About me
Hi, my name is Jimena and I help expats in Madrid learn Spanish.
This is me in a nutshell:
Let’s start with the boring stuff…
- I am Mexican, but I consider myself more a citizen of the world by now.
- I have been living for more than 20 years outside of Mexico: in Ireland, England and Germany. Now I live in Spain, where I hope to stay for good.
- I think in three languages (Spanish, German and English, not necessarily in that order) and I can switch languages while talking without noticing. It can sometimes be very annoying.
- I went to the German School in Mexico City my whole life, hence the German language.
- I studied International Relations in Mexico and England and then did a Masters in International Business with Finance in London. (Are you yawning yet? Well, I did yawn a lot in class because I got pregnant with my first child while doing the Masters, so I was exhausted the whole time).
- It was about six years ago that I changed professional paths and started teaching languages.
Why?...
...Because I love it.
So before I started teaching and because I like to be prepared, I did a few courses on foreign language teaching, which landed me the following certificates:
- I am an authorized teacher for AVE Global and DELE A1-A2 examiner for the Instituto Cervantes.
- I have a TESOL certificate from Arizona State University.
- last but not least, I did the course on Methodology and Didactic of German as a Foreign Language with the Goethe Institut.
Believe it or not, these courses have more in common than you may think, and I use many techniques learnt there in all my classes and courses, regardless of the language.
There are a few more courses I would love to do, but the day simply has not enough hours to fit everything in…
But there´s more to me than just work…
- I
doused to do Crossfit first thing in the morning, because it gives me energy and clears the mind. I hate burpees, in case you were wondering. I had to stop because my ankle started acting weird… Now I’m trying to start again, but it’s hard to get back into the routine. - I am married to an Irish man, have three kids and two dogs. The husband sometimes acts as the oldest child, though. You probably know what I’m talking about…
- I can be a grinch at times (green face and all).
- I love: Tom Hanks, reading, going to concerts, watching series, visiting new places, the colour purple, having dinner with my family and/or friends and eating elotes from Coyoacán (Mexican style corn on the cob)
- I hate: lack of integrity, rap, ironing, roller-coasters that go upside-down, Frida Kahlo and people that don’t let you change lanes on the road.
And that’s all around here.
I tend to share more about me in my newsletter, but also about my methodology, cool things to do in Madrid, life in general and I will try to convince you to learn Spanish with me because that’s what I do because it’s very useful if you live here and it will make your life so much easier.
Plus, you’ll get my Guide to Madrid for free.
