Nadal

So this will be my last blog until I return after Christmas, this week has been very hectic so I haven't gotten round to blogging.
This weekend I chilled here in Barcelona, went out on Saturday night and went shopping on Sunday. There is a primark here! I know it's not very cultural but sometimes you just need something cheap and cheerful and Primarmani is the place for that.
Last night we all went out together for tapas as a final meet up before we all go off to Madrid/France/America/England (delete as appropriate) for Christmas. The food was lovely and also very cheap, all the dishes were between 1euro and 2.50, even my friends who unfortunately are still waiting to be paid could afford that!

Yesterday and today were the Christmas concerts at my school, it was so cute (photo below of us being reindeers) I was really proud of them all managing to sing their songs in English, especially the youngest, they may only be 5 and 6 but they definitely were the best.

I've received lots of Christmas presents this week from teacher too, I got a hat, scarf, necklace, turron and a flower, very spoilt. I feel so at home here in Barcelona and at my school that it's really sad to leave, but it's best to see my family while I can and I know I would have regretted not going home.
So I fly tomorrow, hopefully all will go well and I'll be back in England tomorrow night, freezing to death but enjoying a lovely Chinese takeout with my friend Becky!
Feliz Navidad a todos/Bon Nadal tothom/Merry Christmas everyone!

th teacher's curse....

So I have now been hit by the cold that seems to hit every teacher in the world as they finish work for the holidays, leaving them ill and unable to function. I felt tired and a bit funny all morning so decided to have a power nap this afternoon.. it lasted 6 and a half hours and I still don't feel A1. :(
But on the plus side my last two posts now make some sense, I did go to the circus with school today, but it was held in the building of the old flowers and silk market, so I got it right both times! (glad to see my Catalan/Spanish hasn't failed me) The show was good, a mixture of acrobatics and drama and comedy, I've never seen anything like it before but I did enjoy it, as did all the pupils (we took 8 classes...) On the bus to and from the Mercat de flors we sung Christmas songs in preparation for the show next week, I have learnt that they sing better in English than they do in Catalan, guess my job isn't going to badly. I was on a bus with 3rd level so this was all very cute. However at the front we also had two boys from 6th grade, one with a broken foo and his friend. They were made to sing their songs! Oh it gets better... they couldn't remember the words to the English song (John Lennon's Imagine..) so yes, I was forced to sing with them.... on the bus' MICROPHONE. I think my skin was somewhere between the shades of beetroot and crimson...
Also my block of flats now has a Christmas tree in the lobby! As does my school, but that was more likely to happen.
Tomorrow I need to pay for my Catalan course and buy the book. Should be easy enough......
Bona Nit a tothom!
:)

Webcam = dead

So my webcam has died, my uber-technical friend John attempted to fix it remotely, but it still isn't working. :( Yet another bad thing about my computer.
But I have now got a much quicker version of Internet explorer; which means I can final delete safari  - yay!
However on the up side of things I am definitely moving up a class in catalan, I got 90.4% overall on the course. I am very pleased with myself, seems like my hard work has paid off. :)
Tomorrow I'm off to the Circus with school, then maybe iceskating later, not some sort of flowers and silk thing, to be honest I don't know where on earth I got that idea from....
Also planning to watch a Barca match with Gavin at some point early next year, which I can't wait for, to see some live sport, I miss it.
Starting to get excited about meeting up with everyone over Christmas, although I am not looking forward to those temperatures... eeek.
See you soon England.

Christmas is nigh..

Today was pretty boring, I went to school, the gym and then have mainly chilled, partly due to the fact that my private lesson had to be cancelled as my pupil is ill, and partly due to the fact I ache all over from the gym. I hurt in places where I didn't know muscles existed! Maybe it will have some effect so I look good on my return to England, but I doubt it, seeing as I am going out for chinese food on Friday.
It really feels like everything is grinding to a stop here. I have no private lesson, no homework to do for my catalan class tomorrow and a bad case of not wanting to go to school, along with all the other teachers, and pupils. 
But I did manage to find out that my school trip on Thursday is to some sort of flowers and silk market, I have a party at catalan to look forward to tomorrow, as well as my final weekend in Barcelona being filled with Christmassy things, and going out.... and maybe the gym
All in all life's not too damn shabby, I guess I've just gotten used to be so busy that I'm not really sure how to have nothing to do anymore..
Hasta Manana
x

