It has turned.

I can't believe how fast time is passing. The saying 'time flies when you're having fun' is certainly applicable here. Nothing amazing has occurred really this week but it's been a great one yet again. As usual, however, it's been a busy one!

I decided that, to avoid boredom and eating to many goodies, I should join the gym, so I did. It's so much fun and the people are fab. The three gym workers are a variety of characters. There's a beautifully built man who sadly doesn't take any of the classes I go to, a 3 foot nothing woman who is a bit lazy but she speaks English to us (as we're few and far between here, when we crop up people like to show off their language, or at least attempt to) and lastly a seven foot Samoan looking guy, Berto. He is hilarious and so enthusiastic but sadly his English stretches to counting to 10, I don't he's the brightest knife in the shed, if you know what I mean. Nonetheless, I've been 3 times this week and hopefully I'll be able to keep that up!

As I'm spending my days speaking English at school and meeting up with other English speakers, I thought it would be a good idea to set up some foreign language exchanges. I met a lovely guy, Eduard, who wants to perfect his English so he can work in Santander in Britain. He's a friend of my friends partner so I met him through them on a night out. I've also met up with Andrea who is the daughter of Maria's friend Merce, who we went to Costa Brava with. She was lovely and we just spoke Spanish the entire time and it turns out I can waffle in Spanish too as she even asked me if I like talking... I met a lovely French lady at my Catalan class and so I thought it would worth it meeting with her to make sure I don't forget how to speak the lingo. Incidentally, she is how I met Eduard as he is friends with her partner, Sergi. It turns out my French still exists but with the odd Spanish word thrown in and that's exactly why I want to practice with her!

Anna, Jade and I decided we would visit somewhere else earlier in the week and so we hopped on the train and visited Ripoll. It's a lovely little town close to the French border in the mountains. I wouldn't say I loved it but it was a very nice place and the scenery is amazing. I know I keep saying that but it truly is!

On Saturday, we visited Barcelona again because I really really needed to buy a coat before the cold really sets in. The cold Gods were obviously watching over me as the queue in Primark was minimalistic and, literally, as soon as we touched back down in Vic, IT WAS FREEZING! And it has been ever since. It almost feels like we had a week of Autumn and then went straight to winter. This doesn't bother me in the slightest anymore as I know have a lovely new coat. Barcelona didn't disappoint, yet again, which made Saturday a great day out and we topped it off by going out on Saturday night for some fun times. Needless to say that Sunday was quite a relaxing day after a pretty busy week.

Colonies.

This week has been exhausting in more than one way! I was invited on my first activity holiday with the kids and teachers and let's just say it was an experience. Spending 3 days with a hundred 8 and 9 year olds was a challenge and I really feel for all my primary school teachers that had to put up with me when I was that age.

We left on Wednesday morning and immediately went on an excursion. We were staying in a place in the mountains not far from here but it took nearly 2 hours to get there due to the mountainous terrain. The coach took us up to 1800m and on the way we saw vultures looking scary on the side of the road like they were sizing us up for their next meal, deer running down the side of the mountain and snow. I know right...SNOW!! It was crazy- only a week and a half ago I was sunburnt on a beach in nearly 30 degree heat. We walked down the mountain side back to the village of Castellar de n'Hug. On the way down we went into a cave which was fab. I know this sounds daft but it was so dark and quiet! I haven't heard silence for a while so it was nice to have a few minutes of peace. 

The village itself is beautiful. There are only 83 people who live there, 4 of which are children as there is no school within about an hour of the place. It seemed to me that as a substitute for kids, the habitants all had dogs instead which roamed the village at will like a back garden. There are 4 bakeries, each claiming to be the only one in the village which made me chuckle. These bakeries do giant croissants which were HUGE and costed 8 euros! I would also like to point out that it was absolutely freezing up there, but the views of the landscape most definitely made up for this. It is nothing like Britain; it's harsh, dangerous and very rocky. 

On Thursday morning, I went down to the river with the headmistress and another young teacher which I really enjoyed as it was some good teacher bonding time. In fact, I bonded with all the teachers during the stay which I've really appreciated. I felt as part of the team and although they were happily nattering away in Catalan, I did pick up some more language but had plenty of one on one conversations in Spanish. I also really enjoy spending more time with the kids as there are some real gems at the school, but there are also some absolute brats but as I 'can't understand Spanish or Catalan' I didn't have to put with them much.

After the disco on the last night which, by the way, I thoroughly enjoyed and made a complete full of myself with me awesome dancing, the kids were knackered so they fell asleep pretty quickly. This was a massive relief because the previous night they were so hyper that out of all the teachers, I got the most sleep- a whole 5 hours. Once they'd fallen asleep, me and the other teachers painted the nails of the naughty boys and drew on the faces of the cocky girls. Apparently, it is normal for the teachers to play practical jokes on the kids so I just went along with it and it was hilarious!

