my favorite people, part 2

Fabio- Fabio is top five of my favorite students and one reason why I would consider staying here another year. He is super intelligent, hilarious and just... Awesome. I don't know what else to say about Fabio other than you have to meet him. When Ansley did, she literally asked if she could take him home in her suitcase. He is THAT great. I have that class with him and another student and I love them both, especially their banter back and forth. They are a pleasure to teach.When Fabio is speaking and he runs into a word he can´t think of, he makes this adorable face like he is trying to literally squeeze the English out of his brain. It makes my heart melt every time. Seriously, I want to take him home with me. I teach his older brother too and I am always talking about how much I love Fabio, the 12 year old who acts 28.

Nacho-Nacho, short for Ignacio, is my Spanish teacher on Mondays and Wednesdays. He loves his job and I love people that love their job. He is an effective teacher by always having conversation topics, splitting up the class in ways that are interesting and always managing to explain complex grammar in a way I actually understand. He makes himself laugh and is always making us laugh too. The two hours of class usually go by pretty fast. If I was studying more often, I am confident would be learning all kinds of things.

Till- Till is in his late 20s. I have Spanish class with him on Tuesdays and Thursdays. he's almost always my partner for work and studying. He works for the German embassy and is the least German-German I know. Unlike class with Nacho, class on Tuesdays and Thursdays drags on and almost kills me. But Till cracks me up with little jokes in Spanish or English. A few times we have gone out for a drink after class and really enjoyed chatting. He moves every few years with his embassy job and has amazing international tales to regale me with. He speaks perfect English, his Spanish is great, Fluent in French and when he leaves Madrid in the summer to move somewhere new, he will probably pick up that language without much hassle. He inspires me to keep dreamin' cause I just may see them come true.

The entire working crew of The Alamo- this little restaurant is where I enjoy a glass of wine and have lunch almost every day during the week. Its a family owned place and though there have been some changes in who is working there, I love the people who have stayed the whole time. My days have been crazier and I haven't taken the time to go there as frequently in the last few months, but I definitely miss it when i don't. The food is delicious, I am greeted with kindness and familiarity and the Spanish chatter is a bonus. They say things like, "what would you like to eat today, beautiful?" and "have a nice meal, beautiful" and I think everytime, "I can't leave this country where I hear I'm beautiful so frequently!"

Caesar - Caesar is a teacher at the high school where I work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Though not a daily thing, usually the other "native English speaker" (because we were referred to as los nativos the other day and i thought it was hilarious) and I venture down to the teachers lounge for a coffee with a lot of the other professors from different departments. Caesar teaches Marketing and is one of the most animated people I have ever met. He is always trying to capture a few English phrases but mainly we sip on our coffee chatting about more or less absolutely nothing and I love that. Last week, he told me that the best beaches are in Malaga and for the Holy Week he will be there at a resort by himself. He invited me to join him on his vacation and I just laughed for a few hours afterwards with Ryan about how ridiculous he is. Someone you have to meet!

Ana- There are about 900 women named Ana that I work with at both of the schools. This Ana is the woman who makes all the copies at Las Canteras. She is always asking me if I like Spain and making small talk about the weather or the song on the radio. I have never seen her without a smile on her face and from what I have seen her job entails manning the front desk of the school and making copies for all the teachers. But her real job is brightening everyone´s day and being one of the nicest people in this country, or at least that´s what I am convinced.

I think one of the best things about traveling is who you meet on the journey. This weekend, on our adventure to the Basque country of Spain and France, we met some really incredible people. Its an awesome thing when you meet someone that LOVES their life, LOVES what they do and LOVES where they live. It´s such a breath of fresh air and a great reminder to follow in their steps by radiating the passion that you have caught from them. Such passion for life and work is beautiful and contagious.