Hola a todos!!
I can’t believe it is already week 7 of my time in Madrid! This week, I became hyper-aware of how fast my time here is flying. I just spent my last weekend in Madrid, and I started my second-to-last work week today. With this realization, I found myself getting sad at the thought of leaving and anxious about making the most of my numbered days here. I truly love this city, and it has been a home for me for the past two months. It feels surreal that this time is coming to an end.
Instead of dwelling on this moment, I became determined to jam-pack the next two weeks and make the most of my time. I wrote down all my must-dos in a bucket list, including places I’ve been that I want to return to before leaving, as well as new adventures. This includes visiting some restaurants that I have been wanting to try, going to museums and the Palacio Real, returning to Madrid neighborhoods that I loved, and shopping for souvenirs for my family and friends.
Between bucket list to-dos and a music festival this weekend, I had a busy, busy week.
After work one day, I stopped by the Reina Sofia museum (a check off the bucket list). I’m the kind of person who can’t spend a whole day just looking around at museums, so our after-work trips have been the perfect way for me to enjoy art without it becoming tedious. We got the chance to see some iconic Picasso and Salvador Dali works, and lots of fish paintings (which were my favorites).
On Saturday, my friend Katherine and I planned a whole day dedicated to our bucket lists. We started by getting coffee and vintage shopping in Malasaña (check), then walked through the streets to the Plaza Mayor area. There we visited Tienda de los Deseos (check), a cute little place where you can write down your wishes and hang them in the shop. We ended our adventure at El Palacio Real (check), where we experienced the stunning architecture, artwork, and decorations of the royal palace.
The highlight of my week was a music marathon at the Mad Cool festival. There I got to see some of my favorite artists, like Noah Kahan and the Backseat Lovers, along with other amazing performances by Weezer, Alanis Morissette, and Olivia Rodrigo. I also got to experience how different concert etiquette is in Spain. The crowds are a lot less pushy and are more respectful of your personal space bubble (except for the Olivia Rodrigo crowd). Apparently, it is acceptable to sit in the crowd at the barricade while waiting for the set to start!?? Also, I picked up some unique Spanish crowd excitement like the “Reina y Guapa” chant.
On Sunday, I was invited to my host mom’s family’s house in Ocaña, Spain, about an hour outside of Madrid. This house has been in her family since the 18th century, and was a beautiful, amazing place full of lots of history and love. It was so lovely to spend quality time with my host mom and her mom. During the day, it hit me how much my Spanish has improved in my time here. I not only can communicate the basics and necessities, but now can have meaningful conversations with my host family!
Regarding communication, it has been a learning curve for me to adjust to different cultural communication styles, both at work and with my host mom. The biggest difference I’ve noticed is that criticism is much more blunt than it is in America. Here, they don’t use a compliment sandwich to point out something you did wrong or how you’re looking after a late night.
This was a little jarring at first—during the first few weeks at work, most, if not all, of the feedback I received was largely critical, pointing out small mistakes without acknowledging the things I was doing well. This is very different from roles I’ve had in the past, where supervisors give a lot of positive feedback and compliments with small nuggets of “constructive criticism.”
I’ve adjusted to these kinds of interactions and learned to reframe them in my mind. I’ve also made an effort to spend more time talking with my host mom and supervisor to get to know them as people. Through these conversations, I’ve stopped noticing the blunt comments as much, because a larger portion of our interactions are now very positive. Both my host mom and supervisor are lovely people, and I know they mean well, but learning how to approach these kinds of interactions was a cultural hurdle for me.
With that, I say goodnight to you all! Buenos noches y hasta luego!!!
Chao,
Rachel 💌