Coming to Madrid, I was a little bit apprehensive at first. I had no idea how Spanish people lived, nor had I ever even met a Spaniard! Yet as I became accustomed to living here, I realized that their daily lives are not so different than ours. The main difference seems to be the rhythm of life as it is a little more relaxed. Other than that, it is very similar, and I have enjoyed my time in this country immensely.
My full name is Jeffrey Tadao Tarrasch. Tadao comes from my maternal grandfather Tadao Yamakido whose family was from Japan. Tarrasch comes from my paternal grandfather Wilhelm Tarrasch who was born in Germany.
I live in Madrid, Spain, in the Ventas neighborhood. My barrio (neighborhood) is 20 minutes from the center. I live in a large house in this block, with eight other housemates. Five are from Spain, two are from France and one is from Scotland.
I come from a pretty small family. My father was born in New York City, while my mom was born and raised in Tokyo. They both are retired now and live near San Francisco, California. My sister is a couple of years younger than I am and also lives in Oakland, working as a data scientist.
