hello long lost friends. I knew it was time to blog when people were contacting me telling me they missed it. That makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, so here it is, a new post. i haven't blogged not just because i have barely left room in my schedule to breathe, but also because i don't feel like i have much exciting to say. but here is the full update more or less.
This week has been so ridiculously insanely busy. I am thinking to myself that I have really done it this time. I have this horrible, horrible habit of tasting the slightest hint of free time in my schedule, then seeking something to fill it. Generally what happens is, I find more than one or two things to fill that free time and all the sudden, I no longer have free time and instead of being content and happy, I am slammed into "overwhelmed" mode with all the things I have freshly committed to. Well ladies and gentlemen, old habits die hard and that's precisely what has occurred again. I will give you updates according to whats on my plate, how incredibly stressed, blessed, excited, overwhelmed and ridiculously crazy I am. Did I mention that I am thrilled to have these opportunities? Because I am. I am just at that point where I am wondering, "all this might not have been the best idea you've ever had, Steph..." So here it goes: my plate.
The meat- SCHOOL/WORK. Working at the two high schools 16 hours a week. I accepted a second job at a private English academy in the same town as the high schools. I will be working there 8 hours a week basically from 3:30-5:30 everyday. This is exciting because its a lot of extra cash and a really cool working environment. I will also be helping the owner do some administrative stuff, getting organized and hopefully further developing the educational program of the school. Opportunities to learn galore and potentially expanding my hours in a few weeks. There are several other teachers that he has recently hired. Three boys my age from California that in the same Auxiliares program as me and two others that I haven't met yet. Anyways, if you factor in the 32 hours a week I am actually working plus time to grade and plan, that alone is most of my day and week.
The first side- vegetables- because I know they're good for me, but the rewards are unseen and so far away- Law school applications. These puppies are due in two days in theory. Problem with that is, I am still waiting on some recommenders to get in their letters required to submit my applications. This is a double-edged sword, I feel like I can be a little lazy on my side since I can't even submit them without the letters, but at the same time, I should have everything done. I have been working furiously for hours and I've been so pleased with my progress. Like any huge task, anytime I start to feel like I am making substantial progress, I realize how much more I really have to do. Please be praying for energy on my side, speediness on the side of my recommenders and for a miracle on the side of the admissions boards. That would be one stacked prayer, but incredible when answered!
The second side- fruit- because it tastes sweet and looks pretty- travels. I am headed to Hungary this weekend and I am so excited! I was planning to go to Paris for Thanksgiving to meet Dad, but it seems like he will not be able to come to Europe until December. Regardless, I have a few days off in December that I need to plan asap. I also got the super exciting news that my dear friend Ansley booked her flight to come see me in February and I could not be happier than a clam! I am so excited. In just a few weeks, my friend Susan will be here also. I am totally thrilled that I am going to have visitors. I'm looking forward to nailing down some of these upcoming travel plans so that we can do everything we want to do when they're here. Dad and I also have to figure out what we are doing when and where we are going for the two weeks I will be home. It's looking like my best option is to ask off of work for the second week of January so that I can celebrate his birthday with him and friends in Alabama and also we can do some law school visits. I also need to book my plane ticket from ATL-Madrid in January and decide if I will come home in April or stay here.
The carbs- what I enjoy the most but shouldn't indulge in- I am attempting to maintain this blog, my other blog, emails, FB, my journal, my photo journal, spend time with friends here and go out. Not to mention, I really want to spend several hours everyday studying Spanish because my night classes and homework isn't enough. November is suppose to be all about working my tail off and improving my Spanish, but I haven't impressed myself just yet. Got to get better about seeking opportunities to practice and I must stop using English. I must. I also made the mistake of starting on Modern Family, which I am madly in love with and want to watch every episode produced to date.
