Decisions, Decisions..

Well today i've been in a very reflectful mood. I know what needs to be done but I'm so unsure as to how it should it be done. My dilemna is deciding what course to take at University, its somewhere I've wanted to go for a while now and since leaving college it seems the right thing to do however I'm unsure as to how to go about making a very big decision in my life.

Firstly I have a huge interest in teaching, well look at me. I'm in a foreign country teaching English, something must have compelled me to come here and its true I really do enjoy it. For a career? I'm not sure. This is my first option as to what to study at University and would without a doubt be a very good and rewarding job.
This problems with this career path is I dont like routine, always the same things, repeating classes years after years in a classroom.. I am very adventurous and feel like I probably would become very bored with the day to day routine of being a Teacher.. However the long holidays are appealing ;)

Secondly, Sports journalism appeals to me. I love sport and I love reading about sport. The blogs on the BBC are a regular past time for me when I'm stuck on ideas of what to do or bored. The way they travel the country or even the world commentating on some of the most important events in the world is incredible and you can experience all the new cultures. However its a fierce market and would be difficult to pursue i believe.  None the less I like writing and I feel with the right guidance I could be a very good sports journalist and why not!
The problems are not with the course, I've read into it and it looks very interesting. The problems are that it is such a fierce market I'm not sure I will have the comfort of knowing I have a job all the time? However its something I'm seriously going to look into...

Outside of Uni, I'm not sure what i want to do.. I've always had a keen interest in the public services and law after studying it for 2 years at college and is a road I can always go down after I have completed University however I best hurry up and make my decision or it will be  to late... no pressure then.... haha

Boreeed

Todays been very boring, havent even left the house.. well i tell a lie, I went outside in the garden for an hour or so too shoot some hoops ( basketball ) (obviously?). Then mucked about with a footy for a bit, but other than that wooooow, boredom is setting in big time...

Anyway, yesterday was a good day, had a knock on my classroom door from Nora, the head of English in the school. She said there was someone in the reception to see me and i was a little excited. I went down and it was a woman from CAPS, the programme im currently on and who placed me in the school. We chatted for about an hour and she asked me lots of questions to make sure i was getting on okay.. She told me the school are very happy with me and that for me was very satisfying to hear!

After school it was time to take the short walk to another school, where i teach 2 older women English. They are very nice and have a high level of enthusiasm for learning English despite their age and low level of the language. However i can see an evident improvement since my classes have begun and yes i am going to take all the credit for this  haha!

So i finished my class... i left the building and descended into the night. The walk home takes around 15 minutes, through the main high street of El Prat. Its a nice walk home and i enjoy my time listening to my ipod in my own little world. I arrived home and it was Caterinas Sants Birthday.. which basically means her names birthday and she gets presents? its brilliant ( if you understand what im trying to say )
She got lots of presents and we embarked on a journey in the car for around 10 minutes and went to a restaurant called Afrika! ( yes the spelling was like this )
Apparently Will Smith and Rocky Balbou had been there, well thats what the photos on the wall suggested but im not sure if its true ha!. The service was poor and the food less than impressive as i order a burger, it came to the table after about 30 seconds of ordering and about 10 minutes before anyone elses. Which meant i had to eat it whilst it was still hot? ?
Other than that it was a nice evening and we walked back to the car which seemed like an eternity away but atleast it worked off some of that burger!!

Now im just going to IKEA i think, not sure.. gets me out the house i guess!!
Then tommorow... hmm not sure, if nothing with the family im going to have to take the bike out or something...

Again illl eave you with a photo of my travels, this time its at home, bit calmer, making pizzas with caterina a few weeks ago! Lateeeers

Well, Well, Well

I made a bad decision to comment on the weather setting in, because yesterday and today has been around 25 degrees! cant believe how hot it is for this time of year.. usually it's never like this so im being treated by the sun gods! Whenever i sing Maria says it will rain because its so terrible!

I got my haircut yesterday! Thank god!! it needed doing! now its very short and my ears felt the cold crisp morning at around 9 am when i left the house today!

Not much to report on, went to Camp Nou to watch FC Barcelona v Zaragoza last week and forgot to mention it as you do! They won 4-0 and it was a very good game!

Well other than that not much to report... Another photo for you to see from my adventure to set casas in the Pirineus, i will return here for my birthday to go skiing... CANT WAIIIIT!!

Frio, frio

Well its safe to say the winter is starting to set in, the weather was meant to be terrible today but seemed to hold off, im expecting a barrage of thunder storms and rain tommorow, the wind is supposed to be hitting 130mph on the East Coast where im situated but i cant see that happening!!

Thought id just put a little message up as i am pretty bored, had a normal day at school and now just prepping some classes.. thinking of fun new ideas without the kids thinking im a total loser with the short 15 minute games

Listening to some music at the moment in the study.... been out on my bike for about 15 minutes and played some basketball in the garden ( we have a hoop )  But then it started to get dark so i came in..

other than that, not a lot happening... my hardest two days are over, rest of the week is half days... result

Ive added a picture to show you me with my host family, however not maria del mar (the mum) because she is taking the photo.. will have to get someone to take the picture for us next time.. be nice.... Also we are in the costa brava here! Tossaaaa!! very nice n hot
adeu x

Alone...

