I wasn’t expecting to write another instalment so soon, but hey, it feels like a lot of things have happened in the last week that I wanted to get written down before the memories start fading!! Monday (28/9/15) afternoon saw me move in to my flat with Isabel (not the Isabel I stayed with in my first week! I’ve accepted that ‘Isabel’ seems to be a hugely popular name here) and I met a few of her friends/work colleagues who were nice and welcoming. It might take a while but I’m definitely starting to feel at home here – Isabel’s always saying ‘es tu casa’, so I couldn’t have picked a better flatmate!! Aside from moving in, I’ve got my timetable! Exciting news because I get Mondays off – 3 day weekend for me! I’m already thinking about travel destinations for long weekends away!
I went to Almeria on Wednesday for a little exploring and shopping (my love for Tiger continues as I bought several items to make my room more homey!) and I met up with a lovely American girl who is also going to be an English teaching assistant. It was great to meet someone in a similar situation who can directly relate to some of your worries, concerns and hopes. The most surprising part of the Almeria day trip was the bus journey itself. It’s said you meet people sometimes when you least expect it – entirely true for me in this case! Whilst waiting for the bus, I asked a girl next to me about buying tickets, we struck up a conversation which continued onto the bus (when it finally arrived!) until we departed ways in Almeria after having exchanged phone numbers – I can honestly say I did a happy jump at the idea I’ve made a potential friend!
Going to Madrid for a few days is the big news this week. It involved getting a night bus at 11pm on Wednesday night (seemed like a good idea when I was booking tickets) and arriving in Madrid at 6am on Thursday morning. The reason for going was a British Council conference which although wasn’t hugely useful was worth going to and meant I got to listen to the standard Spanish accent and take a break from the southern Spanish one (which is quite hard to understand but with time I’m getting there!), catch up with some Leeds friends and see a bit of Madrid – some great bonuses!
The British Council put on a welcome reception on the first evening with some great complimentary food and unlimited drinks – waiters didn’t seem to understand the concept of empty glasses and holding two glasses soon became a popular trend! It was soon time to get the 7hr bus back home but before that I managed to fit in a brief visit to Madrid’s Parque del Retiro with a friend where I surprisingly ended up speaking a small bit of French in a very odd circumstance which I won’t describe – seeing as I can’t explain it to myself! I spoke French again on the bus back with my neighbour so I seem to have learnt so far that when in Spain speak French!!
Today’s seen me once again try to make sense of Spanish bureaucracy (I’m not convinced I ever will!) I think I might have mentioned in my last post about applying for a NIE. Well, last week I received my semi-permanent version which unfortunately had my name spelt wrong resulting in my bank card arriving with the wrong personal details etc. A second trip to the local police station today has fixed this misspelling but you wouldn’t believe how many times “Hannah” was spelt wrong in the correction process, especially considering the policeman had my passport (with my name clearly written in) next to him the whole time. It was a relief when he finally got it right (it was becoming an ongoing joke!). With that sorted, I was leaving ASAP and had almost made it to the exit when I was stopped. I didn’t know what was wanted this time but I definitely wasn’t expecting the policeman to ask me to help him learn and practice English!
Tomorrow I start work (I won’t lie that I’m slightly nervous!) and the year properly starts! Keep you posted 🙂
Hannah in España 