Christmas films

Heaven knows that I am not the best when it comes to packing. Not only do I leave it to the last minute, I tend to, initially, over pack and then in attempt to limit my luggage remove items of clothing one by one. This seems to be a solution, but when I eventually arrive at my destination, I now realise that I may have actually taken out one item too many, resorting to desperately washing the one pair of socks that I brought with me every day.

I wish I could say that things had changed by September came and I was due to go to Santander. But that just wasn’t the case. The only thing that I had taken extra care to pack and take with me was my “Elf” DVD. And that is because it is amazing!

In my personal (and valued, of course) opinion, one of the greatest Christmas films in existence is “Elf”. And there was no way that I would enter the month of December without watching this glorious film. It is a favourite to say the least.

And today, suffering from a terrible cold, I decided that the best solution was to watch the story of Buddy the Elf. It worked well as although my cold remains, I am considerably happier and feel cosy.  But then I got thinking: what are some other wonderful Christmas films? And better yet, why not share them on a blog post J

1.     I think we have established the “Elf” sits at the top of this list – in all its ridiculousness, it makes for a fantastic Christmas film filled with laughs and heartwarming moments.

2.     I have changed my mind. “Elf” is more than pretty good, but “It’s a wonderful life” actually is my favourite Christmas film, and maybe one of my favourite films in general. I mean, it is all in the title – it is just wonderful and it never fails to make me cry. Yeah, that is my number one, but for the purposes of cohesion, I will leave it in the list here at number two (I’m a confusing person).

3.     Love Actually lies at number three, and I am sure lots of people would agree with me in that it is adorable. If you carefully analyse it, I must admit, it is a little odd (watch this YouTube video and you will understand) but it’s sweet and humorous. My favourite part is Hugh Grant dancing to Jump through the rooms of 10 Downing Street.

4.     Fred Claus – Okay, so considering all the great Christmas films, this might be thought of a slightly strange entry. But I like it. It is nothing particularly special, but it is family friendly and funny and boy oh boy, Santa comes across as a right dick. I certainly wouldn’t want good ol’ saint nick being my younger brother – too self righteous. I prefer the miserable repo man (Fred). The thing that really gets me with this film though, is the point that there are no naughty children. And that often, naughty behaviour is just a consequence of something else that is commonly overlooked. You can tell I´m a teacher, yes? 

5.     Hmm… number five? Number five? Okay, I have seen this film in years, but I think it should sit on the list considering all the stories I hear about it, it being: Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer. I vaguely remember it, but certain things stand out to me: The 4 pixies – Aurora, Sparkle, Glitter, Twinkle; The young doe, Zoe who is the object of Rudolph’s affection; the terrible witch who I think shared the same voice as Whoopi Goldberg and was also made nice by the wish of the red nosed reindeer. There was also a snow fox (voiced by Eric Idle) who sang some odd song. I don’t remember it really, but I am told that I loved it as a kid, literally watching it over and over again, throughout all the seasons. I should try and find it again, and see what made me love it so much, although I am sure I will now find it slightly trippy as most children’s TV shows are watching them someone who is no longer considered a child (I refuse to say that I am an adult). 

Visits from friends!

This is my very good friend, Louise. She is beautiful, on both the outside and in, and I have been missing her (along with others) and awful lot these past couple of months. 

And so, I was understandably thrilled, when she announced a few weeks back that she would be paying me a visit in early December. 

Time flew by, and soon enough it was December, and I found myself eagerly going to the incredibly tiny airport of Santander to greet her. I like to think Louise enjoyed her welcome of hugs and general adoration, however I can understand her frustration when she was also greeted with a tremendous amount of rain and thunderstorms. 

Still, we managed to make our way around the city. 

Firstly, in search of something to eat as lord knows I am not the greatest of cooks, and I would not force anybody to eat the horrific meals that I come up with. 

We went to mercado del este and had a drink and shared some pinchos. Not only are they delicious but they were also on offer (3 for 2). It was also agreed that we should make the wonderful world of Facebook envious, and take a few pictures to show everybody that we were reunited - and in Spain.

We then slept all night - I think we had both had a pretty tiring week. 

The following day was used to give Louise a tour of Santander - something you can really do in a day. We walked all the way up to the lighthouse, which is (believe me) a very long way. And I must admit that the weather could have certainly been a lot better. Still, we made our way and passed the bay, the beaches and the other lovely views that never fail to amaze me. 

And when we reached the lighthouse, Louise and I truly appreciated the rabas and patatas that we quickly ordered. 

Arina joined us, and we baffled passing people with our speed of conversation. It was wonderful - and it made me more exited to go home for christmas and see everybody. I miss not knowing about the lives. 

Bus-ing it back, for we were then too tired to walk, we, or at least I, felt our tummies rumble despite the snacks that we had eaten not two hours before. But, we really did walk a long way, and it was chilly. 

Cienmontaditos is was - a cheap and easy meal.

