Un dia en Madrid, solo...

Well, I have returned - from sleep at last, from a day without sleep while touring Madrid alone. I left on Wednesday night at midnight, drunk on wine and new friendship at the palace (the hostal I'm living in now), and caught the 1:30am bus to Madrid. I wrote a poem at the bus station that was interrupted when a black dude from Madrid started chatting me up. He gave me a cigarette and in exchange I gave him a phony phone number (he'd asked for my digits).

I arrived in Madrid at 6:30am, exhausted and a bit confused from lack of sleep. I had a cafe at Estacion Sur del Autobuses and waited for the U.S. Embassy to open at 8am. Then, I hopped a taxi to the Embajada (Embassy) and sat in line for an hour (notary service doesn't start until 9am...good to know). While waiting, the lobby played a looped video called, "I am America." I was sitting amongst all these ppl waiting to get U.S. visas. The video showed all the stereotypical patriotic shots of my country, tis of thee. It was surreal. When I got to the window (finally), they informed me that because I didn't have a printed copy of the document I needed notarized, they couldn't help me. They gave me a crappy map with hi-lighted directions on how to get to "The Work Center," a photocopy shop. So then I got lost looking for that place, walking the Madrid hills in the early morning among business men and women, construction workers bustling and whistling as I walked past. I almost didn't get the prints I needed, but then it worked out, so I somehow found my way back to the Embassy, took another number, and got back in line while the America video was still playing.

The notary ended up working out, although it cost $30 U.S. dollars (20.40 in euros), plus the bus and cab fares, plus the copy costs...you get the idea (not cheap). At this point, I had six hours to kill in sunny Madrid. I decided to visit the Prado, but first I needed sustainence. I found a bagel shop and had a coffee, some water, and a bagel bocadillo with jamon serrano and cream cheese (quite good, actually). I fed some birds and started walking in the general direction that I thought I had remembered the Prado was in. Along my walk, a young girl approached me with a clip board. She motioned that she was deaf, and could I sign her petition. I started to sign and then noticed in the far-right column a space for "donations." My eyes got wide, and I told her I only had 2 euros. She let me contribute anyway and told me I had a beautiful face.

I had trouble finding the Prado (as goofy as that is). Madrid is huge! I kept stopping to look at my map, realizing that I'd past my intersection or turning point, somehow I'd gone in the wrong direction or veered off incorrectly. The biggest problem I had was the roundabout intersections - it's very easy to start walking in the wrong direction when you cross them. Plus, they put street signs on buildings here, so often there's no sign telling you what street you're even on. Lots of backtracking, LOTS of walking in shoes that probably were't made for walking.

Eventually, I found the Prado. I took a picture of my victory finding (the ticket/aceso booth). I saw paintings by Velasquez and Goya, sculptures and works spanning the length of Spain's artistic history. It was a bit lonely. I saw the "midget" paintings my father loved so much - los bufones, as they're called here. I laughed with him on the inside.

It was only 2pm when I left the Prado, and my bus didn't leave until 4:30pm. I decided to treat myself to a nice meal in Madrid. I wandered off the beaten path (knowing that as far into the city I went, I would need time and energy to walk out again) and found la Pizzeria Cervantes - I'd been DYING for real Italian pizza. The wait staff giggled when I came in and said only, "Uno." The Argentinian casero complimented my Spanish and asked where I was from. I had a pizza verde with asparagos, alcachofas, broccoli, and oregano and loads of fresh mozzarella. A glass of tinto, and I was on my way to hail a cab and head back to Granada.

Met some interesting folks at the bus station, one black girl from Chicago who hadn't figured out the Spanish bus system yet, and an older Spanish woman from Granada who seemed to adopt me as her "nina" (she called me this several times throughout the bus ride). I didn't even catch her name....

Anyway, I took a video of part of the final bus ride. I got back to the palace at 9:30pm, ate some leftover pasta, and crashed out until noon today (Friday, but I keep thinking it's Saturday). This was my first real travel experience abroad, totally alone. It was liberating, and I was talking in Spanish all day, so I came back very eager to continue speaking and thinking in Spanish. At least now I know that travelling alone, though of course a bit lonely and intimidating, can be quite thrilling, and for some reason the most tiny little parts of my day are so vivid and memorable. I guess it's because I didn't have anyone to share them with, so my mind was filing it all away, taking notes of it all.

I hope the water is warm

An official WOOHOO is much needed.