Im currently working in a school in El Prat de Llobregat, its a nice little school with no more than 400 students from the ages of 8 til 15-16. I feel like I´ve had a good start to my school life, my job is to basically practice English with the students as it is my mother tounge and after all is my skill here. The children responded very well but outside of school I feel like I need more, what? I´m still unsure... Something just seems to be missing

Currently im living with a host family, but soon im going to be moving onto my next family and then after that, moving on again to another family. This is going to be a big change and im very excited. I couldnt of wished for a better first family, so welcoming and friendly and now i feel like im on the family... for real!

Its safe tosay my friends in England are something i miss the most, i was with them all day, everyday, after work at (a landscaping company) i could escape to my friends house or to the pub or play football with them. However here i dont have that option, yes i could play football, but i feel its difficult to mix with the spanish whilst im still learning the language and trying to gain fluency....

Im still thinking about home, what am i going to do when i return? Do i return? or do i stay when this 9 month placement is over and try somethign else

Im still not sure... maybe soon i will know, but I best hurry up before I end up with a crappy job in England with no hope and no career.

Montserrat

Montserrat

The 11th of November was a cold and crisp morning; we had decided the day before to go to Montserrat Mountain if the weather was clear. Luckily for us it was a nice day and we all got in the car and set off on our journey. The mountain came into view very quickly from the motorway because of its sheer size however it took a considerable amount of time to get to the base of Montserrat as the distance was deceiving. When we reached our destination we began to climb up the mountain using the windy and dangerous roads leading up to its summit. On arrival it became clear we were not the only people with the idea of heading to Montserrat today, it was very busy and it became apparent that it was impossible to park the car in the car park, which is basically a piece of wide road scaling the mountain.

This meant we had to descend down the mountain and try another form of transportation, this in the end turned out to be a great piece of luck. We headed towards the cable car station at the bottom of the mountain and on arrival bought a ticket. After a quick lavatory stop for me and Leandre and tickets in hand we waited for the next car. It was on its way down from the summit and descended with a great speed, we began to joke about the cable cars safety and in no time the car was here and entered. The car was bright yellow and of a decent size, it fits about 15 people in I’d say. We hopped in and stood by the window which wasn’t difficult as the entire car was circular with windows everywhere, much like a pod on the London Eye. The driver started the cab and we began to rise steeply up the mountain, the view was beautiful and it was a shame that it wasn’t a perfectly clear day because I’m sure you would have been able to see for miles from the position we were in.

A few minutes later and we arrived at the top; the strange formation of tall rounded rocks at the summit of the mountain confused me, with the thoughts of impossibility yet I was seeing it with my own eyes. 

I stepped out into the cold, fresh air and it was obvious we were at a high altitude. We began to walk up the concrete steps adjacent to us whilst looking at the mountain side in front of us, it was a beautiful sight and is somewhere I recommend anyone to visit just for the fact you have said you have been there. We then made our way to the Monastery, the main reason we came, it housed the Virgin Mary statue which was very sacred here. People travelled from far and wide, queued for many hours just to get up close to it and have the chance to kiss the statue. Surprisingly for me it was a very spiritual place as usually nothing like this affects me with no religious views what so ever. Inside the Monastery it appeared very extravagant and excessively expensive; the monk was talking in Catalan to the crowd who had formed on the pews in the Monastery, it was full with people standing on the sides and I was one of them.  It fell very quiet as they listened to every word intensely.

After the Monastery we made our way through the small walkway opposite which contained some shops and a hostel, here was where many of the tourists came to buy souvenirs however it was also for locals who came to buy special bread or cheeses from the local market traders who had set up on the mountain side. They all offered you cheese on the end of a knife for you to taste, fighting for your custom but I couldn’t help but think all the cheese probably tasted the same, no matter who was selling it.

Then it was time for a well earned rest, we went into the only cafe on the mountain and had a coffee and some biscuits, it was very nice a good way to relax however after it was time to descend back down the grandness of Montserrat.

The beginning

Hello, this is the first blog I have ever done, its for anyone who is just passing or wants to know what I am up to since moving to Barcelona. Here I will upload pictures and talk about what I've been doing, you may find this boring but its about me being able to look back in a few years time to see what I did.

I moved here ( El Prat De Llobregat ) at the end of September with much optimism of what the future could hold  however a lot of pessimism at the same time. I arrived and stayed at the hostel with the other people on the same course, they were all so nice and it felt like i had knew them for ages!

The next day after a night in the hostel it was time to move onto my new home for the next 3 months or so, I got picked up by the family around 2 and went straight for something to eat and got to know the family, it was very serial but felt at the same time very normal. I settled in very quickly and started school within the next few days. Instantly it became clear to me that the school was very nice, it isnt particulary big but I like it this way, I now know all of the students ( by face not name ) and even have met up with some of them to play football or go to the library.

But yes now i will say what else I've been up to since arriving to Barna!
I firstly went to Costa Brava, it was very nice and stayed there for a few days, the weather was lovely.
Secondly i went to the Camp Nou and watched Barcelona v Victoria Polsin, they are from the Czech Republic, Barca won 2-0 and Messi was amazing, Iniesta also!
Thirdly i went to Set Casas, its a VERY small village in the piranues mountains, i will return here around the time of my birthday ( 4th December ) to hopefully attempt to ski ( weather depending )

Now i dont know what to say, but i will hopefully update when i have something interesting to say and dont worry, not all of my blogs will be this long

X