When the clocks went back last Sunday, we got an extra hour in bed, and but more importantly, this means my morning commutes will now not be quite as dark as they have been in the past two weeks. I was really missing that morning sun! Continue reading “El Rastro”
To say my first month in Madrid flew by is an understatement. Leaving Dublin on that cold Monday morning I was half terrified, knowing that at least until the end of June 2019, Madrid was going to be my home. It felt weird, leaving everything I knew behind, setting out on a new adventure, and for the first time, I was doing it completely alone. I’ve travelled a lot on my own – I lived to the south of Madrid with a Spanish family for 7 weeks in 2015, I did a Spanish course in Madrid for 2 weeks in the summer of 2016, and in 2017 I went alone on my J1 and worked in a summer camp in Maine, U.S.A. But on each one of those trips, I had the support of an agency or a school. I was travelling solo, but I had support if I needed it. Continue reading “One month in and still alive”