Over the weekend, we agreed that we must go shopping, taking a trip to El Corte Ingles as well as paroosing through the many other shops in the town centre. This also meant that we could pass some of the other sights that are set further in town. 

Of course, we enjoyed chocolate and churros in Valor. Something that I would not mind doing at least every other day if not for, y´know, the sugar, the fat, the oil ... 

And it was all very lovely. I cannot say that Louise and I got up to anything too crazy - it was a pretty chillax weekend but I really loved her company, and I hope she liked her weekend her. Not long until I see her again now. Eep. 

Hasta luego 

P.S. We also saw this wonderful creature on our adventures. 

Reasons why I love being a teacher

One of my students today how much she couldn´t be bothered to study English after she got home frome work. But then she remembered it was my class this week and then she couldn´t wait. 

I smiled for the rest of the day. 

ESL confusions #2

Today one of my pupils said:

                Today, at 5 o’clock in the morning, my eyes opened.

They were trying to say that they woke up. 

Madrid

I trust that you have been reading my blog as regularly as I have been posting. And if you have, you will know that a trip to Madrid was very high up on my list of places to go whilst living in Spain. And I can now tell you, that this is one more place that I can tick off. Last weekend, I finally took my first trip to the capital city – and hopefully it will not be the last.

Not only was I able to enjoy a weekend in this amazing city, I was also fortunate enough to enjoy good company; I met up with Francesca, Gemma and Stefano (the latter two currently live in Madrid).

Very early on a dreary Saturday morning, I made my way to Santander coach station, with just one rucksack filled with things that I had stuffed in around 1 o’clock that very morning. To say I was tired is an understatement. Still, I managed to get there on time and soon enough we were on the road to Madrid, with myself taking up two full seats, plugging in my earphones and falling asleep pretty quickly.

It wasn’t until we reached Burgos in Castilla-Leon that I woke up properly. We took a short break here, where I had something to eat and a caffeine fix. Back on the coach, I was able to stay awake enough to quietly watch ‘This means war’ starring Reese Witherspoon (who always seems so lovely) dubbed over in Spanish. It was nice, nonetheless and a good distraction from the eerie fog that seemed to consume us. I’m not kidding – it was like something out of a Bronte novel. At some point during the journey, when we were quite high up in the mountains, a thick fog came out of nowhere and I literally could not see anything outside the window of the coach. Eventually it cleared, and eventually, we arrived at our destination. MADRID!

The moment I hopped off the coach, I spied Stefano wandering around and soon enough, the four of us we united and made our way straight to the Prado museum. However, we did make sure to energise ourselves with a cup of tea or two before touring the art museum. And it was good, if a little expensive. And it meant that we were able to enjoy the art much more.

I really enjoyed it, but I won’t pretend that I understood all of the artwork. A lot of it, as you can imagine, is Christian artwork depicting certain religious icons or biblical scenes. One of my favourite pieces was one about death (but I can´t remember the title) which showed skeletal bodies (death) taking over the world – it was incredibly creepy but powerful.

Even if you don’t understand the scene, you can at least appreciate the skill it takes to produce certain art pieces like the ones in the Prado museum.

That said, we still ensured to have a bit of a giggle, commenting on certain pieces in a slightly sarcastic and humorous manner – or, at least, we found it humorous anyway. Some of our comments were crackers, if I do say so myself: even “own-post” worthy. So I will save these for a later date, when we could all do with some amusement.

We continued the hilarity as we ventured further round the city, dropping into tapas bars and restaurants for food and drink. Taking this route not only meant that we did not know hunger; it also meant that we were able to take lovely tours of Plaza del Sol (many times)! As Christmas is drawing closer, all the Xmas trees and lights were up, adding to the prettiness. Whilst in the general area, it was suggested by Gemma to take a trip to El Corte Ingles. Not to shop, mind you, but to look at the skyline.

There are a number of Corte Ingles’ here, but one in particular is around 8 or 9 stories high, and if you go right to the top, you get the most incredibly view of the city from above. We actually took this trip twice, wanting to see Madrid in both day and night!

Wandering the city at night was beautiful, and we past lots and lots of free entertainment, namely people dressed as statues and the like. We made our way to the Palace which was lit up, and there were a number of people.

We headed to the very same place first thing in the morning. We bought 4 student tickets (costing 5 euros each) and made our way inside, making sure to drop off our things in the cloakroom. It is stunningly beautiful and intricately decorated. Each room was more interesting than the next, and of course I couldn’t help pretending that I was a Princess walking around my very own palace – don’t laugh, everyone does it! I also couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like if the same décor that sat in the Royal Palace, or any royal palace for that matter, would be like if it was in my own home i.e. a small house in a London suburb. I decided that it suits a palace, but only ever a palace – should it be in my own home, it would be tacky and I would hate it.

Anyway, the whole thing was wonderful but, for me, the particular highlight was the room that showed the different pieces of armour and different weapons from the past. I couldn’t tell you exactly, but I loved it – it was amazing and I would easily pay 5 euros just to visit this one room again. Looking at the style of swords and pistols was just so interesting.

