Y2-9: ISB, Brighton, Cardiff and Bath!

Intersemester Break is now nearly over. Last year I went to Brussels with Amélie (you can see the post here), but this year I’ve spent it in the UK, doing a couple of trips around and exploring Bath, since next year I will be abroad and I thought it was better to stay and explore England now that I have the opportunity. I think I’ve actually been pretty efficient also (not so much relating to coursework, it’s a holiday after all) and have enjoyed myself, so all for the win. As with all my posts involving travelling, sorry in advance for the length!

Wednesday the 20^th was my first official day of holidays after my Italian test the day before, as I’ve said, I had gone out the night before so I had a pretty chill day at home. I did some laundry, took a shower and updated the blog, and in the night I watched ‘The Danish Girl’. I really liked the film. At first, I thought it was a bit slow but it gained a better pace later on and Eddie Redmayne is superb in it. Worth a watch, all of ya.

On Thursday I decided to explore the city, because the weather forecast said it wouldn’t rain for once. So I got my camera (I’ve been feeling so guilty for not using it, it was high time I gave it a whirl around the city) and headed out the door. You know I love walking, so I headed up the hill to Alexandra Park because they had told me the views of the city from there are pretty amazing, and I wasn’t disappointed! You can see all of Bath: the Crescent, the Abbey, the city centre… all the way to the University on top of Bathwick Hill. I loved it, the climb up the steep hill was definitely worth the views. Then I walked back down and decided to visit St James Cemetery. Some people aren’t comfortable with visiting cemeteries just for the beauty of them and think it is quite a dark hobby, but I think old British cemeteries are beautiful in an old and rundown kind of way. Idk, I like visiting them. This one was created at the end of the 19^th century and had many old tombs; some even had grown into the foliage so they were quite pretty. After that, I had lunch back home and got cracking and headed into town. I first went to the Bath Fashion Museum, but they are in between exhibitions at the moment so the only open part of the museum is the Victorian room. I honestly found the permanent exhibition quite poor, but I really want to give it another chance when the rest of the museum is open… I also got to see the Assembly Rooms which were impressive. 

Then I went through town (with a stop at Poundland and Tiger, although no shopping this time, just a look around) and arrived at the Victoria Art Gallery. The permanent exhibition can be described as eclectic. Personally, it was alright but the best thing was that I also got into the Grayson Perry exhibition for free (perks of being under 21) and really enjoyed it. I had never heard about the artist, but the tapestries were amazingly detailed! Then I did some shopping and came back and chilled. Not a bad day at all.

Friday was very chill again. I didn’t do much. I cleaned the house, cooked and did the groceries. I also organized the week so I had an idea of what I’d be doing and not get to Sunday thinking I could’ve done more… After dinner I got ready to go out. We went to Vidushi’s place for pre-drinks before heading to Bridge for the Exam Blowout. It was packed! Luckily, we had bought tickets in advance and managed to get in (which didn’t mean we didn’t have to wait, because the queue for the cloakroom was insane). It was an ok night, we were champagne showered and alternated between the RnB booths and the main dance floor. Bego and I ended up staying in the main one because we liked the music there better. And after coming back home, a nice warm shower and some 3am Domino’s ordered on the bus, which arrived just in time!

On Saturday I sorted out some more things like what we can do together when Erin comes on Thursday, and planed a couple of day trips, not only what to do in Brighton but also Cardiff (I have given up Stonehenge for now until the weather gets better). I started to pack for Brighton and after dinner watched ‘The Dead Poet’s Society’. Yes, hadn’t watched it yet. Yes, ended up crying. It was a good film, a “quoty” film.

On Sunday I slept in and finished packing. After lunch, I went up to campus to print some work (already got stuff to work on for the new semester) and then into town. I tried out the Little Theatre in Bath, which is an independent cinema. Got my membership and watched ‘Joy’. From my point of view, it was an average film with great actors. I just didn’t find the plot interesting. But it was good to try out the other cinema in Bath, and I think it is cheaper than ODEON so say hello to more films. Then I had a quiet night in because the next day I was getting up early to go to Brighton!

