daily routine
In past trips to Spain, I've always done a "daily routine" post. I think it's a great way to give a glimpse of what my everyday life is like here. I remember before I went to Seville for the first time three years ago, I really had no idea of what to expect in Spain. I knew it wasn't a third world country and that they would speak Spanish, but it was so hard for me to imagine life outside of what had always been my reality in Indiana. Each of my Spain trips has been different in its own way, so even if you remember some of the basics of the Spanish schedule, this should still be new info!
~7:00: Wake up. Since I don't have to be at work until later, I've been going to a CrossFit class at 7:30 am. On the hot days, it's great to get a workout out of the way when it's still cooler outside. I tried to run one evening around 8:30 or 9 and only got in about a mile and a half because the heat was taking such a toll on me, even that late in the evening. So, CrossFit or online videos at home have been the workouts of choice this go around. I only paid to go three days a week, so I typically go at 7:30 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The gym is literally one minute walking from my apartment, so I pretty much walk out the door at 7:25 and am ready to go.
7:30-8:30: Gym time. The gym organisation is different than what I'm used to at my gym. We have to register for our classes online the week ahead, so if the 7:30 Monday class is full, you have to be on the wait list or pick another class time. If you can't or decide not to make it, you have to delete your registration. The management of this process is totally opposite of my gym and also totally opposite of Spanish culture; we start punctually at 7:30 (or whatever class time) and end almost an hour later. There is little socialisation- at my gym, we spend a good 15 minutes before and after each workout chatting, which actually drives me crazy. The hour of working out is intense, but I feel like it's making me a lot better and definitely maximising my time!
8:30-9:05: Get ready, eat breakfast. I'm less of a breakfast eater in Spain than at home, just because my typical breakfasts at home are less readily available. I'm not a coffee drinker either, so typically when I get home from the gym, I have a yogurt, water, and maybe some bread and jam before I get ready.
9:05-9:30: Walk to work. One of my favourite things about city-living is walking to work. The climate in Spain makes a walking commute much more bearable; walking to class from the dorms at IWU was miserable in the winter, so I'm only a fair-weather fan, but I like the time outside in the warm sun to help me wake up and get ready for the day.
~9:30-2:30: Internship. Originally, my supervisors told me I would be working from 9:30-3. When I got here, that shifted. The club observes a more traditional Spanish work schedule, so they come to work around 9:30 or 10 and leave around 2 or 2:30 for "lunch." Then, around 4:30 until 7, they come back to work. The mid-day break is for lunch and to avoid the heat of the day. Even schools practice this, at least in the warmer months and longer days. I only work in the "morning," usually from 9:30-2:30. I have worked a bit more or less on certain days to regulate my hours so I can get my internship credit, but I really have a lot of flexibility. For example, I am going to work an extra afternoon or two so that when Mom and Abby are here next week I can have a day off on Friday. My work tasks are very random and inconsistent. I don't mind being at the office, but there are a lot of days when I don't have much to do- the club is out of season for basketball, so the work load in general is lighter. I still learn a lot from just being there.
2:30-3:00: Walk home. The afternoon walk home is usually a lot less pleasant than the refreshing morning walk, considering that it's typically 95+ degrees at that time of day. Sometimes I stop to get a thing or two from the store on the way home, but usually I just try to get there and get inside. Even though it's a minute or two faster to walk to and from work, there have been a few days when I've opted to take the bus or metro home just to beat the heat and sun. Let me say that I'm not particularly sensitive to heat- it's just that powerful.
3:00: Lunch. In the first few days, getting used to eating lunch at 3:00 is so hard. I've experienced this in each of my Spain trips, but after those initial days, my body adjusts really well. I don't really even notice hunger at work, but I do sometimes have a snack if I really need it. A benefit of living on my own is cooking for myself. My kitchen is terribly small (you can see apartment pictures here), and I don't have a lot of utensils and appliances at my disposal, but I like having the freedom to make what sounds good and not feel bad about not liking something that was prepared for me. There really weren't many things that I ate at Marta's or Pilar's that I could not bring myself to eat. With that being said, there are some days that I just wanted something more "normal" but tolerated and ate what they made out of respect. I have found some staples at the grocery store that are easy to prepare, reasonably healthy, and yummy. I have a kitchen table yet find myself eating in front of the TV a lot... something that happens to be very Spanish- I guess my "motherly" influences have rubbed off on me in this regard.
