I don’t do these types of posts very often, but they are, without a doubt, one of my favorites to go back and read.  Your days might feel very ordinary, but they change and evolve over time- everything from what you do, to who you know, what you eat, what you wear, etc., will change.  It’s like being in a time machine where you’re able to go back and look (I WORE THAT X# YEARS AGO??).  With all that being said, here is Tuesday!  I always seem to do Tuesdays or Wednesdays because they are pretty standard in terms of schedule.  Monday isn’t good because it’s….Monday and Thursday is bad because it’s usually a flexible day and Friday’s are great, but I do a lot less.  You get the picture.  Here is a very typical day in the life as an Auxiliar in Madrid.

For background, I start school at 10 am on Tuesday and Wednesday, but at 9 am on Monday and Thursday.  I have Spanish on Tuesday and Thursday, so Monday and Wednesday, I have longer English classes and they are the days that bring in the extra moolah.

6:30.  My sleep cycle app starts ringing and I immediately tap the phone to make it stfu.  I guess this is a good time to say that I use the Sleep Cycle app to track my sleep and wake me up at the most “opportune” time based on my level of sleep.  I LOVE it and really think it works and when I get woken up in the lightest sleep, I feel better the rest of the day.  Highly recommended.

6:40.  It rings again.  I get up and put on workout clothes and a coat and look like an idiot.  It’s dark out because the sun rises so much later in Spain.  Maybe I eat a bite of fruit to get some glucose.  I also throw a towel, water bottle, headphones, lock, and my phone into a little backpack.

6:55.  I jog 3 minutes to the gym.  People are staring at me because I’m in shorts and they’re in heavy winter coats (but it’s really not that cold out) so I stare at THEM like THEY are crazy.  Two can play that game ;).  I am amazed and disgusted that I was in my warm bed just 15 minutes prior.

7:02.  Get on the treadmill for 10-15 minutes of incline-walking and some jogging/ sprinting.  I’m starting to sweat and wake up a bit (usually.  Other days…like Wednesday of this week, I was so sleepy I almost quit.)

7:20.  Get off the treadmill and head to the open area to complete a 30 minute NTC workout and jump around for an idiot for awhile.

DONE before 8 am.  🙂

8:00.  Jog home.

8:00-9:00.  Shower, dress, eat breakfast, maybe check e-mails or putz around on the computer.

Yes.  Yes, I do have a Rese’s tower behind my computer courtesy of Luis.  I was at Taste of America yesterday and saw that they are selling Rese’s Mini PB cups for .50 Euro!  CRAZY.  I should sell these on the black market.

9:00-9:30.  Take two metros.  Read or listen to a podcast (I’ve been into Modern Love recently)

9:30-10:00.  Take the bus.  Zone out, look out the window.

10:00-10:10.  Walk a little to school to try to wake myself up (and try to get my #10,000 steps)

10.15.  Arrive.  Ironic that it looks like prison….

10:20-11:10.  Teachers conversation class.  I’m the teacher so I bring an article each week and everyone takes turns reading and defining vocab and then we talk about it.  On this particular day, I brought an article about Fidel Castro and Cuba.  Other weeks, I have brought articles about bucket lists, fad diets, Thanksgiving, and the US election.

11:10-11:40.  Break.  Drink coffee and print out some recipes to try this weekend.  One is for a healthy pumpkin pie.

11:40-12:30.  Class number 2.  This class is with the youngest kids. I take 7 of them to another classroom and we work on an “accepting and declining invitations” activity.  And then I make them make some invitations for a party.  This is part of a “making arrangements” unit.  Fun all around!

12:30-1:25.  Class number 3.  I do the same activity and tell them to shhhh a lot because I am losing my patience.

1:25-2:20.  Class number 4.  I do the same activity again, but I only have each group for 25 minutes.  These students are better behaved so it’s more enjoyable.

2:21.  RUN to catch the bus, which comes between 2:18-2:22.  I made it 🙂

2:20-3:00.  Sit on the bus and space out because I’m sleepy.  This bus is the longest one and takes 40 minutes to get back.

3:00-3:30.  Walk home from the metro.  I like to take a long walk in the afternoon because it helps me clear my head.

3:35.  Arrive home completely ravenous and eat my pre-prepared salad with cucumber, beets, tomato, carrots, mushrooms, corn, kale, pumpkin seeds, raisins and fresh cheese.

It hit the spot.  Then I have some tea with chocolate…like always.

3:30-4:45.  Look at blogs, instagram, FB, and read for a bit.  Have some coffee or tea.

4:45-5:15.  Travel to my private lesson.

5:15-6:15.  Private lesson with one of my favorite students.  We review grammar and vocab for her next exam and it’s a generally enjoyable class.

6:15-7:00.  Take two metros and a short walk to my Spanish class, which is in the northern part of Madrid and I am travelling from the south.  I eat a yogurt on the way.

7:00-8:30.  Spanish class time.  Usually there are 6-9 people in the class, but tonight it was me and one other guy so we basically had conversation for 1.5 hours.  It was enjoyable and these are always my favorite classes.

8:30-9:00.  Metro back towards home while listening to a podcast and chatting with Luis via whatsapp.

9:00-10:00.  Meet a friend for a drink to catch up and talk.  I am really really trying to ignore my hunger pangs because it is well past dinner time.

10:00.  Book it home and head for the kitchen to see if any food made itself while I was out. Um, it hasn’t.  So I eat some food I have in the freezer, which is squash soup, veggies, and bread.  But here is a picture from another night of lentil soup.

Then I have more tea and chocolate.

11:00. In bed, with my phone.  Haven’t kicked that habit.  Luis and I chat for a bit about our days.

12:00. Lights out…and then I grumpily got up at 6:30 the next morning and went to the gym.  OOOOOFFFF.

There you have it!  A day in the life as an auxiliar!