I’ve been living in Madrid for exactly one month today, and I cannot believe how quickly time has flown by. It’s a good reminder that the next nine months will also pass by quickly–the thought of leaving this country is already making me sad…but, here are some observations I’ve made in the four glorious weeks that I’ve lived here.

Spaniards are the nicest people I’ve ever met. Of course, you run into your occasional unpleasant person, but that’s true everywhere you go. For the most part, everyone I’ve met has been warm, friendly, encouraging, and seemingly pleased at my feeble attempts to communicate with them. They also stare. A lot. It’s not considered rude, it’s just that they are interested in you. I’ve learned to just stare, and smile, back.

Time has slowed down here. Everybody moves at their own, slow pace, and there isn’t any of the frantic rushing around that I’ve found in the U.S. My first couple of times going out for lunch, I was thrown off guard by how easy it was for people to spend hours just sitting around, with or without food. I felt antsy, this weird urge to ‘do something.’ The 90+ degree heat quickly informed me that no, I wasn’t going anywhere, in fact, I was going to sit and enjoy another Tinto de Verano and relax for the next hour. The Spaniards truly know how to enjoy life.

Restaurant workers don’t work for tips so tipping is not expected unless the service was exceptionally good. This means that no one will come up to check on you while you’re stuffing your face, and they won’t give you the bill until you ask for it, so you never feel rushed to leave. I really, really like this.

Having a good group of friends that you can trust in a new country is so important, and definitely one of the things I was anxious about before coming here. I’m so glad that I have those friends to share concerns, travel with, laugh with, and get lost with. My roommates are wonderful too, and have been helping me with my Spanish. All this makes adjusting to this new life a lot easier.

Finally, I’ve learned that there’s a difference between missing something but not wanting to go back to it. I miss home and my family and friends so much, and have felt homesick on occasion, but my adjustment to living here has gone a lot more smoothly than I originally thought it would. This city wrapped me up in a big, warm, hug, as soon as I arrived, and I can’t wait to see what the next nine months will bring.

My goals for the next month are to speak more and more Spanish, especially with my roomies, get into a comfortable routine at school (I start teaching on October 1st!), regularly attend an intercambio, and successfully cook tortilla patatas and huevos rotos con jamon.

Next week, I will be in Sicily and the Amalfi Coast; I don’t speak a word of Italian, so this should make for an amusing blog post…

Hasta luego!