Well. Sorry for the delay. It has been a long delay..... Sorry.
Ok, I have a job, well, 2 actually, 1 teaching 27 hours/week of English to 90 students (distributed in 9 classes, ages from 6 to 40ish), basically 5 hours a day from 4/5ish until 10. This is in Sopelana, 4 metro stops away. Its a really nice modern building, and cool teachers (3 from spain, one from scotland). i have a good time there! And a second small job on saturday mornings where i basically play and entertain 7/8 year olds... painting, playing sports etc, "creating a fun environment" to learn English. Both jobs pay well, and both jobs have a contract until June..... therefore I come home in June. I´m extatic about staying, tho i realise there were many awaiting my return around xmas. I´m really sorry, but while i´m here i´d love to take advantage of this opportunity.
I come home in June, and finish my degree july-februrary at waikato. After that, who knows.... maybe i return here.
In other news.......... the tendontitis has spread to my knees, my legs are a mess. This is severely dissappointing, and tomorrow i´m phoning a new doctor. I´m sick of not being able to do stuff.... i haven´t run, danced, hiked, etc in 11 months. And most of you all know me as an outdoor person, so this totally sucks, i get very very frustrated.
In more news....... i smell lunch cooking and i have to go and prepare my classes today.
i hope all goes well, and that all is going well.
Happy Birthday Erica!!!!!
&
Farewell Markel!!!!! (he´s off to the USA, buena suerte amigo)
It´s Back
Oh yeah, you know what time it is
Oh yeah, you know what is occupying all my bandwidth
Oh yeah, you know what just kicked off its 3rd season
Oh yeah, you know I´m obsessed
Oh yeah, you know I´m more obsessed with this programme more than I was with Button Moon
Oh yeah........ it´s back
Oh yeah, I´m in heaven.........................
Oh yeah, you know what is occupying all my bandwidth
Oh yeah, you know what just kicked off its 3rd season
Oh yeah, you know I´m obsessed
Oh yeah, you know I´m more obsessed with this programme more than I was with Button Moon
Oh yeah........ it´s back
Oh yeah, I´m in heaven.........................
English Village
Well, my week long adventure is over. And it was very cool.
You´ll have to excuse the jumpy aroundness of this email, its due to the fact i just ate an entire mango. and lots of chocolate. my stomach is doing some interesting somersaults.
I did a Pueblo Inglés, which in english is English Village. I went to a 4 star hotel near a beautiful town called La Alberca near Salamanca. The climate was amazing, as here i am seen jumping (no i´m no kneeling) into our pristine pool during siesta (nap) time. I stayed in an awesome place, buffet breakfast, lunch & dinner 3 courses, exquisite food (& free wine) it was too. I shared my little house with Irene from Burgos who works in DVD sales for Warner Bros in Spain. I had my own room with bathroom and we shared a lounge. The photos i have up show more about the place.... but it was the people that really made the experience.
So my "job" was to speak English to the Spaniards who had paid nz$4000 to come here for 1 week. It wasn´t really a job at all.... i just made more effort to converse than i normally would speak. And it was fantastic, there were only a few "cobweb moments" as we came to call moments of silence (you find yourself staring up at the cobwebs in the ceiling). (but there were no cobwebs). The 22 spaniards came from many works of life, tho all professionals (lots of lawyers and sales reps), and were all really easy to talk to. And the other Anglos (english speakers) on the programme were really funky people also, a mix of aussies, poms, americans, canadian, irish, and even a south african from israel.
The week flew by and then i was in madrid meeting up with Vanesa who used to live in Bilbao, and i spent the night and day with her and her sister Mari José. I had a really fun time, unfortunately i was so tiredddddddddddd. So i caught the night bus from madrid to bilbao (5 hours) and crawled into my bed at 7am surprising a shocked spaniard hehehehehehehehehehe.
Such is life.
Life is beautiful.
I´m living a wonderful life.
(Um, unfortunately i´m still jobless, so i´m living a wonderful poor life at the moment hehehehe) (thanks mim)
JaNina
You´ll have to excuse the jumpy aroundness of this email, its due to the fact i just ate an entire mango. and lots of chocolate. my stomach is doing some interesting somersaults.
I did a Pueblo Inglés, which in english is English Village. I went to a 4 star hotel near a beautiful town called La Alberca near Salamanca. The climate was amazing, as here i am seen jumping (no i´m no kneeling) into our pristine pool during siesta (nap) time. I stayed in an awesome place, buffet breakfast, lunch & dinner 3 courses, exquisite food (& free wine) it was too. I shared my little house with Irene from Burgos who works in DVD sales for Warner Bros in Spain. I had my own room with bathroom and we shared a lounge. The photos i have up show more about the place.... but it was the people that really made the experience.
So my "job" was to speak English to the Spaniards who had paid nz$4000 to come here for 1 week. It wasn´t really a job at all.... i just made more effort to converse than i normally would speak. And it was fantastic, there were only a few "cobweb moments" as we came to call moments of silence (you find yourself staring up at the cobwebs in the ceiling). (but there were no cobwebs). The 22 spaniards came from many works of life, tho all professionals (lots of lawyers and sales reps), and were all really easy to talk to. And the other Anglos (english speakers) on the programme were really funky people also, a mix of aussies, poms, americans, canadian, irish, and even a south african from israel.
The week flew by and then i was in madrid meeting up with Vanesa who used to live in Bilbao, and i spent the night and day with her and her sister Mari José. I had a really fun time, unfortunately i was so tiredddddddddddd. So i caught the night bus from madrid to bilbao (5 hours) and crawled into my bed at 7am surprising a shocked spaniard hehehehehehehehehehe.
Such is life.
Life is beautiful.
I´m living a wonderful life.
(Um, unfortunately i´m still jobless, so i´m living a wonderful poor life at the moment hehehehe) (thanks mim)
JaNina
Missing Home
These past few weeks i´ve been missing home. Which is a little weird because i haven´t missed it that much during the past year. Ah, which reminds me, in Granada I celebrated 1 year away from NZ, which probably sparked this want for NZ. Which reminds me that yes i have finally bought my ticket home. Unfortunately due to sky rocketing prices it had to be after xmas, but luckily before new years eve. So we will meet again!!!! Fear not!!!!
