Chris to Madrid!

Chris has just left after a lovely 5 day long visit; though it passed so quickly it hardly felt like any time at all! After only an hour in work on the Wednesday morning I hurried to Nuevos Ministerios to meet him on the platform (thankfully this time without falling flat on my face on an escalator...). We wandered around Sol for a bit and then found some huevos rotos for lunch in a little place with a TV showing a live feed from a chicken coop...exciting times. Chris had woken up at about 4am to get to the airport in time for his early flight so we just headed home that evening and relaxed (in case anyone's interested The Maze Runner is a pretty decent film).

Thursday morning was spent at the Museo Arqueológico Nacional which is only about a 20 minute walk away from my new flat up past the Prado Museum. It's really worth a visit if you're ever passing by as there's so much to see. We were there for almost 3 hours and had only just moved into the Middle Ages after passing through the Roman occupation of Spain and the Prehistoric galleries. They had a reconstruction of the first human Australopithicus Afarensis, or Lucy for short, which was brilliant as I'd heard a lot about her over the years but never seen her. She's much smaller than I imagined at only about a metre tall. There was also a replica of the Taung Child's skull with the marks left by the eagle that killed him all those millions of years ago still visible. The rest of the galleries were full of treasures and weapons from throughout history. My guidebook said that the museum would be free which it was for me with my student card but it turned out to be 3 euros for Chris.

That evening we made sure to arrive early at Café Central, the most famous Jazz café in Madrid, to bagsy seats. We turned out to be really lucky grabbing the only 2 bar stools left which meant we had a great view; right in front of the stage and over everybody elses' heads. We'd come to see Pardo & Carmona & Colina & El Bandolero who played a kind of flamenco jazz fusion which was incredible to watch. Pardo switched between sax and flute accompanied by guitar, double bass and with El Bandolero or "The Bandit" on drums.

 

 

 

 

It was a brilliant concert and we sat there in the dark happily munching giant salmon and brie tostadas. Café Central is a little pricey but definitely recommended if you want good jazz in a Spanish atmosphere - I didn't hear another English voice for the whole evening.

 

 

 

 

On Friday came the hour Chris had been waiting for...ParaPark! This concept originated in Budapest and has now spread to the rest of Europe (I know that there are centres in London and Paris at least). The idea is that you're locked into a room and are told to escape within a set time limit. The room is full of all sorts of mind puzzles, clues to solve, passwords to find etc that gradually let you come closer to finding the passcode for the door. It's so much fun! I won't say anything about what's actually in the room in case I spoil it for anyone but having to figure everything out as a team with the added time pressure is really exciting. When the door finally opened with 15 minutes to spare the feeling was incredible; a kind of mad relief and crazy exhilaration! You can play in teams of up to 5 people and there are 2 different rooms to choose from with different levels of difficulty. The place itself can be quite hard to find as there's no big sign outside; you just need to look for a mirrored door that has the ParaPark symbol on it in red paint and press the bell to the right side.

A quick snap of us (and assorted room decorations) that the lady took after we escaped:

After ParaPark we found a bar for a drink and ordered a couple of cocktails...both a bit of a failure. I ordered a Sex on the Beach but the barman made it with white rum instead of vodka which was disgusting while Chris ordered a Michelada. The World's GROSSEST cocktail. It was like a Bloody Mary at first but then after he'd poured the beer in it was just not drinkable. After a while we moved on to a bar that I'd heard about called The Passenger which was supposed to be made up to look like the inside of a train with screens showing passing countryside. It sort of worked but we weren't really impressed in the end; the screens weren't very good quality so it seemed a bit of a waste of time.

Next came the Templo de Debod a real ancient Egyptian temple moved to Madrid in the 1960s and now the best sunset watching spot in the city. We got there in time to see the sun sink behind the temple and although the sky was mostly ragged clouds it was still beautiful. A Trumpeter was leaning on the balaustrade looking out over the Palacio Real playing lazily along to a sound track while his little dog wagged his tail and tried to make friends with everybody that passed. It's definitely one of the most romantic places I've found in Madrid; perfect for the day before Valentine's Day. We also got to have a go on the slacklines that a group of people had strung up between the trees next to the temple. These are like giant stretchy tightropes that people walk along trying to balance and not fall off. It's really tricky!

