Banana's in Spain: Mi Primera Noche--September 5th, 2013

De Puta Madre! Ya Estoy hablando Espanol!

I am in Madrid, Spain: a city full of a seemingly invincible energy that runs as vibrantly and rapidly as the intricate metro system, and is as proud as it is vast. I am amazed already by the gusto people carry about them, speaking with their articulate, quick tongues and harsh back-of-the-throat sounds of la lengua.

There is a rhythm to this city that I'm picking up that I don't want to put down.

In fact, there is the strong possibility that my heart already has started to dance along with that rhythm.

On a sunny Thursday morning in September, after a long, body-cramping trip by air from Tampa to Philadelphia--and then from Philadelphia to Madrid/Barajas Aeropuerto--I set foot in a clean, austere environment that, based on my own observations, seems to be characteristic of European Airports. No trash, no riff-raff. No lingering and gaping stares at all the signs in Spanish, drilling your brain of now-distant vocabulary you studied in Spanish class over 6 years ago. People bump into you, and keep walking. But not out of rudeness; you were just in the way.

Ain't nobody got time for dawdling about in this country (unless you are practicing the botellon nighttime activity in which Madrilenos meet up in random parks and plazas to share bottles of alcohol all night, partying usually till the sun goes up, or sharing Canas y Tapas at bar after bar--but that's another story). It seems important here to walk around with a matter-of-fact, half mullet look (all-business-but-no-party look) during daylight hours, and, of course, if you're in an airport anywhere, no one from any country likes someone moving slowly in front of them when there's a plane or taxi or shuttle to catch.

A stern, serio "Immigrations and Customs" officer beckoned me over to his window to stamp my passport, which I proudly presented, as it was complete with a fresh Visa that I spent a couple of months going through hectic bureaucratic motions to acquire.

Eso es el momento.

"Stamped. Amped, and ready to go."

Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, despite being super tired from getting uncomfortable sleep on the plane and also having to carry around over 100 lbs of luggage with me, I hulled the my large rolling suitcase, a backpack, and two shoulder bags out of the baggage claim and darted my eyes around a crowded mess of travelers, looking for the letters:

C I E E

I didn't see them. But then, I saw a group of other people that had that same look of wonder and amazement on their faces layered over jet lag that was already happening. Maureen, who sat next to me on the plane, beckoned me to come meet up with these people who were, mas o menos, around the same age as me.

From left: Maureen, Julia, Mike, Taylor, Leah, and Ana (me)

And shortly after introductions and some small talk, we saw two sharply-dressed Spaniards holding white signs with the title of our organization up in the air, letting us know it was time for our shuttle to our hotel.

Why am I here?

I work for CIEE. What is CIEE you ask? Pues, lo voy a decirte. CIEE stands for the Council on International Educational Exchange. It is a "non-profit, not-governmental exchange program" that offers study abroad and teach abroad programs--and helps this gal fulfill her dream of wanting to live and work in another country for an extended period of time. We are parnering with the Spanish Government and La Comunidad de Madrid to provide our native English tongues to aide in the bilingualism and cultural awareness of Spain's youth. More info: http://www.educa2.madrid.org/web/mjmartinezdelis/1.-language-assistants-in-the-region-of-madrid

Here is the link if you want to read more about CIEE: http://www.ciee.org/

I am here to teach English as a second language as a Language and Culture Assistant in a bilingual secondary school in a barrio right outside of Madrid. The other anxious and travel-stricken characters are also going to teach in and around Madrid. We are all in the beginning stages of a 10-month adventure. There are a bunch of us in the Culture Assistant program, but about 3 dozen of us from the Teach In Spain Two-Week Immersion Program. Our plan is to have four days of orientation with CIEE's coordinators, and then two weeks of language immersion courses while living with Spanish host families or individuals. In the beginning of October, we begin teaching at our prospective Institutos or Colegios.

A quick shuttle ride to the Hotel Exe Moncloa later, the other CIEE teachers and I found ourselves standing surrounded by our many bags, getting our chance to practice a little bit of Spanish as we checked in at the desk.