Brighton in January, perhaps not the best idea, but definitely the best for student pockets. On Monday Amélie and I got up early and headed to the station. We grabbed some lunch for the train at Sainsbury’s, and then met V. She was coming too and, out of the blue, introduced us to a friend of hers and her mother who apparently were also coming. Totally unexpected. Anyway, the trip to Brighton was alright but quite long. We had one change at Southampton and arrived in Brighton at around half past one. Such a long train journey! The weather was alright, it was cloudy but at least it wasn’t raining… We walked straight down from the station to the seafront and then walked to our hotel, the Kings Hotel, just opposite the West Pier. We checked in and went up to our room to leave our things and rest for a bit before heading out again. To be fair, the room exceeded our expectations. It was clean, warm, quite big, well equipped (had a TV and the softest beds ever, oh, the student life) and the shower was amazing – hot and pressured (oh, the struggle). Definitely recommend. Once we were ready, we headed out for a walk. The wind was blowing, but the sun was setting and we managed to get a glimpse of the sun through the clouds. We walked down the beach – saw the Band Stand, the West Pier (which I loved, despite it being nearly destroyed, it just had a desolate nostalgia to it)… We stopped at a fish and chips to get some fries and continued our way down the beach until we got to the Brighton Pier. There we played a couple of games – dancing, Guitar Hero, hitting down the clowns… There was even a Zoltar machine! You know, the one from ‘Big’! It didn’t work the first day sadly, but it did the second so we each got our fortune card. 

By the time we were done, the Wheel had closed and so had the rides, but the views from the Pier were amazing. The sunset turned the water pink and deep blue and there was even an adventurous surfer trying to catch a few waves. Oh, and lots of birds. Not just gulls, also random flocks of birds flying around. They looked like a bank of fish soaring the sky. It was quite creepy to be fair. After it got dark, we headed into town and saw the Royal Pavilion lit up. It looked grandiose. And then walked around the streets of the centre, looking for a place to have dinner. We finally settled on Bella Italia, which is a brand of Italian restaurants. The food was good, I had gluten-free carbonara and the dessert was to-die-for. Chocolate volcano cookie with vanilla ice-cream. So worth the calories. We thought of going out for a drink but by the time we finished dinner we were all feeling quite tired so instead we just went back to the hotel, took a nice hot shower and chilled in the room before bed – they were showing ‘The Dark Knight’ on TV, how cool is that?

The next day, we woke up pretty late (is 8:30 late? Maybe whilst on holiday) and got ready, which took us quite a while… The weather was not that attractive on Tuesday though; the morning started sunny (but horribly windy) an after 1pm the rain came and it rained non-stop for the rest of the day. And the sea was pretty stormy, which meant that the rides were closed. Anyway, after checking out from our room and leaving our suitcases in the lobby, we went to the Regency café and had a tasty and filling English breakfast to keep us going for the day. The sun shone through the glass windows and it was lovely to see the sea while munching on some toast and tea. Once finished, we braced ourselves to go out into the wind, particularly strong that day, and walked to the Wheel, but it was closed until twelve so we then changed plans and decided to visit the Royal Pavilion. Luck was not on our side, because the Pavilion was closed for maintenance work until Thursday, so we were not able to go inside. The outside was impressive enough though, and I really loved it. Since it was closed, we roamed around the shops to kill some time until twelve. I got some postcards and we checked out some shops. Then we headed back to the Pier and played some more on the machines (Zoltar worked this time!). As the poor weather meant that the rides were closed, we didn’t have anything else to do but to go on the Wheel. 

The views were amazing! Particularly of the Pier stretching out into the sea. However, the wind was blowing so strongly that we were rocking like crazy which made me a bit uneasy… I couldn’t help but to think of my Dad, his face would have been white as a sheet if he had been in my shoes! After the Wheel and arrival of the rain, Vidushi’s friends decided to leave because they had an open return ticket and we stayed behind with the whole afternoon to kill off since our train left at 7pm. First, we walked to the Pavilion again (other side this time) to take a couple of pictures in the daylight from that angle, and then decided to take the bus up to the University and roam around. It was funny because the initials are the same as those of Bath (and many other Unis’ starting with B, of course!): UoB. It felt like we had entered a forbidden place, lurking into another University uninvited. After that, we returned to the city centre and rather stressfully made our way through the wind back to the hotel to collect our bags. Honestly, the wind was insane! Proper stormy January weather! 