Dinnner was traditional Spanish fair in La Bola. I ordered Arroz a la Madrileña and Chris had roast lamb which turned out to be the entire front leg of a lamb... hoof and all. He said it was delicious though.

Saturday was skiing day. We decided to visit the indoor ski slopes at Xanadú; a giant shopping and leisure centre on the outskirts of Madrid. It took us only about 20 minutes to get there by bus from Principe Pío. Chris was really good at skiing as he'd had lessons as a kid and been on holiday a few times. This was my first attempt and needless to say I was...less good. A particularly memorable moment was when I crashed head first into the opposite fence after having crossed the entire slope trying in vain to turn and failing massively. Unfortunately we didn't manage to get any photos as Chris' phone got too cold and refused to turn on. The slope is covered in real snow and has a proper ski lift to get you up to the top. I'm not sure how I feel about skiing now; on the one hand when you're doing it right and are speeding along it's brilliant but on the other hand when you're completely out of control and are heading for certain death it's bloody terrifying!!

Sunday was just a chill day. We met up with Cat and her boyfriend Matt, who was also visiting, for lunch in La Fragua de Vulcano a really good Spanish restaurant close to Plaza de Santa Ana near Sol. We wandered around afterwards and headed up to the restaurant floor of El Corte Inglés for mango and chocolate ice cream. Then Cat and Mat left us to try and see if they could hire a row boat on the lake in Retiro and Chris and I headed to a beautiful bar/restaurant that I'd found in Goya when out with a friend. We ended up dallying quite a bit too long and Chris had a mad dash to the airport; getting there after the gate had supposedly closed but thankfully still making it in time.

It was a bit of a rushed end to a lovely few days but it was brilliant fun from start to finish. The time passed so quickly it feels almost like I dreamt it but am now back in the routine of things here with work and YARPing to be getting on with. Next time I'll see Chris will be back in England over Easter and I can't wait!

Finding a Flat - Accommodation in Madrid

 

One of the first major things we have to worry about when embarking on a year abroad is where we're going to live. It might seem very daunting to start with but the process of finding a new home is fairly simple and there are plenty of different types of accommodation to choose from.

I know it can seem tempting but something I really wouldn't recommend is trying to sort out a new flat over the summer while you're still in the UK. In order to make sure you have the best experience possible it really is a good idea to wait until you arrive in Spain/Madrid so you can visit the flat before you agree to live there and give it a proper once over. What is definitely an essential summer holiday task is organizing a place to stay for while you are searching for a flat during the first phase of your time abroad. If you're lucky this could be the home of a family friend or relative who already lives in the city you're heading to but if you're like the majority of us it will end up being a hotel, hostel or homestay. Each of these options has its pros and cons but the one I really would recommend is a homestay.

During my first 3-4 weeks of living abroad I lived in a homestay with a Spanish lady called Isabel. The advantages of this were enormous. Firstly, it can seem like you're in a desperate rush to find a flat at first and that you're wasting your time in a hostel or hotel. Being in a homestay meant that I knew I was going to be there for around a month and that I could use that time to search for flats in a more relaxed way while still having an "authentic" spanish experience. Secondly, it can be really lonely, not to mention expensive, living in a hotel room on your own whereas I always knew that there would be someone at home to chat to in Spanish. Isabel also proved really helpful as on my first day she took me to the city centre to show me round and I could ask her any questions I might have about living in Madrid. For some people a homestay may be exactly what they want for the entirety of their year abroad; there are many different types of "family" to take you in from middle aged couples looking to rent a room to full on families with several kids and accompanying pets. For me however, I knew that I wanted to live with a group of people my own age and so set about finding a flat.

Getting Started - What You Will Need

The first thing that you will need in order to get started on your flat search is a phone that is set up to work abroad. See my previous post: Getting Started With a Spanish Mobile

I know it may seem scary that in your first week abroad you'll be expected to start talking to random spaniards on the phone but trust me this is the only way you'll ever start making progress with your search. It really isn't enough to fire off a set of whatsapp messages hoping people will get back to you - phone them up and organise a viewing then and there! (See advice on this below)

After you've got your phone sorted you need to find some flats that you're interested in viewing. There are plenty of places you can look to find adverts for available rooms.