Come homing on Friday was such a relief as I was fed up of all the children and really wanted some peace and quiet. The weekend was just as fun but slightly more relaxing as the week. I went to the market for the first time and although it was great to finally go there, it wasn't anything special but I did enjoy the hustle and bustle of the town. 

Saturday was the first time that we all available to go to a nightclub in town. It was a great night and we met the family of my French pregnant lady friend and they were brilliant. It was fun to let our hair down after a busy week. After a night of drinking and dancing, Sunday was most definitely a relaxing day. Anna and I went for some fresh air and bumped into a dance demonstration in the placa major to raise money for dogs or something. We just chilled in a cafe with Jade for a couple of hours and discussed last nights antics! 

Overall, I've an eye opening week and it's been a lot of laughs but quite tiring. I know I keep saying that I'm tired, which is the truth, but it's a good tired so I'm not moaning about it. But let's just say that this week will be a little less full on!

More Spain Shenanigans

Firstly, this week has been truly fabulous- as usual!! This blog entry is a weeks worth of 'stuff' so I'll try and keep it to the point and a sensible length. 

I had a day off on Monday as normal and I was still shattered from the weekend before but it was relaxing and pleasant nonetheless. I had my Catalan class in the evening where I made friends with a very heavily pregnant French lady with whom I'm going to be meeting up with now and again to do a French-English language exchange. We went for a drink after the lesson (non-alcoholic obviously) and as there was no common language between the 4 of us, we spoke a mixture of French, Spanish and English which got very confusing but funny at the same time!

Tuesday is my 'full' day. By this I mean I work from 10am until 4.30pm with a 2 hour gap in the middle- hard life eh? The day was good as normal I was told to make a presentation about British film and television which was great fun to make!! I was feeling very nostalgic about and decided to watch a bit of Wallace and Gromit on youtube. Later on in the evening, (young) Maria and I went to the gym to try out tonestep which was great fun and hilarious! I'll definitely be joining this gym after this week as it's about 2 minutes from my flat and not bad value for money.

Sadly, on Wednesday, nothing spectacular happened. School until half 4 and then out to play with my friend Jade. We've found a cafe called L'Occita which serves xocolata defreta which is basically a melted chocolate bar in a cup. Oh my god it's amazing but it's probably not something one should divulge in everyday! Had the Catalan class in the evening again and had my first assessment which I most definitely aced as I'm 1 or 2 classes to low. The reason for this is that I've already studied Catalan at uni but there are no spaces in the classes above me so I have to go at a snails pace until January when I can change. You may ask: Why bother? Well I'll tell you- the classes are free and if I didn't go I wouldn't be speaking much Catalan plus I get to spend more time with my amigas so it's no bother.

Thursday didn't get very exciting until the end of the day when I decided to trek to the outskirts of town to where all the big shops are, to find a Decathlon. I spent a fair bit of money to be fair but it was all practical purchases. After this little trip, I embraced my new stuff and went for a jog around the city (that sounds impressive but it really isn't huge!). Jade came round for the evening but at about 9 we remembered that there was the demonstration for independence whereby 8000 candles are lit in the main square and all the patriots chant stuff about how awesome Catalonia is and how much they don't want to be a part of Spain. It was really great and the atmosphere was fabulous. The reason for this is that on the 12th October (the next day), Spain has a national holiday and whatsmore, some companies and schools will open for a few hours on the bank holiday in protest where the employees/children can make flags and anti-Spanish stuff. 

This is where the week gets more exciting...we went to Valencia!! The trip got off to a false start as we looked up the wrong train times due to the bank holiday so we didn't actually leave Barcelona until half past 2, having arrived there at 10.30. Either way, we hopped onto the super, awesome, cool, fast train down the coast to rainy Valencia. The day was quite long and stressful but we eventually arrived at the hostel and immediately went out for tea at an Italian restaurant. Valencia wasn't doing much for me at this point as it was dark, raining and full of annoying tourists (probably like myself). Once we were back at the hostel we prepped ourselves for a well deserved night out. We most definitely let our hair down and had a super night (from what I recall!)

Fortunately, the sun was well and truly shining on Saturday so, after a morning and a good hearty breakfast, we ventured to the city and decided where to take it from there. As we were pretty tired (hungover) we thought the best way to see the city would be by tour bus! This was a brilliant idea as we saw everything for 15 euros and met some absolutely hilarious Italian people. The city is lovely and really full of history and culture- the scientific zone, especially, is really magnificent. We took our time over these two tours, as they were an hour and a half each anyway, and we stopped for lunch in between them as well. This took us up to dinner time, so we went on the hunt for somewhere that did Tapas or Paella at a reasonable price. This proved more difficult than expected but we eventually found somewhere Tapas-y and it was lush but definitely did not fill me up! The plan was to go back out on Saturday evening but this did not follow through...we were far too tired from the night before and the day of Valencia-ing and our train on Sunday was at half past 8 leaving us not much time to sleep. It was certainly the right decision to make as we were still shattered on Sunday morning! we caught the train back up to Barcelona and then across to Vic to an awaiting shower and bed! It was a great week and a super weekend and very much looking forward to next weeks shenanigans too.