As we walked towards the station, we found Primark and popped in. I ended up buying a black turtleneck dress which I had been after for forever…  We were in there for literally an hour so afterwards we just chose to have an early dinner before going to the station and went into Itsu, which is an Asian style ready-made meal place. I hadn’t been there before but the food was so yummy! I had a chicken and rice pot, some salmon and avocado sushi and a seed and fruit smoothie. So good. After that, we walked to the station under the rain. There was one of these pianos that anybody can make use of, and an Asian guy was playing it which was great! I love it when random things like this happen! Then, our luck seemed to turn when the train we had to take got delayed. Thing is, we had to take this train because we had 15 min to change in Fratton to another train in order to arrive in Bath at around half ten. Missing the connection would have meant having to change three times following a totally different route and arrive after 2am. Not great. Fortunately, it didn’t happen and the train, even though it was delayed, it caught up on time during the journey, so we made our change at Fratton and arrived in Bath as per schedule. So tired, but glad to be home.

In retrospect, I liked Brighton but didn’t love it. It is a nice summer destination, with a lovely beach and fabulous Pier, full of hotels. Obviously, we went in January which meant that good weather was not to be expected, but the city was very lively despite being out-of-season. The beach reminded me a lot of Portsmouth; they are both similar in my opinion, only Brighton is more touristy. However, this also meant that there were an incredible amount of homeless people. There are a few here in Bath but it never ceases to surprise me when I see them around. The world is unfair.  Also, the water was a weird muddy colour, which I assume is because of the stormy sea, but coming from the Canary Islands, Paradise cannot be exchanged for the British beaches, not even in summer...

On Wednesday I was a busy-bee again. I ran some errands in the morning and then headed up to campus to pick up some medicine and have lunch before the Careers Event on Translating and Interpreting. Quite a few and varied people attended, ranging from sixth formers to postgraduates and employers. There were some talks from different people and organizations and a Q&A session after the coffee break. My career goal for now is to become a staff interpreter for the EU Commission or Parliament and I know this will take ages and hard work, but I’m on my way. I will be meeting with one of the teachers of the Masters here in Bath to discuss a few things and hopefully I will clear some doubts. It was a useful event to attend and the two main things that I have gained from it are not to disregard my mother tongue and not to give up Arabic! In the night we headed over to Vidushi’s place where we met with David and her housemates because she invited us to an Indian dinner. It was really good, although she claimed there was no spice added, it was still pretty hot for a while girl like me. It was yummy none-the-less; we had curry lentil dahl with naan bread and some sort of potato paste. And for dessert, a carrot-based traditional dish and some chocolate cake. It was a lovely gathering and I truly enjoyed the evening.

On Thursday I decided to go to Cardiff. This time on my own as nobody joined in the end, but that was not going to keep me from going. I got up early and took the 9am train to Cardiff Central via Bristol Temple Meads. I arrived in sunny (but chilly) Cardiff at around half ten and headed for the Castle first. I spent a good few hours in there, exploring every corner of the place. My favourite things were the views from the top of the Keep, the interior of the House (the Arab room was incredible, reminded me of the Alcázar of Seville) and, honestly, the man giving out the audio guides, he was just so contagiously happy to do his job! 

After the Castle, it was still fairly early but I decided to go get lunch anyway as I was feeling a bit hungry. I actually had a pizza at Bella Italia, same place as in Brighton. It was a bit awkward to eat alone though, still haven’t got used to it. After that, I went to the National Museum Cardiff and got there just in time to avoid the rain. The Natural History part of the museum was incredible, very well laid out and rich. And the Art Galleries all the same, they had a good few pieces in there: Rodin, Bacon… particularly Impressionists like Cézanne or Monnet. There was also a temporary exhibition by Ivor Davies about destruction in art which was quite interesting. It was also nice to see the museum buzzing with activity, with many families with small children, school trips and art students sketching away. I really liked the atmosphere. 

By the time I had finished at the Museum, it had stopped raining and since it was still pretty early, I decided to walk down to the Bay. I got to see the Pierhead, Roald Dahl Plass and the views of the bay under the sunset. Once I was done exploring over there, I grabbed a hot chocolate from Starbucks to warm me up and made my way back to the station and back to Bath. I got home at a decent time and simply took a shower, had dinner and uploaded a few pictures of my adventures on Facebook, as many of you have probably already seen.

On Friday, the knowledge of the start of semester two slowly started to sink in… I was torn between not doing anything at all or trying to get stuff done so I would have less work during the semester. Oh, decisions, decisions. My interview with the postgraduate researcher for her study about loneliness was called off because she was feeling unwell, but I decided to get up all the same and be efficient. I went into town to fetch a couple of things and then came back and did the laundry and some cooking. I spent my evening and night alternating between writing this incredibly long blog post and watching YouTube videos (including the odd discovery of a thing called LARPing, the epitome of nerdiness, which is actually a thing, look it up).