1. www.idealista.com - this was my favourite website for flat searching. True it has its limitations but it's free to use, has a filtered search option for prices etc and has a map of the city that allows you to search in specific areas.

2. www.easypiso.com - this website was less useful but many friends have said it helped them. You create a little advert for yourself telling people who you are and what kind of flat you're looking for and wait for people to get back to you. Be warned you will be BOMBARDED with emails!

3. Paper Adverts - In Spain when people have an available room in their flat they often stick up little paper adverts on notice boards or lamp posts with a few details and their phone number to tear off. If you're studying at uni check the student notice boards regularly and, if you know whereabouts in the city you want to live, go for a wander through the streets noting down any adverts you find to call later.

4. Your "Network" - Make use of EVERYBODY you know when looking for a flat. You might be thinking that in the first couple of weeks you're unlikely to have a huge bunch of friends but I'm not just talking about your bosom buddies. Slip it into casual conversation with everyone you meet at work, uni or in social situations; a quick "I'm looking for a flat at the moment, do you know of any available ones in this area?" could prove very fruitful.

Contacting People

Once you've found a flat you think looks good and have a phone number you're itching to call, it can be helpful to write out a little script just to help you feel a bit more confident (I hope you don't think this next section is a little patronising but all I can say is that when I first arrived I would have liked a bit of help with this)

When Spanish people answer the phone they are likely to say "Sí", "Díme" or "Digame" and wait for you to speak.

First confirm who they are by saying something like "Hola ¿estoy hablando con ...........? once they've confirmed who they are just go straight in with explaining why you're calling, don't wait for them to say anything else...long phone pauses are awkward and dispiriting....

I've found a good phrase to begin with is -  "Hola, te llamo porque he visto tu anuncio para una habitación en idealista.com ¿la habitación todavía está disponible?

If it is, organize a viewing with something like "¿puedo venir a verla? or ¿podemos organizar una visita?

They'll often ask you your name and how long you're planning on being in Madrid (or the city where you are) so it's a good idea to have an answer prepared for general questions like this.

If you have any make or break questions for them this is the time to ask them, before you travel all the way to the viewing.

Viewings

Try to go with someone you know when viewing a new flat but often this is impossible or just not practical. If you go alone make sure you tell someone where you're going and when you'll be back.

Flat viewings are often pretty brief affairs, sometimes you can turn up at 5pm and be done by 5.10pm. This means it's perfectly feasible to organise several viewings in the same day to maximise your search.

Bear in mind that sometimes online pictures can be a bit deceiving. Don't be disheartened if you get to a flat you thought would be amazing and it turns out to be less than great - there are plenty more flats in the sea!

Contracts and prices etc.

In Spain finding a flat is a much more casual affair than in England. Some landlords don't have a contract for you to sign and ask for the rent each month in cash. This may seem pretty dodgy but it's fairly normal and it's up to you to decide whether you want to do this or not. Other landlords will ask you to sign a contract for however many months you're planning on being abroad. This is often fairly flexible though and as long as you tell them a month in advance that you're planning to leave (i.e. if you find a better flat or just don't like it there anymore) then you'll be able to get your deposit back and get out before the end of your contract. Some contracts are not this flexible, however, and it's up to you to make sure you ask before you sign to make sure you understand what you're getting into.

Personally I would not recommend signing a contract that you are unable to get out of with your deposit intact. You really don't know someone until you live with them and if after a couple of months you're not enjoying your situation it can be a bit of a blow to have to leave without your deposit (which is usually a month's rent).

In terms of prices there's something for everyone. I know that madrid is a capital city but at the moment I'm paying 300 euros a month plus about 25 euros of bills on top of that. True this is exceptionally cheap but on average you can expect to pay anything between 350 and 450 euros a month. There are more expensive rooms out there though for those with more luxurious tastes!

Your Flatmates

I know that the year abroad dream is to live in a flat with a group of lovely natives and become fluent in Spanish (or whatever language you study) in the shortest time possible. If you manage to find a flat like this then you're all set. If you don't, however, it really isn't the end of the world. Obviously it is a good idea to live with at least one spanish person to get some practice in but if the spanish dream is proving elusive it really is ok to live with other European or English students. All this means is that you're going to have to put a bit more effort into your free time. Go to language exchange groups, organise one on one intercambios, chat with your colleagues or uni students over coffee etc. If you really TRY to speak Spanish you will and the fact that the people you say "hey" to in the kitchen every morning are English won't make much difference.