Once we finally found someone who was willing to take a group picture of us in front of the palace, we finally left and took pictures of the cathedral just opposite. Stefano posed a question: when was this cathedral completed? I firstly said 1952, then changed my mind to 1995. And I wasn’t too far off – it was actually only completely finished in 1994.

At this point, Gemma had gone (Formula One finals a’beckoned) but Stefano, Francesca and I continued along our way. We overlooked the Campo park, and the autumnal colours were amazing. And then we decide to head to Retiro park.

Let me tell you, Madrid is an incredible place in every way. But I genuinely think that my favourite part of the weekend was wandering through Retiro park which, in my opinion, is one of the most stunning parks in Europe. I thought it was wonderful, from the colours to the mini-lake and the fountains. I really enjoyed myself here, and it was so simple just walking, talking and people watching (which is not the same as judging).

However, walking also meant that our need for sugar came around somewhat quickly and we seemed churros necessary. Stefano took Francesca and I to a small chocolateria, not too far from plaza del sol where we enjoyed a few with a mug of melted chocolate.

Meeting up with Gemma once more (Hamilton won), we wandered a little before returning to Gemma’s to grab Francesca’s thing who was leaving that evening. Whilst killing some time before Francesca’s train, we watched an abundance of YouTube videos that made us laugh including:

·         Skype laughter chain

·         Laughter on the subway

·         Chatroulette Wrecking Ball

(I recommend you watch them, they kill me).

With a teary goodbye, Francesca went off and Gemma, Stefano and I went off in search of food, landing upon a curry house. We failed to notice one thing though – it was only half 7. And we are in Spain where people to not have dinner until 11! The restaurant was not open. So, we went in search of cocktails instead. I enjoyed a most enjoyable mojito with a side of sweeties including liquorice and Haribo – was fab. We chatted about many things, including the TV shows of the 90s which were some of the greatest shows in existence. Whilst Thomas the Tank Engine was a favourite of ours, I mentioned the show AstroFarm which was also a favourite of mine (it was amazing); but apparently no one else had heard of it.

No one else had heard of Veggietales either which was my junior schools favourite thing to shove on when there was time to kill or it was wet play or something. It was a Kids TV show made up of a series of different vegetables who would document stories of the bible. I’m telling you, it was a thing.

We finally had our curry, and then by then it was nearing midnight already. So, we made our way back to Gemma’s where we enjoyed more of YouTube and Vine before falling asleep, readying myself to brace the early hour that I had to get up.

Overall, an amazing time, but I still didn’t see nearly enough so I cannot wait to go back which I am sure will be sooner rather than later.

Hasta luego.

Being a language assistant

After all these posts I have come to realise that there is one thing that is seriously lacking: explaining what life is like as not an ‘Erasmus student’ but a ‘language assistant’.

In the Erasmus programme you get 3 options: A) take on study at a European university. B) take on a work placement in somewhere in Europe. Or C) become a language assistant.

I decided to choose the latter option, as it meant that I would have a break from study, gain work experience before I graduate from university and earn 700 euros a month in addition to the Erasmus grant I am entitled to.

This all seems perfect, no? And whilst it has all worked out, and I love being a ‘lectora’, there were times before I arrived in the Spain when I wished I had just picked the university route.

In the UK, the ‘auxiliares’ program is run through the British Council. Unless you do it privately, there is no other way to do it, as far as I am aware. This means a lot of paperwork: paperwork for your uni, paperwork for Erasmus; paperwork for the British Council; and paperwork for the Ministry of Education in Spain. And this could get tiresome. It doesn’t help that it is a very long process. Despite all the deadlines to hand in forms, the British Council takes their time in getting back to you. And when you do receive an email from them, it tends to just be a note acknowledging your forms and paperwork.

I applied in December (with lots of help from UEA) and around April I received an email saying that I had been granted a place on the programme. Where was yet to be seen.

You see, when applying to work as a language assistant in Spain, you get groups A, B & C – you have different regions in each group, and you must pick one region from each and arrange them in preference order. You can also pick a preference in age group, and environment i.e. would you rather be in a city or the countryside? Cantabria was my first choice (which I got), followed by Valencia and La Rioja. My only other preference was being in the city – I like the countryside, and it is beautiful for a weekend away but I am certain that I would get restless very quickly if I was there permanently.

It then was until the end of July, that I found out where I would be based in Cantabria along with which school I would be working at.

And this can be particularly frustrating, considering that it means you are unable to search for accommodation, flights, prepare for your classes as you have absolutely no idea about what you should be doing, when, where and how. At times like these, I would always imagine how much better it would be if I went to a university – I would know where I am, there would be a support network, and certainly a number of other Erasmus students.

However, everything turned out quite nicely for me – it just took a lot of patience. 

