El logro de encontrar la tranquilidad

I started my job this week and the dust cloud caused by my move is finally starting to settle – I have found my route to and from work, I’ve gotten to know my neighborhood better, I’ve mapped out where all the good grocery and convenience stores are, and I’ve even started cooking in my apartment.

Last week I wrote about finally finding an apartment. I signed the lease during my official work orientation – I ended up attending a different session because I was so fed up with the city-nomad life. The trip from my landlord’s office to my apartment was so satisfying! Now I’m working on hanging up some of the photos I brought with me and printing new photos that I took over the summer for my walls.

Last weekend was my friend Luz’s birthday and we celebrated as much as we possibly could. She bar hopped and saw a few drag performances on Friday night, went to a hotel rooftop lounge and the famous Teatro Kapital on Saturday, and attended Brunch in the Park on Sunday. Our ride between the rooftop bar and Kapital on Saturday night was a stretch hummer limo – my friends have good taste, what can I say?

My job is going well so far; I assist the English teachers in a bilingual elementary school. I spent my first day giving a presentation about myself and teaching a PE class. Yesterday I helped students write engaging assignments with good introductions, conclusions, and details by relating a paragraph to a big hamburger. So far it’s nothing like my previous job tutoring, but I am excited to see how my position evolves over the course of the year.

I am not supposed to speak (or let on that I understand) any Spanish around the kids, which has been pretty difficult for me so far. Improving my language skills has always been a main driver in my decision to move abroad so I’m forcing myself to tone down my zeal to speak Spanish at my work place. If this weekend is anything like last weekend, I’ll get plenty of practice at public events like the Rastro market in La Latina or out at bars with my friends. ¡Hasta luego!