Just about an hour south of Madrid, you will find the city of Toledo, which is an excellent example of the expansive history of Spain. Throughout time, Spain has been home to many different people from various cultures including Christians,… Read more This story begins long ago circa Summer 2014. I was getting my BA in Spanish Language and Literature, Secondary Teacher Preparation at Stony Brook University on Long Island. As I was going through my undergraduate career, I couldn’t help but… Read more Semana Santa has come and gone, and here we are again for our final rendition of the Instituto Franklin’s Survival Guide. Some of you have reached out to me on Facebook to ask me about getting adjusted to life here… Read more So your time abroad is nearing its end, and you’re trying your best to make the most of the last bit of time you have here before returning home and having to try to summarize the last several months to… Read more Building community in the classroom is rewarding for both you and your students. It is, however, difficult to do. Every class, no matter the subject, is different because it’s made up of different young individuals interacting together at different times… Read more Spring has sprung and after eight months I finally made it to the legendary bar Via Lactea last week to have a drink with a friend. I have to wonder what made me take so long to hit that famous… Read more Any resident of Madrid who happened through the center of Madrid this weekend most likely noticed the harbingers of the upcoming excuse to visit your local Irish pub. From corny felt top hats with the Guinness logo, to signs… Read more In junior high and high school, I played competitive soccer five days a week. Soccer came before school, before friends, and sometimes even before family. After two years of playing up with older girls, I got burnt out, hung… Read more 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 The culture and structure of fútbol in Spain cannot readily be translated to anything we have in the United States. Though soccer is gaining popularity in the U.S., sport culture still primarily revolves around men’s football (think pigskin), baseball,… Read more
