As soon as I arrived to Cordoba, I headed straight to my hostel where shortly after I met three other Auxilliares from New York City. Two of them would be leaving for a Malaga, on the southern coast of Spain, and one, named Laurel would be staying in Cordoba for the year. It was great to immediately meet some other Auxilliares since I had come to this city all on my own without knowing anyone. I went out that night with them for tapas and we later discovered a really cool club that overlooked the river.
I spent the next couple nights in the hostel continually looking for apartments. It was a little frustrating at first because it seemed like every ad we called either posted online, on the streets or in the paper was no longer available. It was nice to have met another Auxilliar to go through the whole process with. I finally found an apartment on Monday in Ciudad Jardin, the name of the neighborhood, which is apparently a very good location with lots of young people. Within a day or two I decided that I wasn't so sure about the apartment and the overall environment. Going over to Spain for my second year, I had the intentions of finding an apartment with all Spanish people really immersing myself into the Andalusian culture and forcing me to speak the language as much as possible. I though that living in the first place wouldn't help me improve my Spanish which I feel like has gotten so much better from when I arrived last year at this time.
I ended up find a place on the same street with three Spanish boys. I never would have imagined myself living with three boys but I think it will all work out. It is a very nice apartment and looks as if it has all been renovated. I of course have my own room which is amazing and makes everything a lot more enjoyable. My roommates are named Emmanuel, Samuel and Jose Felix. They are in their early 20's and study at an institute doing something along the lines of media and sound. They are all from a small town outside of Cordoba and go home on the weekends. They only speak Spanish which is great and will force me to learn the Andalusian accent. Below are some pictures of my apartment.
Mi Habitacion (My room)
View 2
La Cocina (The Kitchen)
El Salon (The Living Room)I have spent a lot of time with the two Auxilliares that I have met, Laurel and Angelica. We all live in our own places but it is great to have other Auxilliares that I have already met. I am also working with an Auxilliar from England, Henry, who seems really nice.
I have been to my school a few times this week (we don't officially start until Monday) to meet all of the teachers and learn more about the program. It is going to be a little different from what I did last year. I am part of the Bilingual program, which I don't think existed in my school last year at least for English and Spanish. This means that I do not only help out in English classes but I am also working in the history classes once a week where we will only speak in English. In addition to that I have some conversation classes where I am paired with another teacher who would like to improve their English and we speak in English for an hour at the school. So my responsibilities definitely seem a lot more diverse which I think will make things a lot more interesting.
As I was leaving the school today, one of the teachers introduced herself and invited me to go on a walk with her and another friend through some of Cordoba late tomorrow morning and then go over to a friend's house for lunch. I think that will be a great way to see more of Cordoba, get more of the local feel and maybe meet some more people. Everyone here seems so nice and I am already excited for everything I am going to get to experience this year.
Below I have posted some pictures of Cordoba.
The Old Part
San Basillico
By La Mezquita (The Mosque)
One of the many beautiful parks/plazas
View of the city from the other side of the river.
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