Unfortunately this is my last weekend here as I fly home on Thursday. Apologies for the massive gap in time since I last wrote on here. Each weekend I´d start thinking about what I was going to write but then never get round to writing it. So this is going to be a compilation of the last three weeks. A very poor effort to only get round to doing this three times in six weeks! Quite shocking, but I guess it´s better than nothing.
Well three weeks ago was the Dad´s birthday so we went out for a meal to the local tapas restaurant. The restaurant is the business and I´m looking forward to Wednesday as they mentioned we´d probably go back there the night before I leave. The Dad´s quite keen on astronomy, one night we got his telescope out to look at the moon and the stars. It was awesome, fantastic to be able to see the moon perfectly through it and even more impressively we were able to see Jupiter and it´s satellites. Two weeks ago I went to Toledo, which is further south in the Castilla y Mancha region. I had to get up mega early to get a bus to Madrid then a train from Madrid to Toledo. It was full of tiny picturesque streets scattered with old churches and buildings. It also had one of Spain´s biggest rivers ´el dajo´ and many impressive ancient bridges over it. It was great but I spent the whole day getting lost despite having a map! lol.
I got back from Toledo late at night and as I´d set off early in the morning I didn´t see the family all day. Consequently, the next morning Ignacio decided to come into my room as soon as he woke up, I assume to check I was still there as he hadn´t seen me the day before. It made me laugh as he just opened the door, came in (waking me up in the process) saw I was there then walked out again. Unfortunately, he decided to keep this up and now comes in to see I´m there every morning. Although it was funny to begin with it has got a bit annoying as he wakes me up earlier than I need to wake up.
Two weeks ago on Tuesday my parents and brother came out to see me. They´d planned to come ages ago as they´d never been to Madrid. I had the day off to go to Madrid to meet them. On seeing me in the airport my Mum literally sprinted to me to give a massive hug. I was quite moved by her excitement to see me! We had a great time seeing Madrid together. We went to and inside the spanish equivalent of Buckingham Palace although the current spanish royal family don´t actually live there these days. On the Wednesday I had to come back to look after the kids so it was only a short time with them but it was definitely worth it.
Last weekend on Saturday I went to Madrid again for what I thought would be my last time. I went to a few museums, el Museo de America (all about South America) and the archeological museum which were both good. Later in the afternoon I went to see the bull ring in Madrid. When I got there they were advertising some kind of bull fight for the next night on the Sunday. Mainly out of curiosity and wanting to sample a part of traditional spanish culture I decided it was an opportunity that couldn´t be missed. Also helped by the fact it only cost five euros. So last Sunday after a trip to church and a quick swim and sunbathe, I bussed it back to Madrid to go the bull fight. It was quite an experience! I ended up on the front row against the barrier as close as possible to the action. There was quite an atmosphere with the crowd cheering the moves of the guys waving the red cloth at the bulls and literally risking their lives. When each bull is released into the stadium the speed at which it sprints across the stadium towards the guys waving the coloured cloth at it is pretty incredibly. I certainly wouldn´t want to get in the way of it! lol. The guys wind it up by waving at it then just as it gets close they hide behind wooden fences where the bull can´t reach them. Then guys on horses would come out and they´d poke the bulls with long spears, although at times the bulls would get so close they´d nearly throw the guys of the horses. A few more guys would wind up the bull some more and stick more pointed spears into it. Next the main guy would come out and show off his best moves with the bull desperately chasing the cloth that at the last minute would be pulled away. Eventually he´d kill the bull to the cheers of the crowd. I wouldn´t usually be very attached to animals having never had a pet yet even I felt quite harsh on the bulls as they were killed then dragged off across the stadium. I had to leave half way through to catch the last bus home. However, I saw three of the six bulls which was enough as it was starting to get a bit repetitive, with the same routine being used on each bull. I was glad I was able to go to experience what a typical bull fight´s like but I don´t think I´d go again.
This weekend I´ve stayed here to spend as much time as possible with the family before I go home on Thursday. Yesterday we went further into the mountains north of Madrid. We went to an old Monastery where Benedictine Monks still live today. It was really interesting. Apart from the fact that the Monk who gave us a tour round hardly pronounced what he was saying and I hardly understood a word (Alicia..literally he made my accent seem like the clearest ever ha) On the way home we went up to the highest point of a mountain pass which is a ski resort in the winter and also stopped to see a local dam and reservoir.
As for the kids, I´ve been continuing to teach Javier English and attempting to get the rascal Ignacio to do some work too. In the afternoons after we´ve worked I´ve taken some videos of them singing their favourite songs and just generally messing about. They should be great to look back on when I get back to England. Although as they know they´re being filmed it turns into a kind of circus as they end up acting even dafter than usual (which is something as they´re pretty crazy in general lol) One thing that really made me laugh the other day was the fact the kids asked their Mum if she´d buy them some hair gel so they can spike their hair up similar to the way I do mine! ha. When she gave them some a few nights later they both came running to me to show me their new gelled hair style! haha.
