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Espagne

Hola from Spain!

I’m living my dream by traveling to Europe, hopefully conquering all of the places on my bucket list. So far France, Holland, Belgium, and Dubai have been checked off! Now Spain.

I’m a nanny for a family of three kids, living in the outskirts of Madrid. The Friday day was as bad as it could get; I was homesick, not feeling welcomed, and not knowing a single thing surrounded by strangers.

The second day, today, was totally different. I met four other girls who are nannies from all over the world. We toured the city together, sipped on some coffee in a cute cafe, and then I went on my own adventures like the brave and independent girl that I am- just kidding, I was actually nervous with no phone and poor Spanish speaking skills.

I saw some of the main hotspots like the Puerta de Alcala, Plaza de Cibeles, Gran Via and more. I nailed the metros and bus stops, which is a must in order to go from one place to another.

blogger-image-274857785I tasted a Spanish omelette and some churros. Not a big fan of the omelettes- too bland and eggs make me sick :x. Churros were yummy!

Shopping is amazing here! Obviously. It’s also pretty expensive, (and no it’s just not my taste), which means I’ll be restraining myself because a nanny’s paycheck is fairly low.

blogger-image-1733240338Day Tres:

Thank god for the weekend. I don’t work on the weekends which is great because I have me time to go explore!

Yesterday was National Free Museum Day, so you can imagine what I did along with all the tourists in Madrid… I went to the famous Museo de Prado! (Every time I say or hear that, I can’t help but think of Prada.) I surprisingly enjoy museums, most of my favorites are in Europe. I love seeing life and emotions through someones paintings. My favorite at Prado was Goya. He definitely expressed his feelings through art. Art also gives you a way to go back into the past. To see painting about war, the renaissance, the clothing, the children, the lifestyle, its all so intriguing.

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Also saw a beautiful Cathedral.

The Atletico team was celebrating their victory by going around the city on a bus and waving to all their fans. There were so many people in the streets screaming, dancing, and yelling. The city was so alive.

Next, my friend Arianna and I got our makeup done! We were very spontaneous. We were decked out in my new favorite makeup brand, Make Up For Ever. It’s brilliant. Louis Vuitton created it, supposedly. It’s a long-lasting, natural and lightweight makeup. I definitely recommend it!

El_Corte_Inglés,_en_Córdoba_(España)We then went to a El Cortes Ingles store where we changed into a clothes for the night and made our hair. Cortes Ingles is a giant department store with like nine floors. They sell everything possible!

We just completely transformed in the washroom, plugged in our curler, and made our hair and walked out. We went window shopping because we are both poor nannies.

Ari and I then met some other girls and went to a lovely Greek restaurant. It’s amazing how easy it is to click with 7 other individuals so quickly. Normally, I would never go to dinner with strangers but its just so easy. Then we went off to Teatro Kapital or Club Kapital.

SEVEN FLOORS OF NONE STOP MUSIC, DANCING, DRINKS, DRUNK PEOPLE, AND FUN. Nobody goes out until 2am and then they go home at 7am. Metros do not run during the night so people literally party all night long.

Definitely a night to remember.

Nabila Ismail is a rising sophomore at the University of Buffalo. She is majoring in pharmacy. For the summer 2013, she is currently working, living and blogging in Spain!