Home Time

So, I’m sitting in Barajas Airport finally flying home after 6 months in Madrid. At times it definitely dragged but the last few weeks have flown by, mainly due to the need to submit my year abroad essays before I start work in London on Monday. It has been a bit of a slog to say the least. 

My last night didn't end in the best way, although the company and copious amounts of pizza made up for it!

My time in Madrid has definitely had its ups and downs, but overall it's been a great experience; the total opposite of Brazil in so many ways but just as valuable, if maybe not as enjoyable. The first month was tough, I felt pretty miserable after having spent just a week at home and still missing my life in Brazil a lot. It didn't help not being able to find anywhere decent to live and then having 3 jobs fall through, but luckily things only got better thereafter. 

I was so lucky to have my best friends in Madrid with me too!!

The Spanish education system does not rank well and the schools at which I worked as a language assistant definitely reinforced this. One of them, in particular, did not have a good reputation; it was situated in one of the city's most deprived areas and had an exam pass rate of just 30% (almost 10% below the Madrid average). However it wasn't the children who ever caused me problems. Sure they were difficult sometimes, I had a few pens chucked at me (more to see how I would react than out of hatred I hope!) and a brawl did break out in one class a few weeks ago which was an interesting experience, but ultimately children are children, I loved being with them and found them extremely welcoming. I often found myself siding with them and not the teachers, probably because I was only 3 years older than the top year students.

I was so lucky to have the best housemates!

It was actually the teachers and the school itself that I found the hardest to deal with. The standard of teaching was worse than I could have possibly imagined and made me realise just how lucky I was with my education. The majority seemed to simply have given up and couldn’t care less about anything. The school itself was a dump, no money for anything, no electronic boards, internet that never worked, no decorations in the classrooms, rusty desks and graffiti everywhere. I could go on and on, it just annoyed me so much that the very children that need all the help they can get in life are being failed by the state.

Favourite brunch destination with Greta

Rozzy and Olivia 

Although I found the job tough, it did mean that I focused on finding things that I enjoyed doing in my spare time, especially as I didn't get to speak as much Spanish as I would have wanted to at work. I joined a running club, took Spanish classes three times a week, taught private english classes to little kids twice a week, joined a great gym and found a Brazilian exchange to keep up my Portuguese. Let's just say it took my mind of things and meant that I definitely never got bored! 

An early start for the Madrid 10K

It was so sad saying goodbye to my favourite private class

Anyway, after almost a year away I am definitely ready to come home, even if it's only for a day!

Settling in

So since I last blogged things have got a lot lot better and I am finally starting to warm to Madrid again. 

Very much appreciated English treats from Sarah!

I have now done two weeks working as a language assistant - I was super lucky to get on the programme half way through the year due to someone dropping out. After a few days on the job I was definitely craving my comparatively relaxing office job, but have now come round to the idea and I see it as an opportunity to gain a completely different skill set. I have been given two schools; one in the north west of the city and one in the south east! A slight logistical nightmare but it is doable and am looking at the commute as an opportunity to read lots of novels that I have been meaning to get round to for ages. 

The two schools couldn't really be more different. The first is in the north of the city, which on the whole tends to be better off than the south. It's very small, I am the only language assistant and although it's not by any means an academic hothouse, it seems a happy place and the children, in general, are well behaved!

The school in the south is a different story (maybe it is why the girl before me dropped out?!)... It is situated in an area called Vallecas, the neighbourhood with the lowest average income in Madrid and since the credit crunch unemployment has soared. Many of the kids come from broken homes and have all sorts of behavioural problems. There are also a large number of gypsy children, often who are practically illiterate and only attend school as it is the condition for their parents to receive benefits. There is an armed guard at the gate, the school is so covered with graffiti that you can't even see out of the windows and during my first class a boy lobbed a pencil at me!! The school is tough and, without wanting to sound dramatic, I find it quite emotionally draining. The teaching I have witnessed in the school is some of the worst I have ever seen, it seems like most of the teachers have completely given up which is so sad for the children that do want to learn. It's going to be a challenge but I am determined to show them that learning english can be fun if taught well! It's going to be a long 5 months I feel!

Apart from the job situation nothing has really changed here... I went to my best school friend, Rozzy's, 21st birthday last weekend which was so much fun. I have finally signed up to a gym which has definitely cheered me up, I'm looking forward to my first spin class in this amazing room with 300 bikes. Also still enjoying running club, last night we all went in carnival themed fancy dress which was fun, if not the most comfortable experience! Am also going to attempt a 10k this weekend in preparation for the race in April which I signed up for in a moment of craziness. 

The spin room at the gym

Apart from that not much else to report really, think I am going to start to do some blogs on specific topics as my life is pretty uninteresting here and I feel doesn't make great blogging material! 

Better head off to my Spanish class, have a great weekend, Helena x

The 21st birthday girl, Rozzy!!

Meticulous creation of the all important gin and tonics by DJ Jaime!

Home from Home - Casa Longe de Casa

I am going to write in both languages today as although I am speaking lots of Portuguese, I don't feel like I am writing enough! Sorry for the mistakes in advance!