The icing on the cake- a few of the obnoxious things that are going on that I really wish would figure themselves out or disappear or both. With the prospect of visitors, I finally made the decision to buy a sofa-bed i had been eying from Ikea for 100 euro. I went last week with a friend to Ikea, picked out our items, pushed them to the cashier, paid the ridiculously large sum for everything and then pushed the purchases to the Transporte counter to have it all delivered. On the metro on the way home, I studied the receipt just to realize that I bought the exact same sofa, except it was the regular sofa version and not the sofa-bed version. Long story and four phone calls with friends to speak Spanish for me later, I went back to Ikea on Saturday to get the right couch. They claim they will call me tomorrow for my bank account information to refund the money. We will see if that actually occurs. In the meantime, my room does feel like home and I am really looking forward to the Ikea purchases as new additions to cleanse my zen and make for organization and a more efficient use of the space. I cant wait to have an area to lounge when I don't need to be sitting upright in my plastic desk chair.
Also in this category, we have my living situation. I made a bold decision last week to stick it out and settle in here (part of that decision was purchasing the sofa and bookshelf to make this room feel even more like home). Well, the two empty rooms in this apartment have been sold to two Panamanians. They move in on Wednesday, so hopefully they will be cool and we will all live in peace and harmony. Also, there has been some hushed chit-chat among the Italian (this is the roommate I don't like, don't trust and realllllly want to move out like he is claiming he will in December) and our landlord about money so maybe he will be evicted or something soon. That would be GREAT.
Tomorrow, I have a meeting with the Ministry of Education about my temporary residence card. Then I have another meeting on Tuesday with the police. Hopefully after these two meetings, my legal status in this extremely unorganized country with no regard for customer service will be finalized and I will be a legal alien AND more importantly, that this legal alien will be able to return to work here in January. It will be AWESOME to get that finalized for good.
Thursday night I came down with the flu, but I think I am over the worst of it now. I was basically in bed for three straight days, totally useless and couldnt even lift my head. Terrible. Hope to be fully restored to healthy very soon.
So it turns out, I don't really just have a lot on my plate, I actually have the entire food pyramid. but you know what, if it's all stuff I am excited about, then all the stress is good stress, right?! Just gotta get over this flu, keep a steady IV of caffeine and power through!
I am convinced that with the 30 minutes a day or so I have to spend washing my dishes, i could really have a better handle on everything I have going on! It's amazing really how much I miss little things like a dishwasher.
Showing posts with label my apartment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label my apartment. Show all posts
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
we have to become a family
Stephanie Makes Friends Part 1: Her roommates.
After five days of living here and never seeing one of my roommates from Brazil and only ever interacting with another roommate briefly, two days ago 3/5 of us had a lovely intense bonding session. I learned there is no exact translation for the word, "bonding" in Spanish which is a shame because that's exactly what occurred. One of the girls is moving out. She is quiet, keeps to herself, wakes up around 7 am every morning and goes to bed early. I'm not entirely positive where she is from but she doesn't really chat much other than a "hola" or "luego" if you happen to pass her.
The Argentinian girl is great. She is studying Social Education and planning to live in Madrid for three years. She claims she is a great cook and that she will cook for everyone many nights. I told her, that sounds great! She can teach me how to cook and I'll buy a bottle of Rioja. The Brazilian joined in that he will contribute by teaching us Portuguese. He is incredibly nice and funny. He's 26, has a serious girlfriend back in Brazil and is a lawyer getting his masters here in Intellectual Property Law. I can tell that he is incredibly smart because whenever Candy (the Argentinian) teaches us a word in Spanish, he knows it- even several days later. We all chatted about our new lives in Madrid and in the apartment, how we have plans to travel and made deals on what to buy and share in the kitchen and bathroom.
Again, I cannot stress how incredibly blessed I feel. So far so good, I was randomly placed with really awesome people. Gabriel was telling us that the first two days he lived in the apartment by himself and then he met our Italian roommate who is 33. He works at the Italian restaurant that is next door to our building. Italgo's room is the one that is closest to mine. Other than the fact that he works until late in the night and isn't exactly mouse-like when he comes home and that when I am up early in the morning to go to the school, I can hear him snoring through the walls, he seems like a cool guy. He is literally NEVER here. Gabriel told us girls that we have to become a family since our families are so far away. He's got a movie night lined up already for tomorrow night.
