My first visit to the doctor in Spain

Yesterday I went to the doctor for the first time in Spain (not the first time outside of the US though, as I have been lucky enough to get sick many times in South America). It was very interesting because there were many similarities but also many differences. The first HUGE and most notable difference is that I didn't pay anything (not a penny) because Spain as a socialized healthcare system. Because of that I could have went to any public health clinic but my program provides us with private insurance so I went to a private clinic near my house. My roommate helped me call to make the appointment earlier in the day because I virtually had no voice and when I arrived at 7:30pm (much later than any private clinic that I know would be open in the US) they of course said they had no record of my appoint. Welcome to Spain. Nonetheless, they let me wait and since it was the end of the day I didn't have to wait long for them to work me in because I just went after their last appointment. So I only waited about 15 minutes until the doctor came and got me. Another big difference - there were no nurses and they did not take any of my regular stats such as weight, temperature, etc. and didn't even ask me anything about my medical history (he did at least ask if I had any allergies before giving me my prescription). He just took me into a room that was the combination of an office and an examination room. So first he had me sit at his desk and skipping any sort of small-talk, acquaintances or introductions (I didn't even know his name) he just said "Ok what's wrong with you?" and had me tell him about my symptoms. Then he had me move to the examination table (which was identical to what we have in the US) for an examination. He listened to me breathe about 27 times on each side of my back, looked briefly down my throat (which was my primary reason for coming) and didn't even have me say "aaaaaaaahhhhh" so I'm not sure how he really saw anything. Then without telling me what I had he just handed me a prescription and said goodbye. I of course asked what was wrong with me and he said "Oh you have a virus that is going around..." Thanks for the elaborate info. So for all of you who think face time with the doctor during an appointment in the US is short, should appreciate it more. I mean it was okay since I had already begun to feel better and the only reason I actually went to the doctor is because it was free and because I needed a doctor's note to justify my absence at school but it definitely left me desiring a little more interaction and information. Note: The health system in Spain is good and I'm sure there are much better doctors than this guy out there.

OU/TEXAS weekend!!!! Sooner Reunion in Madrid!!!

Being the girl that organized OU/TEXAS weekend for 88 people last year, I could not just sit passively in Spain and watch this essential Sooner weekend pass-by without a proper celebration. So once again I put my event-planning skills to work and sent out an invitation to all of the Sooners who were part of the infamous trip last year and happen to live or be studying in the same country/continent as me. Nine of mine (6 from Spain, 1 from France and 2 fellow Americans) and Jordan's friends came to stay at our apartment for the weekend. We ate American food, we partied like Sooners and we watched the game (which luckily being thousands of miles away didn't impact our weekend quite as much as it does if you are actually in Dallas). We were 11 crazy sooner fans who took Madrid by storm, decked out in our OU gear.

Here we are in Plaza Mayor on Saturday. It is really funny to walk around a city in Madrid dressed in matching clothes. Since there are so many tourists, we had several people approach us to ask about the game or say boomer sooner. And we even got in a yelling fight with some texas fans in a park.

In front of the Templo de Debod (an Egyptian temple in the Park of the West). This is where we heard some clearly demented individuals yell "Texas Fight" and then the battle was on!

Watching the game in my apartment.

Trying to make cookies and pizza in my ghetto kitchen. See the butane-filled orange container? That is what we put in front of the oven to keep it closed. Would our apartment pass any level of safety test? I think not.

Glo, Sus and I in Retiro Park on Sunday. We packed a picnic and enjoyed the beautiful weekend weather (the last that we would have for this season in Madrid).

Busy Busy Busy

So I haven't updated in awhile because my life is crazy busy. Basically I wake up at 6:45 everyday, make a 1.5 hour commute to my school, teach from 9 to 5 and then give private english lessons to various students and adults after school until 9:30 or 10. Then I commute back home just in time to eat, shower, and sleep!!!! And this schedule is accented with 4.5 hours of Master classes on Tuesday and Thursday nights and homework and lesson planning. So basically by the time the weekend rolls around I don't want to do anything except for sleep. And not talk to children, haha.

The schedule has been a little bit tough for me the first couple of weeks (I basically had a complete breakdown which was provoked by a combination of sleep deprivation, overextending myself, and no personal time) but I'm getting more used to it now and I have found ways to make it a bit more livable. I talked to the headmaster of my school because I knew I couldn't survive a year at the pace I was going and we found some ways to change my schedule in order to better use my time. Before I had a lot of random short breaks during the day that did not count towards my hours but that required me to be at the school and did not allow me to get anything productive done. He is a very nice guy and he moved my Tuesday classes to Monday and Friday so now I don't have to go to Alcalá (the town outside of Madrid where I teach) on Tuesdays!!! Having one day where I don't have to do the awful commute and can actually get things done such as going to the bank and the grocery store (bc any other day I don't get home before 10 and everything is closed) is amazing! It makes a huge difference! I am much happier!

