Home Sweet Madrid!

I'm sorry for my lack of posts in the last two weeks! I have been enjoying myself so much here in Madrid that I forget to post. Over the last two weeks I have been busy getting into the rhythm of classes and homework. Classes are structured differently here and I am finding that my professors are not very straight forward with instructions.This might just be due to the language barrier though.

Also during these last two weeks I started tutoring English. Once a week, Allie and I take the metro about 40 minutes away to tutor two children in English for an hour. The little girl that I work with is absolutely adorable. When she speaks in English she speaks with a British accent. This is because they attend an English school, where all their teachers are from England. This can cause problems and difficulties sometimes, because the way that I might pronounce something is completely different than the way they have heard it before, and they get really confused. I really enjoy tutoring English since it is great practice for my future. I love watching her make the transitions between the languages and seeing her really enjoy learning and speaking English. Just from working with one kid for one hour a week reassures me that I am studying and pursuing the right path! It also helps that I get paid! :D

Last weekend was very calm! I unfortunately was sick with a cold, so I spent most of the weekend reading and relaxing. On Sunday, Carolyn and I decided that we needed to explore a part of Madrid that we hadn't seen yet. While wandering around old Madrid, we ended up finding the "Mercado de San Miguel". The market is very touristy, but it did have some great dried pineapple (one of my favorites)! We also went to Retiro, since there is always something new and exciting to see there! While in search of the Crystal Palace (which we never found) we wandered into two beautiful gardens, saw some peacocks and enjoyed the weather while it was still warm.

It is now officially fall in Madrid and I love it!! According to my Senora, this year has been really strange weather wise in Madrid. She said that it should have been raining for the last month. But instead we have only had one day of drizzle, not even rain, in the last two months that I have been here. However, it looks like that is going to change this week. I feel as though I am getting spoiled with the weather here, I mean I did get an extra month and a half of summer! It is going to be a huge shock to get back to Chicago in December.

Con mucho amor,
Elizabeth :D