So i´m sitting here in my lounge watching NZ getting its arse kicked by the Spanish basketball team in the world cup in Japan, quite possibly increasing my homelyness. I´m not calling it homesickness because its not that, but its something there.
Recently there were the festivals in a part of Algorta where i live, and there was a mini parade with about 20 groups - 2 of which were performing the maori haka!!! one group was more specialised with the "flax" skirts etc, and they did
a face off with the new haka and the old haka. It was the first time i´ve seen the new haka and i don´t like it! I like the old one a million times over the new one, plus i was the only one singing along in 
the crowd. The photo on the left is of Tibu, one of my friends, more friends with Markel than me. His group did awesome!Listening to Evermores new album Real Life and i´m loving it. So talented those 3 boys are.
My flatmate Gema, the journalist who is doing an internship in El Correo, the 4th biggest newspaper in Spain, is going to write a report on New Zealand!!! Yihooooooooooo! If you guys have any fantastic photos that you have taken yourself please send them to me and lets see if they´re good enought to make it into the saturday edition..... I have a few family photos, but seeing as Willoughby my (idiot) brother formatted our family computer without saving any of my stuff (documents, uni stuff, videos, photos...) i now am left with nothing. :-(
Well, I have a mini job in Salamanca, 8 hours away, teaching english for 1 week to business executives. Well, teaching kind of, i am there to talk english to them in an English Village. Looks to be very interesting, with lodgings and meals and bus all paid for. So here´s to getting a bit of experience!!!!!!
Wintery weather here, storms and low temperatures and miserable Hamilton weather. Just like you´re having now i imagine? Well at least we get soaring temeratures next week... hehehe.
Fantastic Granada
Well, I was blown away by Granada.
Stunned.
Incredibled. Wait thats not a word.
Thats because words fail to describe Granada.
Hence i took LOTS of photos. You can see them here.
Lets just say i did lots of walking around La Alhambra, a mix of christian and moorish (from north africa) palaces and fortresses and castles and gardens that were built between the 12th and 15th century. Its fantastic. I loved it.
The photos explain it all.
I love the bee one. perfect timing!!
well, i´m back home in Getxo now, and i really really have to find a job. i blew the budget on my trip........... i´m in debt for the first time in my life (excluding my debt to the government... oh jeez don´t remind me about that....)...... thank goodness i don´t have to pay rent every month, instead it gets lumped into one giant sum in december. oh crap, december.
sigh.
my holiday now just a memory!!! i want more holidays!!!!!!
hehehe, the cat just twitched next to me.
ok guys, enjoy the photos. i know there are lots. be patient. i enjoyed taking them, i hope you enjoy watching them.
Stunned.
Incredibled. Wait thats not a word.
Thats because words fail to describe Granada.
Hence i took LOTS of photos. You can see them here.
Lets just say i did lots of walking around La Alhambra, a mix of christian and moorish (from north africa) palaces and fortresses and castles and gardens that were built between the 12th and 15th century. Its fantastic. I loved it.
The photos explain it all.
I love the bee one. perfect timing!!
well, i´m back home in Getxo now, and i really really have to find a job. i blew the budget on my trip........... i´m in debt for the first time in my life (excluding my debt to the government... oh jeez don´t remind me about that....)...... thank goodness i don´t have to pay rent every month, instead it gets lumped into one giant sum in december. oh crap, december.
sigh.
my holiday now just a memory!!! i want more holidays!!!!!!
hehehe, the cat just twitched next to me.
ok guys, enjoy the photos. i know there are lots. be patient. i enjoyed taking them, i hope you enjoy watching them.
Camels Snakes Spiders & Dolphins
All were creatures discovered through my trip to Tangier, Morocco. Wow. So overwhelming. I can't wait to put my photos up. At my current hostel in Granada i can't, so thats a bit dumb. When i get home in 2 nights i'll put them up.
anyway.
CAMELS. got a bit seasick on the 30 min ferry, then straight into the tour bus (there was no way i was doing morocco on my own) where we were taken to ride camels!!!! they are awkwardly graceful and didn't spit at me which was nice.
SNAKES. taken around very very windy and narrow streets, with vendors trying to sell us everything under the sun, and i mean everything (apart from hashish (a moroccan specialt) lamented one tourist), and were very very pushy about it. saying a firm no and walking away wasn't enough. you couldn't escape! i didn't buy anything from them tho. hehehehe i won. We were led to a snake charmer and i got the snake around my neck. its very slimey and cold. not a nice feeling. then on to lunch which was shish kebab and kuskus with mint tea afterwards to help indigestion. very nice restaurant with a band playing traditional arabian music. then more winding walking and we were taken to many bazaars with carpets and spices galore.
SPIDERS. ok so i'm exagerating this one, i had a spider on my hotel pillow. hehehehe. i spent the afternoon by the hotel pool, and this was one really really nice pool. i did venture out to the beach, (the hotel was beachfront ***) but the hissing and stares as i simply walked along made me really uncomfortable. i was the only blonde on the beach, and i'm not exagerating. 95% of the people were men and that made me feel even weirder. i didn't last 30 mins before i went back to the safety of the hotel. a nice buffet dinner and then a $60nz call from the hotel phone to spain, then bed.
DOLPHINS. i ate dolphin for breakfast. nah just kidding. i ate crepes. walked around for half an hour in town, quite bravely i might add, and then back on the ferry to Spain. on the way there were a few pods of dolphins!!! they swam happily along but alas i did not get a photo.
and that was my trip! then there was more, obviously, but i have a line behind me for the internet so that'll have to do so far!!!
adiossssssssssssssss
muchos besos
nehi dut futsis
anyway.
CAMELS. got a bit seasick on the 30 min ferry, then straight into the tour bus (there was no way i was doing morocco on my own) where we were taken to ride camels!!!! they are awkwardly graceful and didn't spit at me which was nice.
SNAKES. taken around very very windy and narrow streets, with vendors trying to sell us everything under the sun, and i mean everything (apart from hashish (a moroccan specialt) lamented one tourist), and were very very pushy about it. saying a firm no and walking away wasn't enough. you couldn't escape! i didn't buy anything from them tho. hehehehe i won. We were led to a snake charmer and i got the snake around my neck. its very slimey and cold. not a nice feeling. then on to lunch which was shish kebab and kuskus with mint tea afterwards to help indigestion. very nice restaurant with a band playing traditional arabian music. then more winding walking and we were taken to many bazaars with carpets and spices galore.
