Fifteen weeks more or less

A tapas night with Louise and Emma

I have been living here for fifteen weeks and today is my birthday so it's time for one of those "status update" posts. I spent my last birthday in Malaga with three great friends and we drank cava and toasted my future. I knew I would be in Spain for this birthday but at that stage I didn't know when, where and how I was going to do it. I knew that I wanted to try the training programme to become a Vaughan teacher and I knew that I wanted to take a sabbatical from RNIB and spend a winter in the sunshine. I went back to London with a determination that never waned but the task of sorting out when to come and what to do about my flat and all my belongings proved to be a big one and not one that was going to be easy during the winter months. In fact it was not until May 2009 that I finally started my sabbatical and by then I found the perfect person to live in my flat, had my training week booked and I was ready to go.

I came here on 13 June and started training on the Monday and within a few hours I knew that it was not going to work out. I was so glad I had my TEFL under my belt and some money in the bank as I was going to need it. I was lucky that I had somewhere to live with people that I liked - thanks, guys! By the end of the week of training, I was so relieved that I had tried it and that I was able to go my own way. I knew that my style of teaching was not the Vaughan way and I while I was scared, I was also excited at the prospect of seeing what else was out there.

A week of CV crafting and advert posting and I was soon teaching some teenage girls and loving it. It was the end of the school year and there was little work around but I was happy to have enough to cover my living costs while I settled in and adjusted to the heat. Summer in Madrid is an amazing experience as it really does get very hot and everything closes down little by little. I was glad not to be working though anxious about my swindling funds. Two weeks in London at the end of August was a great way to prepare for the start of the new teaching year and I came back to Madrid optimistic and more than a little homesick. It was no bad thing to realise how much I love and miss my city of London and friends and family. I now know that London will always be my "home" wherever else I might be in the world.

September has been a time of stress and anxiety as I realised that the promised teaching hours were not coming my way - or at least not straight away. The weather turned nasty here for a few days and I was cold, miserable and seriously thinking of going home. This was not how it was meant to be. Then I got active and started contacting everyone I could find who might give me teaching work. More interviews and more promises. If everyone I have registered with gave me work I would have a nice problem! Within a week I had students who wanted conversation classes and I had company classes coming my way. I had also done some proof reading and was feeling optimistic of finding more of that work.

I gave myself until the end of September to make a decision about my future. Should I stay or should I go? I am pleased to say that I am staying and the sun is shining on my birthday.

So as it is my birthday, I am going to say thank you to a few folk who I owe a lot.

To Emma for being there whenever I have needed you and for being such a great mate, to Francis for taking on my flat and for giving it some much needed TLC, to Louise for telling it how it is right from the first day I met you and for being such a generous friend with time and belongings, to Jane for being so supportive and excited about all that I do, to Yolanda for coming to spend a week with me in this hot and expensive city, to Raul for showing me a Madrid I would never have known and for being a true friend, to Pedro for the room in the strangest flat I have ever lived in, to Pilar for teaching me Spanish when I am meant to be teaching you English.

Tapas talk - 1

I am not the first to write about tapas and I will not be the last. It is one of the pleasures of living in Spain and I am going to start blogging my favourite bars so I know where to go back to. That is, I will write about the ones that I remember going to in the first place!

Today I went to Casa Labra which was opened in 1860 and is in Calle de Tetuan. It is right next to El Corte Ingles in Sol and it is a piece of living history. According to the plaque on the wall, it is where the Socialist Party was founded in 1879. It is truly authentic in every way. You can sit outside on high chairs and tables, you can hang out at the bar or you can go through to the salon and sit at a marble topped table. This bar is renowned for its two cod tapas - croquetas and mini fillets in batter. They also do a really nice mixed salad so that was lunch sorted!

The decor is brown and khaki green, enlivened with mirrors and original hat racks. The light fittings are old and so is the metal signage. The staff are attentive and the food is as good as it looks. This is a legend amongst tapas bars and I will definitely be heading back some time soon for more of that cod.

Cafe culture

This is a view from one of the nicest of the many East Dulwich cafes called Le Chandelier. It was a glorious day and the tea was in a pot, the cake was yummy and the company was perfect.

So my five weeks in transit are coming to an end and it is time to review and reflect a little. I have really enjoyed having time to reconnect with the area I live in and also to get to know some local friends a little better. One of the joys of where I live is the vast number of cafes and bars of all description. If I was staying around I was thinking of reviewing each and every one of us so it is just as well I am off to Madrid on Saturday.

My favourite local establishments at the moment are:

1. Le Chandelier for its pots of speciality teas and its eclectic and refreshing decor

2. Green and Blue for its delicious wines and tasty platters

3. The Old Nun's Head for its proximity to home and for its first rate puy lentil and mushroom lasagne

4. The corner caff in Nunhead for its great scrambled egg on toast and mugs of builders tea

5. Constance's coffee shop in the Indoor Warehouse for more tasty cake and proper tea in a cup and saucer.

And then there is the chocolatier in Bellenden Road and the cafe in Peckham Park and well, I could go on. I am going to miss this aspect of London life but it will be more than compensated by the tapas bars of Madrid.

I am flying on Saturday morning and have almost packed. I have somewhere to live for at least two weeks and I am really looking forward to going now. I can never thank my friends enough for all the love and support and words of encouragement I have had over the last few weeks.