On Saturday I slept in for once and then called my Dad to congratulate him for his birthday. After getting up and having breakfast, I cleaned my room and lazed around for a bit and, after lunch, I went up to campus to work in the Library (which was deserted by the way). One month without reviewing any Arabic has had disastrous repercussions and now I feel like I know nothing (Jon Snow reference here duh). I definitely needed to review before my Thursday class, so that’s what I did, plus reading for French history. The work of the second semester starts again… At night I decided to watch ‘The Book Thief’ and loved it. It was a beautiful story. I don’t usually watch book adaptations before reading the actual book, but this time I was tempted and went ahead, since I don’t have that much time for leisure reading atm. Ended up crying, what a surprise.

And today, Sunday, is sadly the last day of ISB. Tomorrow it’s back to reality. I’ve decided to take the day off - I’ll do some reading, listen to some music, watch a film or TV show. It’s raining outside, which puts me in the mood for not getting out of bed. Got to be ready for the start of semester two tomorrow!

Even though I haven’t really stopped this week, I think I have had a good balance of travel, work and laziness and am looking forward to finding out what the second semester has up its sleeve and to Erin coming over on Thursday, so the next few weeks will still be pretty intense!

Hope you enjoyed the post, until next time! x

Y2-8: Weeks 15 & 16, revision and exams!

These have been some incredibly long two weeks. Honestly, not having a routine kills me. I am so good at procrastinating…

The trip back to Bath was alright. So incredibly long, but I didn’t have any mishaps so I arrived as scheduled. It was funny to think I had been in three countries over the span of one day, as I returned via Amsterdam. I overheard a conversation between the air hostesses who were talking about how they might travel a lot, but at the end of the day they haven’t visited most of the important monuments, not even in their home cities! The Londoner one said he had only been to 10 Downing Street and Buckingham Palace once with a school trip, and never to Saint-Paul’s Cathedral! That is insane. Makes me value the effort I make to get to know the cities I visit, I’d rather have quality than quantity, but I guess when you live in a place you just assume you have all the time in the world to explore and you end up never doing it. And that is another of the reasons why during this ISB I’ve decided to stay in the UK and visit a couple of cities and explore Bath properly – I have been here for over a year and a half and still have not visited many places…

On Wednesday the 6^th, it was Reyes, so many friends woke up to open their presents back home, while I had a day to adapt back to Bath and the cold. Begoña was already home by then as she’d arrived a day before me, but the rest of the house was still empty for a couple more days. Anyway, I ran all the errands: groceries, laundry, cleaning, vacuuming… And in the afternoon I finished unpacking and tidying up and sort of organised the next couple of days to plan out my revision time. I had to hand in a French essay which was almost done and just in need of proofreading one last time and printing out, and had two exams, luckily a week apart (one on the 12^th and the other on the 19^th). My first day was a pretty chilled day in terms of actual revision because I really had to reinstall myself in the house so I didn’t do much.

On Thursday morning I went to campus to do some printing and shopping, and then went to the bank. The highlight of the morning was that they’ve opened a Tiger shop, which is both good because the things are good and cheap, and bad because now I want to spend my money on non-useful stuff! I cooked once back home and prepared a massive batch of food to keep me going for a couple of days and then sat down to read through my ‘Italy since 1945’ revision notes as I had a revision session on the Friday and literally had no idea of what we were going to talk about, so definitely had to have a run-through… That night I finished ‘27 dresses’, which I’d started whilst on the plane but hadn’t finished. Or was it ‘God Save the Girl’ that I watched that day? Maybe, can’t remember really, but it was one or the other. This one was a cute musical, Wes Anderson style. I enjoyed the music and aesthetics.

On Friday I woke up with terrible cramps, and the cold didn’t help, but I had to brace myself and go up to campus for the revision session. The revision session was on how to face revision and the exam, which was sort of useful, but I expected it to be more of a Q&A to solve our doubts on the contents… Anyway, the lecturer helped me out with my questions via email, which was lovely, and I went to LimeTree and managed to finish up and hand in my essay. Another thing to cross off the list. That night, Amélie came back and I was feeling like pizza and cookies, so we ordered Dominoes (my first ever, yes, I know, how could I have survived until then…) and then did some more revision.