SPIDERS. ok so i'm exagerating this one, i had a spider on my hotel pillow. hehehehe. i spent the afternoon by the hotel pool, and this was one really really nice pool. i did venture out to the beach, (the hotel was beachfront ***) but the hissing and stares as i simply walked along made me really uncomfortable. i was the only blonde on the beach, and i'm not exagerating. 95% of the people were men and that made me feel even weirder. i didn't last 30 mins before i went back to the safety of the hotel. a nice buffet dinner and then a $60nz call from the hotel phone to spain, then bed.
DOLPHINS. i ate dolphin for breakfast. nah just kidding. i ate crepes. walked around for half an hour in town, quite bravely i might add, and then back on the ferry to Spain. on the way there were a few pods of dolphins!!! they swam happily along but alas i did not get a photo.
and that was my trip! then there was more, obviously, but i have a line behind me for the internet so that'll have to do so far!!!
adiossssssssssssssss
muchos besos
nehi dut futsis
The Rasmus
well, the trip has begun. actually i´m halfway thru it now, and have some photos up too.
for the meantime i´ll tell you about the beginning.
so, flew to málaga in the south of spain, stayed the night in a hostal but could only sleep 2 hours (heat!!!), then took the bus tu fuengirola, a nice midway stop on the beach before heading off to my real desination of Estepona.
no estepona isn´t a resort destination nor is it well developed, which makes it FANTASTIC. a nice tranquil beach town that is about to get rocked by one of my favourite bands, the finnish group The Rasmus, in the local bull ring.
the spanish warm up band was good, but the real fun came when the 4 rocked out on stage and played for a long time, thier hits, thier two albums, and some earlier ones. i knew every word. i was very proud. and lauri the lead singer was so hoooooooooooooot. is so hot. mmmmmmm, lauri.
ahem.anyway. seeing as i didn´t have accomodation afterwards i hit an all nighter, bought the book deception point by dan brown (author of the da vinci code etc) and read it all that night sitting in the terrace of an all night bar and talking for an hour on the phone with susi.
made it to sunrise and wow what a beautiful sunrise it was. so relaxing. then onto my next destination, gibraltar, the small english colony/territory on the tip of spain that "controls" the gibraltar strait between europe and africa. so everything was in english, even the weather as it became cloudy the next morning and i was a bit pissed off because i wanted to go up the rock, because gibraltar basically is just a rock.
observations in gibraltar: # the prices are scandalous. not only are they in brittish pounds, but its a holiday destination, and they have to be imported. # it was wonderful to drink normal fanta orange # even better to eat aero mint chocolate # all dairies are owned by indians # i could see morocco/africa # i had a big big english breakfast # everytying was very brittish and evreythying including bars etc closed at 11 when i went out for dinner. so no dinner for me, just an apple and skittles.
it was weird talking in english. but SO good to sleep. from friday 11am until sunday 11am when i checked in to my english hotel, i´d only slept 2.5 hours. thats 48 hours with only 2.5 hours sleep. man wsa i tired. but functioning!!!!
next on to tarifa, the most southern part of Spain, and here its windsurf and kitesurf capital. very nice place, lots of beaches and a nice little historic area also.
missing a lot of people, mostly my beautiful spaniard who´s at home from work with an injured shoulder, while i´m out here lazing on beaches. sigh.
and i miss friends and family. dad and wibly and nan i hope you all enjoy western samoa.
and the rest of you, well, email me or something.
hehehehe
ciao for now, i´ll write again when i get back from morocco.... oh yeah, i´m going there tomorrow for a night. should be very very interesting!!!!!!!
adiós!
for the meantime i´ll tell you about the beginning.
so, flew to málaga in the south of spain, stayed the night in a hostal but could only sleep 2 hours (heat!!!), then took the bus tu fuengirola, a nice midway stop on the beach before heading off to my real desination of Estepona.
no estepona isn´t a resort destination nor is it well developed, which makes it FANTASTIC. a nice tranquil beach town that is about to get rocked by one of my favourite bands, the finnish group The Rasmus, in the local bull ring.
the spanish warm up band was good, but the real fun came when the 4 rocked out on stage and played for a long time, thier hits, thier two albums, and some earlier ones. i knew every word. i was very proud. and lauri the lead singer was so hoooooooooooooot. is so hot. mmmmmmm, lauri.
ahem.anyway. seeing as i didn´t have accomodation afterwards i hit an all nighter, bought the book deception point by dan brown (author of the da vinci code etc) and read it all that night sitting in the terrace of an all night bar and talking for an hour on the phone with susi.
made it to sunrise and wow what a beautiful sunrise it was. so relaxing. then onto my next destination, gibraltar, the small english colony/territory on the tip of spain that "controls" the gibraltar strait between europe and africa. so everything was in english, even the weather as it became cloudy the next morning and i was a bit pissed off because i wanted to go up the rock, because gibraltar basically is just a rock.
observations in gibraltar: # the prices are scandalous. not only are they in brittish pounds, but its a holiday destination, and they have to be imported. # it was wonderful to drink normal fanta orange # even better to eat aero mint chocolate # all dairies are owned by indians # i could see morocco/africa # i had a big big english breakfast # everytying was very brittish and evreythying including bars etc closed at 11 when i went out for dinner. so no dinner for me, just an apple and skittles.
it was weird talking in english. but SO good to sleep. from friday 11am until sunday 11am when i checked in to my english hotel, i´d only slept 2.5 hours. thats 48 hours with only 2.5 hours sleep. man wsa i tired. but functioning!!!!
next on to tarifa, the most southern part of Spain, and here its windsurf and kitesurf capital. very nice place, lots of beaches and a nice little historic area also.
missing a lot of people, mostly my beautiful spaniard who´s at home from work with an injured shoulder, while i´m out here lazing on beaches. sigh.
and i miss friends and family. dad and wibly and nan i hope you all enjoy western samoa.
and the rest of you, well, email me or something.
hehehehe
ciao for now, i´ll write again when i get back from morocco.... oh yeah, i´m going there tomorrow for a night. should be very very interesting!!!!!!!
adiós!
