Outsider

Ok I'm here in Spain. Loving the architecture and famous sites I have studied. My biggest gripe is the food. Nothing here in Madrid has been great. The tapas have all been subpar. We have even been to some of Madrid's top restaurants. In addition I would have said I had pretty good Spanish,but it's obviously different and inferior to the locals. I get looks when ordering. Speaking of ordering apparently you walk up to the bar to order and then find a table. The waiter doesn't come to you. Another difference is they never come back to your table to check on you. We also feel weird approaching the counter for our bill

I'm a leaving on a jet plane

I have to listen to this song every time I am going on a plane flight- like right now!

Every bone in my body must have popped

As I made my appointment to see my physical therapist my doctor said before I do that to see the chiropractor since he noticed my legs were 2 different sizes. I didn't get this at the appointment - he called me about a week after I blogged about it. That was alarming. He said that he thought a chiropractor would be good since it would help my posture and straighten me out so that any pressure/tension felt because my legs were 2 different sizes would be alleviated.

I did not want to hear my body pop like that! I had heard it was painful.

And well, here's how it went...

The doctor canceled my appointment on Thursday and rescheduled me to Friday.

I met the doctor when I arrived, he asked about my concerns/told me his. Then he told me to go get a chiropractic massage, which I have to say is one of the best massages I have had. I felt so much tension in my neck I didn't know was there be alleviated - and I had just had a massage about a month ago. This girl was young and looked inexperienced who gave me the massage, but man, it was good!

Then I met the doctor again and he told me what he was going to do. He had me bend over and touch my toes without bending my knees. He asked where I felt the stretch and I told him my hamstrings. He was impressed with me knowing that muscle group. He said I should not be feeling the stretch from there, and that meant that my posture was off. I should be feeling the stretch in my back. He laid me down on the bed and felt down my back. He identified 3 areas of concern- my neck, my middle back and my lower pelvis area. He said my left leg was about 1 inch longer than my right leg. He said that it would take several visits to get me fully aligned and equal. He had me do some hugging and bending while he pushed down on certain areas of my body. It was crazy, quick, and I felt taller after, as well as in a little pain. The pain subsided, but I noticed a difference immediately in that a lot of the pressure was gone from my leg - and I didn't know there was pressure there before - I would have said that leg was just hanging on as it didn't feel as tight as my other.

So I am excited to go back in a couple weeks to get my next adjustment and to make me even - my legs are now within 1/4 of an inch of each other. How triply. Physical therapy will ensue after the chiropractor.

Songs I'm loving right now

Survived my first year

I survived my first year as a teacher! WOOP WOOP!!!

Lots of lessons learned. Lots of battles fought. Lots of new experiences.

Give me anything else

My pink slip was rescinded. Woot! While that is good in that I'll have summer income, etc. I am disappointed and upset over my potential class for next year, which looks like I'll be teaching 5 different English classes at 5 different levels, be responsible for all the data, lesson plans, and more that goes along with this shit. Hoping things change...

Quick jaunt

I'm going to be making a quick jaunt to NY next week. Creating a list of must dos. Right now 2 restaurants are on the list, catching up with an old friend, and I'm debating between a charming neighborhood like Greenwich Village, SOHO, or maybe the upper east/westside since I've yet to venture much above 80th St. Any ideas?