Ok, I said it was going to be a decent length but never mind. Also, I apologise for the amount and variety of adjectives but seen as the bus tour-guide only knew the word 'interesting' I am trying to be as diverse as possible to make up for her uselessness. 

One Amazing Weekend.

This weekend has been truly fantastic! It's Monday now and I'm absolutely shattered but it was all totally worth it. I don't work on Mondays so today is most definitely going to be a lazy day. I have finally managed to sort out a lot of stuff too so life is good all round.

I now have a bank account, social security number and a residence permit so I can now be paid- yippee! Friday was a half day for me so in the afternoon, my mentor Maria took me to a view point to see Vic from above- it was breathtaking, I wish I had my camera! Afterwards, I met up with the other Maria and we went on an exciting trip to Carrefour where I found Heinz Baked Beans!! Once I'd cooked my first awesome meal in Spain (bolognese) and Skyped home, Jade and I went on the hunt for some bars etc. We were a little bit successful but nonetheless we had some good cocktails and a great night. 

Saturday was Barcelona day! I was very excited for this as I'd never been and it was set to be an awesome day. And it was. We had a McDonalds for lunch (not very cultural), but we wanted to treat ourselves to something familiar as we'd had a hectic week. We walked down La Rambla, went to the Port and the commercial centre, walked along the beach and then headed to another shopping centre to go to Primark. I know it wasn't a very productive day but it was really enjoyable and we'll definitely be going back another day!

Sunday was an early start but for good reason. My mentor was taking me and Jade to the beach on Costa Brava. It was awesome. The place was incredible and I had so much fun. The views were super and the sea was very refreshing and crystal clear. The day was just perfect and it has definitely gone down in one of my best Sundays to date. In the evening, we met up at The Nog Inn to watch Barca play Madrid. That was very exciting and we met up with Priya to discuss next weekends antics....watch this space!!

A Life Update...

This entry is a couple of days worth as I’ve had no internet for reasons I shall explain imminently.

On Friday, I decided to go to Girona to visit Anna as she’s staying there for a bit due to meeting on Monday. I went across by bus as there are no direct trains in that direction. It only took an hour and the scenery we had to go past to get there was absolutely breathtaking. Seriously, it’s not like anything back at home- the land isn’t farmed as it’s so mountainous and I’ve never seen so many trees in all my life! And that’s coming from someone who lives in the Welsh countryside.

Once I arrived we went straight for lunch and we swapped nightmare stories from our document and flat sorting. We then went to the medieval town which is extremely hilly. We visited the art museum, mainly because entry was 1 euro 50. It was good but not very informative so we just looked at the pretty pictures. We also went round the old Arabian Baths and the Botanical Gardens which were both lovely. It was then time for a spot of window shopping before I headed back to Vic at 4pm.

That evening, Maria had arranged a meeting with 2 other assistants in the area and their teachers. They were all lovely and they’re going to be living just down the road for me in Vic. We drank in a bar for a couple of hours and I can already tell I’m going to get along well with these girls. Maria and I left about 9 and went home for tea which was salad and toasted sandwiches. Toasted sandwiches in Spanish are called bikinis- weird I know, and I’m not entirely sure why. I chatted to my Dad on the phone afterwards and I spent a while nattering away to Maria and Josep in Spanish as it was my last night in her house.

Saturday was a relatively exciting day. I moved into my new flat in town in the morning and it was chucking it down with rain- great. Anyway, once I’d unpacked and sorted all my stuff out I decided I really needed to buy food so I trekked the whole 10 minutes to the supermarket in the pouring rain. However, I stumbled across an AMAZING shop next door to the supermarket that sells EVERYTHING. I loved it. It was running by a young Chinese man and you could buy anything that a home may need really cheaply so firstly I just bought an umbrella and headed on to the supermarket. I felt like a lost puppy at first having to buy food for myself to keep me alive again but once I got into the swing of things- I was in my element. Unfortunately, home comforts were far too tempting. For example, I bought Isle of Man cheddar, Red Leicester, PG Tips, semi-skimmed fresh milk, Helmanns mayo, you get the idea. 40 euros and 3 very heavy bags later, I arrived home soaked a indulged in a good old cuppa before heading out again to get some air freshener, tissues, a lamp, a kettle and a money box from the cool shop. The two Spanish girls that I’m living with aren’t here on weekends so I’ve spent the day in the flat alone which is okay because then I can find my feet etc. I attempted to do some washing but I fell out with the washing machine and now it won’t let me have my clothes back – not really sure what to do about that one!