Hot?
When i say hot, in my post before, i mean HOT.
26degrees minimum during the night and during the day the thermometers read 38º but the official papers record 32º .
And to think in a few days i go further south..........
26degrees minimum during the night and during the day the thermometers read 38º but the official papers record 32º .
And to think in a few days i go further south..........
Heat Wave
Days of heat. Lots of heat. A wave some would say.
This means lots of going to the beach, and getting nicely tanned and relax. Relax being the key word.
R
E
L
A
X
This means not doing too much, which means i don´t have too much to write.
Going to get a job (probably) teaching english when i get back from my south of spain, Anadalucían trip, on the 1st of august. but school starts for the little ones in september, so i may not even get something until then. I´m not too fussed at the moment, just trying to recover still from the tendonitis, tests etc from the doctor are ok, but i´m still on medication, and well, we´ll see.
Anyway, back to watching TV. In this heat its best to stay inside.
Chao
This means lots of going to the beach, and getting nicely tanned and relax. Relax being the key word.
R
E
L
A
X
This means not doing too much, which means i don´t have too much to write.
Going to get a job (probably) teaching english when i get back from my south of spain, Anadalucían trip, on the 1st of august. but school starts for the little ones in september, so i may not even get something until then. I´m not too fussed at the moment, just trying to recover still from the tendonitis, tests etc from the doctor are ok, but i´m still on medication, and well, we´ll see.
Anyway, back to watching TV. In this heat its best to stay inside.
Chao
Running With The Bulls
I am alive.
So is the other New Zealander who ran with the bulls but got gored in the left thigh, i´m surprised the nz media weren´t able to release his details, anyway he got gored in the left thigh, still in hospital, and is called David McBell Toby.
Anyway, my story.
I didn´t plan on running, mainly because i still can´t run due to my tendonitis. after a long night of partying the night before, 1 hour of sleep in the crack of 2 beds pushed together (but i can´t really complain because at least i had a place to sleep, the other however many thousands of people here sleep in the park or don´t sleep), and went into the center city to get the party going again. from the hostel to the run area was like travelling through a cloud of foam, the grounds of all the parks and streets were COVERED in rubbish, mainly plastic bags and cups that people carried thier alcohol in.
got to my place at 645am, and stood waiting by the fence for just over an hour, with the running starting at 8am. my two f
riends from usac last semester Mike and Phil were running but i didn´t see them because it was really really hard to see anything. if you want to see the action you need to be on the fence (i was 3 people back) or on the balconies over the streets. the run was over very quick, 3 minutes in total, and the saturday run was a very clean one, no gorings or injuries. so the run ´finishes´ and people start climbing over the fences to make their way into the bullring to see the bulls finished off. i followed of course, but all of a sudden a bull comes swanking by me. wow what panic i felt!!!!!!!!! saw it coming out of the corner of my eye, it got close, 2 meters or so, and i turned and jumped on the fence. what a rush, i think i will run the next time i´m there, there is something about it thats exciting!!!!!!!!
Initially i was going to stay another night but i was way too tired and sore in my tendons so i hopped on the bus home (after standing in line at the bus station at least 1/2an hour).
The experience was really cool, but it didn´t meet my expectations, i was a little disappointed, mainly because i couldn´t see the run (the photos you see are not what i saw, they were taken by me on my tiptoes with my arm stretched between 2 peoples heads), and because i wasn´t in the party mood the night before.
next time i´ll have my own bed, be completely in red and white (white
pants and top, red scarf and tied belt), go two nights (one for partying/watching the bulls, the other for relaxing/running), and get a get into the bullring at the end. Ah, and go shopping more (of course).
and that was my exciting weekend.
-------
In other news, i quit the job at the bar, it was destroying my tendons and my social life, and my sleeeeeeeeep. nicely added to my pocket, very nicely indeed, but i prefer my health than money. it was a stressfull 5 days, working 52 hours, with everything new from making the drinks, to remembering what they´re called, to using formal spanish (i´ve never used it before, only to talk to old people on the street asking directions).
next friday i´m going to málaga for The Rasmus concert, and i´m staying in the area of southern spain for 10 days visiting Granada, Tarifa (the most southern point of Spain), Gibraltar (English territory in spain controling the Gibraltar Strait of the mediterranean) (just going there to eat a mince and cheese pie, i´m killing for a pie (they´re not sold in spain), and fish ´n´ chips. they had better be good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i might take a day trip to Morocco (Africa), tho i´m not sure. All in all, i´m looking forward to some sun and beaches!!!!!!
signing off ----- janina
So is the other New Zealander who ran with the bulls but got gored in the left thigh, i´m surprised the nz media weren´t able to release his details, anyway he got gored in the left thigh, still in hospital, and is called David McBell Toby.
Anyway, my story.
I didn´t plan on running, mainly because i still can´t run due to my tendonitis. after a long night of partying the night before, 1 hour of sleep in the crack of 2 beds pushed together (but i can´t really complain because at least i had a place to sleep, the other however many thousands of people here sleep in the park or don´t sleep), and went into the center city to get the party going again. from the hostel to the run area was like travelling through a cloud of foam, the grounds of all the parks and streets were COVERED in rubbish, mainly plastic bags and cups that people carried thier alcohol in.
got to my place at 645am, and stood waiting by the fence for just over an hour, with the running starting at 8am. my two f
riends from usac last semester Mike and Phil were running but i didn´t see them because it was really really hard to see anything. if you want to see the action you need to be on the fence (i was 3 people back) or on the balconies over the streets. the run was over very quick, 3 minutes in total, and the saturday run was a very clean one, no gorings or injuries. so the run ´finishes´ and people start climbing over the fences to make their way into the bullring to see the bulls finished off. i followed of course, but all of a sudden a bull comes swanking by me. wow what panic i felt!!!!!!!!! saw it coming out of the corner of my eye, it got close, 2 meters or so, and i turned and jumped on the fence. what a rush, i think i will run the next time i´m there, there is something about it thats exciting!!!!!!!!Initially i was going to stay another night but i was way too tired and sore in my tendons so i hopped on the bus home (after standing in line at the bus station at least 1/2an hour).