I did find out what school I would be working at which is the Escuela Oficial de Idiomas de Santander. The majority of students who attend classes at this school are adults, but the age range can really vary. In some cases, I teach 16 year olds, in others, I teach 70 year olds. In fact, I even have a whole family of students including, Grandpa, Mum, Dad and their two teenage daughters.

There are lots of advantages teaching to adults, and overall, I am sooo glad this is my age group. Firstly, you have zero problems with discipline – most of the students want to be there, and have an active interest in learning English. You get few people who aren’t willing to participate, so, in general you can have a good lesson. Secondly, you can actually talk to them about real stuff – I teach Advanced 1 & Advanced 2 meaning that they can all speak pretty good English and are more concerned with conversation skills over vocab and grammar. You can easily open up a debate, and they are happy to ask me questions about UK culture so the classes can vary which is enjoyable. Thirdly – you can actually be friends with your students. Of course, you emphasise that you are their teacher, but it doesn’t mean you can’t share a coffee with them in the cafeteria and talk about their kid’s English classes at school. I often see my students (the majority of whom are older than me) wandering around the city with their children, but they always make sure to say hey.

Nevertheless, there are a couple of disadvantages too. For instance, sometimes, it can be difficult to accommodate to everybody’s interests due to the variety of ages. Whilst using One Direction to help improve English conversation skills might appeal to the teenage girls, it is highly unlikely that the 70 year old war veteran in the same class could even feign such an interest. So, you have to find a balance that is going to interest everyone which can often take a lot of time … and that’s just one lesson plan. Still, when you do find that perfect equilibrium, it is great and you get to really enjoy a class.

I have been lucky as well, and, overall, both the students and the teachers I work with are incredibly lovely. Those who study here have been willing to help me with matters outside of the school (where to go, what to do etc) as have the teachers, who have also been able to give me great advice. We occasionally have nice lunches together in the staff room and when working in the English department, people are sure to chat in both English and Spanish.

That is the other thing about working in an English department – you might think that your Spanish won’t improve as you are speaking in English a lot of the day. But, for me, except for in the actual lessons, I only talk in Spanish. And all the teachers are very patient with me and help me out along the way, they have been in my place when they were learning English. They understand the difficulty of trying to learn another language so they never make me feel bad when I struggle with sentences.

I have really lucked out, I have to admit. Especially as the EOI is approximately 3 minutes from my flat and I do not have to take an hour’s bus journey like some language assistants that I know.

Anyway, so that’s that, for now. I am sure there’ll be more on this at a later date.

Hasta luego. 

ESL confusions

One of my students said today:

                I think your brackets are very cute – I like them.

The word they were looking for? Dimples.

El Hayal de Aloños

Reminds you of England, doesn´t it? 

Remember that intercambio hiking group I told you about a few posts back? Well, this weekend I joined them once again to take a lovely hike in the Cantabrian countryside and mountains.  

This week there were a few less people than beforehand, but still, there were some fresh faces including other language assistants who reigned from the East End of London, Minnesota, Seattle and California. I also had the opportunity to practice my French a little this time round as I shared a carpool with a Spanish person who spoke fluent French and this is an intercambio for all languages.

Despite the early hour and suffering somewhat from lack of sleep, we were still able to engage in a healthy debate about the independence of Catalonia (the referendum was being held that day).

The journey wasn’t too long on this occasion, maybe taking just less than an hour to get to the teeny tiny village of Aloños.  But it was also very pretty, and on the way there we were able to enjoy some beautiful vistas. Despite this village being relatively unknown, one member of the group (the flatmate of a friend of mine) had relatives living there who she was sure to visit whilst we were there.

We then headed uphill – which was a very arduous but rewarding task.

Fortunately the weather held out for us, and we avoided any major downpours. And, because I can always find something to complain about, I would say that it was too sunny, in fact. It made sure that whenever we started walking, we would be unbearably hot, and the second you stopped you would get chills all over. 

However, I have to admit that the sunrays beaming through the autumn colours made it all the more beautiful – there were lots of golds and oranges! Moreover, the sun meant you were really able to the incredible greenery and the different scenes. In particular, I loved looking at the small villages in the valleys, as we stood at the peak, watching the sun light up one area whilst the other remained in relative darkness.

At some point in the afternoon, the clouds overhead got considerably darker. So, we decided that it was probably best to make our way back down, cutting the hike slightly short. As we descended down the mountain, we past many different farmyard animals. Arina and I tried to imitate them, in an attempt to communicate with the creatures (unsuccessfully I might add).  But it was then that we were to discover the different languages that animals speak! Onomatopoeia is not the same world over as you have thought – actually animal sounds differ between languages which (as a language geek) I find really interesting.

Once we regrouped back in Aloños, we sat in the gardens of the rustic church in front of a stunning backdrop and had some lunch. I also took this point to down a litre of water! We then were sure to warm up once more before we returned to Santander. We ducked into a small café-bar and had coffee all round!