The next three days leading up to my first exam this exam season were quite boring and uneventful. On Saturday I procrastinated a bit doing some grocery shopping, receiving some parcels for the neighbours, helping the neighbour out with their washing machine… It took me forever to focus, but I did eventually manage to go through my two topics for the exam. I watched some Glee episodes as a treat before bed. On Sunday I cooked some more and worked on some of my notes and decided to prepare another topic so, to avoid procrastination, I went up to campus and worked there until the evening. I did review a bit after coming back too, so it was a pretty efficient day. Then on the Monday procrastination threatened again, but since my exam was the next day I did focus and revise all day. I had an early night in to be fresh and recovered for my 9:30am ‘European Integration’ exam the next morning.

On Tuesday the 12^th I woke up early to go to my exam. It went alright, I was sat near the window which wasn’t ideal because a draft was coming in even though it was closed and was quite chilly, but aside from that, I think I did quite well and I was happy with my work. One less thing to do. After that I went to Starbucks for a Caramel Latte treat and now I definitely think coffee gives me headaches, it’s not fair. I did some work at Lime Tree planning my revision from scratch for the Italian politics exam and then came back home. The rest of the day was pretty chilled, I watched ‘Me and Earl and the Dying Girl’ that night, ended up crying but oh well. It was a good film, Wes Anderson style mixed with ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’. Hipster movie at its best.

The three following days (Wednesday through to Friday) I pretty much spent in Lime Tree, either on my own or with Amélie, doing the reading and research and notes for my Italian exam. Not too interesting, I already told you. I fitted in some cooking sessions (can’t believe I reached a procrastination level in which I actually look forward to cooking…), got my feedback for the French oral presentation back in November, watched some TV shows (really into Orange is The New Black and Penny Dreadful at the moment)… On Thursday night they said it was going to snow (yes, that’s how cold it is), but in the end there was no snow but a lot of ice, which means it’s pretty cold and slippery outside so I have to be quite careful… We’ve been waking up to ice every morning since.

That week I also decided to join PetiteBlasa’s project “Cartas Encadenadas” (read more about it here). Basically, I will be writing a story with other people, in chunks. So someone will start it, send it to the next person who will write another page, then the next, so the result will be random and completely dependent on what each of us decides to write. I just thought it would be a nice change since I really need to brush up on my creative writing skills… I will keep you updated on how that goes.

Another thing that happened this week which absolutely shocked me was the passing of David Bowie and Alan Rickman, both great actors and singers from my childhood. The Goblin King will be forever in my heart, and so will Rickman’s memorable characters, amongst which Snape stands out to me.

Both the weekend and Monday before my Italian exam were literally the heyday of procrastination. It took me forever to focus. I stayed at home because I can’t concentrate in the Library, but it didn’t make much of a difference… I did some cleaning, cooking, grocery shopping, watched videos on YouTube (if you haven’t seen Adele’s Carpool yet, what are you waiting for?)… Anything but actually sit down and focus (although I eventually did). We even booked a short trip to Brighton next week for ISB. Looking forward to that. I also tried out the comfiest and cosiest pyjama bottoms ever, thanks a lot for the practical Christmas present. Literally, on Sunday after dinner we just chilled in the kitchen for a couple of hours chatting. No work done that night of course. Monday was my last day before the exam so got my act together and studied forever. I kind of panicked too because I wasn’t sure if the contents I had prepared would be enough for my exam, but I had done what I could and went to sleep early to try to get some rest (although it took me forever to actually fall asleep).

On Tuesday the 19^th I slept in since my exam was at one, and then got ready and headed up to campus to print some stuff and have an early lunch. I found Connie and Catherine so I had lunch with them which was nice. I was dreading the exam but at the same time wanted to get it over and done with. It was alright. I’ll pass, but it is definitely not the best exam I’ve ever done. At least I don’t have to worry about it anymore. After the test, all the stress disappeared and exhaustion took place so I came back home and took a nap because I was going to go out that night with some course mates to celebrate the end of exams. First we met at Ellie’s and then headed to Moles’ Big Cheese. It was a nice night, despite the fire alarm going off and having to evacuate the whole club at like 1am. Fortunately, nothing happened and we only had to stay outside for like ten minutes because it was -4ºC… I just went to get my coat back after that and walked home. Freezing.

Now that my exams are officially over, I have a longer ISB as of today. There are a couple of things I want to do and places I want to visit, starting from this evening since today all I’ve done is the laundry and updating the blog. I think I will go to the cinema to watch ‘The Danish Girl’ tonight. Hope it’s good! Will keep you lot posted on what I’m up to, good luck to those with exams! You can do it!