The experience was really cool, but it didn´t meet my expectations, i was a little disappointed, mainly because i couldn´t see the run (the photos you see are not what i saw, they were taken by me on my tiptoes with my arm stretched between 2 peoples heads), and because i wasn´t in the party mood the night before.
next time i´ll have my own bed, be completely in red and white (white
pants and top, red scarf and tied belt), go two nights (one for partying/watching the bulls, the other for relaxing/running), and get a get into the bullring at the end. Ah, and go shopping more (of course).and that was my exciting weekend.
-------
In other news, i quit the job at the bar, it was destroying my tendons and my social life, and my sleeeeeeeeep. nicely added to my pocket, very nicely indeed, but i prefer my health than money. it was a stressfull 5 days, working 52 hours, with everything new from making the drinks, to remembering what they´re called, to using formal spanish (i´ve never used it before, only to talk to old people on the street asking directions).
next friday i´m going to málaga for The Rasmus concert, and i´m staying in the area of southern spain for 10 days visiting Granada, Tarifa (the most southern point of Spain), Gibraltar (English territory in spain controling the Gibraltar Strait of the mediterranean) (just going there to eat a mince and cheese pie, i´m killing for a pie (they´re not sold in spain), and fish ´n´ chips. they had better be good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i might take a day trip to Morocco (Africa), tho i´m not sure. All in all, i´m looking forward to some sun and beaches!!!!!!signing off ----- janina
Brendan´s Isle
Well folks, this is where i work, the Irish pub in Sopelana called Brendan´s Isle. Its a cool pub, cozy, nice clientele, good location, and we´re in the middle of sopelana´s fiestas, that is, the mad mad drinking week for sopelana where its fun fun fun with stalls, concerts etc etc. And me, starting new in a pub. I have never worked in hospitality before, i will make that clear. I have never worked in a foreign country before either. Nor even heard of half the drinks they have here even tho they are in english. So everything is new new new and i´m learning pretty well i reckon. This is the bar where vanesa one of my friends works, which is how i came by the job, just helping out for this week for starters.and what a lot of work the first 3 days so far. 11 consecutive hours on my first day, 10 yesterday, and 10.5 today. My feet are murdering me, but i´m thankfull for it because it masks the pain of my tendonitis. Well actually my fisio is a bit astounded that so much work (with no sitting down and only 30mins for lunch) hasn´t killed my legs yet. so i´m good! but tired, jeeeez, starting at 815 everyday.
ok. going to take a nap now, man i´m tired, and another 10 hours tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!! ah, and tonight i go out to enjoy the fiestas hehehehehhehehehehehehehehehehehe.
good night!!!
janine
Knocked Out
Well, I must admit, I am a bit sad. And tipsy. Spain just lost against France in the world cup, and well, such a disaster.
What more can i say? well, i have a job, i start tomorrow, working in the same bar as Vanesa, an irish pub in a village next to the beach, Sopelana. A quick metro ride there and i´m sorted. My interview consisted of 3 questions
#Do you want to work? :::: yes
#Have you used a touch screen till system? :::::: I worked quite a while as at a checkout
#Do you have experience as a barperson? ::::: A little bit. (LYING THRU MY TEETH - serving bottled drinks at the local squash club is much much different to what this job is going to be......)
so there you have it. it should go ok i reckon!!!!!! $14.50nz an hour. brilliant.
went to the same beach again during the day that i´d been to during san juan fire night, tho this time dissapointingly cloudy. had a good time, sadly holland didn´t win that night against portugal, i was decked out in my holland tshirt and orange jersey and evertying!!! oh well, there always is 2010. and now spain out of it too!!! who will i support?????? i dunno. will see tomorrow.
adios people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
things are going well ;-)
What more can i say? well, i have a job, i start tomorrow, working in the same bar as Vanesa, an irish pub in a village next to the beach, Sopelana. A quick metro ride there and i´m sorted. My interview consisted of 3 questions
#Do you want to work? :::: yes
#Have you used a touch screen till system? :::::: I worked quite a while as at a checkout
#Do you have experience as a barperson? ::::: A little bit. (LYING THRU MY TEETH - serving bottled drinks at the local squash club is much much different to what this job is going to be......)
so there you have it. it should go ok i reckon!!!!!! $14.50nz an hour. brilliant.
went to the same beach again during the day that i´d been to during san juan fire night, tho this time dissapointingly cloudy. had a good time, sadly holland didn´t win that night against portugal, i was decked out in my holland tshirt and orange jersey and evertying!!! oh well, there always is 2010. and now spain out of it too!!! who will i support?????? i dunno. will see tomorrow.
adios people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
things are going well ;-)
Hot Stuff
Spain made it to stage 2 in the world cup. Spain is elated. Spain has to now play against France. Spain is not so elated.
Spain has lots of fire, especially on the night of San Juan (Saint John), the shortest day of the year, where bonfires are the only item on the menu. It doesn´t matter where you are, on the beach, in the city, in the country, there is FIRE. While driving out to the beach going thru the country there were scores of bonfires and the forests looked like they were on fire but it was all just smoke from other bonfires. Had a very chilled night relaxing on the beach, unfortunately it wasn´t weather for a late night dip.
I don´t have a job anymore. It was over before it started, there weren´t enough kids in the summer programme, so now i´m back out hunting for a job. Well, for the moment i´m just relaxing.
The Rasmus, a fantastic Finnish band, I love The Rasmus. They have one concert in Spain this year, and I´m going to it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Its in southern spain near Málaga, and i´m going by plane for the weekend for SUN SUN and SUN at the many BEACHES they have there. Looking forward to it!!!!!
What i am also really looking forward to is the Running of the Bulls festival (made famous by Hemmingway) in Pamplona. This is the 3rd festival (of my 3 top must see festivals) in Spain. (the other two were the tomato festival and las fallas in valencia). Should be very exciting but do not fear, i will not be running infront of the bulls, or behind them, for still i cannot run with my tendonitis.
So thats my life lately, not doing much at all. Watching soccer, sleeping, and still shifting my stuff from my old room into my new room.
I hope things are all going well. Happy birthday to reinier (17), paul (16), wessel (21), and happy anniversary erica and james.
Love you all lotssssssssssssss!!!!