We found out that our rooms weren't ready, so then proceeded to stand around a bit until someone said that up a flight of stairs was one of our orientation coordinators, Alana, ready to give us our blue orientation folders.

We checked in, gave our Texas-born leader (who has been living in Spain for 5 years now) handshakes and hugs, then looked at our watches/phones. We had about 6 hours or so until our introductory dinner, so a few of us explored the part of Madrid we were in: Moncloa.

I went with two other teachers, Julia and Mike, on a little camino outside of the hotel.

Interesting things we saw:

A large building labeled "Ejercito del Aire" (equivalent to Air Force), which I am assuming is a headquarters for the Spanish Airforce (or a museum, of which there are many in Madrid)

A monument quite similar to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris or the Washington Square Monument in New York. I thought it was beautiful, but apparently some angry person(s) begged to differ, and, with a can of spray paint, decided to mark it up with the desire to have it demolished.

Por que? Yo no se. And, my favorite part of this time of dawdling was Parque del Oeste and Van Gogh Cafe.

Julia, Mike, and I laid ourselves down on green, green grass and contemplated the start of our journey. We were exhausted from the trip and it felt good to lie down in plein aire and soak up Madrid's September sun (which actually got pretty hot after about 15-20 minutes of sitting; I was quite sweaty).

And then there was Van Gogh Cafe, where I got to practice some more Spanish by ordering Agua mineral--CON GAS (sparkling mineral water). We cooled ourselves down with our drinks and some conversation as we looked at the even cooler art in this place that's dedicated to one of my favorite artists.

Hotel Exe Moncloa

Hotel Exe Moncloa: http://www.hotelexemoncloa.com/EN/hotel.html)

Hotel Exe is quite a beautiful and modern hotel in the Moncloa region of Madrid, an area that contains a university and rests against Parque del Oeste. It is a self-proclaimed "Gourmet Hotel," and has at least 10 floors of comfortable, clean, and recently-renovated rooms ready for international business travelers, pleasure travelers, or the 40-something of us eager and lucky young Americans. It has its own Market and cafe/bar, in which you can buy things like tiny croissants or pastries with jamon y queso along with your cerveza or cafe con leche (or in my case, agua con gas:)).

Finally, I went up to my room and dumped all of my stuff down, took a deep breath, and said to myself "gah!" out of excitement.
I shared a room with Leah, a sweet CIEE teacher from Kentucky, in a comfortably furnished hotel room with a large bed that was pretty much two twins-sized mattresses put together.

I guess normally I would feel a little weird about sharing a bed with a stranger, but, I think at some point either before or during this trip, I decided to embrace the weird--because actually what I am doing in general is quite weird. I am spending a long time living far away from my closest friends and family in a foreign country.

I have already flung both legs over the side of the box that is labeled "my comfort zone," and am dangling now by my sweaty fingers.

*************

We met up around 7 pm for a quick intro with our coordinators, then went upstairs to the terrace of Hotel Exe Moncloa whose was, for lack of a better, non-cliche word---AMAZING! The terrace overlooks the Moncloa-Arguelles area of Madrid, which is a bit west of the city center.

CIEE Teach in Spain 2-Week Immersion Group--Madrid 2013

The CIEE Teach in Spain 2-Week Immersion Program Dinner

At Seven&Six in Madrid

Afterward, we walked as a group along the major Calle de Princessa and onward to a few other turns to arrive at a restaurant called Seven&Six (http://www.gastrobar76.com/). It's a gastro bar and restaurant near Parque del Oeste where the restaurant staff (los camareros) gave us excellent service as we ate a deliciously-prepared 3-course meal.

Our "Executive" Menu:)

a melon-flavored palette cleanser with a single chive along the side of the glass

Gaspacho Andaluz

Ensalada Caprese--my only complaint was that the cheese was still a little frozen

Lomo de Salmon al Estilo Nordico--That's what I chose for my dinner

Brownie de Chocolate (que rico)

Stuffed with good food and wine, we thought our evening was over, but then our coordinators took us on a mini excursion to go see an Egyptian monument--the Templo de Debod and the outside of the Palacio Real de Madrid, which I will make sure to see during daylight hours.