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 :)

things I have learnt so far: Part 4

They like their food. No, really.

Spain's relationship with food is quite distinct from the British one. In the UK, quantity is usually a definite factor in the value of food - here, not so much. Here, it doesn't take much to spark gastronomic excitement. Sitting in the staff room for example, a daily flow of empanada, quesada and soblao is provided by various teachers for reasons that range from birthday celebrations to my sister-in-law-who-you've-never-met's wedding a fortnight ago. The reaction to the food is generally met with a succession of "Mmmm! Que rico!", "Vaya, bueníssmo!" and the like. In print, that doesn't look like anything out of the ordinary but when I try to picture the same kind of zest over a Victoria sponge amongst a flock of English teachers - "OOH! So tasty!", "Wow, absolutely delicious!" - it doesn't quite fit. A couple of days ago a packet of shop-bought breadsticks were being handed around the table, resulting in an full-blown conversation about said breaksticks' deliciousness. To me it seems like an overall healthier attitude to eating; people take the time to enjoy food, not just through consumption but by praising it! Food Appreciation Society, that's Spain right there.

When to say thanks remains a mystery

This one's just part of a larger cultural difference that I'm still getting accustomed to; there's no need to thank the person who is taking your food order nor the person driving the coach/bus. I've even been told by a Spaniard that to thank a driver for just doing their job would be bizarre to most. It is perhaps the cultural difference that I have struggled most with for the entire year and I'm afraid I am still inclined to thank people to what Spanish people would deem an excessive degree!

Hello/Goodbye/Who are you

Saying hello and goodbye to complete strangers with whom you have no intention of striking up a conversation is a social norm. Only this morning I was sat in a Doctor's waiting room and observed with interest the frequency and variety with which people did/did not greet one another. Most of the elderly ladies for example would greet the entire room with a 'Buenas', then proceed with a running commentary of their circumstances to which I am unsure to whom it is directed. In the gym changing rooms I am regularly greeting and saying "see you later" to people I've never met; any eye contact with a stranger in the street often leads to greeting of some sort. Overall I see it as a great thing; people are just generally more talkative and sociable and from a very basic perspective, it's nice to be acknowledged.

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!

things I have learnt so far: Part 3

One more before hometime:

I am a tall Spanish woman

If I was a Spanish woman, that is. At home I'm pretty average height wise at 5'6" but here that seems to be towards the tall end of the height spectrum. It's quite a strange feeling to walk around looking over the heads of, well, almost everyone apart from about 50% of the male population in Torre. It also leaves me feeling like a bit of an awkward giraffe-type creature in Zumba classes...but it's fine, I just stand far away from the mirror and then I'm the same size as everyone else.

Spanish dogs are way more hilarious than UK mutts

Not sure why. Maybe it's because they're all pretty tiny and therefore not the brightest of animals. Anyway, my flatmate and I have spent a good percentage of our free time in muffled laughter at a passing pug-crossed-with-large-guinea-pig dressed in a Messi football tee or, even better (worse) still, a purple puffa jacket complete with fur-lined hood.

I still don't quite know how to order food or drink in Spanish

And yes, I know, this is one of the first things you are taught when learning a new language - how to say 'I would like...' and 'how much is...?' and 'the bill please'. Turns out, however, that regurgetating your old GCSE Spanish phrases in a restaurant/bar/cafe makes you sound as posh as voluntarily attending a regatta. On asking for 'the bill please' we would invariably be met with, yep, the bill, but also a slight smirk flitting across the waiters' respective mouths. Thankfully the guys in our local café informed us that it is more usual to say 'how much do I owe you?' or even, 'charge me'. Imagine saying either in a British eatery; one sounds too familiar, the other plain rude. Thus I've discovered the added difficulty of trying to find the appropriate words in the particular context in order to avoid sounding like a div, a problem that I hadn't really got the hang of in my own language let alone prepared myself for before moving here.

Commerical breaks: long, boring and sporadic

"See you in 8 minutes" chirps the TV part way through an exchange of dialogue between Ted and Barney in Cómo conocí a vuestra madre. After this substantial length of time watching five adverts about five different brands of yoghurt all claiming immediate (and seemingly extreme) constipation relief, the programme returns only to be interrupted just 10 minutes later for a "2 minute break"! Pattern or purpose? I see neither.

Alternative music has yet to arrive in Santander..!?