So unfortunately I´m going home on Thursday. Although I´m quite looking forward to going home and seeing everyone, in a way I don´t leave. There´s a lot of things I´m going to miss. First of all these characters with whom there´s never a dull moment. I´ve promised them I´ll come and visit them in the future and that when they´re older they can come and stay with me. Should be interesting to see how they turn out to be! lol.
Secondly, the weather..it´s literally been blazing hot sunshine every day for six weeks. It´s only rained once, which is quite something considering where I am is over 900 metres over sea level, the height of like the highest mountain in England.
The swimming and sunbathing everyday. You know you´ve made it in life when you can come home from work and dive straight into a refreshing pool every evening throughout summer like the parents here do!
The language..I could spend all day just listening to them babbling away. My Spanish has definitely improved which should definitely come in handy next year at uni.
The culture and the food..I love the food out here and I´ve surprised myself loads trying and liking most types of it. Sitting outside to eat every day is superb, especially at night under the moon and stars. It´s been great to see the way the Spanish live and literally being emersed in their culture.
So on the whole it was definitely a fantastic decision to come out here instead of wasting the summer at home doing absolutely zilch! I´ve gotta say thanks to Kirsty and Tom for telling me about aupairworld the website through which I organised it.
So that´s it! All that remains are three more days of looking after the kids, before a flight home at the awkward time of six in the morning on Thursday. Which may mean sleeping rough in the airport Wednesday night as I´ll need to check in at about four or five. The Dad, Alberto says he´ll take me to the airport early in the morning but I feel harsh as he has to work the rest of the day. Probably best that I catch the bus the night before but we´lll see what happens.
Sorry this has been a bit of an essay! Hope everyone´s having a great summer themselves. Looking forward to catching up with everyone to hear about what you´ve all been up to! Take care. Love Matt x x x
domingo, 10 de agosto de 2008
domingo, 20 de julio de 2008
Nearly 3 weeks in..
Well well been here nearly three weeks now, can´t believe how fast it´s gone! Everything´s still going well. I´ve just about managed to keep the kids under control. They´re both rascals! They don´t listen to a word you say and even worse when you say or pronounce things wrong (like I often do) they just laugh at you. But there´s never a dull moment with them. There´s times when I should be telling them off and I can´t help but laugh. Some of the things they do and come out with are hilarious. They asked me the other day if I was coming back next summer and they both seemed quite disappointed when I said I probably wouldn´t be!
I had a great time last weekend. My Dad came out to Madrid so I went to stay with him for the weekend. He´d found some cheap last-minute flights and claimed it was easier to bring a few things I needed instead of sending them by post. He blatantly just wanted some sun to top up his tan. He wasn´t impressed when it was cloudy on the first day he was here!! haha. It was great to see him and we had a quality time together. It was good to have some company to see some more of Madrid instead of trekking round on my own. It also meant I got to see what Madrid´s like at night as I´d usually have to get a bus home in the evening. The family here recommended a few very Spanish tapas bars in a lively part of Madrid. One in particular was fantastic, I swear we were the only non-Spanish people in there, the atmosphere was buzzing and the food was as they say out here ´riquisima´!
I´m just relaxing this weekend, mainly sunbathing and swimming..it´s hard life here! lol! Yesterday some friends came round and in the afternoon we had a bit of a dinner party. Typically Spanish, we had Paella, which was a bit of a challenge for me as I´m not the biggest fan of seafood. I got through it..just! I could have sat there for hours just listening to them all chatting away in Spanish, although I didn´t understand a lot of it. At the end of the meal we had this unreal slushy punch kind of thing. It was gorgeous, definitely going to find out what was in it and attempt to make it when I get home. I also decided to try out the local church this morning which was an interesting experience, might go again next weekend.
The family next door, with the daughter and the mum I´d been speaking to each day, have now gone on holiday. Which is a bit of a shame as they were dead nice! And Niki..although the daughter is quite good looking (very spanish with dark brown hair) she´s only 16 so just a bit too young! lol. So now they´ve gone it means I´ll have more free time in the mornings, while the kids are at their summer camp, to sunbathe, swim and maybe watch a few films in Spanish.
Next weekend I´m planning to go to Toledo, just south of Madrid, which is supposed to be worth seeing. Looking forward to it.
Much love x x x
I had a great time last weekend. My Dad came out to Madrid so I went to stay with him for the weekend. He´d found some cheap last-minute flights and claimed it was easier to bring a few things I needed instead of sending them by post. He blatantly just wanted some sun to top up his tan. He wasn´t impressed when it was cloudy on the first day he was here!! haha. It was great to see him and we had a quality time together. It was good to have some company to see some more of Madrid instead of trekking round on my own. It also meant I got to see what Madrid´s like at night as I´d usually have to get a bus home in the evening. The family here recommended a few very Spanish tapas bars in a lively part of Madrid. One in particular was fantastic, I swear we were the only non-Spanish people in there, the atmosphere was buzzing and the food was as they say out here ´riquisima´!