The only negative I would say about these trips, is that sometimes you can get a little tired of waiting around. When there is so many of you, you find yourself walking, or just generally moving at different speeds and then you either have to wait or catch up. And because we rely on certain people driving, we then have to wait on the drivers schedules before we can leave. And when you are cold and tired, sometimes you just want to be able to head straight off home. This is really only a small thing though, and something that just has to be done. Actually, I appreciate the lift and enjoy the company and chatter. It is a fantastic way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Hasta luego. 

Filmoteca – El Sueño de Ellis

A few weeks ago, I went to the cinema and saw the critically acclaimed Hollywood film “Gone Girl”. Firstly, it was amazing! I absolutely loved it and in my opinion, Ben Affleck did himself proud. He is a much better actor than people often give him credit for. Personally, I think he is great and “Argo” is one of my most favourit-est films in the history of ever. I remember hearing about it last year but didn’t think much of it. It was only on the flight to Japan that I was able to see it, and even then I did do in a most difficult fashion. On the 13 hour journey on the way to the East Asian country, I managed to wait to hour 12 until I decided to watch it. So a little less than halfway through (and I was on the edge of my seat, absolutely blown away by it), we landed and off switched the screens. I was devastated but, as it turns out, 2 or so weeks in Japan was enough to keep my spirits up ;) On the way back, though, I was praying for “Argo” to still be there … and it was! 2 ½ weeks later, I was able to resume the film and still thought it was amazing – I couldn’t recommend it more.

But I digress. The point is I went to see the Castellano dubbed version of “Gone Girl” which was … interesting. The film was good, and the story was still fantastic but I still want to see it again in English. If I wasn’t certain before, I am certain now – I am not a fan of dubbing. In any language for that matter (French, Spanish …) – it is slightly different for cartoons and animations - but with live action, I do not enjoy watching someone where their voice does not match with their lip movements. It’s very distracting. It’s particularly difficult as, speaking English natively, I am only ever exposed to Hollywood films in their original English-speaking versions, and when you expect to hear Ben Affleck being … well, Ben Affleck … and it is isn’t him, it’s just jarring. I would always prefer to watch the original version of the film with subtitles.

So, I learnt (I learned? How do you make this in the past? Why is English so tricky?). And when I saw the poster for ‘The Immigrant’ (a film I have really wanted to see for a long while, ever since I saw Joaquin Pheonix was cast a couple of years ago), I was eager to find a cinema that screened it in English with Castellano subs. Fortunately, near the centre of the city in Santander, there is a small movie theatre called the Filmoteca which shows films in their original language. And this week they were showing “El sueño de ellis” (the Dream of Ellis) which is the very same film as “the Immigrant” but just retitled. Arina and I, who both share a love of Marion Cotillard, decided to go the weekend just passed and I think it’s safe to say that we both thought it was just amazing.

Marion Cotillard is incredible – not only is she stunningly beautiful, but she is one of the greatest actresses in existence. From start to finish, her portrayal of Ewa, a young polish immigrant who finds herself forced into prostitution in 1920s NYC, never faltered. It was so powerful. One of the things that we commented – which might sound like an odd thing to observe – was how well she acted simply waking up. Normally, for me anyways, it is clear when an actor is acting waking up from sleep – it’s a hard thing to convince an audience of. But, somehow, Cotillard does it so well. In this film too, there are a number of scenes which involve Ewa lying still, disappointed and discouraged with life, but even though there is little physical action, Cotillard is still able show the many feelings and thoughts of Ewa.

The story, itself, was strong too. And I often found myself with my hands to my mouth, or a tear running out the corner of my eye. Even when there were certain things that I saw coming (yes, I am being cryptic so then you will watch it too), I didn’t see how they were coming. And it was enough to surprise or even shock me.

Jeremy Renner was great in his role as the charismatic and charming “Orlando the Magician” and I won’t even start of how amazing Joaquin Pheonix was. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I love Joaquin Pheonix as an actor – he is one of the best, in my opinion. I always get the impression that he studies every single role he takes on thoroughly and makes sure he understands everything about his character. Like I said, this is my impression. Of course, I don’t actually know seeing as I don’t know the guy from Adam but as an actor, I think Joaquin Pheonix is positively amazing. In this case, he reminded me a lot of Al Pacino and his role of Michael in “The Godfather”. Not because the characters were similar - not at all - but because of the subtle but startlingly different change in character personality from the start to the ending of the film. Without giving too much away, Joaquin Pheonix’s character of Bruno starts as an entirely unlikeable person – acting as a pimp and taking advantage of immigrant women who have nothing and forcing them into prostitution (okay, so I gave it away, but you would have Wikipedia – ed the plot anyway). So anyways, he is horrible and then you detest him even more when he says how he is in love with Ewa and forces her to stay with him through means that make it seem like he is actually helping her. However, by the end, so much has happened, and it is only in the last scene when he lets her go, that I was convinced the he actually loved her. Up until that point, I don’t believe it was a matter of love, but a matter of power – by the end, I think he loved her and this was his act of redemption. Don’t get me wrong, you still aren’t warm to the guy. But you just have a greater understanding of him.