I should emphasise that this is from my experience anyway, so perhaps I'm not looking in the right places. However, after a conversation with a friend from Santander itself I'm led to believe that my experience has been pretty accurate. The standard musical repertoire in a club goes like this: Europop, Pitbull, Europop ft. Pitbull and maybe, maybe, a bit of Reggaeton. So far disappointing, but I'm still on the hunt as I'm fairly sure I've yet to explore even a quarter of the bars and clubs that the city has to offer. On the up side, Torre's nightlife often offers something at least more diverse (if not my typical cup o' tea), with clubs like En Vivo holding rock music nights and the rest of the town providing various live music events if you take the time to look for them.

un finde como madrileña

So after recovering from what can only be described as one hellish week of lying in horizontal agony drugged up on antibiotics, I was recuperada and ready to make the five hour coach journey with my flatmate down to Spain's centre, Madrid, to see some much missed uni friends! A LOT much got packed into that short stay so here's an attempt to summarize:

I'm a bit 'meh' about zoos: whilst I'm lucky to have Marwell as my nearest one at home, there are plenty of crap ones to disappoint you; Barcelona for example, was a major mammalian fail. Plus I'm reluctant to go to zoos that fail to support wildlife conservation and all that. The Zoo/Aquarium in Madrid is thankfully a pretty awesome one! I saw a baby panda for the first time in my life, got extremely close to a rhinoceros (funny spelling, always think that) and a pair of lopey, mopey brown bears. 

some dear deer whatsits

'mingos chillin'

So in conclusion, if you like your zoos, don't bother with the one in Barcelona cos it's pretty naff.

The rest of my weekend was spent running around attempting as much site-seeing as possible in the little time we had (and as much as we could manage whilst nursing a hangover from a particularly alcoholic night out on Friday).

Exploring the neighbourhood of Malasaña was a highlight for me; a cramped network of alleyways and narrow roads offering a glut of hipster boutiques, bars and alternative cafés. I could have spent a week in that area alone, so definitely an excuse to go back!

on the streets of malasaña

One beautiful, blue-skied evening was spent wandering around el Parque del Buen Retiro, Madrid's main park, eventually perching ourselves on monument steps to watch couples rowing boats upon a lake of liquid mercury in the dusky light.

sunset at al parque del buen retiro

The weekend also included an awesome gig and a last day visit to a huge, three storey bookshop in which I could've spent more than a day lost between its bookshelves...(another excuse to come back!)

It was great to escape Torre and venture to a big city and I felt the contrast between the small town quietude of Cantabria and the hectic rush of Spain's capital hugely. On my return I found myself both missing the buzz and bustle of Madrid as well appreciating the peace of a small town all the more!

things I have learnt so far: Part 2

it's your Birthday? Great, buy me a drink!

to my eyes it's a very positive aspect of Spanish culture, their pleasure in giving and sharing things. And it's not just with material things; I have never encountered such willingness to help one out through the sharing of knowledge, from my estate agents' recommendations and tour of the best bakeries in Torre to my surf instructor's thorough, detailed explanation of tidal movements and coastal features. They love it, they love sharing stories and giving things so much that they will use any excuse (birthdays, weddings, sister's wedding, birthday 2 months ago) to bring in cakes/wine/chocolates and home-made tortillas...the only downfall is that on your birthday it is you that foots the bill and buys the drinks. At least it only happens once a year eh, har har.

personal space is not a "thing"

or at least the permitted personal space allowance per individual is greatly reduced from what I'm used to in the UK; in various situations I have found myself close enough to be inspect the pores of my fellow converser. However, I'm learning to appreciate the feeling of confidence that it so expresses as well as the generally more physical nature of Spanish social interaction interaction. No longer do I lean back slightly when greeted by people with a kiss on each cheek; on the contrary, I've found the less you resist all this intimacy the more you acknowledge its value as an exchange of trust and friendship.

neither is brown eye make up

exemplified by both my housemate and my extreme difficulty in finding any in the shops. Rachel tells me her experience of being met with blank expressions or of surprise when requesting this elusive object. The style of make up here is black, black, black and a little bit more black. Which looks lovely on Spanish skin but a bit vampiric on Rach and my paler, rosier complexion.

english language music is v. popular

but they don't understand the words. For example, TV shows/ads frequently use songs with vaguely inappropriate lyrics or by musicians whose accompanying culture is at complete odds to that of the show - 'Californication' and Avril Lavigne play in the background of a documentary about Cantabrian livestock whilst the explicit version of Cyrus' 'We Can't Stop' bridges a segment in a day-time chat show. Bizarre, visual/audio juxtapositions galore.

someone saying "See you later" is more like someone saying "seyalaah"

"hasta luego" will be expressed "'stalogo", said rapidly and in passing to a neighbour or conocido. There are plenty of other interesting details of pronunciation that I'm learning, such as the Northern tendency to drop the 'd' in past perfect verbs. For example, "pasado" becomes "pasao", making it sound quite Portuguese or even Chilean (to my limited knowledge anyway!).