Y2-7: Christmas break!

These past few weeks at home have been fairly relaxed despite the exams looming over. I’ve managed to meet up with a few people, enjoy the holidays and the sun, and get some sleep and rest at home with my family.

The first week of holidays, my friends still had class so my plan was to work during the week to get most of the essay and reading for the exams done before they were free. Well, considering I had been struggling and stressing out at the end of the year with the deadlines, I got home to the sun and it was only a matter of taking a day off, I didn’t really recover (nor have I yet to be honest…).

On the first day I went for a run in the morning, in an attempt to get up and be efficient, which didn’t really happen. It was great to go for a jog though, the weather was lovely and the waves were amazing! A lot of surfers had come round to ride the waves; I just wished I had my own board! I then decided to sort out my wardrobe and stuff back home, because after being away for so long I’d again forgot about what I had lying around… And then I napped. I said I wasn’t efficient. I just slept. Nothing better than a good sleep on one’s own mattress…

On Tuesday I decided to watch some of ‘El Debate’ because Spanish elections were on Sunday and I didn’t really have an idea of who I was going to vote. Not that it particularly helped, but I feel like watching how politicians react to each other’s challenges is somehow useful. Maybe I’m wrong. I then spent a couple of hours updating my blog; you’d be amazed of the amount of time running a blog requires. I would not imagine what posting regular updates would involve; I can barely deal with one or two a month! Not that my life is that interesting anyway, but I have seen the support of the blog grow since I’ve turned it into my personal diary for you all nosy people! Jk, I’m so glad for all of you who take the time to click and give my blog a read!

That night, I went over to Lara’s to spend the night, as I’d agreed to go to University with her the next day and that meant waking up at around five, which wasn’t going to happen for me unless I actually spent the night at her place. So I went there. She had to finish up some coursework so we didn’t do anything interesting, I pretty much made myself comfortable and went to sleep haha The next day was a pretty long day. I cannot believe she has to wake up so early to go to class, makes me realize how not-so-bad the U1 is, we live practically on campus compared to the bus and then tram that Lara has to take to get to class! She’s studying Law so I went with her to a couple of her seminars and just worked on my laptop. It was alright, except with the Geography teacher who kept standing uncomfortably close to me and my laptop and forced me to try to pay attention to his class unless I wanted to rub in his face that I was reading about French laïcité and that I didn’t give a f*** about what he was saying… We had a couple of trips to the cafeteria for coffee and lunch, and I got to meet a couple of her classmates. I’m glad that I went, not just because I did get some work done, but also because now I can put a face on the teachers and course mates that she talks about. After lunch, we headed to Santa Cruz for her Italian lesson. She is taking B2 level classes and had an oral exam, so she spoke to the teacher and I joined the class. They just corrected some homework, nothing too special, but then they did an online team quiz about congiuntivo. Our team, MarHaba, started from the bottom and then decisively made its way to the top. We obvs won B) After her oral test, we went back to La Laguna to shop for some things I needed to get before going back home. Long day, but a nice change. Makes me value British University too!

On Thursday morning I did some more essay reading and in the afternoon I went to the hairdresser’s. My haircut was long overdue! It is funny because Amélie always says that when her Spanish co-workers come to work with a haircut, it’s because they’ve been back home, and she couldn’t be more right! Hairdressers are so insanely expensive in the UK, I managed to go three months after summer without trimming my ends, but I really needed a cut. I actually got it chopped a lot less than I originally intended, but I might cut it again in Easter, so no worries. I got it layered so now my hair has so much volume!

On Friday, my brother Sebas arrived. He’d had his flights delayed and so arrived a day later than planned, but he came home for lunch. It was great to see him again because I hadn’t done so in over a year. I also got my new timetable, which is pretty good aside from the fact that now, in order to fence and do Arabic, I’m stuck 5-9pm on Thursdays up on campus, which is going to be exhausting… And then I procrastinated by starting to watch the Star Wars saga with Sebas. I wasn’t very into Star Wars but since the new film had come out, I figured it would be good to give them another chance. It so happens that after watching all episodes throughout the holidays (except the II, because I wasn’t home when the rest of the family watched it), I’m still not that much of a fan. Must be the space stuff, I’m more of a LOTR girl.