Overall, as you may have guessed, I really loved this film. “Enjoy” isn’t the right word, as it isn’t exactly a happy film, and often it can be quite heavy-going but, it is impressive and you leave the cinema talking about it. In fact, I even woke up thinking about it.

So, here’s to more films at the Filmoteca – in English, or Spanish or in whatever language they come in! And here’s to more films with Marion Cotillard and Joaquin Pheonix!

Hasta luego!  

Places I want to go to

As does every student spending time abroad, I have a long list of places and things that I want to do and see whilst I am in Spain. The trouble is, you see, that each time I manage to tick some of them off (as such Bilbao and Alicante), about four are added. I can’t help it – whenever I hear about that small village in the mountains or that festival in the south I just add it to the list. So it’s building up but I thought I would share the top 5 places on my list:

1. 
   Barcelona – having been here once before, I can truly say it is one of the prettiest cities in the world. It’s incredibly beautiful and extremely vibrant with the busy city not far from the ocean. I have to say that the main attraction for me, personally, is the work of Gaudi. Gaudi’s presence in Barcelona is so clear – just think of the Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell. The latter is a place I desperately want to return to, and would consider going to Barcelona for nothing more than that. It is like entering a wonderland with so many different colours and stunning views. However, with the whole independence referendum etc, I may put this off until the New Year when things may have hopefully calmed down a little.
2. 
   Madrid – it’s the capital! You have to visit Madrid whilst you’re in Spain, it would be ridiculous not to. Fortunately, it is also a place that I actually want to visit as well. I have only ever heard good things about the capital city with lots and lots of different things to do. As someone who loves art and culture, you can be sure I will be heading there ASAP (maybe even next week if possible) to tour all sorts of museums and see some of my chums who are currently there. Another plus is that it is only a short train ride away from Toledo … which brings me to place no. 3.
3.   
   Toledo – this place looks unbelievably beautiful and apparently it is perfect for a day trip. I am told that you can pretty much do everything there in one day, but that it is totally worth it and completely unforgettable. 
4.   
   Zaragoza – I have wanted to go to Zaragoza ever since I saw this picture on *ahem* Pinterest – that’s the 21^st century for you. Most tours are available online now! Anyway, it just looks lovely and I really want to see it with my own eyes, and experience walking through the streets in person and not through Google street view.
5. Andalucia – Okay so this is one giant region, but I could narrow any of the citi
   es/towns down to just one to fit in the top 5. So, one whole region it is! I am excited to go here and am hoping to spend two weeks there around Easter for the Semana Santa festivities. Of course the nice weather is always desirable but I also want to go for the history and architecture. Cordoba, Seville, Granada … I want to see them all. I am particularly interested in the mix of Islamic and Christian influence.
   

And that’s the top 5. Hopefully there will be blog posts about all of these wonderful places, as well as an abundance of others, at a later date. Keep an eye out for them!

Hasta luego

6. Okay, I could quite go until I got down a no. 6 as it is a place that I really really want to go. And this place is … New Orleans! Not even in Spain, I know – I want to travel all of the US really but New Orleans is the first place I want to go to. I can’t even tell you why really: I like a lot of American literature and a lot of my favourite books/plays/films are based in New Orleans, or at least glimpse at the city. So maybe that’s one of the reasons? I’m not sure. One thing I can be sure of though is that in the next 5 years I will have been to this seemingly incredible city and be able to feedback on the thoughts and expectation – maybe on this very same blog, but we’ll see, shall we?  
   
   
   

Odd questions

"You're English is amazing. How did you get to be so good?" 

Because I grew up in ... Because in England we speak ... Ergh, nevermind! 

Internet woes

Warning to all those going on a year abroad: things are never what they seem when it comes to accommodation. Never!

I did everything I was supposed to do: I searched the internet, and the newspapers for rooms to rent in the centre of Santander. I looked carefully at the pictures and dismissed any of those which showed the pictures to have been taken way back in 2007. I emailed the people, asking all the appropriate questions and used the wonders of google maps to see how long it would take me to get to work every day. And even when I thought I had found the most perfect of places, I decided not to sign or commit to anything until I had seen it person.

It was only when we saw this flat that I currently live in, with our own eyes that we agreed to pay a deposit and the first month’s rent.

I stand by that, overall, this place is great for someone in my position. There is no contract, so should I choose to leave at any point for whatever reason, I am not committed to anything. And the room and flat is great: it has lots of storage, and space for visitors to come and visit. It is also in a really good location, sitting in the centre of the city, with good bus links etc.

But I have come to the conclusion that the landlord is a bit of a yes-man. I.E. he says ‘yes’ to any question that you ask even though it may not be entirely truthful. For instance, when I asked ‘and there is internet here? It has wifi?’ the landlord replied ‘yes, of course’. However, there is no wifi. Upon moving in, one of the girls already living here said ‘no, there’s no wifi – never has been’. And I made sure that it wasn’t something that I had lost in translation - having spoken to Lea who speaks fantastic Spanish and moved in only a day after me, she said that she had also been told there was wifi when there wasn’t. Grrrrr.

