School trip to the farm school !

As a reward for my hard work and commitment, I was given the opportunity to go on the Yr1 Primary school trip to La Salle in El Escorial. The duration of the trip was two nights and three days - what a nice break from work! My students are only 6-7 years old and they're already going on overnight trips... brave children!

Wednesday, 27th April. 
The day began as usual at 9:15am. The teachers and students waited outside infant school for the school bus and for everyone to arrive. We departed shortly after 9:45am and headed off to the farm school. The journey was very short; maybe 20 minutes away from the school. We drove higher and higher towards the mountains and the views were beautiful... everything looked so peaceful - a complete contrast to the Madrid city life!

Upon arrival, we were greeted by the monitors of the resort who introduced themselves to the children and took them off our hands. They were led to their dormitories, where the boys lived in one room and the girls in the one next door. At this time, we were also given a tour to our accommodation. We stayed in the main building just 2 minutes away from the kids'. Here, I shared a room with my two teachers in a large 3 single bed room. We had our own bathroom just opposite our room.

Because it was the first day, we didn't really do much. We had breakfast shortly after we arrived and settled in and then we walked around the resort to see what the kids were up to. The food service was great! We had so much to eat during breakfast, lunch and dinner. I guess it was a nice change from the food that I have at the school canteen ^^'. The kids were doing activities with the mentors and we relaxed.

After lunch, Mako and I went to visit the Royal Palace in El Escorial. We went for a tour inside it which was very interesting - lots of tourists. The weather wasn't great, it was cold and windy... but nevertheless, we still had a good time. After the tour, we walked to the pretty streets of the town to find a café for a drink (tea of course). It was really nice to relax with my teacher and to discuss other things other than our students or work!

Time flew by very quickly so we headed back to the farm school by taxi. We freshened up and got ready for dinner. As expected, we looked after our kids during lunch and dinner - ensuring they were eating their food and checking up on them. We always had our food after the kids had theirs... so once they were all finished and moved onto their next activity, we had our food.

By 10pm, the children were very tired. Many of them wanted to sleep and some wanted to carry on doing activities! ^^' they slept in bunk beds in one room. It was really cute because they all wanted a kiss before going to bed and they asked if I could sleep on the spare bed in their dorm!! After putting the kids to sleep, we went back to our room to get some kip.

Thursday, 28th April.
I was woken up fairly early because of the animals just outside of our window (roosters, donkey, parrots). After getting ready, we went downstairs to assist the kids during breakfast. Again, they had a day full of fun activities - the best thing was not having to look after them! After breakfast, we joined them on their little adventure walk. It was nice to walk into the countryside but it wasn't nice for my nose/throat! I have really bad hay fever so I was suffering a little bit but it was totally worth it :) the kids were doing activities that involved the 5 senses which was pretty suitable. When the kids went back to the farm school for lunch, Mako and I continued walking and went on a small hike. We walked through the countryside and saw some pretty beautiful views - well worth it again. It wasn't long until we turned around and went back for lunch :)

The rest of the day consisted in a lot of relaxing and lounging around. The internet/wifi was terrible so we couldn't do any work or surf the net. We had the opportunity to check the animals out; we saw peacocks, talking parrots, rabbits, ducks, pigs and more. We laughed so much when the parrot was talking to us and it actually started laughing as well...actual laughing. Sonia, Mako and I were laughing so much and I had tears coming out of my eyes!! ^^'

After dinner, the kids had a disco as it was their last night. We had dinner and had an hour to kill (well at least we thought we did) until the disco. We assumed the disco was at 10pm so we headed down at 10pm, only to find that the disco had finished and another school was having theirs! Turns out, our disco got pushed early because there were two schools to fit into one night. What a shame! We tucked the kids into bed again and went to sleep.

Friday, 29th April. 
Our last day! The day started off pretty cold and gloomy but eventually it warmed up and the sun came out to play. The kids finished their final activities where they made nature books by collecting leaves etc to put in them. Time flew by (doing nothing) and next thing we knew, it was time to go home! We left the resort at around 3:45pm and got back to school in no time where we waited for the parents to pick up the kids. By this time, the weather was beautiful and it was pretty hot.