Spain has lots of fire, especially on the night of San Juan (Saint John), the shortest day of the year, where bonfires are the only item on the menu. It doesn´t matter where you are, on the beach, in the city, in the country, there is FIRE. While driving out to the beach going thru the country there were scores of bonfires and the forests looked like they were on fire but it was all just smoke from other bonfires. Had a very chilled night relaxing on the beach, unfortunately it wasn´t weather for a late night dip.
I don´t have a job anymore. It was over before it started, there weren´t enough kids in the summer programme, so now i´m back out hunting for a job. Well, for the moment i´m just relaxing.
The Rasmus, a fantastic Finnish band, I love The Rasmus. They have one concert in Spain this year, and I´m going to it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Its in southern spain near Málaga, and i´m going by plane for the weekend for SUN SUN and SUN at the many BEACHES they have there. Looking forward to it!!!!!
What i am also really looking forward to is the Running of the Bulls festival (made famous by Hemmingway) in Pamplona. This is the 3rd festival (of my 3 top must see festivals) in Spain. (the other two were the tomato festival and las fallas in valencia). Should be very exciting but do not fear, i will not be running infront of the bulls, or behind them, for still i cannot run with my tendonitis.
So thats my life lately, not doing much at all. Watching soccer, sleeping, and still shifting my stuff from my old room into my new room.
I hope things are all going well. Happy birthday to reinier (17), paul (16), wessel (21), and happy anniversary erica and james.
Love you all lotssssssssssssss!!!!
Soccer/Football/Soccer/Football
Thats all thats on the television. Its everywhere, the Fifa World Cup 2006 in Germany has arrived, and it is fever time.
People have been asking me why NZ doesn´t have a team. I reminded them of the friendly we just played against Brasil 4-0 we lost. They agree. They understand that we´re a rugby nation anyway. And then they ask, but then again so is England and Australia and look, they´re in the world cup. I shrug and say, look, Holland is in, thats who i´m backing, and they go quiet and nodd. Actually, i´m backing spain and holland, tho everyone here will eventually back brasil coz they´re gonna win (most likely).
Thats the good thing about spain, they´re good in sports that seem big in europe. E.g Roland Garos French Open at the moment (on tv all the time too) - Nadal and Ferrero. Formula 1 racing, Fernando Alonso in Renault, and of course the Spanish Selection in the world cup. I´m pretty content with the sport coverage here!!!!!
Germany is going crazy at the moment, in fact i´m watching the opening ceremony while i´m typing this. very very cool!!!
----
I have a job for july and august - looking after kids in a swimming pool and organising games etc for them. 3 hours a day, i get a tan, i get to swim and play around, and i´m getting between 15-25NZ dollars an hour. Now THATS what i call a summer job.
----
went on a boat ride yesterday from bilbao up the river to getxo, very cool, but very industrial and HOT. we´re getting into the 30´s now.
----
had the most awesome tuesday this week, had the "Go out to the country and eat a sanwich" day which they have in asturias, so me and susi went to the windmill/lighthouse in our bikes and had a beautiful time. its amazingly beautiful, see for yourself http://www.flickr.com/photos/janineinspain/sets/72157594160587157/
----
until next time
People have been asking me why NZ doesn´t have a team. I reminded them of the friendly we just played against Brasil 4-0 we lost. They agree. They understand that we´re a rugby nation anyway. And then they ask, but then again so is England and Australia and look, they´re in the world cup. I shrug and say, look, Holland is in, thats who i´m backing, and they go quiet and nodd. Actually, i´m backing spain and holland, tho everyone here will eventually back brasil coz they´re gonna win (most likely).
Thats the good thing about spain, they´re good in sports that seem big in europe. E.g Roland Garos French Open at the moment (on tv all the time too) - Nadal and Ferrero. Formula 1 racing, Fernando Alonso in Renault, and of course the Spanish Selection in the world cup. I´m pretty content with the sport coverage here!!!!!
Germany is going crazy at the moment, in fact i´m watching the opening ceremony while i´m typing this. very very cool!!!
----
I have a job for july and august - looking after kids in a swimming pool and organising games etc for them. 3 hours a day, i get a tan, i get to swim and play around, and i´m getting between 15-25NZ dollars an hour. Now THATS what i call a summer job.
----
went on a boat ride yesterday from bilbao up the river to getxo, very cool, but very industrial and HOT. we´re getting into the 30´s now.
----
had the most awesome tuesday this week, had the "Go out to the country and eat a sanwich" day which they have in asturias, so me and susi went to the windmill/lighthouse in our bikes and had a beautiful time. its amazingly beautiful, see for yourself http://www.flickr.com/photos/janineinspain/sets/72157594160587157/
----
until next time
What To Do?
well, very slight boredom has set in, so the only thing for it was to party, like mr balloon man did.
went to the launch of a new rum (invite only...) and had a blast. lots of balloons everywhere!!!!
cast off now, basically can use it like normal again. i didn´t get a tan mark thankfully!!! ah, funny story, i was going to go out during the day and i left the house in shorts and jandals, and susi said to me, are you actually going out like THAT? and i said well why not? people where shorts and jandals here after all. she said it was n´t that, it was the fact that my legs were going to blind everyone with thier whiteness. well of course compared to other spaniards my skin is much lighter, but c´mon, i´m not a mum-like-white hehehehehehe.
went with a friend to armintza which is a small basque fishing village and that was precious!
ummmmm..... handing out my curriculum vitae this week, lets see what i find!!!! i am kinda getting low on money :-( but am not planning any extravagant travel this summer anymore, only the running of the bulls in pamplona. especially if i get a good job then it will cut down on travel time. and time with spaniard. but i´m really looking forward to working, get some money going in for once!!!!
time is money, gotta go
janine
went to the launch of a new rum (invite only...) and had a blast. lots of balloons everywhere!!!!
cast off now, basically can use it like normal again. i didn´t get a tan mark thankfully!!! ah, funny story, i was going to go out during the day and i left the house in shorts and jandals, and susi said to me, are you actually going out like THAT? and i said well why not? people where shorts and jandals here after all. she said it was n´t that, it was the fact that my legs were going to blind everyone with thier whiteness. well of course compared to other spaniards my skin is much lighter, but c´mon, i´m not a mum-like-white hehehehehehe.
went with a friend to armintza which is a small basque fishing village and that was precious!
ummmmm..... handing out my curriculum vitae this week, lets see what i find!!!! i am kinda getting low on money :-( but am not planning any extravagant travel this summer anymore, only the running of the bulls in pamplona. especially if i get a good job then it will cut down on travel time. and time with spaniard. but i´m really looking forward to working, get some money going in for once!!!!
time is money, gotta go
janine
Not Broken
Well, volleyball is still one of my favourite sports. the other night we were playing on the beach, unfortunately with a slightly deflated soccer ball, hence it does more damage. and, well, i kinda had to go to the hospital the next day with a swollen wrist, and now its in a half cast immobilised for a while. not broken, but the whole night i thought it was; i was in a lot of pain.
i´m a bit of a disaster, huh.
oh well, things can only get better :-) at least with this cast i can use my opposable thumb, not like when i broke my thumb a few years ago!!! but alas, tis not waterproof.