I´m just relaxing this weekend, mainly sunbathing and swimming..it´s hard life here! lol! Yesterday some friends came round and in the afternoon we had a bit of a dinner party. Typically Spanish, we had Paella, which was a bit of a challenge for me as I´m not the biggest fan of seafood. I got through it..just! I could have sat there for hours just listening to them all chatting away in Spanish, although I didn´t understand a lot of it. At the end of the meal we had this unreal slushy punch kind of thing. It was gorgeous, definitely going to find out what was in it and attempt to make it when I get home. I also decided to try out the local church this morning which was an interesting experience, might go again next weekend.
The family next door, with the daughter and the mum I´d been speaking to each day, have now gone on holiday. Which is a bit of a shame as they were dead nice! And Niki..although the daughter is quite good looking (very spanish with dark brown hair) she´s only 16 so just a bit too young! lol. So now they´ve gone it means I´ll have more free time in the mornings, while the kids are at their summer camp, to sunbathe, swim and maybe watch a few films in Spanish.
Next weekend I´m planning to go to Toledo, just south of Madrid, which is supposed to be worth seeing. Looking forward to it.
Much love x x x
domingo, 6 de julio de 2008
First week..
After being inspired by all the other blogs, I´ve finally got round to doing one myself. Not sure I´ll get round to writing often, probably each weekend, but that should be enough to keep everyone up to date. Apologies in advance for my writing, which is usually pretty awful!
I arrived Tuesday lunchtime so I´ve been here nearly a week now. Mostly spent the week settling in, getting to know the family, who are dead nice, and getting used to the routine. The kids are both absolute characters. Ignacio, the youngest, spent the whole first evening taking the mic out of me, pointing to everything saying ´in english?´ Spent a lot of time with the children, mostly playing outside, playing football, tennis, board games, swimming. Went out for a meal on Friday as it was Ignacio´s birthday. We went to a tapas restaurant, which was great. I´ve been teaching English to a neighbour´s daughter each day and her mum spends time helping me with my Spanish. My Spanish is coming on nicely. I´ve also been teaching Javier, the oldest of the two lads, English each day.
On the whole, the first weeks gone ok. It´s been a lot harder than I expected. Think I came thinking it´d be a breeze. Thinking that I´d just play a bit of football with the kids, relax by the pool and get a nice tan whilst speaking a bit of Spanish. I hadn´t properly thought through what looking after a four, just turned five year old, and a seven year old entailed. So the first few days were a bit of a shock to the system. The random tantrums drive me up the wall! lol. But I´m getting more used to everything all the time. Tomorrow´s the first day I look after the children completely on my own, as the mum had last week off work to help me to settle into things. Should be interesting!
The town where I´m staying is nice, a very typical Spanish village in the mountains just north of Madrid. This is the family´s summer home, they live in Madrid for the rest of the year. The weather´s good, not too hot as there´s usually a fair wind as we´re in the mountains.
I went to Madrid yesterday, as I have the weekends free. It was quality, although it was ridiculously hot. Typical me..one of the first things I did there was go and see Real Madrid´s football ground! ha. Which was pretty impressive. Then I went into the centre and saw some of the main sights. Seems like a great city. There´s a bus from my town which takes about an hour and a half, so I´m going to try to go most weekends to see as much of it as possible.
Guess that´s about it for now. Hope everyone´s good and having a great summer themselves!
x x x
I arrived Tuesday lunchtime so I´ve been here nearly a week now. Mostly spent the week settling in, getting to know the family, who are dead nice, and getting used to the routine. The kids are both absolute characters. Ignacio, the youngest, spent the whole first evening taking the mic out of me, pointing to everything saying ´in english?´ Spent a lot of time with the children, mostly playing outside, playing football, tennis, board games, swimming. Went out for a meal on Friday as it was Ignacio´s birthday. We went to a tapas restaurant, which was great. I´ve been teaching English to a neighbour´s daughter each day and her mum spends time helping me with my Spanish. My Spanish is coming on nicely. I´ve also been teaching Javier, the oldest of the two lads, English each day.
On the whole, the first weeks gone ok. It´s been a lot harder than I expected. Think I came thinking it´d be a breeze. Thinking that I´d just play a bit of football with the kids, relax by the pool and get a nice tan whilst speaking a bit of Spanish. I hadn´t properly thought through what looking after a four, just turned five year old, and a seven year old entailed. So the first few days were a bit of a shock to the system. The random tantrums drive me up the wall! lol. But I´m getting more used to everything all the time. Tomorrow´s the first day I look after the children completely on my own, as the mum had last week off work to help me to settle into things. Should be interesting!
The town where I´m staying is nice, a very typical Spanish village in the mountains just north of Madrid. This is the family´s summer home, they live in Madrid for the rest of the year. The weather´s good, not too hot as there´s usually a fair wind as we´re in the mountains.
I went to Madrid yesterday, as I have the weekends free. It was quality, although it was ridiculously hot. Typical me..one of the first things I did there was go and see Real Madrid´s football ground! ha. Which was pretty impressive. Then I went into the centre and saw some of the main sights. Seems like a great city. There´s a bus from my town which takes about an hour and a half, so I´m going to try to go most weekends to see as much of it as possible.
Guess that´s about it for now. Hope everyone´s good and having a great summer themselves!
x x x
Suscribirse a:
Entradas (Atom)