4:00: the rest of the day: Depending on my afternoon plans, I spend the time from 4-6 (more or less) doing any homework I have for my online class, watching Netflix, or napping. Some days, I go to an afternoon workout at 5 or 6, but I like to have my evenings/afternoons totally free. So far on Monday evenings, I have gone to the two art museums during their free hours on Monday afternoons and done some other exploring downtown. I'm a 40+ minute metro ride from downtown, so I try to pack multiple things into those afternoons. On Tuesdays, I have been going to a young adult group at an international church in Madrid. I met another girl who's here from the US for the summer, so we've made a habit of meeting up or going out after to get something to eat to make an outing out of it. Wednesdays have ended up being my "Camarma days." I either leave from work or go home first, and I then take the bus to Camarma to stay at Pilar's. Thursdays have been more flexible, but I also recently discovered a Spanish-English intercambio group that meets every Thursday downtown, so I might start making that a part of my routine, too. The weekends have been full in their own variety.
12:00: Bedtime. I would love to go to bed well before midnight, but I've adjusted to this piece of the Spanish schedule as well. Pilar says that the light "cheats you," which is so true; with sunshine until 10 or later, it's hard to realise how late it actually is. Yet, the schedule works well with the afternoon rest time and later start to the mornings. Since the morning starts later than our typical morning, I still get plenty of sleep, just in a different 8 hours of the night! Staying up a bit later also allows an option for me to call or FaceTime at home, since we are 6 hours ahead.
All in all, I am never bored, and if I find myself feeling that way at all whatsoever, I find something to do. I don't feel burnt out or exhausted, and seeing new things has really given me energy when I've needed it, so I try to maximise all the time I have to take advantage of living in such a cool city and country. I have had a nice mix of routine and flexibility, which has been a perfect combination for me to maintain some normal habits and preferences while adapting to the culture and experiences.
If you're interested more in the bizarre Spanish schedule, this article is really interesting! As of today, my routine is switching up- I head to London this evening to meet up with Mom and Abby, and then we all come back to Madrid on Sunday for a crazy week here!
~7:00: Wake up. Since I don't have to be at work until later, I've been going to a CrossFit class at 7:30 am. On the hot days, it's great to get a workout out of the way when it's still cooler outside. I tried to run one evening around 8:30 or 9 and only got in about a mile and a half because the heat was taking such a toll on me, even that late in the evening. So, CrossFit or online videos at home have been the workouts of choice this go around. I only paid to go three days a week, so I typically go at 7:30 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The gym is literally one minute walking from my apartment, so I pretty much walk out the door at 7:25 and am ready to go.
7:30-8:30: Gym time. The gym organisation is different than what I'm used to at my gym. We have to register for our classes online the week ahead, so if the 7:30 Monday class is full, you have to be on the wait list or pick another class time. If you can't or decide not to make it, you have to delete your registration. The management of this process is totally opposite of my gym and also totally opposite of Spanish culture; we start punctually at 7:30 (or whatever class time) and end almost an hour later. There is little socialisation- at my gym, we spend a good 15 minutes before and after each workout chatting, which actually drives me crazy. The hour of working out is intense, but I feel like it's making me a lot better and definitely maximising my time!
8:30-9:05: Get ready, eat breakfast. I'm less of a breakfast eater in Spain than at home, just because my typical breakfasts at home are less readily available. I'm not a coffee drinker either, so typically when I get home from the gym, I have a yogurt, water, and maybe some bread and jam before I get ready.
9:05-9:30: Walk to work. One of my favourite things about city-living is walking to work. The climate in Spain makes a walking commute much more bearable; walking to class from the dorms at IWU was miserable in the winter, so I'm only a fair-weather fan, but I like the time outside in the warm sun to help me wake up and get ready for the day.