I'm working on my law school applications and also trying to plan out when I am going to take a few trips. I have a nice holiday coming up at the end of October so I am looking forward to spending a few days somewhere exciting. Not that Madrid isn't exciting...
Everyday two, three or four times a day, the landlord comes by showing some prospective roommate the apartment, the bathroom and our kitchen. It's pretty obnoxious so hopefully someone really great will move in ASAP and complete our new little family. Though it was not at all my preference or my desire to live with boys, so far it hasn't been much of a problem. It's incredibly common here when the location is good and rent is cheap. It's awesome to be settled somewhere and I have fixed utilities so I just have to worry about paying rent each month. The location of this apartment is awesome and I am learning new things about the area everyday. With the help of sharing tips with the roommates, I am finding the cheapest supermarket, the absolute quickest routes to and from metro stations, etc. One thing at a time!
Today, when I woke up to get ready for school, it was 52 degrees outside but the high for today was 89. I was wearing short sleeves and jeans and sweating when I was walking around the city this afternoon. Looking forward to cooler weather, NOT looking forward to snow in those mountains.
I don't have to go to school on Fridays, so I am done for the week!
After five days of living here and never seeing one of my roommates from Brazil and only ever interacting with another roommate briefly, two days ago 3/5 of us had a lovely intense bonding session. I learned there is no exact translation for the word, "bonding" in Spanish which is a shame because that's exactly what occurred. One of the girls is moving out. She is quiet, keeps to herself, wakes up around 7 am every morning and goes to bed early. I'm not entirely positive where she is from but she doesn't really chat much other than a "hola" or "luego" if you happen to pass her.
The Argentinian girl is great. She is studying Social Education and planning to live in Madrid for three years. She claims she is a great cook and that she will cook for everyone many nights. I told her, that sounds great! She can teach me how to cook and I'll buy a bottle of Rioja. The Brazilian joined in that he will contribute by teaching us Portuguese. He is incredibly nice and funny. He's 26, has a serious girlfriend back in Brazil and is a lawyer getting his masters here in Intellectual Property Law. I can tell that he is incredibly smart because whenever Candy (the Argentinian) teaches us a word in Spanish, he knows it- even several days later. We all chatted about our new lives in Madrid and in the apartment, how we have plans to travel and made deals on what to buy and share in the kitchen and bathroom.
Again, I cannot stress how incredibly blessed I feel. So far so good, I was randomly placed with really awesome people. Gabriel was telling us that the first two days he lived in the apartment by himself and then he met our Italian roommate who is 33. He works at the Italian restaurant that is next door to our building. Italgo's room is the one that is closest to mine. Other than the fact that he works until late in the night and isn't exactly mouse-like when he comes home and that when I am up early in the morning to go to the school, I can hear him snoring through the walls, he seems like a cool guy. He is literally NEVER here. Gabriel told us girls that we have to become a family since our families are so far away. He's got a movie night lined up already for tomorrow night.
I'm working on my law school applications and also trying to plan out when I am going to take a few trips. I have a nice holiday coming up at the end of October so I am looking forward to spending a few days somewhere exciting. Not that Madrid isn't exciting...
Everyday two, three or four times a day, the landlord comes by showing some prospective roommate the apartment, the bathroom and our kitchen. It's pretty obnoxious so hopefully someone really great will move in ASAP and complete our new little family. Though it was not at all my preference or my desire to live with boys, so far it hasn't been much of a problem. It's incredibly common here when the location is good and rent is cheap. It's awesome to be settled somewhere and I have fixed utilities so I just have to worry about paying rent each month. The location of this apartment is awesome and I am learning new things about the area everyday. With the help of sharing tips with the roommates, I am finding the cheapest supermarket, the absolute quickest routes to and from metro stations, etc. One thing at a time!
Today, when I woke up to get ready for school, it was 52 degrees outside but the high for today was 89. I was wearing short sleeves and jeans and sweating when I was walking around the city this afternoon. Looking forward to cooler weather, NOT looking forward to snow in those mountains.
