Spain - notes from a passionate and vibrant country
In April 2006, I moved from Vancouver, Canada, to Madrid, Spain. I took two years extended leave from my employers to study for an MBA with Instituto de Impresa and to learn Spanish. I had always wanted to live in a non-English speaking country and to learn to speak another language fluently. I can get by in French but usually to the irritation of the French, and have a smattering of words in Italian, German and Russian. But at the time of writing, could not speak another language properly.
The following is a collection of notes I have taken from the day I arrived in what is proving to be one of the most fabulous cities I have ever had the pleasure of spending any time in. The Spanish are a wonderful, vibrant people who are not afraid of colour, either literally or figuratively speaking. The lifestyle here is rich and focused on enjoying life, celebrating friends and family. The Spanish work to live and a recent survey showed they would prefer to earn a bit less and have more leisure time. They dress to kill, look expensive, and are very, very sexy. Delicious.
Life here is already providing huge volumes of material for me to write about and I am loving it!