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.