My Catalan Adventures I - The day I accidentaly broke into someone's home

My arrival day was quite eventful. I am now copying what I have written in my diary onto my computer for your enjoyment. Excuse the very long first post but it could not be shorter. =)

09:00 – I get up, finish packing my bags, make myself a cappuccino, eat a slice of bread and kiss everyone goodbye. This is always hard. Everyone hates goodbyes so I try and make it quick say “see you soon” and head off out the flat. I try not to cry but I always do.

10:30 – I get in the cab that will be taking me to London City Airport. I have never flown from City Airport before so am excited at the prospect of it only taking 30 minutes for me to reach it. My flight is at 1.15pm. The cab driver is from Ethiopia but he was born in Sudan. He tells me he loves Spain after he asks about my destination and I tell him I want to go to Addis Ababa one day. The most of the journey is silent. I’m reflecting on how the next year is going to be.

11:00 – We arrive at the airport. I check in via the self check-in machines so all I need to do is ‘bag drop’, drop my bag, right? Wrong. Everyone who has checked in before hand is made to queue with those who haven’t checked in. There is a very long queue. I think ‘fudge this’ and go off to find a solution for my rumbling stomach. I find a prêt a manger; buy myself a club sandwich and a cuppa tea. Satisfied, I get up and rush to the toilets whilst trying to balance the newly bought mandarin between my luggage. [Side note 1 – I have one hiking bag, one backpack (very heavy backpack), a guitar, a small bag for my important items and a plastic bag containing The economist, Time, New Scientist and Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time)

11:30 – I leave the toilet, there is still a massive queue so I decided I have to join it. So I queue, I pick up my copy of “Wharf” newspaper and drool over the photo of the winner of the astronomy photography competition and further complain with the couple behind me about the whole situation of having to queue when we had checked in before hand. I am told by a random stranger he is going to Portugal, I smile and kindly ignore.

11:45 - Finally it’s my turn and I stroll up to the desk, hand my ticket over and am told I must drop my bag in Zone A. (!?) I go to Zone A, drop my bag and head towards security.

12:00 – After passing through security, which was quite eventless other than having to take my shoes off and being frisked by a way-too-keen police officer I go to Waterstones and purchase the magazines I mentioned earlier. Bit of light reading for the journey. I find a seat in the lounge, eat my mandarin and commence reading.

12.50 – Roughly an hour later I am asked to board, so I walk down the long corridor to gate 10. (Side note 2 – London city Airport is quite small. If I hadn’t queued for an hour I would have nicer things to say about it – such as mentioning the comfort of the leather lounge chairs)

13:00 – We pass through the gate to find ourselves in a relatively small stuffy room. I am lucky enough to find a seat. An old Spanish couple kick up a fuss with the somewhat unhelpful airport staff about why we were asked to wait in this small stuffy room when in fact we were sat comfortably in the lounge. I offer my chair up, proudly they refuse. After 15 mins or so we are allowed to board the plane. I make my way to the front stairs and get settled into 5B next to a lovely Scottish lady who lives in Melbourne.

15:00 – We still haven’t budged. The minute we had entered the plane it had started to rain and after refuelling, due to weight restrictions we are not allowed to fly. After 4 volunteers leave the plane to catch a later flight from Gatwick at 6pm (and £250 pounds richer due to compensation) and after their bags have been individually found from the heap of suitcases in the baggage hold we wait for another 30 minutes for permission from air traffic control before we can lift off. Meanwhile, the air conditioner is on full blast and I have literally pulled my hoodie over my face trying to avoid making my cold worst.

18:30 – I awake 5 minutes left to landing. The only thing I have eaten are a packet of korma crisps made especially for the flight. I have also shared a small bottle of red wine with my neighbour. Eager to leave we get up when we land and head quickly into the airport to baggage claim.

18:45 – I have my bags and am currently sharing a cab into Barcelona with the lady from Melbourne. I am late and need to be at the train station to Flaca. We decide sharing a cab will be a) cheaper and b) quicker. I nearly send the driver to Estats Nord (the bus station) but correct my mistake and send him to SANTS (the train station) instead. I get off at the station and he helps put my hiking bag on my back. I look like a camel.