Today, I get my CTEFL...FINALLY. We all took the Grammar Exam (the final component of the course) yesterday, and I am pleased to report that I got a 94.5! I beat my score on the mock exam, which was the highest anyone had ever gotten - EVER. Gloat, gloat, gloat. I am pleased as pie.

However, one of the trainees unfortunately did not pass. He's re-taking the exam this morning, and several of us fellow trainees/students rallied together last night to help the guy study. I hope he passes. It won't feel right getting our certificates if he doesn't get one too. To come all this way and fail at this last stage...I think I might cry if they don't pass him. He's such a nice guy and a GOOD teacher. He really deserves to pass.

Anyway, it's been a while, so there is more news I suppose. I'm moving tomorrow into the "sister" hostal of the one I'm in now. My room is a bit pricier than I expected it would be, but there's a double bed and an outside view, plus a nice, big shower. It's far nicer than the other rooms that are available now, so I don't so much mind the increased rate. It's still cheaper than New Orleans! I will still be at the top of the hill in the Albayzin. My new place is right across from the Hostal Makuto, if you're familiar with the hostals in Granada. You can find Makuto on most hostal websites, and I am directly across Calle Tina from there. I think you can even google-map it.

Anyway, once I pack up all my shit here, I will move it over there and settle in. On Monday, I think I'll check the bus schedules and try to get up to Madrid to head to the U.S. Embassy. I need to get some documents notarized for the auto settlement so I'll have something to live on through these next few months, which should be tough ones b/c it's the low job season for TEFL teachers. I might spend the night in Madrid, if I can find a cheap hostal, and see the Prado or something.

Once I get back to Granada, I will begin the job hunt. I'm thinking I will post as many possible ads for private tutoring as I can. That's where my heart really is - the 1:1 sessions with motivated students. Standing up in front of a class, day-in and day-out, doesn't really thrill me. I mean, I feel way more confident with it now, but I still prefer tutoring 1:1.

Anyway anyway...today we're supposed to have Paella as a little "party" for getting our certificates, then we're going out for tapas at 9pm with (hopefully) some of our students from the school - it depends on whether they actually show up or not, but most of them said they were coming.

Gotta go shower now. I hope the water is warm.

My TEFL, tis of thee I sing

The Via Lingua TEFL program - what do we think of when we see these words? Anybody?? Can you try to guess?

HELL??
Yes, that might be a word one would think of.

ANXIETY x10??
Yes, that might be a possible phrase.

FEAR, DREAD, LACK OF SELF CONFIDENCE, SLEEP and FOOD?
Why yes. These too might be possible.


Basically, the last 10 days of my life have been about preparing a lesson plan. I have shoveled more into my brain than I care to ever dig out again, although the point of getting it in there will be to later pull it all out through my ass and teach it to some non-native English speakers, which at that point should be all fine and dandy. But until then...my head hurts!!

But seriously. I think I've lost about 10 pounds. I don't have any food to eat for breakfast in the mornings and my classes go for 12 hours a day, so there's never any time to get any food let alone to eat it. Most of the time, it's just plain inconvenient to eat, with all the work I'm doing. So I don't. Some days, I have to go without showers or sacrifice a portion of the 4-5 hours of sleep I get per night. And that's nothing on the mental anguish of this course. I'm a wreck. I think we all are.


For those of you just tuning in, I'm taking the Via Lingua CTEFL certification course in Granada right now. I've just hit the middle of week 2, and I'm honestly surprised that all the things other ppl told me about how tough these courses were wasn't just bullshit. I thought, "Eh, no problem. I can handle it." But it's kicking all of our asses, and there's even a fellow trainee who might fail (already showing signs of defeat).

But on the positive side, I am learning an incredible amount about how to be a teacher. This is like a crash-course in what all those idiot education majors were doing in college, wasting away their lives teaching at a public school for university credit for an entire year. I'm packing all that into 4 WEEKS, and truly the difference in length of time has no relevance whatsoever when it comes to the quality of the experience. I will not only be a good teacher after this; I'll know I'm a good teacher. Scratch that - I'll know I'm a great teacher.

Anyway, that's just general stuff about how my days have been and where my head is lately. I could go way more into detail, but I'll spare you. I do want to impart that after a very crash-and-burn first lesson in practice teaching, I am now on my third lesson and it's all "clicking" for me. I'm on the verge of a perfect lesson and I can feel it. Only four more lessons to go before I have that piece of paper that will validate the past 5-6 years of my life. World of teaching/dreams coming true, here I come (oh wait, I'm already here).