I don't have to go to school on Fridays, so I am done for the week!
Sunday, October 9, 2011
blessed beginnings
well, here it goes. the update on my first week here. i had expectations set pretty high, so i am totally guilty of self-inflicting that pressure. all things considered though, i got a lot accomplished in a short period of time with the help of amazing people.
dad is notorious for choosing the exit row for any flight. this always drives me crazy because i could care less about the leg room, i want access to all my stuff. he was asleep before the flight even took off- seriously. he was too asleep to even give me the Lunesta he had for me in his pocket. thanks for nothing, Dad. I think sitting on that plane was the first time i have really breathed in several weeks due to all the stress from LSAT studying and getting ready to leave. I had been feeling sick all week and so the plane was a little rough on my disease but i managed to sleep much of the way with entertainment from two amazing Law and Order SVU episodes. we landed, got my three gigantic and overweight suitcases and headed to meet with a dear family friend who happens to work for my dad, Pedro. He picked us up with his dog, Hanna, who is the most well-trained dog you can imagine. The Dog Whisperer should take notes, she's that well-behaved. Pedro let us stay at his parent's empty apartment until I found a permanent place to live. Pretty much right after dropping off our stuff and changing, we headed to the town about 20 miles outside of Madrid where I will be teaching four days of the week.
After a brief visit and meeting a girl that I had been emailing with, we came back to Madrid, got a phone for me and made a few calls to apartments with the help of our ipads over lunch. I have missed Tinto Verano and Jamon Iberico more than I realized. I went by and looked at one apartment, but the girls were a little older and I just didn't feel like it was perfect. Dad and I got naps and then headed to meet with the girl from the school, a boy I met in Sevilla last summer and another coworker from Dad's company. We had an amazing evening with incredible red wine from this region, great tapas and really great conversations. It was a charming evening. After some champagne to celebrate my finishing the LSAT, Dad's team having the best quarter in the company's history and my moving to Madrid, we called it a night.
Early Wednesday morning, I met up with Melania and we went to the school where we will be working together. Our boss invited us for lunch so we spent most of the afternoon together. Melania is really great; she was at this school teaching English last year too. Her and Silvia have a really close relationship and I felt really at home in her home. She made an incredible meal and her whole family is fabulous. I feel confident that there will be many more afternoons there and I am thrilled for that! I feel incredibly blessed and like Madrid is really where I am suppose to be.
That evening, we went to a great Japanese restaurant where we cooked the meat ourselves at the table with some family friends and business associates. It's really a blessing that I already know people here and that I know I can count on them.
Thursday, I finally slept in. Pedro and I spent the rest of the afternoon making calls to apartments. Essentially, the time to rent in Madrid is September so everywhere has filled up or is filling really fast. I was lucky that I found a place I liked enough to seal the deal. I signed a lease until July so I hope that this place lives up to its potential. My room is rather large (about twice the size of an individual room in the sorority house) and the whole building is students so its kind of like a dorm. I have five roommates- one of which I still havent met yet and we all share a kitchen and a bathroom, but we dont have a living room. Sharing the bathroom with four other people will certainly be an adventure but so far, I don't even see anyone else so it's not a problem. I hope these people become friends and that I meet others in the building as well. I like the size of my room, that I have my own balcony and that plenty of light comes in. The best thing though is the location. From here, I will walk a few blocks, take the metro two stops, then take a bus for 30 minutes to the schools. I am also really close to the friends here I already know, so it's ideal for that.
Friday, I woke up early, successfully ventured to the schools on my own- I was SO proud of myself! I met with my boss at the second school and got my schedule for Tuesdays and Thursdays. I can feel that I am going to be really happy and its an amazing feeling. I left that meeting and with the help of Pedro, moved into my new place! I took a nap, explored a little and made a few purchases.
Yesterday morning was a little rough between dealing with problems with my credit card and with the internet, but I think it's all going to be worked out soon. The day ended with new friends, Auburn's loss and Alabama's win. Does it really get any better than that?!