And lastly.....

Things to note:

The spanish are fairly lax in their use of the words "chica" and "chico" which in our minds would suggest a person round about our own age or younger. Just be aware that a flat of 4-5 "chicos" could mean that some or all are over 30 (which may not be a bad thing - don't dismiss a flat just because the people are older they may be really nice!)

Be prepared to spend most of your free time in those first few weeks looking for a flat. Apparently the average time spent searching in Madrid is 18 days but this can stretch to much longer if you're only organising a viewing every couple of days.

If after some time in your new flat you've unfortunately decided that you don't like it and want to move, make sure you've sorted a new place before you tell your landlord that you want out. I cannot describe the sheer stress of the frantic search that you're forced to take on once you've got a deadline after which you would theoretically be on the streets (or more realistically in a hostel or hotel for a bit). JUST DON'T DO IT!! :)


I apologise for the length of this massive post! As always if you have any questions regarding accommodation or anything else to do with year abroad or Madrid feel free to leave them in the comments below.

Book Stalls - Calle de Claudio Moyano

On Sunday I went to visit a flat and then it was such a lovely day I thought I'd walk to Retiro and take a few photos. I'd passed by the Calle de Claudio Moyano book stalls the day before with Kasia my flatmate but hadn't had my camera with me so decided to go again. The weather was beautiful! After walking for a while I ended up with my jacket, cardigan, and scarf under my arm as it was so warm.

 

 

The Calle de Claudio Moyano has been likened to the area full of book stalls that lines the Seine in Paris with its many trestle tables and wooden sheds bursting with books. The street leads up in a diagonal line at the south west corner of Retiro park and is just a little way along from Atocha metro station so it's easy to find.

 

 

 

 

 

The books are mostly secondhand and in Spanish but many stalls have a small foreign languages section with English, French, German and Italian titles. There's a good mix of modern and older titles and there are definitely some gems to be found if you do a bit of digging; I even came across a Spanish copy of Richmal Crompton's Just William along with plenty of other children's books. Amongst piles of Spanish classics I found translations of the Lord of the Rings, Twilight and Bridget Jones' Diary. There are boxes and racks of film posters, old post cards, maps and newspapers though I would definitely say that this is a place for people that mainly have books in mind. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a Sunday when I visited so some of the stalls weren't open; I'll certainly be visiting again to pick up my next Spanish book to read. The prices are pretty reasonable with an average book being around 3-5 euros, though there are plenty to be found at less than that, and stall holders are often happy to offer you a deal if there are a few that you can't bear to be parted with. I'm so happy I've found this place; it's become one of my favourite spots in Madrid and the fact that it's right next to Retiro park doesn't hurt. I've also been hearing about a potential Book Fair that might take place in the city in the summer time so am definitely looking forward to that!

Navibus!

The Christmas lights in Madrid were all aglow and I was desperate to go on a photography spree when somebody at work told me about the Navibus. An open topped bus weaves its way in a big loop around the city passing all the main landmarks like Gran Vía, La Puerta de Alcala and Plaza de Cibeles. This being Madrid the tickets for a 50 minute round trip only cost 2 euros each! If it had been London I know we would have paid at least £10. Cat and I hopped up to the top deck all wrapped up in scarves and hats against the cold and I had my camera at the ready.

 

 

 I thought I'd try something a bit different and make a video this time so here goes:

 

 



 

 Afterwards we wanted to go for a hot chocolate to warm up and ended up walking past this lovely little book shop.

 

 

We were searching for a particular coffee shop that Cat had walked past before and thought looked really cool (apparently people were drinking out of glass jars...). But try as we might we couldn't find it and after getting turfed out of another café as it was closing time we started back towards the metro. After a few minutes, however, we found another place that was thankfully open and managed to order two cups of hot chocolate. In Spain when you ask for hot chocolate you are given a cup of melted chocolate (if you want the stuff we have in England you have to ask for Colacao) but that's exactly what we wanted after such a cold evening.

