About Me

Hello!

I'm Sabrina, and I am experiencing Madrid, Spain as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) through July, 2013.

I am teaching at a secondary school in Ciempozuelos, a suburb about 45 minutes to 1 hour south of central Madrid. However, I am living in the city center so that I can experience the city life, participate in language exchanges, and pursue my independent studies. I am teaching 4 days a week, and on the other days I take travel, prepare lessons, tutor, take culinary classes, study European cuisine, and explore different types of food throughout the city. Being that Madrid is a conglomeration of so many cultures, it is the perfect place for me to study a variety of cuisines. My hope is to assemble a book of recipes I've tried at restaurants, learned in classes, or experimented with in my apartment over this year. One day I'll use these in my future restaurant and when teaching classes back in the U.S. about European cooking and nutrition.

Whenever time permits I'll be traveling, visiting Spanish towns, wandering the streets of Madrid, sketching idyllic settings, and relishing every moment of my year abroad. My hope is that this blog will be a way for me to describe my life with madrileños, capturing those moments I want to carry with me forever.

As for my personality and random facts about me:

• I love to bake and cook as you can probably tell by what I'll be studying in Spain.

Gingerbread Cupcakes - maybe I'll make these when I teach my students about Halloween!

• I love painting too, especially of flowers. I'm trying to paint people more often, maybe I can practice when I'm in Spain. I'm planning to sketch some too and capture moments of what life's like in Madrid.
• I grew up in Orange, California, but I don't like the beach, I like the mountains better. Luckily both are less than an hour away!
• I had a live-in nanny that moved from Michoacán, Mexico right before I was born and lived with us until I was 12. I learned Spanish at the same time as English.

My brothers and I with Lupe when she visited about a year ago.
My brothers are even taller now! Only with them can a girl that's just about 5'10" feel short...

• I have twin brothers that are 17. They make life back home much more entertaining. Dunno what life would be like without them.
• I'm an Alpha Gamma Delta and love my sisters so much. I wouldn't be who I am today without my sorority.

The ΑΓΔ class of 2012 in our stoles.

• I'm obsessed with nutrition. I can guess the calorie content of most foods and loved being a nutrition minor in college. I designed a nutrition labeling system for my university cafeteria and wrote a manuscript for the Journal of Foodservice Management and Education. It was the toughest paper I've ever written, but definitely worth it!
• I love being organized and planning my whole day hour by hour. Thank goodness for my Google calendar and smartphone!
• I keep really busy all the time... but what's most important to me is spending time with friends and family and making sure to have some fun!

Me and my boyfriend, Jeremy, getting ready for a Valentine's Day Ball.
Some of my favorite moments are of nights like this - getting dressed up and being with those I love.

If you wish to contact me via email: sabrinarosedavis@gmail.com

Disclaimer: Although I am a grantee of the Fulbright program, the contents of this blog are mine personally and do not reflect any positions or views of the Fulbright Commission, the Department of State, any foreign diplomats, or anyone else involved in the Spanish or U.S. government.