Sunday was a lot more exciting than Saturday. In the morning I did a bit of housework as the kitchen was a bit grubby and the cooker needed cleaning. Also, you’ll be glad to hear that I won the battle with the washing machine and it finally let me open the door and give me my clothes back. However, it was all still dripping wet as there’s an issue with the filter and the spin setting so we’ll be seeing to that at some point this week. In the afternoon, I met up with the 2 other assistants in the area and we went back to their new flat in Vic. I helped them move stuff around and we spruced it up a bit. Sundays are a bit boring in Europe as 99% of the shops are shut so there’s not much to do so we just entertained ourselves in a bar for a couple of hours and went for a walk. In the evening, one of the girls went back to her mentor’s house as she’s spending her last night there whist I went out for tea with Maria (the other assistant- not to be confused with my mentor Maria). We went to The Nogg Inn (see what they did there) for a bonding session. The pub has clearly attempted to replicate a traditional English pub and they’ve done a decent job but it’s no match to the Royal Oak or Dry Dock! When I arrived back chez moi, Tania my flatmate was here and I chatted with her for a while which was great as I had a good opportunity to practise my Spanish after a relatively English day.

Monday brought about the official start of my year abroad. We set off for the British Council meeting for all the assistants in the area and their mentors. I went with my mentor, Maria, Priya, the other assistant in Vic and her mentor Mar who is lovely. I know I’ve mentioned this before but the scenery on the way to Manresa was absolutely stunning! We went around the famous Montserrat to get there and the valley had the appearance that they were inside a pond of cloud- so beautiful. Anyway, the meeting was a tad tedious as it didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know so it was a bit pointless to everyone that had already got themselves sorted, which was all 6 of us. Afterwards we grabbed some lunch in a café nearby and left for Vic. I hung around with Athena for a couple of hours, aka, we went to a bar! 

After which I met up with Maria to go to the adjuntament to get a social security number and a residence permit so that I can obtain an NIE number from the police so I can open a bank account! Fortunately, that was successful so getting the number should be easy in theory now. I then plucked up the courage and went to get a Spanish phone from The Phone House. I asked for the cheapest phone and that’s exactly what I got- 19euros: bargain. In the evening I had my first Catalan class which was a bit boring because I can already speak a bit and we literally only went over the basics. Never mind, I’m going to persevere with it. It fell like a very productive day, long may the theme continue.

First day of school!! I was really looking forward to today- my first day of assisting. The school day starts at 9 but we didn’t have any classes until 10 so I was introduced around the school and honestly, I felt like a celebrity. Everyone was so nice and the kids seem to have taken an instant liking to me, which is always a bonus. For each class, I introduced myself in slow English and generally talked with the kids about stuff. I am mainly going to be in years 5 and 6, so nine to eleven year olds but on Tuesdays I am on breakfast duty with the really little ones which are 3 and 4. They are so cute! It was a great first day at primary school and I’m thoroughly looking forward to spending my year there. The hardest thing was, though, I wasn’t allowed to speak any Catalan or Spanish because if the children find out I can understand them then they will be reluctant to speak to me in English. Oddly, I found it hard playing dumb to the kids. In the evening I popped to the shops to buy a few cleaning products as the flat needs a bit of a scrub and then went out for drinks with 2 of the other assistants.

Day 2 was just as good as day 1. I am currently typing this whilst on hold with O2 listening to easy like a Sunday morning. Trying to cancel my contract abroad has been a hell of a kerfuffle! Anyway, back to today’s doings. This morning Maria and I went to the police station so that I could finally get my NIE number to open a bank account. It was successful in the sense that I have the number but not in the sense that we ran out of time before I had to go to school. My first 3 half an hour lessons of the day were with the little ones from ages 4 to 6. We just sang songs and played a couple of games in English. These lessons are with the head mistress so I’m always on my best behaviour with her. At half 12 it was lunch time until half 2 but the teachers have meetings etc until half 1 so I was just kind of left in the classroom with nothing to do for an hour. Then when I was finally let loose, I had a roast chicken dish with potatoes and chickpeas which was pleasant. After lunch I had a class with Maria with the year sixes and I was very impressed with their level of English but they were a nuisance and really quite hyper. The last lesson of the day was with the year 3’s and their English was awful so I just read We’re Going on a Bear Hunt with them (which I love) and sung a few English songs.

After school, Maria gave me a life home but we went via an amazing view point just outside of Vic. The mountains and plain were so impressive and it gave me a sense of how vast Spain really is. I went out to the Chinese shop with Jade to get some bits and bobs and as usual spent way too much time in there. I had my Catalan lesson until half 9 with Priya and Maria, who came round to see my humble abode. Another tiring day but thoroughly enjoyable as normal nonetheless.