Jess comes to Madrid | Placement update

So...

I'm currently 8 months (Oh how time flies!) into my placement here in Madrid and I now have just under two months to go. Days seem to be coming and going quicker than I expected but I really am trying to make the most of it before it ends. 

My students bring a smile to my face each and every day and I'm so proud of all them for learning so much English in the time that I have been here and how much their English has improved. I love them all so much and I hope we can make more memories together in the next two months I have left here! I never knew that these kids would make an impact on my life so much -- 

Right now, the topic in class is "Where we are in Place and Time". Recently, they've making collecting pictures of natural landscapes and making group posters with fellow classmates and in the end, they'll present their poster to the rest of the class. 

Jess comes to M A D R I D 

My good friend from University who is doing her placement in Germany came to visit me on 16.04. She only came for one night/two days but it was still a lot of fun. Jess and I are both members of Aston University's badminton club and we will also be flat mates in our final year of Uni. 

Madrid greeted Jess with pretty crap weather...heavy rain pretty much all day. I think there was about 30 minutes of no rain in total! And that is not exaggerated... Our weekend consisted of lots of 'sight-seeing' and yummy food. We had a very oriental weekend! ^__^ ...we also wanted to try this dim sum restaurant out but it was closed :( 

Jess eating the classic churros con chocolate !

And of course I had to take her to try the infamous llaollao

Our weekend went like this... 

On 16.04, I picked Jess up from the airport and we took the metro to our hotel in Argüelles. After our rocky check-in, we freshened up and then headed into central Madrid for some late lunch. We went to Udon...an oriental restaurant in the heart of Madrid; Sol. I've been wanting to try the restaurant out for a while now and I was finally able to do so! 

After filling our tummies, we went to see the Royal Palace of Madrid and also Temple de Debod. Despite the crap weather, we tried to do as much as we could! In the evening, we went to Gayagum for some delicious Korean food! :)

             

On Jess' last day, the sun came out...surprise! The sun was out and the temperature was warm - perfect! So where else to go than Retiro park?! We did some 'rowing' in the big lake before we headed for the airport.

Thank you so much for visiting me whilst also on your year abroad, Jess! I hope you enjoyed your short but sweet time in Madrid... and we shall meet again back in Birmingham when we're both back from placement. 

Tiffany 

Carnival | Chinese New Year in Madrid | Long Weekend

Carnival 2016 @ SEK

On Friday, 5th February we celebrated Carnival at work. The students were allowed to dress up as whatever they wanted ready for the exciting weekend ahead. I didn't know that Spain had their own Carnival but I guess it isn't as big as the infamous Rio Carnival. As per usual, my students came to school in stunning costumes! I really love how enthusiastic they are with celebrations... 

So many beautiful princesses ~

Which costume do you like the best?!

Chinese New Year in Madrid 

This year was my first time not celebrating the New Year with my family. At home, we sometimes go to a restaurant for a big family dinner or we go to a family member's house. This year, my family went to my grandmas house for a scrumptious dinner! I was so gutted to be missing out on this family gathering but it was also cool to experience celebrating in another country other than England and Hong Kong. 

My roommate and I decided to go to a Chinese restaurant to celebrate and have a nice relaxing day afterwards. The restaurant we chose was called Restaurante Mulán. We went there with high expectations (we haven't had authentic Chinese food once in Madrid) to only be somewhat disappointed ^^'. The restaurant is a westernised Chinese restaurant that caters for Spanish people. The food we ordered sounded nice but when we got it, it was completely different to what I thought it would be. Nevertheless, we still finished all of it and had some really nice green tea to go with it! 

After lunch, we headed back to central Madrid to go to our favourite (and only) tea house. Tekoe sells all sorts of teas; from English breakfast to Chai Lattes! Their green tea leaves are specially imported from Switzerland and it is very good. 

After spending a good hour or two at Tekoe, we went back to Opera to do some window shopping... aka killing time! We had so much time to kill before we could go for dinner. Thankfully, there were loads of shops around the area for us to walk in ...and straight out of ^^'. Because we had a disappointing lunch, we decided to cheer ourselves up a bit by going to a NEW Korean restaurant in Sol. The restaurant is called Gayagum and potentially is the only authentic Korean restaurant in Madrid. I found this little gem back in December but haven't had the chance to check it out with Esther until now. The food was really good and we could tell the taste was different to all the other Korean restaurants we have tried in Madrid! 

Long Weekend - 05.02 - 08.02 

Chinese New Year coincidentally fell on our long weekend - we had the 8th off. My weekend consisted of lots of walking, drinking (tea), desserts, laughs. On Sunday, 7th February, the trio went to Tandoori Station - supposedly the best Indian restaurant in Madrid. It is located in Manuel Becerra and is just a short 6 minute walk away from the station. I absolutely love Indian food so going here was a bonus for me! The restaurant is always fully booked so we had to book a week in advance...and when we arrived, they couldn't find our booking... The lady eventually sorted it out and we were given a table in a matter of minutes. 

I don't know if it's because I haven't had Indian food in a long time or whatnot, but I found the food pretty good. We've been to a few Indian restaurants in Madrid and they haven't been great. This was definitely the closest to home comfort food! 

We also went back to Retiro Park after 6 months of neglecting it to try and catch the sunset. We failed but it was still really nice to go back and walk through the park! :)

So, that's what I've been up to recently! I've been busy with work so I haven't had the chance to blog everything that I've been doing. I'm also now blogging for my University so I'm managing two blogs at once, so please forgive me! 

Wishing everyone a Happy Chinese New Year ~ May the year of the Monkey bring good health, wealth and happiness to each and every one of you. 

- Tiffany 

Next stop; Cuenca!

Good evening all, this particular blogpost will mainly consist of just photos. (Sorry that it's super boring! T__T)

On 06.12, I went to Cuenca with my roommates. Cuenca is a small city on the outskirts of Madrid (half way between Madrid and Valencia). The views were amazing and were definitely worth the short-lasting trip there. It's great that Spain has so many different historical cities/towns to offer... makes a difference to Madrid!

Please enjoy the photos! -

There were lots of different coloured buildings ^___^ 

Cuenca is known for its 'hanging houses'. Here is a picture of a house hanging off the edge... 

I have a huge fear of bridges...and this one really high! Not ashamed of holding Sam's hand throughout the entire walk over! ^^' 

One of my favourite photos from the trip! If I can say so myself... (photographer Tiff) 

Lessons of the trip: 

To not book late train journeys home as our day trips always end earlier than intended. 

Always check train times for the journey home in case we get bored. 

Research the town/city before going. 

Nevertheless, I had an enjoyable day in Cuenca :) Another memory made with my chicas! 

- Tiffany