On Saturday morning we all went to La Laguna to finish our Christmas shopping. I managed to find the presents I had left, but wasn’t too successful with the things I needed to get before going back to the UK. In fact, I still haven’t been successful with all of it, so I might need to go shopping in Bath in the near future… In the afternoon, we headed over to Los Rodeos airport because Sofia was coming from the Netherlands. It was supposed to be a surprise for everybody, including us and her family, but we turned it around and made it a surprise for her to go and pick her up. Well, her flight was delayed for over two hours but when she finally made it, she was definitely surprised! A bunch of us were hidden waiting for her round the corner with balloons and signs. So cute, she even cried! Then we went back to Tegueste to have dinner at the hamburger place Cristina and David work at, and then chilled around the town and ended up, as always, in the square. Some things never change.

On Sunday the 20^th of December, it was general elections day in Spain, so we went to vote in the morning. Exercising your rights! It is the one direct chance we, as citizens, get to change the future of the country so it was so important to get as many people voting as possible, because if people don’t vote, the future is not decided by everybody, but only by the minority who do value the rights we have. Don’t end up complaining afterwards if you were lazy enough to not go and vote. That was the one efficient thing I did that day, because what was left of it I spent procrastinating quite a bit, although I did do some work mind you.

On Monday I went with Sofia to my old high school to visit the teachers. I’d assume they’d already be sick of us going back to say hi, but it turns out they aren’t. It was nice to see most of my old teachers, I quite miss high school, and it was such a different experience from University. It just felt like a big family. I guess that’s also why teachers also like us to go back and tell them what we’re up to in with our lives. After all, they did have a big role in educating us for adulthood. In the afternoon, I went with Jorge to the cinema to watch ‘Suffragette’. It was a good movie, the kind of film I’d put in class to educate students about the fight for women’s vote. Not that I learned anything new, but it was a good film nonetheless.

The following day Sebas came round again in the morning and did some work in the garden, and then dropped me off in La Laguna because I was meeting with Sofia, Cris, the Marías, Nau and David for lunch – de guachincheo por La Laguna. Lunch was soooooo good and we ate so much Canarian food. Sofi and I were in heaven- we stuffed ourselves in culinary goodies until we couldn’t cope with anything else! We then went for a walk around La Laguna and some hot chocolate. Once back home, I decided to watch some Modern Family and I ended up watching eight episodes in a row. Oops.

On Wednesday 23^rd we left for Gran Canaria as we were going to spend Christmas Eve and Day there with the family. The sick pills literally knocked me off and I spent the rest of the day napping off. Literally K.O. until the evening, when I went to Mesa y López for a stroll around the shops. Las Palmas is the place to do shopping and have family meetings and go to the cinema. We went shopping in Las Arenas and Triana (slightly unsuccessfully for me), I pretty much managed to finish my essay and do some reading,…  We also met with Sofia for coffee before she went back to Holland, and also met up with other friends of my grandma’s and relatives (including the massive annual gathering for Christmas involving family gossip and hot chocolate and lots of food that will make you fat- it was hilarious). This year we also met with the British side of the family and I got to meet my cousin Charlotte and her family, who I hadn’t “seen” since I was a baby. It was lovely to meet them. And after that we went to watch a late run of ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’. I found it was a good film, but a weird combo because it was the same universe and characters but with a totally different style of film. The Disney influence I guess, although the jokes were good, and so was having a strong female protagonist.

Christmas Eve was also nice this year. I don’t know if it’s because of all the deadlines or because of the good weather, but I haven’t really felt too festive this year. In Spain, we celebrate Christmas Eve rather than Day, so we had a lovely dinner at home with the family and opened up some presents afterwards (the other half were waiting for us back home in Tenerife, to be opened on the Monday once back). It was just a nice evening with good food and a moment to share gifts with the loved ones. Hope you all had a lovely Christmas too!

On Tuesday 29^th, once back home, my sense of time was already messed up and I did not feel like there were only a few days left of 2015. I got up and reluctantly went for a morning run (it takes me a lot of will force to get up and go out to run, but once I come back it is so worth it). I then read a bit and procrastinated until Sebas arrived. We went to Casa Pepe for lunch and had amazing fresh fish and food at an incredible price. These are the things you can only do here… I’m going to miss the weather and the fish. Honestly, for England being an island too, its fish is quite poor… Oh, and Sebas brought me his SURFBOARDS! Oh yeah! He’d had them in his garage all this time so he agreed to leave them with us so I can use them when I’m back. In the afternoon we exchanged presents with Sebas (I got a lovely mustard wool hat) and then said goodbye as he was leaving for Galicia for NYE. That night I got a small cold and so went to sleep quite early and the next morning I slept in rather than go to La Laguna to finish up the shopping. 

