Hola!
Our first couple of weeks in Madrid have been amazing! We are having so much fun in and outside of school!
We go into school on Mondays and Tuesdays. I’m partnered with two grade 6 teachers who are teaching science and English. School is similar to back home but there’s also a lot of differences. All of the teachers go by their first names! Like the other Madrid TABers are saying, the students and staff are always giving hugs and cheek kisses! Everyone has been incredibly friendly!
The English class is different than ones I’ve seen because it’s teaching English language, rather than literature and reading comprehension. It feels like being in a French class back home. This has been my favorite part so far, because it feels very applicable to supporting ELL students back home.
Outside of class, we are loving Madrid and Spain! Madrid is a lovely city, with a lot of green space, excellent transit, and plenty to do. Mostly, we are eating tapas – I love croqueta – and checking out the sights. The Royal Palace and Art Gallery were both incredible, and a tour of the Las Ventas Bullring was very interesting, though I don’t think we’ll go watch an actual bull fight.
Our first week here a few of us went for a weekend trip to Valencia, which was the perfect little beach vacation! The sea was so warm you could stay in the water as long as you’d like and the Mercat Central de València had so much good food. I like olives even more now than I did before!
Our next weekend, Sydney and I went on two day trips to Toledo and Segovia. Both were very cool little cities. Toledo had a lot of free activities for students, which was super nice to take advantage of. We even went on a zip line! Segovia was also fun, we toured a medieval castle and played games in the park. One thing we’ve learned with day trips is that booking a train or bus back home at 8pm makes it very hard to find dinner before leaving! Almost nowhere serves food until 7 or 7:30!
So far, Madrid and the TAB program have exceeded my expectations! I am learning lots and really enjoying my time here. I can’t wait to see what the next five weeks will bring!
Adios!
Janine