My Year Abroad in Photos

I've been back in England for nearly 2 months now and it's finally hit me what with coursework results, reading lists being released and thoughts of future dissertations that my year abroad is well and truly over...

Skimming through all my hundreds of photos trying to pick my entries for Southampton uni's photo competition it struck me what a truly amazing, life-changing year I've had. I couldn't have been happier with how my year turned out. There were tough times of course, times when I couldn't be bothered with the whole bloody thing, but there were also countless moments when I felt truly happy and proud of myself.

Who knew a year ago that I'd manage to move to another country, find myself a place to live, talk myself into two jobs, take up an instrument, make some truly fantastic friends and travel the length and breadth of Spain all using my second language??! Some of you have been with me through it all, whether via this blog or otherwise, and I want to thank you for helping to make my year abroad in Madrid what it was - absolutely incredible!

The rest of this post is made up of photos of some of the most memorable moments from my time away. Spain is a fantastically varied country with some of the most beautiful buildings, crazy people and gorgeous views I've ever encountered; I hope this comes through in my photos.

My first night - Alone in the dark, peering out of the window at the torrential rain and wondering what on earth was going to happen next...

Getting to know my homestay host Isabel and starting to feel a bit "Spanish"

My first visit to the beautiful Retiro park - One of my favourite places throughout the rest of my time in Madrid

Discovering the Claudio Moyano Bookstalls - Just another little thing that added to the magic of my year away

Running down the escalator to the station platform to meet my boyfriend Chris for the first time since I'd gone away after 7 weeks apart. This photo is actually from a later visit as for those first few days together I forgot all about my camera while we explored the city

Watching the famous Jorge Pardo in Madrid's Cafe Central - From this moment on Jazz really caught my imagination

Moving to my new flat in Embajadores (finally escaping my demon of a flatmate!) and meeting my new year abroad pals.

 Annabel's 21st birthday at Teatro Kapital - A hilarious night of crazy dancing at Madrid's most infamous nightclub

A Trip to Toledo - My first trip out of Madrid, a fairytale castle, and the start of my insatiable need to see more of Spain...

The arrival of spring! - After a cold, dark winter the start of the warm spring days along with the almendro and cerezo flowers made me look forward to the heat of summer for the first time

Being dwarfed by El Acueducto de Segovia - One of the most impressive structures I've seen in Spain

Leaving the museum where I'd worked for the last 6 months and not having a clue what to do next - One of the most stressful times of my year abroad...

Arriving in Granada and seeing that the Spain I'd always dreamed of was real - Women in frills and men on horseback

The Alhambra and the arabic quarter being as spell-binding as I'd hoped

Staring in awe at the incredible floral displays of the fiesta de los patios in Córdoba - My favourite Spanish festival  

 Witnessing the legendary beauty of a royal Andalucían garden in May

Standing in Sevilla's Plaza de España at sunset watching the stone turn gold and the fountains flash silver

Starting work at Casa del Libro in Gran Vía - After about a month I had a moment where I felt exactly "right" and happy. Here I was walking out into the sunshine after my shift, heading home to my flatmates, shouting goodbye to my colleagues after spending the morning working on the customer service desk in a shop on the Spanish equivalent of Oxford Street. I would never have believed how far I've come when I arrived in October.

Looking out over the bay in San Sebastián - Great scenery, great food and great company

Lying in the shade in Retiro park for the last meetup of the chicas before we all started to go our separate ways at the end of our time in Spain

Sitting on the rooftop of the Circulo de Bellas Artes, drink in hand, watching the sun set over the Madrid skyline in the last week before I flew home - what a year it has been!

It sounds cheesy but my time away has made me the person I am today; much more confident in myself and ready for another challenge. Madrid has left me with a craving for jamón, a love of Jazz, a horde of new pals and a strong desire to see more of the world. Not to mention a significant improvement in my Spanish. If you're looking forward a little warily to your year abroad or even umming and aahing over whether to set off on one; just go! It'll certainly be the most interesting, challenging, unpredictable and life-changing year you'll have had so far.