Thank you. 
I'd like to thank SEK, my boss, my co-ordinators and my teachers for gifting me such a great 'prize'. It was such a nice getaway and I feel a lot closer to my teachers after spending a three days with them. I will continue to work hard for the remaining month and a half left of placement and I'm very thankful for everything they have done for me.

Hard work definitely pays off, guys! So don't ever slack!

- Tiffany

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 

Time flies when you're having fun | My first wedding abroad !

Second semester -- 

Second semester had flown by ever so quickly - it felt like I'd just came back from my Christmas vacation and I was already packing to go to my next vacation! I guess now that I'm used to living and working here, time goes by very fast because I'm always occupied. I've been pretty busy with University work as well as placement to be honest. Aside from working Monday to Friday at SEK, I now tutor three students every Saturday for two hours - I give them extra English lessons out of class so they don't fall behind! And I can already see so much progress :)

Work at placement is going well. I'm always very busy with coming up with new ideas to teach the kids new concepts and I'd like to think they are enjoying the work that I produce for them. My students speak more and more English to me each day and that alone makes me very happy. Compared to the start of placement, where none of them had the confidence to speak English to now, almost the entire class giving it a good go! Everyday is rewarding for me, personally. Seeing my students learn and grow as a person is amazing.

I'm hoping to visit a few more cities before I finish my placement; the likes of Salamanca etc. But these will have to be done around my University work schedule as I have a research project due in for May! ^^' so far, Sam (my roommate Samra) and I have booked a trip to Alicante for the end of May which will be hopefully be the perfect ending to our journey in Madrid. I'm really looking forward to it as the weather will be nice and warm! Right now, it's still cold(ish) and windy... not as bad as England though!

My first wedding abroad -- 

So, on Monday, 14th March 2016, I took the plane from Madrid Airport to Málaga Airport. Why? Because I was off to attend my cousin's wedding! The build up to this wedding for me personally was very exciting. I knew I was going to see all of my family and also in SPAIN. How often does this happen? Not very! At least not for me... Anyway, I took four days off work to attend Jenny and Leon's wedding in Benalmadena. The wedding was one of the most special occasions I have ever witnessed - every moment of it brought a tear to my eye. The hotel that we stayed in was just opposite a beach and had breath-taking views from the rooms. I joined my cousins in a suite room and could not have been more impressed! I'm going to let the pictures do the talking from here...

'Barcelona' table.

Bride and groom with the bridesmaids. 

The beautiful bride and groom - Jenny and Leon.

The days spent in Málaga with my family were superb and I wish we it didn't have to end but my next trip was to England for 10 days to spend the rest of my Easter holidays there. I managed to spend time with my friends and family, which is all I wanted! The one thing I missed the most is the food...home comforts! My 10 days went by ever so quickly and now I'm back in Madrid for the last stretch of my 10 month placement. I have around two and a half months left here as a teaching assistant and I'm ready to make the most of it and enjoy every moment that I can. I'm so grateful for the recent events I have been able to participate in ~ here's to many more memories to come!

- Tiffany

See you on the other side | +oil, Esther!

"Nothing lasts forever" - including our fantastic trio!

On Tuesday, 16th June 2016, our Esther/Est/Stef/Steffan left us to go back to England to move onto her next big step in life. 

I've always lived out for University and have lived with other people but I have never had a roommate before. I've never lived with someone in such close proximity nor see the same person every single day. It took some getting used to but I think our friendship formed quite quickly! You were an amazing roommate ~ 

I wish you the best of luck for the future; your travels and studies. You're an incredible person, really. I've never met someone so caring and hard-working before! You're going to do well in China... I have no doubt! 

We've done so much as a trio - we've eaten at so many restaurants, we've traveled to different cities, we've cried together and gone through struggles, we've helped each other in several ways and we've also developed an everlasting friendship (I'd like to think). 

So here's a little something to say Goodbye and Good Luck.

- 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