Ahhh... alas I manage to get onto the Internet from my new home. I am sneaking on someone else's network, but I don't mind.... hope they don't either.
So far everything has been going pretty smoothly. My new house-mates are fantastic. Two sisters from Serbia. They are beautiful, intelligent and very easy going. We get along very well and are able to help each other out. Since I have been here before I know a little bit about where I am going. I also have been studying the map of Valencia and thankfully inherited my father's keen sense of direction so I have some sense of where things are and what to look for.
Jasmina is somewhat fluent in Spanish, so she explains some of the unfamilar words to us and they are both grateful to have any help in English they need. They may argue it, but their English is very good, certainly better than my Serbian... but that isn't saying much.
Early in the evening we explored some of the city and found ourselves somewhat lost, but luckily the when you ask for directions...¿Donde esta? the Spanish speak with a lot of hand movements ... very dramatic and so we could figure out what they were saying for the most part... bit of a challenge but not too scary with company.
Last night Jelena and I stayed up until 4AM talking about our home countries, traditions, educational systems, geography and whatever else we could think of. Finally, though I could have spoken to her for hours longer, we had to force ourselves to go to sleep.
Today we registered for school and got a schedule. The girls went to the beach and I went to the American Consolate, though they were closed, I discovered it is only a few short blocks from school and will go back on Monday. I guess I am supposed to let them know I am here. Afterward, I walked around a bit then enjoyed cafe con leche y tortilla (Spanish egg pie... kinda like a quiche but different) in a nice outdoor cafe, of which there are many.
This evening I have an interview for an ESL position. WOW!!! Guess sending CV's in advance was a good idea. I also spoke to the property management company about and apartment and we will meet in about a week or so to try to find a more suitable place to live in the long term. This place is great, but a little out of the way for a semi-permanent home, also it is much too big for just me. It's about 2 miles from the center of town.
As I walk around I can not believe my eyes. The history is so deep and apparent, I want to learn more and more. There are several parks near my home. Both have bike and rollerskating paths and are just lovely. One park goes around almost the entire city making biking to almost anyplace easy and safe. Soon I will get myself a nice bike with baskets and happily get myself from one place to the next. The Metro system seems very handy as well, though I haven't attempted yet because the walking feels good in spite of the blisters on my feet.
The weather is perfect so far, not too hot at all and there is almost always a cool breeze blowing from the sea. I haven't been to the sea yet either but plan to venture there tomorrow. I can't wait to just kick back and relax until I get so warm that I have to jump in the water. I want to feel the sand between my toes.
I will try to keep posting as much as possible... soon I will even post some pictures, but I haven't time for that right now as I must prepare for a job interview. Yikes... I haven't been interviewed in years, suddenly I am feeling a bit nervous. They say the first few interviews are good practice so if this doesn't work out, than I will simply learn from the experience and go for another one. It's all about the learning...
So far everything has been going pretty smoothly. My new house-mates are fantastic. Two sisters from Serbia. They are beautiful, intelligent and very easy going. We get along very well and are able to help each other out. Since I have been here before I know a little bit about where I am going. I also have been studying the map of Valencia and thankfully inherited my father's keen sense of direction so I have some sense of where things are and what to look for.
Jasmina is somewhat fluent in Spanish, so she explains some of the unfamilar words to us and they are both grateful to have any help in English they need. They may argue it, but their English is very good, certainly better than my Serbian... but that isn't saying much.
Early in the evening we explored some of the city and found ourselves somewhat lost, but luckily the when you ask for directions...¿Donde esta? the Spanish speak with a lot of hand movements ... very dramatic and so we could figure out what they were saying for the most part... bit of a challenge but not too scary with company.
Last night Jelena and I stayed up until 4AM talking about our home countries, traditions, educational systems, geography and whatever else we could think of. Finally, though I could have spoken to her for hours longer, we had to force ourselves to go to sleep.
Today we registered for school and got a schedule. The girls went to the beach and I went to the American Consolate, though they were closed, I discovered it is only a few short blocks from school and will go back on Monday. I guess I am supposed to let them know I am here. Afterward, I walked around a bit then enjoyed cafe con leche y tortilla (Spanish egg pie... kinda like a quiche but different) in a nice outdoor cafe, of which there are many.
This evening I have an interview for an ESL position. WOW!!! Guess sending CV's in advance was a good idea. I also spoke to the property management company about and apartment and we will meet in about a week or so to try to find a more suitable place to live in the long term. This place is great, but a little out of the way for a semi-permanent home, also it is much too big for just me. It's about 2 miles from the center of town.
As I walk around I can not believe my eyes. The history is so deep and apparent, I want to learn more and more. There are several parks near my home. Both have bike and rollerskating paths and are just lovely. One park goes around almost the entire city making biking to almost anyplace easy and safe. Soon I will get myself a nice bike with baskets and happily get myself from one place to the next. The Metro system seems very handy as well, though I haven't attempted yet because the walking feels good in spite of the blisters on my feet.
The weather is perfect so far, not too hot at all and there is almost always a cool breeze blowing from the sea. I haven't been to the sea yet either but plan to venture there tomorrow. I can't wait to just kick back and relax until I get so warm that I have to jump in the water. I want to feel the sand between my toes.
I will try to keep posting as much as possible... soon I will even post some pictures, but I haven't time for that right now as I must prepare for a job interview. Yikes... I haven't been interviewed in years, suddenly I am feeling a bit nervous. They say the first few interviews are good practice so if this doesn't work out, than I will simply learn from the experience and go for another one. It's all about the learning...
1 comment:
SO WHAT WAS IN THE ENVELOPE????
xxpoots
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