After a huge kerfuffle in the Madrid airport, not being able to board the plane because of suposed "missing" documents, me saying i had my plane ticket from Hong Kong to Auckland which is all i needed, but all the time the guy was meaning my return plane ticket from Auckland, which of course does not exist. Carrying a Dutch passport i can understand the confusion, but showing him my NZ residents visa made him sweat!!!!! All that time for nothing.......... at least he upgraded me to business class.
Though i had only 2 minutes to say goodbye to Susi, us both in tears. Complete ratshit if you ask me. Here comes 2008.......
Anyway, got home, finally!!! Dad picked me up, and all was sweet, went to my job interview within 2 hours in Auckland, and got the EF job!! Yay!!! So i´ll be visiting Hamiltron schools in the near future promoting a high school year overseas!! I have a few other jobs in the pipeline also, hopefully!! (http://www.ef.co.nz/master/hsy/index_asia.asp)
The photo is taken from an old bike in Amsterdam, i have just put up a lot of new photos, mostly scanned ones from an old olympus film camera that i have from my grandmother. i´ve really enjoyed using it!!
Into the second week at uni, and things are looking good so far!!
Do i really need to use this anymore?
Please comment........
Travelling, Part 2
Last Few Days On The Other Side Of The World
Mid june: I finished up teaching my 70 or so rascals, and my last 2 weeks were converted into holidays with a fantastic end-of-contract bonus. I wanted to spend my last weeks lazing on the beach, but typical Basque weather set in and it rained nearly everyday. Bummer.
Slowly I packed up my beautiful room, taking many memories off the wall, and carefully stuffing them into my bulging hiking pack. Luckily i had taken back a bunch of thinkgs at Easter, but even so, i had to leave a lot of clothes/things behind, and send a few packages also.
I left my flat on Friday morning, rather hungover from the farewell party the night before - my last time seeing my friends!!! Took a plane with Susi and Gema to Madrid, where Susi and i stayed the night with her cousin Vanessa and María José. We all went out that night....
Coincidence would have it that it was the European Gay Pride Festival that weekend, and the place, namely Chueca (Madrids gay suburb) was packed!!! We all had so much fun drinking on the terraces and watching a concert and absorbing the nightlife in general. A shame that we missed out on the huge parade the next day!
On Saturday Susi and i went to Segovia, 2 hours from Madrid in train, for our final opportunity for time together relaxing. We had a beautiful hotel - a mini palace with cool views and a patio restaurant in the middle. Another unplanned coincidence was that that weekend was a Segovia Folk Festival, so we had devine music wafting up into our room, and various concerts spread out around the city. Segovia itself is precious, with a big and tall Roman aquaduct, a huge cathedral, and enormous fortressed castle with (empty) moat included!! We were there 2 nights, and it was an enchanting and unforgettable few days alone. If only it could have lasted forever.
Went back to Madrid on monday, and all too quickly, Tuesday the 3rd of July 2007 arrived. The day I´d been dreading for nearly 2 years suddenly loomed upon me and swallowed me whole.
Though I almost wasn´t allowed on the plane......more of that in part 2.
I am sitting in the Hong Kong airport at the moment, and my laptop is about to dieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
See you all tomorrow.....................................................
Janine
On My Way Home
| Well, this is my last night in Spain. I´m staying with some spanish friends, and tomorrow afternoon my plane leaves for Amsterdam, then to Hong Kong the next day, and the friday morning I´m HOMEEEEEEEEEEEE. I don´t have time to be pensive about all this at the moment, i want to get it over and done with, and come home. But at the same time no, i want to stay here and enjoy everything all over again. Sigh. Time to check for dangerous items/liquid bottles over 100ml etc etc crap in my luggage. I do appologise for not keeping the world more informed of my comings and goings. What i will tell you, and later on show you in photos, is that i am very much in love and it tears me apart to leave here. I don´t want to think about tomorrow. But i do want to think about friday (i have a job interview that day even!). Ya veremos. tq guapa. mucho. The fantastic "Janine In Spain" (soy super chula) |