Anyway, we thought that it would be okay. Lea and I agreed to investigate internet deals together and then we would split the cost between the two of us. Lea made a deal with Vodafone who said that within a few weeks not only would we receive the modem/router; someone would come to install it for us.

5-6 weeks later, and no one has come to install it for us. We have tried to it ourselves but there is something else that a member of Vodafone staff specifically needs to go to get it up and running. We have even returned to the store a few times to complain, and each time they assured us that someone would be coming that week. Well no one came, but they still had the audacity to charge us for a month’s worth of internet that had not been used, for want of trying. Eventually we came to the decision that we didn’t want Vodafone’s service, and took back the modem telling them to refund us. I think we had to, as we were getting absolutely nowhere with Vodafone and actually we’re no worse off than we were a few weeks ago.

I mean we still don’t have the internet, but it isn’t like we had it for it to be taken away again.

That said, these past few weeks have definitely shown me how much I rely on and enjoy the internet. It’s been a bit of a struggle keeping up with friends and family back home: just using Facebook or Skype which seem like pretty standard things to have these days is now a difficulty, having to time it out when I know I’ll be in a wifi zone. And it isn’t just socialising that is a difficulty. A lot of my uni stuff comes through facebook and I get all my Erasmus stuff from UEA by email. Which I can’t easily look up at the moment.

I have a project that I need to complete and I have started planning but sans internet it is proving tough.

And I don’t mean to sound like a spoilt brat, complaining about not having the internet when I know I am very lucky to have what I do have. It’s just, when you are used to something or expecting something, it is a great disappointment when it is not easily accessible anymore.

I can sometimes access Facebook and Whatsapp on my phone as I have a bit of internet as part of my mobile phone deal … also with Vodafone. And that has been mayhem too. Paying 20 euros a month for calls, texts and the internet. Not a week later I receive a text to say that all my internet has gone and if I use more they’ll start charging me 2 euros at a time. It was impossible to use so much internet in such a short space of time, I only used it to message people – there was no downloading videos or music so I really have no idea what it was that could have maxed out my internet. Letting it slide this time, I topped up my phone with another 20 at the end of the month. That was the weekend I went to Alicante and used Wifi pretty much the entire time, but come Monday they told me I had used it all again. This doesn’t make any sense to me, I understand nothing. What’s more, is that a few days after that they cut off my text and calls as well forcing me to use my UK number. I went to PhoneHouse and asked to top up my phone one more time. Now, it all seems to be working smoothly but it means I have paid 60 euros within one and half months. Rest assured, Vodafone is receiving a strongly worded email.

To sum it up, Vodafone is terrible, and I would not advise anyone to go with them should you come to Spain. After using up my 20 euros this time round, I think I will be switching to Yoigo (a phone company that I have only heard good things about). That is my piece of advice to you, and my rant is now done. Thanks for listening – it has been driving me a little crazy. Next time, I shall try to be more positive…perhaps it will be “Yay, I have internet” but we’ll see.

Hasta luego. 

Halloween in Santander

How time flies? It doesn´t feel that long ago that I first arrived here in Santander, but now* it´s the 31^st of October: Halloween. I think it would have completely passed me by if not for my friend, Arina. Arina loves Halloween and it was decided some time ago that we would definitely go out for it, with hopefully some dressing up as well. But like I said, time is flying by and when it finally came round to it, I realised that I did not have one thing suitable for a good Halloween costume, and what´s more I had no time to even buy/invent something.  

Arina and I had discussed as going as sexy ghosts, considering that ‘sexy’ anything tends to be Halloween norm these days but we decided that it wasn’t really for us and endeavoured to find other costumes.

Well, I thought it was funny

In a spare two minutes that I had, I went to a corner store and bought a witch’s hat, and thought that would be enough for a night out. Arina, on the other hand, made a pretty good effort. Along with her flatmate, she dressed up as a masked robber, complete with plastic knife and swag bag. Another language assistant even dressed up as a typical American tourist, wearing socks with sandals and smothering his face in sun cream.

As for the locals, I would say it was about half and half. That is, half were in costumes celebrating Halloween and the other half not. Halloween isn’t particularly special or important event here so there weren’t too many people out and about for the specific purpose of enjoying All Hallows Eve. Those who did participate however, tended to be dressed up as some sort of cool/sexy zombie or corpse bride. And some, I must admit, had the most amazing makeup. Their face paint was on point, with all sorts of different and somewhat gothic patterns. Was very cool.

Most of evening was spent just hanging out in Plaza Canadio. Sitting on the steps of the square, we just shared a few drinks and chatted, getting to know other people who had come along that night but didn’t know beforehand. We, of course, also made our way to el Rio de la Pilar and I enjoyed a tortilla bocadillo. There is a small shop along this road, which personally does the best tortilla bocadillos: they are extremely tasty and very warm. I can’t help but buy one whenever I pass this shop. Arina and I suggested that they offer a reward system in a similar way to Café Nero: you get a stamp every time you buy a sandwich and then, you get your 10^th for free! I wish they would introduce something of the sort because I would have built up a good amount by now.