I spent the last two days of 2015 procrastinating and doing work. I managed to finish the essay and half of my contents for one of the two exams I have in January, and started to get the holiday blues, but I still had New Year’s Eve to go and welcome 2016!

This time, we had a relaxed New Year’s Eve. It was just the four of us at home, so we basically had a fancier dinner and watched some Modern Family until it was midnight. As always, Erin and I were responsible for peeling and preparing the grapes for the 12 chimes of the bells. Such a hard job! Fortunately, this time all of Spain got the counting right… After that, I got ready to go out as I was going to go to Santa Cruz with my friends to celebrate. Mum drove María and me, and we waited for Gema, Cris and David to join us near the TEA. Once we were all together, we headed to the Guimerá area, where we joined David’s friends. We had a good time drinking and chatting until we thought it was time to move further to the Plaza de España where there was some music. We lasted there until nearly seven in the morning, and then decided to go to La Laguna for churros and chocolate. María and I walked over to the bus station but no buses were working so we took a cab – expensive- to La Laguna and joined Cris and David and another couple at the churrería in El Cristo. It was a good end to a great night: having churros and hot chocolate for breakfast while we saw the sun rise before heading home to sleep. 2016, hope you’ll be a good year!

As I’d arrived home at like half eight in the morning, I slept through the whole morning and woke up for lunch at two. As every first of January, I spent most of the day lazing around, watching some youtube and lying on the couch. However, in the evening I forced myself to do some reading. Exams are near and I’m kind of starting to panic.

On Saturday morning, Mum took Erin and me to the shopping centre in La Orotava. Again, not too successful on my part, but I did manage to get a few things I needed, including some new Nikes. The queues were insanely long and slow in every shop, which was so annoying. After lunch, I finished some more reading because I had to give Lara some books back. I’m nearly done with my notes for the first exam, so it’s not as bad as it could be going.

On Sunday morning, the last official day of the holidays, I slept in. I’m going to miss my bed. Dad made paella for lunch and Lara came over. It was a tasty lunch: paella, Shandy and apple pie, yum! Then, Lara and I got ready, took one of the surfboards, and headed to the beach to try it out. The tide was low but rising, and there was a lot of wind, meaning that the shore was quite far in and the waves quite big until they reached the part of the beach which was sort of shielded off. First we went to the normal beach near the pools, but the waves were not promising, so we trekked to El Arenal, down the cliff near the abandoned hotel. It’s a nice beach but the current is very strong. The sun was shining when we got there and the waves were alright, especially in the beginning because afterwards they started coming a bit untidily and we finally decided to leave before the tide rose more and the sun finally set. We spent a couple of hours in the water. It was so nice! I thought the water was going to be colder and that we wouldn’t last long with our shorts and Lycras, but we did. We took turns with the board and managed to catch a couple of waves, but mostly fell or slid off the board. Still trying to get used to the fibre board but mostly the length, as we are used to a 7’/8’ and the board is a 5’. Honestly, it felt so good to go to the beach, it reminded me of summer and it was a nice break from real life. Now I have a good recent memory to pull me through the winter back in Bath.

Today has been my last day in Tenerife for this lot of holidays. Technically, it is Monday of revision week so many people are back in Bath already. I have my first exam on the 12^th and definitely need to get a move on my revision, so I need to go back even through I’m dreading it. I’m dreading the cold, dreading the exams, dreading the lack of sun and dreading having to take care of myself again. But at the same time, I know it will just be for a short while. I have ISB to look forward to, and then my sister Erin will come over for a week, so that should be fun. For now, I’ve packed my suitcase and am trying to get some stuff done before I finish off the day. Tomorrow will be a long one as my flight leaves at 11:30 from TFS to Amsterdam, and I then have the connection flight to Bristol from Amsterdam in the evening. I will get to Bath late at night. Wish me luck. I like travelling but it’s so tiring!

These have been some good holidays. I’m already feeling the holiday blues as you can tell, and will miss my family and friends, the sun and the food and my bed as always. I believe returning back from the Christmas holidays is always the hardest, as there is nothing really nice to look forward to. But, oh well, the exam season is only two weeks and then we’ll be free to enjoy ourselves again. Any motivation that can be offered will be deeply appreciated.

Cheerio!