un redondeo

Honesty time for what is potentially my final entry to this blog: my year abroad experience has been harder than I ever imagined that it would be. This doesn't negate the many good things about my life in Spain and this realisation has taken a while to surface, but there it is; this year has been bloody hard! There's been all the obvious difficulties that come with living abroad; learning the language, coping with culture change - the extremity of which shocked me throughout the first semester - starting a new job, setting up a bank account, finding a place to live etc. etc. Furthermore, whilst I had been told to expect it, I didn't imagine the homesickness I suffered in the first few months. I had to experience the loss of family whilst being thousands of miles away from them, the feeling of missing out from my main circle of university friends who were in their final year, the challenge of maintaining a long-term relationship and the subsequent failure of that. Really, I'm not trying to get any sympathy votes but I would like to validate the reasons why, for me, this has not been the singular greatest year of my life. There is so much pressure to make it so and to make the most of it, to squeeze all the life out of it before it's too late because when will you get this opportunity again? But I don't buy into this view; we have the ability to create our own opportunities in life and I've always been pretty averse to polarising human experience in that way.

Anyway, there's the slightly melancholy part of my final "Third Year Abroad" blog post. Fortunately, the happier part still burns bright in my mind and hopefully it'll continue to do so when looking back on this whole experience. This year has been, in many ways, one of the most rewarding and illuminating that I have ever enjoyed.  I have learnt more than I could have imagined learning about Spain, about myself and about human nature in general! My perceptions of what is normal have been challenged and, more importantly, I have met some of the most interesting, talented and the kindest individuals I could have hoped to have met during these past nine months.

The students at my colegio are remarkable, brilliant beings, each and every one of them. I look at their faces and envisage them all grown up, wondering what's in store for them. They have taught me a lot about humility, kindness as well as reminding me what it is to see the world with curious eyes. I will deeply miss seeing them grow up, laughing at their silly jokes, observing their uninhibited sense of fun and wit, even their ridiculously overblown squabbling. I wish them happiness and strength and I hope that they survive adulthood with their inner child intact! I have been so privileged to meet them at such an important stage in their lives. 

I spent my final week at the school feeling overwhelmed by the love from the children and the brilliant teachers with whom I worked. Gonna miss them terribly!

 I've realised that there so many people and places that I'd like to write about here that naming them would result in either a full-length essay or having to miss some people out (hence, also, the glaring lack of photos of people in this post). Some of them are fellow language assistants including my lovely flatmate, the Torre lot and those living in Santander, whilst others are Cantabrians who I've been lucky enough to meet in La Vetusta, La Asunción bakery, Jonatan Rueda, Hogar, the Metropolitan gym and Musli in Torrelavega, at surfing lessons with Ahau surf and through language exchanges. Suffice to say that I've met some incredibly warm, special, interesting people and made some friends for life. I'm going miss 'em all deeply but glad that, with many of them, it won't be our last meeting!

As for places, it's a similar story. The north of Spain was a surprise for me  in so many ways. From the (often awful) weather to the beauty of the beaches and mountains; I have honestly never encountered such a spectacular coastline as that of Northern Spain and am grateful of my decision to live here, even despite the gale-force winds and torrential rain! Liencres will always hold a special place in my heart as my favourite Cantabrian beach and the ruta de Cares, Asturias is probably the most epic visual experience I have ever had. It's been great exploring the region of Cantabria itself: the varied beaches around La Magdalena, skateboarding around el Parque de las Llamas and of course the hiking trips to Peña Sagra and Fuente Dé. The list would go on but it might get a bit tedious for anyone other than myself! Basically, I'd strongly strongly recommend a visit to Cantabria and Asturias to anyone of the outdoorsy kind, because for that sort of thing in Spain, you can't get much better!

One last thing - after spending the first couple of months convinced that I would not see a smidgen of improvement in my Spanish, I am so happy to say that I've seen a definite change for the better. I have learnt un montón this year and can't quite believe how my journey towards fluency has begun to make itself apparent. 