GETTING READY FOR SUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMER! Bought a melon today, its nice to eat summer fruit on our balcony in the sun. And the other day i put on sunscreen, and wow, that smell was wonderful. Recently i downloaded Blindspott (i lost it in my old mp3 player) and listening to it made me think of driving around with nelle in her car. ahhh, good times.
ah! i forgot to mention, that i was on spanish tv 3 weeks ago!!!! there was a half an hour
documentary on what foreigners thought of the basque country region, and me and 2 class mates were interviewed for 40 minutes, which got cut down to a 30 minute programme with some other interviews. although while they were filming i didnt say that much, there was a lot of me speaking on the tv!!!!! i have the programme on dvd, so will show it to all when i get home. it was a really cool experience! and i even had people recognising me in the bar that i frequent!! the photo here is from the tv channels website, showing Jaime, me, and Ernesto being interviewed at our university outside.
well, writing hurts. and its slow. so i´ll leave you all my lovelies with a stunning realisation
"brushing your teeth with the opposite hand is difficult"
i´m a bit of a disaster, huh.
oh well, things can only get better :-) at least with this cast i can use my opposable thumb, not like when i broke my thumb a few years ago!!! but alas, tis not waterproof.
GETTING READY FOR SUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMER! Bought a melon today, its nice to eat summer fruit on our balcony in the sun. And the other day i put on sunscreen, and wow, that smell was wonderful. Recently i downloaded Blindspott (i lost it in my old mp3 player) and listening to it made me think of driving around with nelle in her car. ahhh, good times.
ah! i forgot to mention, that i was on spanish tv 3 weeks ago!!!! there was a half an hour
documentary on what foreigners thought of the basque country region, and me and 2 class mates were interviewed for 40 minutes, which got cut down to a 30 minute programme with some other interviews. although while they were filming i didnt say that much, there was a lot of me speaking on the tv!!!!! i have the programme on dvd, so will show it to all when i get home. it was a really cool experience! and i even had people recognising me in the bar that i frequent!! the photo here is from the tv channels website, showing Jaime, me, and Ernesto being interviewed at our university outside.well, writing hurts. and its slow. so i´ll leave you all my lovelies with a stunning realisation
"brushing your teeth with the opposite hand is difficult"
Fire Clouds
Well, I´ll pass on the Prague/Cambridge then, only to say that they were in the top 3 places i enjoyed the most of my trip. It was amazing....
Lately what have I been doing?
well, exams have finished, and i have nothing to do now but laze around and listen to music.
the fisiotherapy is getting much better, and i´ve been biking around also to help keeping weight off my legs.
beth has returned for a month, my friend from last semester, and its been cool hanging out with her.
nights like the past two nights, one:the sunset, and two:the relaxation have been incredible. waking up at 4 for the past few days has been bliss, and the resting is definately doing me good. i feel fantastic.
well people, i close this blog entry very content.
hope the weather isn´t getting you down in nz!!! think positive, at least the weather here is getting better for me!!!! (40º the otherday in bilbao, sweltering heat, followed by a thunderstorm naturally!!!)
chilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
Lately what have I been doing?
well, exams have finished, and i have nothing to do now but laze around and listen to music.
the fisiotherapy is getting much better, and i´ve been biking around also to help keeping weight off my legs.
beth has returned for a month, my friend from last semester, and its been cool hanging out with her.
nights like the past two nights, one:the sunset, and two:the relaxation have been incredible. waking up at 4 for the past few days has been bliss, and the resting is definately doing me good. i feel fantastic.
well people, i close this blog entry very content.
hope the weather isn´t getting you down in nz!!! think positive, at least the weather here is getting better for me!!!! (40º the otherday in bilbao, sweltering heat, followed by a thunderstorm naturally!!!)
chilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
Wonky Cat
I don´t know why i love this photo so much. but i think its fantastic.
this is an update for my update, that i will update these soon.
confused? same here.
Wonky brain maybe.
anyway, a few things (i´m prcrastinating to clean my room)
tendonitis: have been to the fisio again the past 2 weeks and slowly getting better. i have a deep fear that it could be chronic, seeing as its been going on for so long, but my physio has hope. damn those sessions hurt tho, stretching, electric currents etc etc, even the massages hurt like nothing before. she even made me cry. no running or jumping around or dancing for the next 1 month at least still. sucks.
spaniard: well, things are awesome still. i´m really happy still! mum and erica met the spaniard and things went really well, they like my spaniard so i´m thrilled with that. ok, police profile time.
age:26
occupation: waiting tables, however with degree (equivalent) in photography and digital stuff like that
appearance: spanish/latino style
height: shorter than me (well most spanish are so its not that much of a feat)
smile: amazing
eyes: to get lost in
likes: me, cats, chocolate, nesquik, crack nuckles, take photos
doesn´t like: dogs, feet, farts, swimming, the heat
and yeah. no names at this stage. (just to keep you guessing hehehe)
vague plans: travel a bit, teach english maybe, dunno really. (sorry, i meant to say real vague)
well. thats me for the moment.
exams all done, no work to do anymore!!!
just days to be filled with going to the beach maybe!!! :-)
and looking for a job (don´t worry dad)
better update later, tho i have a feeling the updates of the past could be lost forever and ever and ever. the photos will suffice???? if not leave a comment telling me to get a move on.
besos/kisses
this is an update for my update, that i will update these soon.
confused? same here.
