How to survive jet lag

Some parts of this post are genuine. Some are not. You figure it out.

Day 1

Schedule a flight that gets in at 7:30 AM so that you have the longest first day ever. This flight is ideal because there is nobody in the airport. Nobody. Not even workers. Which means it will take an hour for your baggage to come out.

Take the metro all the way home (even if it involves two transfers) because when you bring back chocolate for 13 classes worth of students in a bag without wheels, you will not want to walk more than a few blocks.

Unpack. Make your bed. Reorganize your closet.

Go to Aluche to pick up your NIE card. This is about an hour journey each way and will take up most of your afternoon. Thus, it will keep you from napping in your freshly made bed. Warning: It does not keep you from nodding off on the metro.

Go out to dinner with friends. This will keep you up those last few crucial hours and the food baby will put you to sleep shortly after.

Day 2

Don't even bother setting an alarm. Wake up at noon and do something about the fact that you have no food in your refrigerator. Then use said food to eat brunch around 2 PM.

Go to El Escorial in the afternoon. This is an hour and a half journey each way and will keep you from crawling back into bed. Unfortunately, your delayed start may mean that you arrive too late to get into the monastery before the ticket office closes. Oops.

Main plaza in El Escorial

Part of Napala's and my motivation for going to El Escorial was to see the belenes (nativity sets) set up throughout the city. There was one typical nativity scene (Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus), but most were scenes of every day life or random animals.

 Typical nativity

Vulcher?

The monastery at sunset

Day 3

Pretend like you are completely recovered and attempt to run. Realize that you are struggle-bussing and concede to a walk/run. It is advisable that you take a friend with you so that when you quit running you have someone to talk to during your 18 minute wait for the metro (which is striking, per usual).

Go see the procession of the three kings. Many adorable children on ladders (which their parents will bring to avoid having to hold them on their shoulders for an hour and a half) screaming at all of the characters and kings will keep you quite entertained.

El Corte Ingles float

"¡Se escapó del zoo, mamá!" (It escaped from the zoo, Mom!) screamed the little boy next to me when the elephant passed by.

Just the typical girl hanging from a giant balloon and doing acrobatics

Gaspar, the first of the kings to arrive into Madrid

Day 4

Go to church. Go over to someone's house for lunch and scoot out "early" at 4 PM so you can make it home to change and to run to the theater (which of course is on the opposite side of the city) to see Swan Lake.

My first time seeing Swan Lake was a success! Between the costumes, the dancers' lines, and the jesters, I was sold!

Day 5

Wake up early-ish (8:10 AM) for the first time so that you can go hike a mountain. Forget sleeping on the bus because you won't be sure when to get off for the majority of the hour and a half ride. When you finally arrive, you'll find out it was the last stop.

One of the many lagoons in El Parque Natural de Peñalara

An ice covered rock

View along the way

Napala, Chris and I at our final destination

 Day 6

Go to work. Give lots of besos to all the teachers and fake a lot of excitement so that your students will think that English class is way better than being on vacation.

Resume to normal life.

*These suggestions are offered based off of first-hand experience. Results may vary.

Much love,

Amber