This entry was never going to do justice in expressing how much I appreciate the friends I have made and the experiences I've had, but I hope that it goes a little way to saying THANK YOU Spain, it's been inolvidable :)

donde se encuentran el bosque y la costa

hop off a train at Boo de los Piélagos, walk 40 minutes along a wide, snaking river upon the side of a lush-green hillside, through a dense, secretive forest and you arrive at Liencres, my favourite of all the beaches that I have explored in Cantabria.

Oops!

Life's been pretty ocupado recently and sadly I've neglected to record my adventures here.  I thought a pictorial summary of my experiences this semester would be a good way of making up for lost blog posts.

Snowshoeing in Fuente Dé

epic views en Los Picos de Europa 

Sun-filled San Vincente

moments of hysteria and gorgeous sunshine atop the hill (photos by E.C.)

Beaches, friends, nights out + a healthy dose of Vitamin D

yoga/make-yourself-look-conspicuous-in-public practice (photos by L. Y.)

Triángulo de Amor Bizarro gig + dancey dancey @ la discoteca (photos by L. Y.)

It's safe to say that my Year Abroad just gets better as time goes on; it's not been a total dream, certainly, but during this semester I've had some really beautiful experiences, met lots of new & lovely people and learnt un montón más del Español!

I'm back

Change is happening! Having been wrenched from what was one of the best Christmas and New Years that I have had yet, my mind for the first two days back was firmly set to ‘take me home’ mode. It took me about a week to truly settle in to the swing of Torrelavega life again and now that I have, I’ve noticed a few changes in my perception of my year abroad.

I'm no longer feeling that dreadful, heavy weight of homesickness that seemed to squash me throughout my first term here. I was having fun, yes, but at the same time I kept looking back at things going on with my British friends and wishing that I could join in. But now it seems that I no longer pine so intensely for home comforts. I continue to miss my friends and family hugely and there are still low points where I yearn to be back, but altogether I have lost that persistent ache to be surrounded by all things familiar. I imagine that this is in part due to my return to the UK where I realised that it does fact still exist and that I am not entirely removed from life there. It's also come from a renewed enthusiasm and love for my job, for travelling, for improving my Spanish and for trying new things.

The main downside of my experience here is, er, the downpour. We have rain in the UK, boy do we have it, but Cantabría has it's own unique type of precipitation; intense and heavy, the kind of short bursts that soak right through your jeans and freeze your legs. As a part-time language assistant with a lot of free time on my hands and the desire to explore, this kind of weather is less than helpful. I'm crossing all my metaphorical fingers that this constant rain will subside soon because when it does this place really comes alive with people and beauty.

a rare, rain-less day in Santander!

a note to Jacques Yves Cousteau

Quería escribir esta entrada en español, pese a los varios errores gramaticales y la expresión torpe que seguramente seguirán. Quería escribirlo así porque me gustaría expresar mi pasión por, y mi delicia en, la costa de este parte del país en palabras que reflejan un lado distinto de yo mismo, uno más pensativo, emotivo, y menos analítico que qué pienso que lo suele expresar mi propio uso de mi lengua nativa.

En realidad no he explorado tanto de las playas de Cantabria, pero puedo decir sin duda que lo que sí he visto me ha dado más felicidad y tranquilidad que todas las otras experiencias que he tenido aquí hasta ahora. 

La semana pasado tenía mi primera clase de surf española, en que pude revisar todo de lo que podía recordar de las clases en Boscombe hace un año además de aprender un montón de cosas nuevas, no solo de mi técnica sino también del movimiento de las olas, cómo funciona el oleaje y cómo el cuerpo humano consume la energía durante hacer ejercicio. Era una experiencia genial que no veo la hora de repetir!

Lo que me encanta de esta costa también es la falta de gente, particularmente durante esta temporada; como me hago mayora me doy cuenta de que, mientras que siempre me ha considerado alguien extrovertido, me consuela enormemente en estar sola, ya sea entre una multitud de gente o en una playa vacía. Aquí no hay turistas ni personas por lo general, ya que el tiempo es demasiado incómodo para hacer un poco de baño de sol. La inhospitalidad de esas playas me recuerda de Poole dónde vive mi abuelo así que me ofrece mucho consuelo.