Maybe one of the reasons why I haven't felt homesick yet is because I'm basically working in a little British bubble in São Paulo. In my building there is not only the consulate but also the British Council, the BBC and Cultura Inglesa. So much Britishness in one building!

Talvez uma das razões pelas quais não tivesse sentido saudades do Reino Unido ainda é porque estou trabalhando, basicamente, numa pequena bolha britânica em São Paulo. No meu prédio não existe apenas o consulado, mas também o British Council, a BBC e a Cultura Inglesa. Tanta britanidade num só prédio!

The new lift in the consulate reception!
O novo elevador na recepção do consulado!

And this was the red carpet that greeted us on our recent "away day"!
E este foi o tapete vermelho que nos acolheu quando a gente chegou para nosso "dia fora!" recente.

The desks are littered with British flags and random objects that people have collected like this sculpture of Winston Churchill's head that sits opposite me!

As mesas estão repletas de bandeiras britânicas e objetos aleatórios que as pessoas tenham recolhido tal como esta escultura da cabeça de Winston Churchill que se senta à minha frente!

 All the meeting rooms are named after British authors and the office is decorated with very British modern art!

Cada sala tem um nome dum autor britânico e o escritório é decorado com arte moderna britânico!

We also have an endless supply of British chocolate brought by staff returning from business trips and we make sure to have regular tea breaks!

A gente tem também, uma fonte infinita de chocolate britânico trazido pela equipe ao retornar de viagens de negócios e a gente sempre assegura de fazer uma pausa de chá regularmente.

However most importantly, we have São Paulo's only British pub, the Queen's Head!! I sampled it for the first time last week after work for a friend's leaving drinks and it definitely beat all expectations. I thought it would be a bit gimmicky but it was very tastefully done!

Contudo, a coisa mais importante é que, a gente tem o único pub britânico de São Paulo, "The Queen's Head"! Eu fui pela primeira vez na semana passada depois do trabalho, para bebidas de despedida de uma amiga, e bateu as minhas expectativas. Eu pensei que seria um pouco artificial, mas acho que foi designado com muito bom gosto!

The selection of British drinks was impressive with a huge selection of ales and whiskies. However I don't drink beer and am not about to start and wasn't feeling that nostalgic so went for the much better value 2 for 1 Caipirinha deal!! I was very surprised by how much Brazilians liked Guiness though!

A selecção de bebidas britânicas era impressionante, com uma variedade enorme de cervejas e uísques. Entretanto, não bebo cerveja e não vou começar por sentir saudades, por isso escolhei a oferta de 2 para 1 Caipirinha! Fiquei muito surpresa como o quanto os brasileiros gostaram da Guiness!

The food was yummy and made a welcome change! There was a huge choice, of course including classics like cornish pasties and mini fish and chips!

A comida era gostosa e fez uma mudança bem-vinda! Teve uma escolha ampla, é claro, incluiu clássicos como "Cornish pasties" e mini "fish and chips"!

It was such a fun evening and somewhere I will definitely enjoy going back to, especially when I am feeling saudades!

Era uma noite divertida e é sem dúvida um lugar para onde gostaria de voltar, sobre tudo quando estou sentindo saudades!

My first work trip!

I had a relatively quiet weekend and finally managed to catch up on a lot of lost sleep.

On Saturday after a bit of shopping at the new JK Iguatemi Mall we headed to a bar in Vila Madalena called Pé de Manga. It was a cool place with lots of tables positioned around a man-made river and despite it being a bit chilly, it had great atmosphere.

Pé de manga (not my photo)

Also not my photo

Pé de manga drink

The menu was rock star themed! I chose a Ringo Starr which was basically a glorified steak sandwich and to drink had the house Pé de Manga; frozen mango with vodka. It is somewhere I will be definitely going back to, especially as it's at the end of my road! 

On Sunday, after the best night sleep I'd had for a while I headed to the gym. It's a bit of a trek from home but I decided to join as it's the one everyone at work uses so normally we all go together during the week. However on the way I managed to stumble across the Vila Madalena street fair and never made it! It was basically a huge street market with hundreds of stalls selling handmade stuff and food! Kind of annoyed I only brought my credit card as there were so many things I wanted to try!

The kind of thing you bump into on the way to the gym in Vila Madalena! Gente estranha!

In the afternoon I went to Steph's house (my sister's friend from uni)where we ate feijoada, it was seriously yummy and was so nice of her inviting me especially as it was her mum's birthday party! I headed home stuffed and allowed myself to watch a romcom in English, by Sunday evening my brain is always exhausted from speaking Portuguese!

Today I had my first work trip with a client. When I heard it was to the international airport I wasn't too fussed but it was actually pretty awesome. We got to go in the control tower which was an amazing experience and met some super important people, oh and we got to travel in the diplomatic range rover! It was a pretty fun day, I'm looking forward to the next one!

Tonight my flatmate Luiza arrived back from visiting her family in Rio. She must like me! I came back to a new mattress, curtains, lamp and beside table. Opening the boxes felt like Christmas! My feet no longer go over the end of the mattress! Life is good...

Até!!