 

 

I apologise for the lateness of this post, we're already nearly into February, but I was having technical issues regarding the video...and I didn't want to leave it out :)

 

If any of you are in Madrid in December definitely make sure you take a ride on the Navibus! 

Nativity Scene (Belén)

Antonio the lovely portero, or door man, at work had built an incredible nativity scene in the building's foyer which I just had to show you.

 

 

 

It was enormous and covered in green moss which he spritzed with water every morning to keep it fresh. Along with the obligatory Jesus, Mary and Joseph there were lots and lots of tiny figures dotted around the landscape he had created.

 



 

 

 

 

 

Antonio had even added a river along with a tiny bridge, farms with hayricks and all the animals and birds he could cram in; the three wise men were depicted riding their camels under a starry sky

 

 

 

 

 



African Drumming Concert - Etnopercusión

I've now been back in Madrid for over two weeks and am back into the swing of things. What with flying home and meeting friends and family over the holidays I completely forgot about my blog so there are a couple of things I'll be uploading that may seem a bit out of date. The first is the African drumming concert that my friend Cat performed in. Both Annies and I met at the metro station and set off to find what we thought was going to be a concert hall but turned out to be a kind of bar/pub/club underground.

We waited for the show to start on a raised platform to the side of the dance floor, watching the crowd below us. The audience was made up of people of all ages and nationalities and judging by the eclectic nature of the show the organisers seemed to want to cater for everybody. There were crazy international folk dances (one involving a rather dodgy looking Israeli sequence with everyone in Jewish wigs and rubbing their fingers together indicating money...), an impromptu line dancing class that everyone was invited to take part in and at the end a chorus of the theme tune to the Lion King accompanied by ukuleles. Cat's drumming group took to the stage and I made sure I filmed it as I'd promised to try so that her family back home could watch too. I'm not sure about the quality of the video but I'll post it below so that you can all see as well:

We all had a great time and when I arrived back in Madrid after Christmas Annabel and I went to a free drumming class that each audience member was entitled to. After an hour and a half of frantic drum bashing we left feeling pretty dazed but happy and with the beats still reverberating in our heads.

Expocómic 2014

This last week has been jam packed with all sorts of interesting outings but I'll start off where it all began; last Sunday when I went to my first ever comic convention. Aurora from the creative group invited me along with her boyfriend and we arrived to stand in the drizzle to buy tickets. Inside the enormous space was filled with stall after stall selling comics and other merchandise. There was a videogame section with lots of consoles to play with and stands where people could pay to be made up into their favourite comic or manga character.

 

There were graphic artists doing demonstrations on stalls selling their work and other authors signing books and prints.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a cosplay competition going on in one corner of the convention with a crowd of people dressed up in fantastical costumes. Ironman won 2nd place in the individual competition:

 

 

 

While a manga character that I didn't recognise won first place:

 

 

There were a couple of Elsas and Annas from Disney's Frozen:

 

 



 

My favourites were the overall winners; a group dressed in brilliant oriental inspired outfits:

 

 

 

 

There were plenty of people wandering around in their costumes too:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really enjoyed it but was a little disappointed in some things. It's true that many different types of comic and graphic novel were represented in some way or another; from superheroes to manga and beyond, but I was shocked at the general oversexualisation of women. From the leaflet advertising the convention to the souvenir mugs and towels some stalls were selling, images of semi-naked, grossly exaggerated cartoon women were plastered everywhere. I've since learned that in Japan pornography in banned and that as a result many people resort to manga and other comics. Erotic images have their place but most of the time it just seemed totally gratuitous; the first pages of the convention guide begin with a cartoon strip of a girl getting up and getting ready to go out to visit the convention...fair enough. Except that the first page is devoted to 3 large cartoons of her bum, crotch and cleavage as she puts on her thong, tight leather trousers and crop top. There were plenty of families with young children dotted around the convention, what kind of message are we sending them if the most common images of women they see in comic books are all either minutely slim, totally naked japanese girls in sexually naive poses or Jessica Rabbit style manga sex objects? Of course not all comics or graphic novels portray women in this way but it seems sad that some artists seem to think that the only way to make a story interesting is to add some random naked girls.

 



 

All in all though I really enjoyed the convention; something's got to be said for a place where you can just sit and eat your lunch with a tail and nobody bats an eyelid...