¡Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias! gobble gobble!
Thanksgiving, one of my favorite holidays! Last November 2010, for my first Thanksgiving outside of the good ol’ US of A, I was determined to celebrate one of my favorite holidays abroad. Thankfully I had some interested students at school, and friends and roommates who were eager to share the awesomeness of Thanksgiving with our international friends.
excited to go on a field trip! they're so little you can barely see their heads lol
Last November 2010, I went on a field trip with my 2nd graders to the Museo Reina Sofía, and that same week, I went with my 4th graders to IMAX. At first, I was worried about how we would be able to control and discipline 20 six-year-olds roaming around a museum…
The famous Roman aqueduct of Segovia
Last November 2010, two of my old roommates and I went on a day trip to Segovia, an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Segovia is a charming old Roman medieval city about 90km northwest of Madrid. I loved it!
our piso decked out at our international Halloween party
Halloween 2010 with my 4B class
Halloween has always been a big part of any Americans’ childhood. In the states, we have the fun traditions of trick-or-treating, pumpkin carving, costumes, and spooky tales of ghouls, ghosts, and vampires, oh my. In college, I used to celebrate Halloween for 4 days, and had different costumes for each day!
But I didn’t know what to expect in Spain.
Nike of Samothrace in Parque Europa, Torrejón de Ardoz
with my cute 2nd graders
So the school I work at is in Torrejón de Ardoz (or just “Torrejón” for short), which is a city about 18km east of Madrid. I am a very lucky girl because I absolutely love the school I work at. From the beginning, my colleagues made me feel like part of a family. Everybody is very friendly, and the students are generally well-behaved, very loving and appreciative :). I am always showered with hugs, kisses, and random drawings and paintings.
puerta del sol
Almost a full year ago, in September 2010, I made the big move to Madrid Spain. Many friends thought I was crazy for moving to a place that I had never been to before, and where I didn’t really know anybody!
Hello world,
In September 2010, I made the big move from California to Spain. I was previously working in beautiful Santa Barbara, California. But I wanted a big change, so I moved to Madrid to continue exploring the world, teach English, and also to work at an amazing humanitarian non-profit.
I have a confession to reveal… I am addicted to taking photos, I take tons of photos BUT I have been really behind at organizing/editing/uploading photos online. One of the main reasons I love taking photos is that I want to share them with my friends and family!
Before I moved to Spain, I had the intention of maintaining a blog to document my global adventures. But I got so busy with many things that I kinda brushed the blog aside….
But NOW, I am really excited to start up my blog again. Traveling and photography are some of my true passions and I really want to document my trips and adventures for myself, and to share them with the world!
Since I made the big move to Madrid, I have been lucky enough to travel extensively. So my goal is to back track a bit, and I am going to initially post photos and stories and re-visit my trips from last year. And after I get ON TRACK, I will continue to blog about any upcoming trips and adventures AS THEY HAPPEN.
I hope you have fun looking at my photos and learning about my adventures! Stay tuned!
Besos y abrazos 
Tina