One Extra Month in Barcelona, My Sister Visiting y Necesito Hablar Español!

Once again my updates have been slacking, and I apologise. I am constantly busy; I have school, tutoring, language exchange attempts and also fit in time to socialise. God knows how! The times I do sit down on my own I end up watching Pretty Little Liars on Netflix and fall asleep on the sofa or my bed. After a few months here, I still can’t seem to face the 9am starts, and 7:30 wake up. I’m not sure how I will ever be able to deal with a full-time job when (if) I return to England permenantly. There are both ups and downs to working in a school, and one that I’m really struggling with is the amount I fall ill. I have a cold at least once a month, and last week was a particularly bad one, however I’m very happy that it has now passed. As usual I sat down in an attempt to write several blog posts, but regrettably left them unfinished. So in this blog post, I will try my best to update you on the past two months, at least in a nutshell. Where do I start?

Okay, I’m going to start with something good and very exciting. I was due to end my time in Barcelona on the 19^th June, well that being the day term ends. However, I have actually been offered the chance to do full time work at the summer camp in my school. I must be doing something right here! It will run from the end of June, to the end of July. For some reason, when the woman first mentioned this to me I wasn’t so keen, but then I realised what an opportunity it was! I’ve also been very lucky in the fact that my current host family have offered to host me for another month during this time! 

They have been absolutely amazing, and I can’t verbalise how much they have made me feel a real part of the family. It’s never going to be easy moving in with strangers but this couldn’t have gone smoother. I wouldn’t change a thing about my time with them. So, I will be staying in Barcelona until August, and what is more exciting is that I will be earning real adult money. I’m talking, 400 or so euros a week, because believe it or not, at the moment I only earn 200 a month. Try and work out how little that is an hour! Although, most of the time the little amount of money really doesn’t bother me too much because I’m having too much of an incredible time to let it. I know I have mentioned in previous posts, but perhaps this is new information to you, but I have never had a job. It is both good and bad, but I am so happy to know that my time here in Barcelona is a great starting point for my CV, as well as the real full time job I will be doing at the camp. Even though I’m still unsure of my future career path, this experience has created a strong foundation for the prospect of teaching. I finally feel that I would be able to talk in an interview instead of stumbling around unsure responses.

In addition to the fact I will now be staying in Barcelona an extra month or so, two of the girls I have met here will be joining me at my school. I was able to get them involved in the summer camp which I believe the school are very grateful for. Not only are they two girls I met here, they have already became close friends of mine and I’m so pleased to have met them through this job/placement. I have met a lot of people here and it’s awesome, but it’s always nice when you meet people that you know you will continue to have contact with when the experience ends. It makes it easier being far away from home, best friends and family, when you have similar here.

It’s not always rosy. Yes, I live in Barcelona where the climate, scenery, food and lifestyle is often a lot more admirable than back in England, but there is always going to be that feeling of familiarity, comfort and home when you think of where you grew up. My sister came to visit at the weekend, it was really lovely seeing her and showing her my home and life here. She even got quizzed by a few of my students in my favourite primary class. She was a little lost for words and it reminded me of when I first started, which now feels like a long time ago. In my opinion, my sister came at the best and worst time. Last week I was very ill, and like a lot of times, this makes me think about home and ends up with me in a miserable mood, therefore seeing my sister was one of the best things, but being at the airport always seems to hit me. It heightens how far away from home I am, even if it is only a 2 hour flight - it’s still far. I really shouldn’t complain when there are Americans and Canadians where it’s almost impossible for them to fly home (unless they’re millionaires). 

There is always going to be points where you wonder what you are doing and where you question you’re perseverance, but I think it’s important to have this and overcome it. My host dad repeatedly says to me how with work you have to be optimistic, you have to go into it with an open mind. No two days will ever be the same, perhaps this depends on the type of job, but it definitely stands correct for working in a school. When you work in a school, you work closely with other human beings, and much like ourselves, they have good days and they have bad days. Every day we have different thoughts, different moods, feelings and sometimes it’s impossible to act the same. Therefore, one day I will have a good class, and the next week they could be terrible. I have to believe in routine being boring, and that sometimes it’s better to not know what’s coming your way. I mean, when I was flying to Barcelona I had very little idea of what to expect, and look how that’s turned out! I feel in a very good place at the moment.

The weekend with my sister consisted of my school, the magic fountains, two days of diverse weather; a freezing cold, wet and snowy trip to the breath taking Montserrat mountains, followed by tapas and a few drinks with my drunken friends, then a chilled sunny Sunday along the beach and eating ice cream. I’m thankful it didn’t rain all the time she was here, otherwise she may as well have just stayed in England (typical Spanish joke about England). Below are a few photos from the weekend. I’m glad I actually picked up my camera a bit. I definitely have an obsession with night photography and silhouettes.

My memory is lost, I can barely remember what else I have done the past few months, so I will just update you on what is in store for the next few weeks before I forget to blog again. Easter holidays are coming and I cannot wait! I need a break, even if it is only a week and a bit. Unfortunately, I’m not returning to England, but I am flying to Lyon, France with a friend. The start of a new school term, also means I will be moving to my third and final family. I can’t believe how quickly it has come around, I am less nervous as I have met them and am actually going for lunch with them again on Tuesday. It also makes me less sad knowing that I will be moving back in with this family for another month in June/July. 

¿Que mas (what else)? Okay I really need to speak more Spanish. I’m such a failure, I lack motivation and confidence. I can speak Spanish but I just get afraid to. I was so happy because one evening I spoke with my host mum for one hour. I mean it was slow and broken, but it was good. ¡Necesito hablar Español! If I leave Catalonia and can’t speak at least a half-decent level of Spanish then I will be very angry at myself. I will make it happen, and if I don’t I will read this back and cry. I'm working on it and hopefully I have a few people to help me on my way.

So, I think that’s about it for now. I’m not going to promise I will update more frequently because apparently I never do and can’t hold that promise. All I can say is that I will try. I'm surprised at myself for finally finishing a blog post! Today has been a good and positive day. Lets keep this up!

¡Hasta Luego!

Laura

Listening to: Imagine Dragons - Smoke and Mirrors (Deluxe Edition)