I just completed my first full week of work and commuting. My alarm goes off at 7:15am. It’s still dark when I leave. I come home around 9:00pm, after the sun has set. I’m on my feet and walk about 6 miles per day. My commute costs me $110/month.
After being partially employed for the last 13 months, of not setting my alarm, packing my lunch, or paying for a commute – I am happy for this change.
Some might call it unemployment – I call it dabbling in the life of a freelancer. I explored my career options, and got to know myself a lot better. First lesson? I might be a bit of a nonconformist, but I value structure, and even more so – being part of a team. I guess it’s no surprise that my bachelors is in Community Studies. I have not had a lot of that this past year, [[except for some bees and ducks (you know who you are)]].
Well, in the last 8 days, I joined several new communities. I am a teacher at Colegio Angel Leon. I have coffee in the teachers lounge, where only we are allowed (I’m a VIP!).
I have my cohort of other Language and Culture Assistants (native English speakers teaching in Madrid). [We are a bunch of nonconformists living as expats, fun!]
I have 3 new roommates in a four bedroom apartment (three girls, one guy; three teachers, one cop; two Spanish, an Irish girl and me). Family dinner planned for tomorrow night, (I’m making Moroccan couscous) cooking for one is uninspiring, yay for group meals!
I have Spanish class five nights a week. And although we are all learning Spanish – we do not share the same first language (an interculturalist’s delight!)
I joined the city gym, and do laps in the pool on my lunch hour.
Suddenly I feel I am part of the world again, instead of slipping under the radar. This last year I was floating about like a free agent. Immense amounts of freedom…. and also isolation. I’m a community-oriented creature. I’m a retired Free Agent. That life did not work for me.
I have a set of housekeys and address where to receive mail. People are expecting me to show up in the mornings, and wonder if I don’t come to class in the evenings. The receptionist at the gym recognizes me already and the coffee shop at the metro station knows my usual order.
These might seem small or trivial things, but for me, they matter. I appreciate these now and want to put it in writing, so as not to forget their value; they are much more noticeable when they have been missing.
Got to run – movie and popcorn waiting in the living room.
Hasta luego!