To see more of the photos I took of all the wonderful things I saw and did during my year abroad follow me on instagram @madridadrift (find the link at the top right of the page)

Taking Up an Instrument Abroad - My Clarinet Adventure!

In the last month of my second year at uni Evan Christopher, the famous clarinetist from New Orleans, and his band came to play at the Turner Sims concert hall on campus. As an anniversary treat my boyfriend and I went along and it was on that evening that my burning desire to play jazz clarinet came into being! After borrowing a friend's clarinet over the summer to enjoy a lovely birthday present of 4 lessons, I took the plunge and bought a second hand instrument of my own. Nestled in blue velvet my clarinet was then stowed in my suitcase to end up many miles away in Madrid.

The first few weeks of my time away were pretty hectic what with finding my way around the city, starting work and generally adapting to a life lived entirely in Spanish. Soon, though, I was eager to get going with my clarinet and did a quick google search to find my first teacher; Marcos. On a freezing cold November evening I walked the 30 mins from my new flat to Lavapies. This barrio is one of the poorer parts of Madrid and many immigrants have set up home here. During the day it's buzzing with colour and life; mothers play with their children, African drumming groups sit on walls jamming away while saris and sequins hang in shop windows.

At night, however, it's a different story... In the dark it takes on quite a sinister feel and I was glad when Marcos eventually turned up; albeit an hour late. A short, dark-haired young man with an impressive ponytail and a bouncing walk, he led me up the many flights of stairs to the flat his friend had lent him for the evening's lesson. (I hasten to add that I had let a great deal of people know where I was and what time I would be back - I wasn't taking any chances!)

I spent one of the most bohemian evenings of my life in that flat. After clearing the tiny sofa of its debris (magazines, clothes, an ash tray etc.) we began the lesson. It was news to me that the Spanish have different names for the musical notes than we do. Instead of A B C etc I was suddenly dealing with la, si, do, re, mi, fa and sol. After a long rambling speech about how the world of Jazz was a paradise that I had to get to by breaking down a huge metaphorical stone wall Marcos asked me to improvise for him. Improvise?? I tooted a few notes and saw him wince. He then asked if I minded if he smoked and we spent more or less the rest of the evening looking out over the rooftops and discussing how beautiful the moon was, how cats were the cleverest pets and the secrets of Madrid's incredible music scene. After explaining that this first lesson was free, he let me out into the icey night and I hurried home to my nice warm bed.

 

 

Unsurprisingly I didn't organise a second lesson... I wanted something a little more structured, something that involved actually playing the clarinet rather than sitting about smoking moodily and rhapsodising endlessly about jazz. My next teacher, Ricardo (pictured above with me), was just right. Luckily he only lived a couple of streets away and from my first lesson with him I felt like I was really learning something. Having worked as a music teacher in England for many years he was able to conduct our lessons in Spanish but use the English names for the notes. We started out playing pieces from my beginner's book and then later on he gave me the sheet music for a tango and easy blues piece. He was always very patient and understanding, even when I'd forgotten to practice...  and I began to really look forward to my hour's lesson every week. Having something regular in my diary helped me keep track of my time abroad and meant that if I'd had a bit of a rubbish morning Spanish-wise I knew that I'd have a good opportunity for conversation practice later. Ricardo was always jetting off to Berlin or London at the weekends to play in concert so we had plenty to chat about and I learnt lots of new musical vocabulary.

After having a lesson a week for around 6 months, minus holidays etc, I feel like I'm really making progress with my clarinet. Going from nothing to being able to play more or less any piece in my book (after a bit of practice) is a great feeling and having done it in Spanish only makes me feel more proud of myself.You're unlikely to ever have more free time to take up new hobbies or learn something new than while on your year abroad - take advantage of the time while you can!

