TEFL in Madrid - Spain's vibrant capital

Mi casa es tu Madrid

Madrid is my place. After university I somehow ended up there to do my CELTA and to become a teacher and stayed for the school year. Now I have difficulty remembering what it was that made me look further afield. I suppose, as a TEFL teacher (and, human in general) it’s often something that is in the back of your mind - could I be pushing myself more? Further away? Learning a different language? Working harder? Challenging myself MORE?

If the past few years, and last few months, of my life have taught me anything, it is that if you feel alive, bright eyed, and HAPPY, then, funnily enough, life is not playing a little trick on you. You are actually HAPPY. Happiness, a concept that cannot be defined or found within anything outside of the human psyche (I think?! Ha) is something I found in Madrid. I still haven’t been able to match the feeling it’s cobbled streets, terrazas, plazas, coloured buildings with plant pots draping long green leaves from the balcony, 100s of cafes, supermarkets, parks, and incredibly beautiful, soulful people have always given me. I know I can’t pin the feeling on a place. But Madrid, and perhaps Spain as a country, allows you to take the potential you have inside and watch it manifest into far more than you ever believed it could. Whatever you feel, or have the potential to feel, Madrid will bring it out of you and watch by as you dance in its streets, inevitably on your way to falling in love with the city.

Something important to mention about Madrid, (and possibly, a lot of the European cities I am yet to visit), is that, amongst the streets that are still unknown to you, the students you are yet to spend the year with, and before you have grown to love the flat you will spend everyday living and growing in, you will never be too far from home. You might be thousands of miles away, you might be a couple of hours ahead of your friends at home, there could be 10 or 15 hours between you, but Madrid, will always be home. Or at least, it will try to make you feel that way. The past 3 months in Latin America have imprinted a part of the world in my heart which will always makes up a part of the person I am. (Warning: as a TEFL teacher you are prone to falling in love with beautiful places and never being quite the same again afterwards.) The schooling system needs enthusiastic TEFL teachers and the eager, welcoming students are an example of that. It is warm. Oh, in so many ways it is a warm part of the world. But, it isn’t home. A lot of people are looking for that. To be thrown into a life far away from what they have known, eager to learn more and experience differently. I too am one of those people, though it is often the case that our taste for adventure and eagerness to experience all that the world has to offer can leave us miles from anywhere, anyone, even ourselves, hastily thrown into an experience we are not ready for and one we weren't quite sure was made for us. Madrid, Spain, Europe, is so close to home, (even if not geographically) with its eluding beauty, possibility, development, sophistication, style, history, taste… on every cobbled corner.

At the beginning of my stay in Madrid I visited the teachers at Welcome English. The school is situated in Valdemoro, a town in the southern zone of the community of Madrid. It is run by Rupert  Martin-Clark, a motivated and interested English teacher and my former boss. I met with two of his teachers, Jane and Alec, who have both lived and worked in Madrid for more than twenty years. What was interesting to me and important to note was that although they both emphasised just how much Madrid had, of course, changed since they both began their lives there, the essences of what they were mentioning seemed similar to how I feel about the city now. It is an amazing place to eat, drink, and just be out. To borrow the words of Lauren Klarfeld, “While the people of Madrid seem to have resigned to selling almost anything - the one thing they have never given up on so far - is time. It is the one commodity that is never sold and always shared.” The people of Madrid, the Madrilenos - made up not just of Spanish people, but anyone who has lived, is living, or will live in Madrid, anyone who adopts it as their home - have something to teach all of us new to the city. Life is different here. It isn’t fancy, or dressed up, or showy, or perfect. It isn’t flawless. It is rough and beautiful and warm and dancing and slow and cheap and exquisite. It is life.

It doesn’t matter what part of the city you find yourself, you could be in the fashionable centre, or the more modest outskirts. It won’t make a difference. There will be chairs and tables and beers and food and people, out, for as many hours as the day will let them. Madrid is not only the most sociable place I have ever known but it is also gifted with an amazing amount of sunlight and great weather all year round. January and February, without a doubt the coldest months for Europe, boast clear blue skies and an unfaltering sun day in day out. It’s hard not to be happy. Something I've heard a lot is that Madrid has biggest ratio of bars to people than any other city in the world. In our video Jasmin, (my previous CELTA colleague and now teacher at Chester English in Madrid) mentions some good places to head to in the city. In reality, anywhere you find yourself, there will be somewhere that sells good food, coffee, and/or beer that will soon turn into your local. You won’t struggle to find work as a teacher in Madrid, and in fact, the city is a good place to build your skills and a variety of different teaching skills, from company classes to summer camps to private classes. With this, there are a lot of opportunities for TEFL teachers to share and support each other. Among the facebook groups for expats and teachers, along with your colleagues, you should never feel alone.

There are so many beautiful cities in the world. There are so many I am yet to visit, or even learn the names of, but for me, the beauty of a place lies in the magic that you cannot translate to words. This quote pin points something about Madrid for me, and translated from Spanish it reads:

“Because, Madrid, it’s really nothing special. It doesn’t have a big river or skyscrapers. Neither channels, nor lakes. No glorious ruins, no sea. Madrid lacks many things. But it has people in the streets. The unexpected corners. Variety. The contrast. The constant animation. And it’s customs. It's worth getting up early - just once - to live a day in the life of Madrid.”