19:15 – I am on the train to Flaca. Finally. I am still hungry and now quite tired. Some of my friends will know the term we use for this situation of hunger mixed with grumpiness. HANGER (hunger + angry). I am hangry. The journey is two hours long. (Side note 3 – There is no announcement on the train as to which station we are at so it gets increasingly difficult to figure out where the hell I am in the dark looking through the window of the train. I keep asking people “Donde Estamos?” “Where are we?” and finally manage to find my stop) A kind gentleman helps me with my guitar and I am greeted by my coordinator.

21:30 – I am in a car with my coordinator, her friend, her daughter and a dog. I am making my way to Palafrugell, my hometown for the next year and am told that a teacher from the school I will be teaching has prepared some food for me. My mum texts me “It’s getting realer by the minute”. I agree.

22:00 – I arrive at the teacher’s house that receives me kindly with her husband and two children. There is an omelette, manchego cheese and pan con tomate (bread with tomato sauce, olive oil and a little garlic sometimes). I could not be happier. I feel welcome.

22.20 – I am taken to my apartment by the husband of the teacher and their 8-year-old daughter. We are not only carrying my items but umbrellas too. It has started to rain heavily. I am told that “I have bought the rain from England”. I hope he’s not right!

22:25 – I walk up to the first floor of the apartment building and am let into my flat. I say that it was meant to be the flat next door but we have the set of keys, given to us by the estate agent for this flat. I don’t make a fuss, the flats are identical so I walk in happily, put my bags on the floor, say goodbye and sigh a sigh of relief. I start exploring. Everything is pristine. I am glad, they have cleaned the place up for me. I go into the bathroom and find a bathroom mat in the shower. Oh! A gift, I lay it on the floor and smile. I then make my way into the bedroom. There are sheets on the bed all made up. I think that’s very nice of them. I then open the drawer and to my surprise find some bras looking up at me.

Hang on a minute, says my brain, this doesn’t seem right. My parents call just at this minute. I explain the situation and I am convinced to call my estate agent. I hang up, call my estate agent and hear a long sigh. There has been a mistake. I hang up and slowly panic. What if the lady who lives here comes back right now as I am looking at her dressed in her cupboard?? I take all my things; turn off all the lights, and head to sit on the stairs of the apartment. I am waiting for the estate agent to call me back. I get up every 30 seconds to press the apartment lights on so I don’t sit in complete darkness. I am called back and told there is a key to my apartment under the mat of a flat upstairs. I don’t ask questions, go upstairs and indeed there is. The agent explains, the woman who lives upstairs used to live in my flat and has just put them there for me, as she hasn’t returned them to the office.

23:00 – I get into my own flat. My empty flat and sigh again. This is home. I brush my teeth and head straight to my empty bed. My jumper makes a fabulous pillows and I fall fast asleep.


Follow up – I get a visit the next day from my neighbour. She introduces herself and asks “Did you take a shower in my flat?” I’m surprised. “No, of course not. Nice to meet you too” Then I remember – the bathroom mat. I explain, we laugh and am told, “Well, if you ever need anything you’re more than welcome.” I give my thanks and we enter our own flats.

Musicovery/Stereomood

So in between working hard and playing hard, I haven't had much time to update my blog. But I have been meaning to tell all you music lovers out there about Musicovery and Stereomood.

I know most of us (especially in the UK) have converted to using Spotify or have been faithfully using LAST.FM or Grooveshark for our musical needs but I want to tell you about the above which I haven't heard discussed/used as much.

Musicovery - A great website I discovered a few years back when I was getting bored of shuffle on my iTunes. It's a website where you scroll over a 'mood pad' and choose inbetween the options of 'dark', 'positive', 'energetic' and 'calm'. Upon doing this you click and Musicovery makes a playlist for you. You can register (for free!), share the songs on facebook, make playlists etc. It's pretty good for discovering new tunes an artists (also can be quite fitting for your mood. The layout used to be better in my opinion (lovely bubbles of colour floating around representing each song ) but its still easy to use and colourful.

Now in my opinion, musicovery is good for the random selection of music you can get ranging from 80s disco music to 00s rock etc. You can also taylor in your 'mood pad', the genre you want. But for thematic choice of songs for your mood stereomood is the place to be.

Stereomood. - Steremood is a great wesbite, again which you can register for free, share songs and make personalised playlists. What's great about this site is you get to choose from a list of words which mood you are in such as 'happy, 'good karma' (the two I choose the most - Good Karma has a great playlist) , 'groovy', 'worried', 'asleep on my feet', 'troubled', 'nostalgic' etc. Also has a great user interface. Stereomood is 2 years old this year; apparently America is the 'happiest' nation whilst Canadians the most 'relaxed'. Check it out, seriously!