So there's a little update on some of the fascinating things I have noticed (or at least think I am noticing as it 

could well be all in my mind) from my time spent here. Expect more at some future date!

buenas vistas, thigh ache and one big rock

So off we speed in a big coach full of loudly excited Spanish teachers and their spouses whilst my friends and I are still wiping the sleep dust from our eyes. We're heading to Peña Sagra, a mountain nestled within a mountain range that borders los picos de Europa. After a couple of hours of zooming down country lanes and round the feet of several great, grey mountains, our walk beings on an challenging upward incline; I can already tell that this isn't going to be some kind of countryside stroll!

we were just getting going and yet check out the views!

The journey up is arduous but satisfying as we're almost immediately greeted by beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. After a little while I spot a few deer high up the side of the mountain and realise how glad I am to be outside and away from Torre; it's not like I dislike living in a city but I always feel more "myself" when I'm away from all the people and noise of urban living. The Spanish group who we're with are so friendly, interesting and interested in ourselves. It's always great when my tendency to pigeonhole 'the Spanish' as a loud, showy lot is debunked from conversation with actual individual Spanish people.

break time: "say 'Buuuugle'!"

After a quick break we continue on up where the incline becomes suddenly more sheer and precarious. It's tiring work but throughout the journey I'm stunned by panoramic views of both the Cantabrian coast and the stark, desolate outline of los picos. Following a tricky route over an area giant, eroding rocks, we've finally reached the top! The view, well, here's some shots from the top:

endless sky

feeling pretty pleased with ourselves!

jus' chillin' on this big ol' rock

...pretty amazing! The descent, as always, is the less enjoyable part of our journey and the next day my legs were scratched and burning from an hour of uncomfortable stumbling/near-tripping down a steep incline covered in pricky gorse. After the momentary trapse through gorse hell, however, the rest of the journey was lovely and full of wildlife - including wild horses - and lots of farm animals towards the foot of the mountain.

After approx seven hours of hiking we were rewarded with a stop at the nearest bar, where we enjoyed bowls of unshelled walnuts - lots of fun had trying to work out how to actually open them - and huge 1.5 pints of cerveza! 'Salud' to an awesome day!

relishing that sit down like no one's biz

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'!

Things that I have learnt so far

So I'm four days into what feels like a month of organising/building a life here in Torrelavega, the town in which I will be teaching for eight months. I've traipsed the streets of both Santander & Torre for longer than my feet find acceptable, eaten a lot of delicious tapas, drunk lots of vino rojo y cerveza, learnt a ton of words, spoken two tons of Spanish, found a flat, bought a mobile phone and met some incredibly friendly and welcoming people who I hope I'll get to know even more during my stay here! Throughout all of this I've also learnt some interested little habits of the Spanish culture that exist here:

Dubbed TV As far as I can tell, the quality of Spanish TV is a bit hit and miss, hence the prevalence of dubbed series from the States that are on all the time on the main channels. Let me tell you, watching New Girl in dubbed Spanish/any other programme that you were previously familiar with is a hilarious experience! To be a voice-over actor in Spain you are required to have the silliest, cheesiest voice possible that in no way matches the original voice of the on-screen actor. Not sure what their aversion is to subtitles but very entertaining all the same!

Children don't sleep I kinda already knew this one but really, tonight the kids were playing in the street at 10 in the evening. The reeeally little ones I mean! Unthinkable in the UK but here it was lovely to see the youngest and oldest members of society (as well as everyone else in between) hanging out together in a big noisy pretty plaza, 'tomando aire'.

No tipping! I know, right! Apparently it's not the done thing in Torre. I'm just glad to have realised this sooner rather than later to save me a bit of pocket money.

Kettles are not Spanish it took one of my fellow language assistants a good amount of time searching for and trying to describe exactly what a kettle is to people in Spain and it seemed initially that they didn't have a direct translation. Here it seems that the heating of drinking water at home is done by microwave! Last night however we were told that it is known as tetería (like cafeteria) but this has still been met with odd looks by shop assistants. Luckily my flatmate and I ventured into a Hypermarket to find one; the box says Hervidor de agua (literally: Water Boiler). 

They think that bras and sheets are cobwebs you need to see it with your own eyes, but the fashion in window dressing seems to be hanging everything in the most abstract way possible, usually by pinning it to a board at funny angles. I mean, why display a bra on a mannequin when you can hang several of them in a bizarre fractel-esque arrangement?

So that's just a selection of the random things that I am coming to understand from my time here, and that's not mentioning the far bigger cultural differences in eating customs and the 'horario' of Spanish businesses, por ejemplo. But it'll have to do because I am KNACKERED. Buenas noches :)