Top Tips For Learning an Instrument Abroad

• Finding a teacher is obviously easier in a big city but don't despair if you're in a smaller town. Search online, on notice boards at uni or in local social centres and ask around - you may just strike gold.
• The teacher you have is of course the most important thing when learning something new. It's up to you what kind of teaching you favour but make sure to be safe. Whether you're taking lessons from a friend at uni or have found a teacher online make sure people know where you are and what time you'll be back.
• If you don't already have your own instrument then check out your uni's music department or local music shop. Often they have instruments available for rent.
• Prepare! Once you know what kind of instrument you want to learn it's a good idea to memorise some of the vocab you'll be using in French/Spanish etc. It just makes everything easier later on.
• Have a think about what kind of music you want to play. This is one of the first questions a new teacher is likely to ask you and it's so much easier for them if you say you like blues or country, for example, rather than just shrugging and saying "oh anything...". You're also more likely to enjoy practicing your new instrument if you're playing music you love.
• Have fun! Don't make this another thing to worry about while you're away. There's absolutely no pressure to continue with lessons if you're not enjoying yourself. Maybe take a break, find a different teacher or just grudgingly accept that this instrument isn't for you.

Happy Playing!

For those interested in Clarinet or Saxophone lessons in Madrid here are Ricardo's email address and website: fricard89@hotmail.com, http://www.ricardotejero.com/.

Córdoba - La Fiesta de los Patios

The second stop on our Andalucía trip was Córdoba. I remember seeing pictures of La Mezquita (Córdoba's giant Mosque-Cathedral) back in a Spanish lesson in year 8. Then while I was working at the Museo Sorolla here in Madrid one of the staff told me about the huge flower festival that takes place there in May and I was desperate to go!

After only a two hour bus journey from Granada, Chris and I arrived and found our new home for the next couple of days. It was just a family house but had a lovely patio of its own and a sweet little old Spanish lady to show us in.

 

 

 

 

We were starving so headed out for some food. Following a small procession and the smell of incense through the streets from the small church at the end of our road we came across a Roman Temple...

 

 

...and its resident cats:

 

 



 

The streets around the temple are full of little bars and we had a lovely evening that ended in a Jazz Café on the way home.

 

 



The next morning the search for Patios began! La Fiesta de los Patios lasts for several weeks throughout May and is one of the prettiest festivals around. Families fill the patios of their houses with as many flowers as they can fit in and set water features and flamenco soundtracks going ready for the public. This was the first one we saw, complete with terrapins intent on escape...

 

 

 

 

The next one we found is definitely one of my favourites from the whole two days:

 

 

 

Next stop that morning was La Mezquita which is down in the old jewish quarter of the city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The building has been in turns a Mosque and a Cathedral and then both. Nowadays it serves as a Catholic Cathedral and the moorish architecture blends seamlessly into the Christian half.

 

 

 

 

After La Mezquita we hopped over the Guadalquivir river and across the Puente Romano or "Roman Bridge" for a quick drink in the shade.

 

 

 



 

 

After lunch we headed to the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos which is just a little way along from the Mezquita.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can also go underground to see the Arabic baths:

 

 



 

 

The view from the roof takes in the Caballerizas Reales or Royal Stables and the Alcázar's gardens.

 

 

We popped into the stables a little later and saw them exercising the horses:

 

 

 



The gardens of the Alcazár are just like all gardens in Andalucía in May; absolutely lovely:

 

That evening we just wandered about and went for a meal of roast lamb at a restaurant called El Rubio. The sun was setting and the city looked beautiful in the dusk.

 

There were lots of happy geckos scampering about the restaurant's lamps:

 

 

 

 

The next day we devoted to seeing the rest of the patios. I'd heard that the best ones were to be found in the Judería (the Jewish Quarter) and down by the Alcázar so we followed the map we picked up at a stand in the centre. La Fiesta de los Patios is definitely my favourite Spanish festival so far - I have never seen so many gorgeous flowers!

 

 

I'm so glad I was able to make it to Córdoba for the festival as I've been desperate to go for months. The city is typically Spanish; all cobbled streets, whitewashed buildings with coloured shutters and tiny churches. If you go anywhere in Spain next year make it Córdoba in May - you won't regret it!