Through the eyes and ears of a newbie

The final chapter…

Dear Madrid! I will miss you! Why am I saying this? Well, it’s my last week in Madrid and I’m having mixed feelings. I don’t want to leave this beautiful place with amazing people, but I’m looking forward to seeing my family again. Living, working and going to school here has become my normal routine for the past 4 moths and I know that I have to get used to another life once I’m back in the Netherlands again. Madrid has been an amazing experience and I can look back at this adventure fondly. An adventure is a mystery and you never know how it’s going to turn out. I have experienced a lot of things, good and bad, but the bad didn’t make my stay in Madrid any worse.

Yesterday I had my last Spanish class and I have received my certificate. I really enjoyed taking my classes and I will miss it. One thing I learned is that learning Spanish in a not native country is not as good as learning in a native speaking country. When I left The Netherlands my European level was between A2 and B1, but now that I have had my classes in Madrid I know I wasn’t even close to that level. Now I can say I’m between A2 and B1 and I’m very proud of my achievement. Entiendo y hablo español mejor que cuando llugué aqui. I will continue my Spanish in The Netherlands on B1 level and hopefully in a few years I’ll speak fluent Spanish.

My suitcase is already packed and my room is getting emptier by the minute. This means the ‘going away day’ is almost here. So, look back with me at my most funny and frustrating learning moments in Madrid and see if I have achieved my goals.

What did I learn most?

I have learned a lot about the language but to give an answer to the question I have also learned a lot about the culture and cuisine of Spain. Spanish people disfrutar de la vida and I love that! Tapas became one of my favorite ways of eating and I will make them at home definitely. I’ve got so used to the Spanish life that I enjoy living it, it will be a big adjustment when I get back home.

What was my most funny moment?

My funniest moment is probably the day that my abono didn’t work. It wasn’t fun that my abono decided to be ‘out of order’, but the part where I started communicating through a phone and computer screen with the lady behind the desk was. Google Translate was such help that day for me. I have mentioned this is my second blog and I had such a laugh there.

Also my first visit to the doctor’s office was fun even though I was ill. While examining me, she decided to teach me medical terms in a funny way and I even forgot I was ill at that moment. Thinking back about that moment, I learned a lot of important words that I could use for my other visits to el medico.

What was my most frustrating moment?

My most frustrating moment was when I had to wait forever to get my abono fixed at ‘consorcio transporte publico’. More than 30 people were waiting before me and only one person was working there. This was the low point of my trip and I don’t ever want to go there again. Another frustrating moment was when I had to go to the hospital and there were no door numbers. I arrived late and missed my appointment and eventually waited for an hour to make a new one and get declined because I don’t have a tarjeta sanitaria. Frustrations, frustrations, frustrations!

What is the best thing I did while being here?

The best thing I did was exploring Madrid. Taking trips through the city was one of my favorite pastimes. I have seen a lot of the city, but I believe there is more to see, so I’ll definitely come back. Another thing is spending sunny days in Retiro Park. Enjoying the weather and the beauty of Retiro was also on my list of favorite moments.

What do I like about Madrid the most?

I love the architecture. The buildings are incredible and the parks beautiful. Walking through Madrid is definite eye candy. There is always something to see.

What will I miss the most?

LLAO LLAO & bocaditos! Ice cream shop llao llao is my favorite place I love that yoghurt ice cream with all those delicious toppings! I have to eat it at least once a week, because it’s so good. There is no llao llao in The Netherlands, so I won’t be able to eat my favorite ice cream. About the bocaditos, I have to learn how to make them, because I am addicted to them. I will also miss the beauty of Madrid, the way of life, the easygoing people and the culture.

Did I achieve my goal?

YES! YES! YES! My goal was to improve my Spanish in 4 months and it certainly has improved. Going to school helped me improve my Spanish, but the day to day life made sure it improved more. For example: my visits to the doctor’s office helped a lot. You see it isn’t always bad to go to the doctor; it is good for your health and your language.

Hope you all enjoyed reading my blogs. I had a great time writing them for you and sharing my experiences. Gracias por leer!

Adios!

Dragana

Madrid Watch :16th April 2012

ON YE BIKE!

Cycling is set to get more popular after the news of the massive increases in metro & bus fares in the city, they are to set to increase by an average of 11% with the 10 journey ticket rising by 29% to 12€   It was the big trending topic on twitter as people used hash tag #tarifazo to vent their anger. It also emerged that the consumer representative on the transport board also voted in favour of the increase, leading to calls for his head on a plate from Madrid´s consumer groups.

Mayoress goes to Moncloa

As Rajoy continued his round of meetings with regional & city leaders so it came to pass that Mrs Botella our city Mayor took her turn. As ever she played to form taking the opportunity to do , well ,nothing for the City. Did she make a special plea for the City´s unemployed , the poor or take an opportunity to demand more money for our public transport. No. According to her the biggest problem we have  is , pollution? No. Gridlocked roads? No. Increasing waiting lists for surgery in our hospitals? No. The biggest problem ´we´ have she told the PM,  is the need to pay the City´s private contractors their invoices. Keeps me awake at night.

Numbers don´t add up

The man behind EuroVegas, Sheldon Anderson announced last week that he will personally visit Madrid at the beginning of May to meet with regional PM Aguirre. He is expected to travel to Alcorcón which is looking to be the favorite venue to build the massive gambling project. As the announcement of the ´winner´ (Madrid or Barcelona) draws closer it seems the claims being made in relation to jobs and investment that the project will bring are unraveling. Initially for example Anderson´s company were brandishing numbers like 164,000 direct jobs and 97,000 indirect ones . However the Catalan Economy ministry has poured cold water on this figures , with its own estimate being  between 15,000  y 20,000 direct posts. This seems much more realistic given that the Company Vegas Sands employs a total of 34,000 people throughout its complexes in USA, China and Singapore.

The Elephant Man

As his highness recovers in a Madrid private hospital he must be reflecting that whilst his grandson literally shot himself in the foot, (things that children do according to the Queen. Well I don´t know about your childhood but shot guns and hunting did n´t figure big time in mine) the King has done so metaphorically. Going a on an Elephant hunt at a cost of 30,000€ in the African jungle on the anniversary of the founding of the Spanish Republic and in the midst of the greatest recession in modern times , is just so , well , idiotic , it defies description.  He is also the Spanish president of the World Wild Life Fund . I googled the section in the job description “speed up the extinction process by shooting to death big game¨  but nothing came up. Oh and by the way if you never see another issue of Madrid Watch perhaps I´m rotting in jail. Criticism of the King is still a penal offence in this country.

Flamenco in the Park

The New York Times reported on the new Flamenco performances in Retiro Park . Flamenco and Food , can be experienced from now until the summer at the Florida Park Theatre inside Retiro. You can watch outstanding Flamenco whilst eating dinner in the open air. Details http://intransit.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/13/flamenco-and-food-in-madrids-retiro-park/

Ian Hassell @ianhass

Ian is a Director and co-founder of http://englishwarehouse.com/ Madrid´s social network in English. All views are his own as englishwarehouse is a warehouse and does n´t have any.