And I do really love teaching!!! Especially 3rd-6th grade!!! I like pre-school and high school too but middle school is just absolutely, 100% horrible!! I dread every single class I have to go to with those punks!! They just have the worst attitudes and grrr...I'm trying to find something to like about them but so far I've got nothing! Luckily only 4 out of my 18 classes are with them so the rest of the time I am very happy. I have so many cute kid stories...I'll start trying to write one per day because they are really just precious and so funny. I also really really enjoy teaching private lessons. I can just do so much more one on one plus the kids I teach are some of my favorites! I teach a 4 year old, 2 6 years olds, 3 10 year olds, 1 university student, and 2 adults (all at different times of course). The 10 year olds are particularly fabulous because they are smart and will do absolutely anything to get a sticker (which is what I use to motivate them). I'm telling you these kids will do anything for a Hannah Montana, Jonas Brothers, or High School Musical sticker. And my favorite little girl Laura almost hyperventilated when she found out I was a cheerleader in high school (cheerleaders are a uniquely American phenomenon which the rest of the world is fascinated by) and have an American Girl doll. So basically we get along just great!!

What keeps me doing during some of my longer days are the amazing weekends I spend in Madrid. There are no words to explain how amazing my roommates are and how much fun we have together! Basically we are so lucky because putting 7 strangers from 5 different countries together could potential be disastrous but for us it is the magic formula!!

Here are my roommates and I (starting from the left): Jordan from Calvin, Oklahoma; Gigi from Milan, Italy; me from the one and only K-Town; Gaby from France/Malaga, Spain; Saila from Finland; and Simón from France. Not pictured because she was sick is Maite who is from Bilbao, Spain. The amazing OU flag hanging in the background is because it was OU/TEXAS weekend in my apartment (more details about that amazing event to come later).

And I have met some really great people in my program as well who I have become good friends with! My favorite weekend activity so far is the "Sunday Food Club" which consists of a group of friends from my program who all love food (like me) and every Sunday we find a new restaurant and have an amazing meal. Its the only time I get to eat out and have a delicious, full meal. I love it!

The delicious Peruvian meal (Lomo Saltado) we ate a couple Sundays ago...bah I get hungry just looking at it.

My friend Amanda and I the next Sunday at an amazing Mexican restaurant called La Panza es Primera. Oh the nachos were sooo good! Mexican food is the thing I miss the most from the US so this meal was long overdue.

Amanda and I hanging out in Buen Retiro, the big park in Madrid. We had a picnic and were enjoying the perfect October day.

A group of friends from my program. We all went to Alcalá for a big festival celebrating Miguel de Cervantes. Fun night!

Madrid was a candidate city for the 2016 Olympics. Sadly we came in second (same as for the 2012 Olympics) but the Sunday before they announced the results there was a huge rally to show public support for the Olympics. There was a concert of a famous Spanish singer and lots of street performers and music, etc. It was really fun. A group of friends from my program went and we were joined by about 500,000 other people in a plaza that is very near to our apartment.

Our group in the yellow section.

We kept walking and ended up in the red section. Here we are using our colors to shield ourselves from the rain. The less than perfect weather didn't keep anyone from coming out to show their support for the olympics.

We finally ended up in the blue section where we belonged (note the color of all of our clothing).

The 500,000 people and their colors in the Plaza de Cibeles. We were in the very front of the blue section near the stage.

I know this post has been a little bit of everything. As always I will say that I will try to update more often but that always ends up being more difficult than I thought. Currently the only reason I had time to update this is because I am at home sick instead of at school. I have a very sore throat and fever. I am the 4th of the 7 people who live in my apartment to have the same symptoms. I am going to the doctor in a few hours so I will let you know if it is Swine Flu (just kidding). I am actually starting to feel a bit better but I'm still basically unable to talk and since I missed school I need to go to the doctor. If I felt like this in the US I don't think I would go to the doctor but since it is free (thanks to socialized healthcare) I will go. And don't worry Mom and Marmie, my roommates are taking good care of me. Maite came in to help me call the doctor since I couldn't really talk and Simón gave me some Vitamin C tablets to put in my water and they have all offered to do whatever I need. So I guess if I have to be sick in a foreign country without my mom at least I have 6 other people to help care for me.