I wanted to write this entry in Spanish, despite the various grammatical errors and clumsy language that will surely ensue. I wanted to write it so because I’d like to express my passion for, and my delight in, the coast of this part of this country in words that reflect a different side to me, one that is more pensive, emotional and less analytical than what I think I tend to express through my own use of my native language.

In reality I haven’t explored the Cantabrian beaches so much but I can say without a doubt that what I have seen has offered me more happiness and peave than all the other experiences that I’ve had here so far.

Last week I had my first Spanish surf lesson, wherein I could go over all that I could remember from lessons in Boscombe last year as well as learning a load of new things, not only to do with my technique but also of the movement of the waves, how swell work and how the human body consumes energy whilst exercising. It was a great experience that I can’t wait to repeat!

What I also love about this coastline is the lack of people, particularly during this season; as I get older I realise that, whilst I’ve always considered myself an extroverted person, I gain huge comfort in being alone, whether than be amidst a crowd of people or on an empty beach. Here there are no tourists nor people in general since the weather is too uncomfortable to do a spot of sunbathing. The inhospitality of these beaches reminds me of Poole where my Grandad lives and thus offers me much comfort.

time vomit

I have now been living in Spain for a month but time has decided to go all experimental on me because it feels like I've been here for a long, long time. So much has been packed into these weeks that it's been difficult to find moments of peace wherein I can reflect a little on my time here. 

When I started working at the primary school that I had been placed in by British Council it all came as a bit of a shock; the Spanish education system - its organisation and the culture within it - is very different to what I remember from my own experience as a primary school kid; initially I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. After three weeks I can safely say that I am truly enjoying working as a language assistant. The teachers are super nice to me but what makes it really great is the children! They are the most welcoming 77 children I have ever met; I walk down the corridors every day to be met by kids shouting 'HALLO EEEmEEE!', hugging me and drawing hearts on my arm. That's not to say they're all sweethearts and there are moments when I want to tear my hair out from pure frustration/annoyance. Nevertheless, each day I find myself more interested in the progress of individual students; I can see myself missing this place by the end of the year.

Many of my experiences outside of work deserve their own post however, as I've been rather useless at updating this blog (so far!), I shall give a short summary of a few instead:

Santillana del Mar

One of the first 'tourist trips' I made here in Cantabria was to Santillana Del Mar, a small village close to Torrelavega itself. Oddly enough, the village neither has a patron saint nor is it anyway near to the sea, making its name a fairly misleading one. Regardless, it was a beautiful old town full of historical buildings and little trinket shops. We also got to experience some rare Cantabrian cider, a personal highlight seeing as they don't serve cider in NINGÚN café/bar/restaurante (despite being situated right next to Asturias, Spain's cider capital)!! This involved both the tasting and the pouring from a large wooden contraption, the functionality of which being about 50%...!

Laredo
Whilst I promise that it hasn't been all about alcohol during my stay in Cantabria, Spain definitely love a drink. Doesn't matter what time or where - mid-day beers for lunch before returning to work, celebratory sherry in the staff room at break time - the attitude here is pretty distinct but arguably healthier to that of Britain. Anyway, a group of us headed to Laredo, a small town about an hour and a half away from Torrelavega by bus, where we'd heard a beer festival was taking place. It was there that we discovered a delicious raspberry cerveza, 'Mort Subite', that I could've happily taken a few crates back had I sufficient physical strength/man power.

We also explored the old part of the city that was riddled with pretty little cafés and yellow cobbled streets that eventually lead us up a very steep hill. Our climb was finally rewarded with beautiful views of Laredo its shoreline which seemed strangely reminiscent of the Devonshire/Cornish coastline.

I have so much more to write about including an incredible venture up Peña Sagra (but I think that that deserves its own post), my experiences and insights of Torrelavega itself and more! For now, I shall leave it at this and say 'hasta luego', or, as they say here in Cantanbria, ''sta logo'!