New Phrases

During my time in Madrid, I have already come to learn many new words and phrases. I have also noted some differences in expressions between Castellano (the Spanish spoken in Spain) versus the Spanish I have learned in school. For me, having conversations over dinner with my host mom as well as talking with my coworker have been the most helpful in developing and improving my Spanish. Here is a short list of just a few new words and phrases I have learned since arriving in Spain. I hope you can learn along with me!

• Que descanses: Sweet dreams
• Páselo bien: Enjoy
• Jesús (Salud): Bless you
• Zumo (Jugo): Juice
• Tronco/a: Bro
• Chulo: Cool
• Vale: Okay

Adventures of the Week

As this was my first week at my internship with SegurCaixa Adeslas and my first ever “9 to 5” (more like 9:30-6:30), the change from traveling Spain to working full time has taken some adjustments. However, I am slowly adapting to the Spanish lifestyle despite the differences.

This week, we had our last orientation activity with EUSA. This time, we learned some simple flamenco dance moves and later, saw a flamenco performance. Being the uncoordinated person that I am, I initially struggled with the dance moves, but eventually got the hang of it in the end. It was interesting to see how flamenco dancers also contribute to the rhythm of flamenco through clapping and tapping their shoes. It shocked me to see how powerful yet beautiful the dancing can be. Another aspect about the performance that I found interesting were the stunning dresses that the female dancers wore. They added so much movement to the dance. I also noticed how the other dancers, singers, and guitarist would seemingly cheer on their coperformers; it was really cool to see that interaction. However, my favorite part about the performance by far was the amazing guitar. Overall, it was a very beautiful performance and has made me consider seeing another flamenco performance sometime in the near future.

Although I was not able to join the rest of the EUSA students on the trip to Cuenca this weekend, I spent some time by myself exploring my new neighborhood. I have come to learn that I live in a considerably older section of Madrid called Chamberí, and although that has its downsides (there are not many people my age and not much to do aside from restaurants), I have discovered that I live only a block away from Museo Sorolla. This is definitely something I will make time to visit in the future.

Week 2 – Time Management

Since I have only been working for 1 week, I have found that work has been considerably slow. I started the week by watching corporate training videos primarily about how to create effective social media campaigns. Luckily, most of the information outlined in the videos had already been fresh in my mind following the marketing class I took just last semester. The second day, however, I finally got the chance to start working on implementing some of my own ideas in to the company’s social media management and marketing campaigns.

I have noticed that in the Spanish work environment, supervisors will not always explicitely tell you what needs to be done and when they want it done. In this sense, I think time management is very important. I have prioritized things like asking my supervisor and coworker questions when a certain task or expectation is unclear before I begin my work. That way, I can complete what needs to be done in a more efficient manner. I also try to get the majority of my work done in the morning as my supervisor is only in the office during this time. That way, I can be sure to get feedback on my work.

I have also found time management to be very important when planning when to wake up and when to leave for work. My commute is around 45 minutes and requires me to take 2 different metro lines. Because of this, I need to be exact when it comes to my time management, as missing one metro could make me late by nearly 8 minutes. To ensure that this does not cause issues, I leave extra time in my morning routine.

To add, so far the tasks I have been given have been quite easy and do not require an entire 8-hour work day for me to complete them. As a result, I will often ask my coworker or my supervisor (when he is present in the office) if they need help with anything else, even if it may be unrelated to my primary tasks related to social media and marketing. I have found that this helps me better manage my time and helps me stay productive throughout the day.

Hasta la próxima semana,

Olivia Wolf