ICYE UK - Volunteer abroad!

So, I've just started a marketing and recruitment intern at ICYE UK (Inter Cultural Youth Exchange UK) and am loving it.

ICYE UK is part of a larger federation called ICYE that works with other local ICYE offices around the world to promote ethical volunteering.

If you are up for volunteering overseas for short term or long term programmes check out our website!

Currently there are great opportunities long-term in Mexico, Bolivia and Brazil!

If you are interested in finding out more contact ICYE UK today.

Also you can 'like' us on facebook to keep up to date with new opportunities and follow us on twitter @ICYEUK

Anonymous poem

"When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow,
Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit."
~ Unknown

February - The Depressing Month?

So, everyone says February is the most depressing month of the year. Christmas celebrations are over, New Year's Resolutions have been thrown out the window (Thank God I didn't make any this year!) and well it's not quite spring and not quite winter. I think today however can prove people wrong, especially for those living in London which is obviously where I am based. Look at that sun! Anyway.

Now - the reason I think February is possibly considered a depressing month is because we clearly expect way to much from ourselves and say to ourselves 'this year will be the best year ever!' There is no reason for this kind of pressure. Of course it is great to make resolutions, to want to improve ourselves, eat healthier, do more exercise etc. but it's even worst when we feel disappointed with ourselves for not carrying out those new promises we have made. What I'm trying to say is realistic expectations are less prone to disappoint. So instead of making a new year's resolution I just kind of decided I would take one day at a time, see what was bugging me about myself and sort of start from there.

To be perfectly honest my winter blues were the most intense this year during December and this was due to a variety of factors such as being ill with tonsillitis for a while, moving house, and not knowing what the hell to do with my life after graduating from my MA. Now, the disappointment or frustration was due to expectations. We are told since the beginning of our school lives that if we go to university then we will be able to get good fun jobs and live will be perfect. Well, admittedly this is not really the case and I am not sure if this build up is really fair on children/teenagers. Another thing which is rather annoying is that people in the U.K around thirty years ago were able to find decent jobs without having to go to university. Now this is practically impossible - you need to have a BA, MA, unpaid work experience, more experience and what's that - oh yeah, more unpaid experience. If you don't give me experience how am I ever to go where I need?

The most important thing is taking initiative and being creative. It's a dog eat dog world out there and if you don't have that little spark then your chance of getting that dream job is going to be even harder especially in a city as competitive as London.

What I also find rather annoying is that certain skills are not valued as much as they should be. I know this isn't a great example necessarily, but why is it that being a carpenter is less valuable than being a banker? Isn't creating something with our hands both beautiful and as creative as you can get? Actually physically interacting with the objects/materials around us? Yes I know I am being awfully and ridiculously romantic at the moment considering human beings are no longer living in small societies and are interacting on a global scale with complex systems of trade and capitalism in place. Things are no longer 'small'. And is it still the case that 'small is beautiful'? Discuss. (See Schumacher's 'Small is Beautiful': Economics as if people mattered)

The point I am trying to make with my rant is that we should take some time during our day to day lives to just stop and 'be'. We are constantly concerned about the future or the past, and as cliche as this may sounds, it is true. Take some time to be on your own, take a walk, maybe make something with your hands - they are not just there to type away on a computer (...). People constantly say "I don't have the talent to draw, paint, play guitar, learn an instrument, carve wood, make potterty etc etc." I think that isn't necessarily true. It only takes a bit of determination and desire to get better at something. Go into an arts and crafts shop buy some random supplies and try! Or just cook a decent meal from scratch for Ford's sake!

Yes, you might not be the next Rembrandt or Bach but once you've painted even the worst of paintings you will feel some sort of sense of satisfaction or release (I promise - I have friends to vouch for this). To avoid February or in fact any month being a depressing month try and find new ways of releasing, expressing or even perceiving the world - yes it may not be easy, but that's the point. Read books you never would, go to music gigs you don't generally like, be vegetarian for a week. Even small differences I reckon can help people look into themselves and see the things they want to change or keep.

I know you've probably heard all of the above before, but I felt like releasing and so I did, and sometimes it's important to have little reminders to tell us that there actually is a world of opportunities out there, not just the little bubble we are a part of!

Thanks for reading this long if you have, leave comments if you so desire!