An Introduction

As most of you know, the last time I ventured to keep a blog I was 19 and living in Morelia, México as a Rotary youth exchange student. I spent the entire year chronicling all of my (sometimes inane, sometimes life-changing) experiences, and I have to admit that over the course of my stay there, I began to feel a sense of ownership and pride towards Mexican culture, cuisine and traditions.

Now, over four years later, I am in Madrid, Spain: land of flamenco, tapas, world-famous museums, incredible nightlife, and the symbol of this vibrant city, El Oso y El Madroño (“The Bear and the Strawberry Tree”). In the month that I have been here, I have simultaneously felt both unbelievably at home and like a foreigner twice-over. There is something incredibly familiar to me about living life in Spanish. The fact that I can communicate with ease gives me a level of comfort that I didn’t reach in Mexico until a month or two before I had to pack up and head back to the States. On the other hand, I am an outsider to this city not only as an American, but as someone who learned to speak Spanish in Mexico. My Mexican accent, slang and vocabulary have already caused quite a few humorous misunderstanding (most of them double-entendre related, of course), and so far most people here assume that I am Mexican or South American until I explain the circumstances of my stay in Spain!

Cultural and linguistic differences aside, I can tell that my year here in Madrid will be nothing like anything I have ever experienced before. For one thing, I am no longer 19. I am a 23 (soon to be 24!) college graduate who is living abroad not as an exchange student, but as a Fulbright Teaching Assistant. There are no host families, no sponsoring clubs, no high school classes to attend. This time around, I am sharing an apartment (with two awesome girls from The Canary Islands and France), getting paid to work in a high school in Tres Cantos, and will be traveling with friends every chance that I get in order to explore this beautiful country. Not to mention the time it will take to explore Madrid, which so far has not ceased to amaze me with its parks, galleries, food, wine and people.

That is why I have created this Blog. It is a way for friends, family, and anyone who is interested to keep up with my various triumphs, trials and tribulations here in Spain. Tomorrow I start my first official week as a TA in I.E.S. José Luis Sampedro, so I will definitely be updating soon on how things are going for me on this side of the Atlantic. Besos to everyone back home!