Under two weeks until Christmas

Ice skating yesterday was absolutely amazing, so funny, looking after my French friend Rosa who was adamant she was going to fall made my day! Afterwards I had a christmassy starbucks with the Frenchies, never thought I would miss speaking French, but it was a welcomed change from the Catalan and Spanish overload I sometimes experience. 
Today was a pretty normal day at school, found out I am going on a trip with levels 3, 4 , 5 and 6 on thursday, although I'm not exactly sure where. Should be interesting though. :)
And I got 88% on the Catalan test I took so hopefully On Wednesday I shall be moving up to the next level, which means I could be a certified B1 by March! Definitely worth doing.

Back to reality

After an amazingly long weekend, a trip to Frankfurt then exploring Barcelona and puente-ing, (yes the new verb to party, hard, because it's a puente) I today am slammed back into reality. I've just finished my Catalan book report which is due in tomorrow, then on Wednesday I should know whether or not I can matriculate to the next level of my Catalan class. It's scary how quick time is going, this time in 2 weeks I will be celebrating Christmas day, with my family, in England. I'm glad I am spending my entire year here, otherwise I would be moving to a new country soon and that would be too quick for my liking. 
One very strange thing which is going on here in Barcelona is the appearance of ice rinks, there are 2 within 15 minutes of my house. Now I know everybody likes a good ice skate, but I just find it a little weird when it's bright sunshine and still about 16 degrees that there are Spaniards in scarves, hats and gloves on ice. It's all a little bit too surreal for my liking.  
So tomorrow I head back to school, only 7 working days left now before Christmas, crazy! I'm starting to get really excited now, mainly because I have all my presents and I can't wait to see my family. 
Hope everyone else is enjoying the run up to Christmas as much as me :)

Puentes, Puentes, Puentes

This is last night's blog. Posted a little late, as it didn't work, sorry about that guys.
So today I did a lot of research for my DELC310 in french as I want to start the next 4000 words after christmas. Gosh I had brain ache, I think I have finally decided what I want to do it on, and Isabelle seems to agree that it will be ok, and there seem to be quite a few academic papers and articles on both topics. Which is good. Except the prospect of being stuck inside reading on a computer screen while it's a nice sunny puente weekend outside does not, and I really can't afford to print them so I am going to have to suck it up and stare outside from my window. :(  Tomorrow I plan to go to the gym, and then do some studying afterwards. I was thinking of seeing if Maquinista (a massive shopping complex) is open as I am desperately in need of tights, the one pair I have left are about to die. So a pretty boring day today guys. :( At least I have some weekend trips planned :) although I'm still thinking about last weekend in Frankfurt, which was simply amazing.  

Only 2 weeks and 2 days left

This is the small amount of time I have left here in Barcelona before I go home for Christmas. Today I mainly relaxed, as I had a headache :( I think mainly due to the lack of water and sleep over the weekend. Then I did a little bit of French reading then headed to the Christmas markets in the evening where I bought a tio de nadal. It's a traditional catalan tradition of a log which bring children presents as long as you feed it. :) Very cute. I'm planning on going ice-skating with Katie later this week, I can't wait, I feel so Christmassy.
Bona nit a tots.

A Christmassy Weekend Away

I have just gotten back from an absolutely fantastic weekend away in Frankfurt. I’ve caught up on my advent calendar and can say that I am now feeling well and truly Christmassy. The markets were absolutely amazing. I drank lots of German beer and Glühwein (mulled wine) and tried eggnog, which I also loved. I can’t decide on my favourite beverage though, the Germans do know how to make good warming alcohol for the cold December nights (and days.)

Let’s start at the very beginning, (a very good place to start), we arrived in Frankfurt and after dropping off our things at the hostel, and trying some German apple wine we headed towards the markets, where on the way we saw the occupy Frankfurt camp, this was really interesting, especially for my friend Katie who is from New York so has been missing out on where it all started.