~9:30-2:30: Internship. Originally, my supervisors told me I would be working from 9:30-3. When I got here, that shifted. The club observes a more traditional Spanish work schedule, so they come to work around 9:30 or 10 and leave around 2 or 2:30 for "lunch." Then, around 4:30 until 7, they come back to work. The mid-day break is for lunch and to avoid the heat of the day. Even schools practice this, at least in the warmer months and longer days. I only work in the "morning," usually from 9:30-2:30. I have worked a bit more or less on certain days to regulate my hours so I can get my internship credit, but I really have a lot of flexibility. For example, I am going to work an extra afternoon or two so that when Mom and Abby are here next week I can have a day off on Friday. My work tasks are very random and inconsistent. I don't mind being at the office, but there are a lot of days when I don't have much to do- the club is out of season for basketball, so the work load in general is lighter. I still learn a lot from just being there.
2:30-3:00: Walk home. The afternoon walk home is usually a lot less pleasant than the refreshing morning walk, considering that it's typically 95+ degrees at that time of day. Sometimes I stop to get a thing or two from the store on the way home, but usually I just try to get there and get inside. Even though it's a minute or two faster to walk to and from work, there have been a few days when I've opted to take the bus or metro home just to beat the heat and sun. Let me say that I'm not particularly sensitive to heat- it's just that powerful.
3:00: Lunch. In the first few days, getting used to eating lunch at 3:00 is so hard. I've experienced this in each of my Spain trips, but after those initial days, my body adjusts really well. I don't really even notice hunger at work, but I do sometimes have a snack if I really need it. A benefit of living on my own is cooking for myself. My kitchen is terribly small (you can see apartment pictures here), and I don't have a lot of utensils and appliances at my disposal, but I like having the freedom to make what sounds good and not feel bad about not liking something that was prepared for me. There really weren't many things that I ate at Marta's or Pilar's that I could not bring myself to eat. With that being said, there are some days that I just wanted something more "normal" but tolerated and ate what they made out of respect. I have found some staples at the grocery store that are easy to prepare, reasonably healthy, and yummy. I have a kitchen table yet find myself eating in front of the TV a lot... something that happens to be very Spanish- I guess my "motherly" influences have rubbed off on me in this regard.
4:00: the rest of the day: Depending on my afternoon plans, I spend the time from 4-6 (more or less) doing any homework I have for my online class, watching Netflix, or napping. Some days, I go to an afternoon workout at 5 or 6, but I like to have my evenings/afternoons totally free. So far on Monday evenings, I have gone to the two art museums during their free hours on Monday afternoons and done some other exploring downtown. I'm a 40+ minute metro ride from downtown, so I try to pack multiple things into those afternoons. On Tuesdays, I have been going to a young adult group at an international church in Madrid. I met another girl who's here from the US for the summer, so we've made a habit of meeting up or going out after to get something to eat to make an outing out of it. Wednesdays have ended up being my "Camarma days." I either leave from work or go home first, and I then take the bus to Camarma to stay at Pilar's. Thursdays have been more flexible, but I also recently discovered a Spanish-English intercambio group that meets every Thursday downtown, so I might start making that a part of my routine, too. The weekends have been full in their own variety.
12:00: Bedtime. I would love to go to bed well before midnight, but I've adjusted to this piece of the Spanish schedule as well. Pilar says that the light "cheats you," which is so true; with sunshine until 10 or later, it's hard to realise how late it actually is. Yet, the schedule works well with the afternoon rest time and later start to the mornings. Since the morning starts later than our typical morning, I still get plenty of sleep, just in a different 8 hours of the night! Staying up a bit later also allows an option for me to call or FaceTime at home, since we are 6 hours ahead.
All in all, I am never bored, and if I find myself feeling that way at all whatsoever, I find something to do. I don't feel burnt out or exhausted, and seeing new things has really given me energy when I've needed it, so I try to maximise all the time I have to take advantage of living in such a cool city and country. I have had a nice mix of routine and flexibility, which has been a perfect combination for me to maintain some normal habits and preferences while adapting to the culture and experiences.
If you're interested more in the bizarre Spanish schedule, this article is really interesting! As of today, my routine is switching up- I head to London this evening to meet up with Mom and Abby, and then we all come back to Madrid on Sunday for a crazy week here!
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