Wonky brain maybe.
anyway, a few things (i´m prcrastinating to clean my room)
tendonitis: have been to the fisio again the past 2 weeks and slowly getting better. i have a deep fear that it could be chronic, seeing as its been going on for so long, but my physio has hope. damn those sessions hurt tho, stretching, electric currents etc etc, even the massages hurt like nothing before. she even made me cry. no running or jumping around or dancing for the next 1 month at least still. sucks.
spaniard: well, things are awesome still. i´m really happy still! mum and erica met the spaniard and things went really well, they like my spaniard so i´m thrilled with that. ok, police profile time.
age:26
occupation: waiting tables, however with degree (equivalent) in photography and digital stuff like that
appearance: spanish/latino style
height: shorter than me (well most spanish are so its not that much of a feat)
smile: amazing
eyes: to get lost in
likes: me, cats, chocolate, nesquik, crack nuckles, take photos
doesn´t like: dogs, feet, farts, swimming, the heat
and yeah. no names at this stage. (just to keep you guessing hehehe)
vague plans: travel a bit, teach english maybe, dunno really. (sorry, i meant to say real vague)
well. thats me for the moment.
exams all done, no work to do anymore!!!
just days to be filled with going to the beach maybe!!! :-)
and looking for a job (don´t worry dad)
better update later, tho i have a feeling the updates of the past could be lost forever and ever and ever. the photos will suffice???? if not leave a comment telling me to get a move on.
besos/kisses
Things For My Next Blog Entry:
1) will explain prague a bit more because it was absulutely amazing there
2) talk about cambridge, well, the few hours that i was there anyway
3) what me my mum and sister got up to while they visited me for 2 weeks
4) what i got up to with Irene who just visited me last weekend
5) will sum up my educational experience (last week this week, exams!)
6) will talk more about Spaniard, seeing as that story has been asked to be told (yes we are still together, 3 months now!)
7) will tell my plans for summer
8) will tell my hazy plans for until december
9) tendonitis update (not that good)
10) possibly the next post won´t be soon. i will try. things just a bit hectic here.
At least i made progress and i have a whoooooole lot of photos up. like, an extraordinary amount.
i hear nz has some crappy weather at the moment, HAHAHAHA i was in singlet top, shorts, and jandals all day today there was a heat q te cagas.
bueno, besos
ok, kisses!
janine/nina
2) talk about cambridge, well, the few hours that i was there anyway
3) what me my mum and sister got up to while they visited me for 2 weeks
4) what i got up to with Irene who just visited me last weekend
5) will sum up my educational experience (last week this week, exams!)
6) will talk more about Spaniard, seeing as that story has been asked to be told (yes we are still together, 3 months now!)
7) will tell my plans for summer
8) will tell my hazy plans for until december
9) tendonitis update (not that good)
10) possibly the next post won´t be soon. i will try. things just a bit hectic here.
At least i made progress and i have a whoooooole lot of photos up. like, an extraordinary amount.
i hear nz has some crappy weather at the moment, HAHAHAHA i was in singlet top, shorts, and jandals all day today there was a heat q te cagas.
bueno, besos
ok, kisses!
janine/nina
Quick Summary
Wow. What a trip. Some photos up, still uploading, so don´t go away :-)
Am meeting Erica and Mum at the bus station in an hour, hence the rush to write a little at least.
Well, what can I say! The whole trip was amazing, and Jaron was aweseome to travel with from Hungary to Czech Republic.
Budapest is incredible. We travelled a bit with Josh and Adam from Canada also and they´re great guys. This city, capital of Hungary is just wonderful. So old!!! Even went to some Turkish baths, but that was a bit of a catastrophe, because we accidently paid for a cold swimming pool.
Bratislava, capital of Slovakia was our next stop, and due to easter, EVERYTHING was basically closed. Our cheapest city and we couldn´t shop properly!!! Not fair!!! We met up again with the Canadians which was just as well coz the city itself isn´t that exciting or as granduer as the othercities we´ve seen. At least beer was cheap, at a bar, 0.5l costs just over NZ $1. Jaron and I even got a nz $70 fine for not paying properly on the tram. That iced the cake for a dismal Bratislava.
Vienna was really really historic and very well laid out. Was nice to hear a familiar language (ok, so german isn´t that familiar to me, but i got around ok. It wasn´t like Hungarian thank goodness!), and the trees and parks and buildings and statues here had us in awe the whole time. Only one night here, but just as well because it was quite expensive.
Then on to Prague which is my favourite European city (outside of Spain) so far. Wow, words cannot describe Prague, you´re just going to have to wait until i put some photos up. Really really cool. Definately want to go back here.
Then from there we went back home, but not before stopping in on Irene in Cambridge, yes, that is in England, and wow it was great to see her!!!!
Will have to add more later, time is short.
Am meeting Erica and Mum at the bus station in an hour, hence the rush to write a little at least.
Well, what can I say! The whole trip was amazing, and Jaron was aweseome to travel with from Hungary to Czech Republic.
Budapest is incredible. We travelled a bit with Josh and Adam from Canada also and they´re great guys. This city, capital of Hungary is just wonderful. So old!!! Even went to some Turkish baths, but that was a bit of a catastrophe, because we accidently paid for a cold swimming pool.
Bratislava, capital of Slovakia was our next stop, and due to easter, EVERYTHING was basically closed. Our cheapest city and we couldn´t shop properly!!! Not fair!!! We met up again with the Canadians which was just as well coz the city itself isn´t that exciting or as granduer as the othercities we´ve seen. At least beer was cheap, at a bar, 0.5l costs just over NZ $1. Jaron and I even got a nz $70 fine for not paying properly on the tram. That iced the cake for a dismal Bratislava.
Vienna was really really historic and very well laid out. Was nice to hear a familiar language (ok, so german isn´t that familiar to me, but i got around ok. It wasn´t like Hungarian thank goodness!), and the trees and parks and buildings and statues here had us in awe the whole time. Only one night here, but just as well because it was quite expensive.
Then on to Prague which is my favourite European city (outside of Spain) so far. Wow, words cannot describe Prague, you´re just going to have to wait until i put some photos up. Really really cool. Definately want to go back here.
Then from there we went back home, but not before stopping in on Irene in Cambridge, yes, that is in England, and wow it was great to see her!!!!
Will have to add more later, time is short.
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