We then spent the evening at the Christmas markets, eating Bratwurst and drinking mulled wine along with buying some little bits and pieces to finish off our Christmas shopping. I had to wear a hat and scarf – it was wonderful! We also looked around Frankfurt Cathedral, which was very quaint and lovely, different to those here in Spain. The markets out there are simply amazing, so much bigger and better than anything we have in the U.K. But then again they have been holding markets in Frankfurt for over 600 years.

The next morning we went for a walk, and a little explore, we walked up through Frankfurt’s financial district and got to look at some amazing skyscrapers.  We saw the Opera house, some gorgeous parks, inhabited by some freaky looking ducks (30% of Frankfurt is parkland) and a beautiful old guard tower two. We spent 2 and a half hours of the afternoon in the Jewish Museum, which was fascinated and told the story of the Jews within Europe from around 300A.D. until after the 2^nd world war with the creation of Israel. I learnt so much and it was also a nice break from the cold. In the evening we headed to the markets again. More shopping, eating and drinking, gosh the Germans like to drink, many of them were drunk by 5.30! 

On our final day in Frankfurt we ate as much as humanly possible at the all you could eat breakfast and smuggled out some food for later in the day. We headed up to the Frankfurt stock exchange, a really pretty building with lots of different sculptures from a neo-classical period, and a more modern bull and bear, although the reason for this is unknown to me. Then we headed back down into the old part of town, where at 11.30am Katie decided she wanted eggnog, I have been a bad influence....  After the first alcoholic drink of the day we saw the old town hall, and an art exhibition inside which was pretty interesting, and free. We also headed over the bridge and walked along the other side of the river before heading back into the markets, then to a pub for beers and food, and lots of free Jager... before getting the bus to the airport to wait for our early morning flight back, which landed 25 minutes early – good old Ryanair! And as for the rest of today, I feel some rest and relaxation is in order.  

I can't sleep

So I need to be up at 4.15, to get an early morning flight to Frankfurt for the weekend, where I will be visiting the Christmas Markets (which are over 600 years old) and maybe going to a few museums too. 

Yesterday I forgot to mention that I have recently had a lot of comments recently on my style. All good, people saying how much they like it, that it is very “British” and different from the Spanish fashion. Now as much as I would like to think that I am flying the flag for British fashion retailers everywhere. I am not. Principally for one reason, the majority of the clothes on which people have commented I have bought here. In Spain. In Spanish shops. Henceforth we make a remarkable conclusion, I can make Spanish clothes appear British, and apparently wear them better than the people for whom they were designed, now that is something that should be praised in national press.

I’ve eaten my advent calendar for today, I’m packed, and I’ve watched Russell Howard for an hour. Yet I am as excited as a child on Christmas Eve, and even though I know not sleeping will not make tomorrow come any quicker, and it will mean I’m tired, I still can’t drift off. So I write my blog for the day – at the start of the day ... :) Here is a photo of me and my friend Katie, exploring Ibiza, we will be exploring Frankfurt this weekend, but without the short sleeved t-shirts. I think this time woolly jumpers and bobble hats are more appropriate attire. 

Have a good weekend everyone! I know I will!

White Rabbits.

So I am officially the worse blogger ever, I never find the time to actually write. Whoops. But today with my school we started work on an English blog. This inspired me to get back on the blog I originally started (especially as I now know how to do everything).

I’ve been up to a lot of travelling, Valencia, Madrid, Olot, Ibiza, Besalu, Bilbao, to name but a few so last weekend I decided to stay in Barcelona and work on my DELC 310 essay, it’s almost finished now, which has helped me distress so much. I also had a Catalan exam last night, and fingers crossed I will be able to matriculate to the next level. So my academic side of things is going pretty well.

I also received my first parcel from England, a CADBURY advent calendar, for someone living in a country that hasn’t really mastered chocolate this was nothing less than a godsend. It’s also starting to feel Christmassy around here which means that I am starting to get a little bit giddy. I’ve visited one Christmas market already and nearly all my Christmas shopping is done, hopefully it will all be finished by next weekend.

I’m also applying for a job to teach English to adults in the evenings – so keep your fingers crossed for me guys!

I’m off to Frankfurt in the early hours of tomorrow morning for the Christmas markets, I can’t wait!  

Hasta Luego!