Anyways, I know this is the longest post ever but I just wanted to update you and I promise to continue to use this blog as a way to keep you informed while I am here. I know a great and fantastic adventure lies ahead and I cant wait for my first day at work tomorrow!
dad is notorious for choosing the exit row for any flight. this always drives me crazy because i could care less about the leg room, i want access to all my stuff. he was asleep before the flight even took off- seriously. he was too asleep to even give me the Lunesta he had for me in his pocket. thanks for nothing, Dad. I think sitting on that plane was the first time i have really breathed in several weeks due to all the stress from LSAT studying and getting ready to leave. I had been feeling sick all week and so the plane was a little rough on my disease but i managed to sleep much of the way with entertainment from two amazing Law and Order SVU episodes. we landed, got my three gigantic and overweight suitcases and headed to meet with a dear family friend who happens to work for my dad, Pedro. He picked us up with his dog, Hanna, who is the most well-trained dog you can imagine. The Dog Whisperer should take notes, she's that well-behaved. Pedro let us stay at his parent's empty apartment until I found a permanent place to live. Pretty much right after dropping off our stuff and changing, we headed to the town about 20 miles outside of Madrid where I will be teaching four days of the week.
After a brief visit and meeting a girl that I had been emailing with, we came back to Madrid, got a phone for me and made a few calls to apartments with the help of our ipads over lunch. I have missed Tinto Verano and Jamon Iberico more than I realized. I went by and looked at one apartment, but the girls were a little older and I just didn't feel like it was perfect. Dad and I got naps and then headed to meet with the girl from the school, a boy I met in Sevilla last summer and another coworker from Dad's company. We had an amazing evening with incredible red wine from this region, great tapas and really great conversations. It was a charming evening. After some champagne to celebrate my finishing the LSAT, Dad's team having the best quarter in the company's history and my moving to Madrid, we called it a night.
Early Wednesday morning, I met up with Melania and we went to the school where we will be working together. Our boss invited us for lunch so we spent most of the afternoon together. Melania is really great; she was at this school teaching English last year too. Her and Silvia have a really close relationship and I felt really at home in her home. She made an incredible meal and her whole family is fabulous. I feel confident that there will be many more afternoons there and I am thrilled for that! I feel incredibly blessed and like Madrid is really where I am suppose to be.
That evening, we went to a great Japanese restaurant where we cooked the meat ourselves at the table with some family friends and business associates. It's really a blessing that I already know people here and that I know I can count on them.
Thursday, I finally slept in. Pedro and I spent the rest of the afternoon making calls to apartments. Essentially, the time to rent in Madrid is September so everywhere has filled up or is filling really fast. I was lucky that I found a place I liked enough to seal the deal. I signed a lease until July so I hope that this place lives up to its potential. My room is rather large (about twice the size of an individual room in the sorority house) and the whole building is students so its kind of like a dorm. I have five roommates- one of which I still havent met yet and we all share a kitchen and a bathroom, but we dont have a living room. Sharing the bathroom with four other people will certainly be an adventure but so far, I don't even see anyone else so it's not a problem. I hope these people become friends and that I meet others in the building as well. I like the size of my room, that I have my own balcony and that plenty of light comes in. The best thing though is the location. From here, I will walk a few blocks, take the metro two stops, then take a bus for 30 minutes to the schools. I am also really close to the friends here I already know, so it's ideal for that.
Friday, I woke up early, successfully ventured to the schools on my own- I was SO proud of myself! I met with my boss at the second school and got my schedule for Tuesdays and Thursdays. I can feel that I am going to be really happy and its an amazing feeling. I left that meeting and with the help of Pedro, moved into my new place! I took a nap, explored a little and made a few purchases.
Yesterday morning was a little rough between dealing with problems with my credit card and with the internet, but I think it's all going to be worked out soon. The day ended with new friends, Auburn's loss and Alabama's win. Does it really get any better than that?!
Anyways, I know this is the longest post ever but I just wanted to update you and I promise to continue to use this blog as a way to keep you informed while I am here. I know a great and fantastic adventure lies ahead and I cant wait for my first day at work tomorrow!
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