Muy buenas, gentle readers. I’m tempted to change the opening for this blog to something more catchy…maybe a little more Gossip Girl-esque. But, despite their similarities, this is Madrid, not New York, and I´m a little more Javier Calvo than… Read more Well, gentle readers, it´s that time again—your weekly update to your Instituto Franklin Survival Guide, guided by your gracious program leader and honorary sherpa, Jonathan. I honestly haven´t been having a good week so far, readers, but bad spells are… Read more Master Teach & Learn in Spain How was your flight? I hope you had lots of short, relaxing layovers with no delays. Was your flight comfortable at all? I personally get a glass of wine or two while I play… Read more Participating in the Teach & Learn program was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I remember first hearing about the program while working as an assistant in an elementary school. I applied just for fun, still not sure… Read more My name is Jordan Carlton and I took part in the Teach & Learn program through Instituto Franklin in 2009-2010. I’m sure my experience was similar to many other students from the program, i.e. I absolutely loved my time in… Read more So you’ve just moved to Madrid and it’s your first year as a language assistant. You’re not really sure what to expect on that first day of school. A million thoughts are probably running through your head: “What do I… Read more It’s finally here. The road has been unbearably long and excruciatingly painful, but our election season has finally reached its end. After nearly nineteen months of personal insults, pathetic walk-backs, and multiple assaults of racist and misogynistic comments, Americans have… Read more Halloween in Spain goes back to the origins of the holiday. This day is meant to be scary. Here you will not see people dressed as cute or sexy anything like you would in the USA. Everyone from adults to… Read more What follows are ten suggestions of “things to do” that should be of interest to any American student living in Alcalá. Without a doubt, you will have heard – or you will hear soon – about the most iconic sites… Read more My name is Margaret Bastar, and I was part of the 2011-2012 Masters in Aprendizaje y Enseñanza de español como Lengua Extranjera. Upon my return from Spain, I knew I needed to get on the job hunt and start applying… Read more