Whilst eating the sandwiches, we were able to watch a small band making its way up and down the street. 10-ish people dressed in very creepy masks played music as part of a band, whilst puppets of 10ft or more danced frightening some of the kids out trick or treating. It was enjoyable to watch though and made for a good night.

And that was Halloween, here’s to the next back in Norwich.

Hasta luego.

*I wrote this a few days ago, but have only just got around to posting it. 

Post GCSE reunion in Alicante

Fresher’s week is a strange and wonderful time where even the most tenuous of common interests can build friendships for life. Yes, there are T-Shirt parties and other outings of the like, but there are also the obligatory school meetings where you are introduced your school family for the next, say 3-4 years. In my case: the LCS family (Language and Communication Studies). Now this school is a particularly tight knit group, but even so, at the beginnings there are some divisions. Not because people are not welcoming, just because you are grouped based on your level of language. So for me, I was in Post-GCSE Spanish. As was Katy and Stefano.

As you can imagine, when there is only 3 of you in a group, you get to be pretty close. But when year abroad time came, we would have to be split up and scatter ourselves over Spain. I headed to the North (as you know), Stefano went to Madrid and Katy chose to take up study at the University of Alicante.

Katy lives there, sharing a flat on the sea front with the lovely Francesca (lucky things), another good friend of mine from UEA. I was always going to visit them at some point, but the original plan was to spend my birthday weekend in November. But things got too exciting and when I found out that Stefano and possibly Gemma (another UEA lady who did go) were heading there, I decided to jump on the bandwagon.

And I am soooo glad I did as it was pretty fab.

Despite the long train journey (8 hours to be exact), it was totally worth it. I arrived at the station to see two smiling faces that I had missed very much. I got a short tour of UA and even sat in one of the translation classes, which seemed very difficult and made me very pleased that I decided to take a work placement for this year. When Stefano and Gemma arrived from Madrid, it meant the weekend could no ensue properly.

Not only was I able to an incredibly warm day at the beach, I was actually able to take a relaxing swim in the sea. I am a water baby and love to swim out to the buoys, but I am particular careful here in Santander as there are considerably more rocky areas and rougher waves. And on the shore, I was able to just lie calmly and enjoy the heat. What’s more is that I was able to do all this with mindless and fantastic conversation.

I am here to make new friends and to improve my Spanish, and I am loving it. But I have to admit that it is nice, sometimes, to be able to talk without having to think, with people you are already very friendly with. I was able to simply relax.

We continued to relax for most of the weekend, enjoying dinner at an Italian (I had a chorizo pizza  - t’was amazing) as well as an ice cream at the 3^rd best ice cream parlour in Spain. Don’t get me wrong, I think being the 3^rd best at anything should be credited but I found this quite odd marketing. I guess there must be an official thing, but it wasn’t indicated, so it kinda looked like the shop itself had just decided it was only 3^rd best. Surely you would say THE best, no? The ice cream was pretty damn good though, and they gave generous portions. I had some white chocolate and dulce de leche, which was lovely and I was told to enjoy it by passing strangers which was both nice and strange.

And of course, it wouldn’t be a weekend away with your uni friends without some alcohol. Having purchased some already we figured it must go, so we drank as we chatted and watched Doctor Who (an episode that I did not fully understand as I have not seen this series yet despite it being on a to-do list). My choice of drinks tends to be one of two: the first being JD and coke, and the next being Desperados. I enjoy both very much, but have yet to have Jack Daniels here in Spain as it doesn’t seem to be very popular. This weekend though I wasn’t really feeling any specific type of alcohol so just went along with what anyone else liked. Including 4 euro vodka. At 4 euros you just had to buy it! Katy and I split it, mixing it with lemonade and it was … revolting. Like seriously, it tasted like paint-stripper. It was awful, and my face clearly showed my opinion as Katy and Stefano burst into laughter. When it comes to giggling, us three are easily influenced by one another and then I just couldn’t stop to the point where I had to leave the room.

On a separate note, we also noticed, but did not buy ‘cannabis-flavour absinthe’ … okay Spain.

The castle was another notable trip. Personally, I thought it was very interesting, dating back to Moorish times. If you aren’t interested in the history aspect though, it is worth a trip for the views alone. It sits high above the city, so you are able to get a fantastic scene of the sea and the buildings below. And some of the buildings are also very pretty – especially those with all sorts of vivid colours.

Churros and chocolate – that was another highlight.

I was so sad to leave by the end, as we had such a wonderful time. And it really made me realise how lucky I am to have such lovely people as my friends. But let’s not get too soppy - I am sure I will see them again soon. Even then we were already planning a trip to Madrid to happen in the next couple of months, and I am sure you will read that blog post when it comes to it.  

Hasta luego.