There's Always A Story- Spring Break 2014

Spring break is here... 3 major Spanish cities and a mini tour around Northern Morocco, pinch me it's perfect... except when I remember I am me and nothing is ever perfect. So here is the story of this vacation and the string of bad luck events that seem to follow me every once in while. (This be may a bit long but hopefully entertaining... lol)

Spring Break kicked off with a bang, a long nap and no urge to pack left me thinking I was going waste Saturday away, but in the end I made it on time and was off to Madrid. My lovely friend who I was staying with had made some plans with a potential boo so I was left to make some quick impromptu plans, but luckily that worked out for the best, and I got to hang out with 8 awesome Madrid Players who happened to be free. Random nights of laughs started everything right...

Sunday was also awesome because I got to go have Indian food with my friend, take a walk around Madrid, FINALLY after being in Spain almost 3 years I went inside the Prado Museum, and got to enjoy a great Diego concert with my friend Parisa who has converted me into a total groupie, but that's okay because we had lots of fun watching the concert and I left some girls with their jaws dropped when I could sing along to pretty much EVERY song :P

Monday came and I got up early to catch my 11am bus to Córdoba, waiting at the metro station it said 2 minutes til the next train when I arrived (perfect!). After 2 minutes had passed the screen went blank, and no train had come (Insert Panic). After a bit the next train shows up and I´m off, after making a transfer and arriving at the bus station I ran up the stairs and made it by just a hair. 

On the bus ride over in between listening to music and playing Candy Crush I got an email from a company I was hoping to hear from about a job, and it wasn't a congratulatory email, it was a we may have space later so hopefully we can send you a happier email soon (Gee, thanks!)

Bummed out about trying to reorganize some of my future plans we stopped at the rest stop between Madrid and Córdoba I ate my cookies and got on the bus when it was time to go. We were on our way for about 10 minutes before I realized I had forgotten my jacket at the bus station. I was super bummed out because

I use this to try to feel better when I do something dumb

my mom had given me that jacket because it looked like one my sister had, and I tend to get overly sad when I do stupid things like that because as a kid I was always kinda careless about things, so now as an adult when it happens I just feel like my life is so not together. I texted my mom and she told me not to worry she got it for $8 and she'd find me a new one. Now I just had to go on the rest of the trip with no jacket....

Córdoba was nice, I had booked a massage and session at the Arabic Baths (awesome!) On the way back it took me 20 minutes to get to my hostel because of the Holy Week processions. I get to my room get all freshened up and I notice there aren't any sheet on my bed... actually there none of the beds have sheets. I figure this is what I get for paying into a cheap hostel and kind of just call asleep on top of the comforter. Later around one in the morning a group of girls came into the room and were laughing about having to go in and ask for sheets. Only this hostel would put a sign in the corner of the reception where no one would see it saying "Please ask for sheets"... later I got my sheets too.

Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos

The next day I wanted to go to the Mosque/Cathedral but the opening ours for visitors due to Holy Week activities was from 8-9am so I missed it and the next day it opened at 11 and my bus was leaving at 12 and it was too close to try to risk it. So I went to Córdoba and didn´t get to see one of the most important sites... no big deal -_- I just headed on over to the main castle and spent the afternoon in the gardens. It was very beautiful but it also made me realize that traveling alone isn´t something I really like. It's great to see things but then you´re left with this urge to comment on it and when you turn to say it to someone no one is there, it was a bit sad, and of course Selfies just aren't the same in beautiful places, and since I'm such a shy person I couldn't muster up the courage to ask a stranger to take a picture of me to get the right one.... oh well!

I left Córdoba and made my way to Sevilla. It was a major coincidence that I found one of my coworkers who was going from Jaén to Sevilla on the SAME bus. It was a nice ride, despite some people arguing over seats because their's was stolen. Once in Sevilla I parted ways with my coworker and I set off to my hostel where my friend was waiting for me. Granted I pretty much NEVER really look up where my hotel (my bad) unless I know I have to take a bus or something but when I know I'm going to take a taxi, my urge is not to bother. Well when I got to Sevilla I gave the driver the address got in the taxi and we were on our way. Being Semana Santa there were a billion and one processions going on, and so many streets were cut off, and there tons of people. After driving around for a while, the driver stopped and told me it was impossible for him to make it up to the front door due to the processions so he'd stop me there and all I had to do was walk down to the end of the street. I paid him the 15 euro fair that was there I got my suit case from the trunk and I pulled out my phone to see down the end of which street he was talking about in the busy intersection he left me at. I plug in the address into Google Maps... loading walking directions... 32 MINUTE WALK!

Pretty much me this whole trip....
Source: Google

After I already paid this fool 15 euros, with my suitcase I had to go though all of the processions with people dressed in black KKK robes, parents pround of their kid walking barefoot through the street holding a candle, people as desperate as me to get through the crowds, finding other routes, getting re routed on my GPS trying to understand it was sending me because I haven't really used it before, getting weird looks because I had a large bright pink suitcase in the middle of this religious tradition, get stressed because it was hot and I was getting tired of draggin my my heavy suitcase, and trying to get over my anger over the whole situation. Close to an hour later I made it to my hostel, made my bed with the sheets they gave me (yay I got sheets this time), and went to have lunch with my friend since really all I'd eaten was a few cookies on the bus. We took the after noon easy and had dinner that pretty much gave me a flat fanta from a two liter bottle, tomorrow surely had to be a better day. 

Thursday came and we got up and were ready to take over the city, but unfortunately Holy Week already did that for us so when we went to the famous Catedral and Giralda of Sevilla, visitors allowed due to Semana Santa activities, so that's great after almost 3 years in Spain and not visiting two important cities, when I finally do make it over to see them, I can´t see what everyone says you HAVE to see there... just my luck. So instead of going into the Cathedral we went to 100Montaditos and had a tinto de verano and planned out the rest of the time we had in Sevilla. It was super hot so we went for a bit of a rest back at the hostel, and set out for Plaza de España that evening. It was beautiful! On the way back we got caught in yet another procession for a good half an hour of weaving through people, waiting, taking pictures, and all that jazz. At least it lead us to a pretty good chinese place, who forgot to bring us drinks but no big deal.

The next day was the day we were off to Morocco! I was really excited for this trip because it meant checking off another continent from my travel list, and it was a planned excursion so the pressure of what are we doing, how are we getting there and everything was taken care of. It was nice to just show up and enjoy. Our first hotel was on the beach so after dinner my friend and

some other girls we met at our table decided to go down to see the water. We were collecting shells when a pair of what seemed like teenagers tried cat calling us shouting out "Sevilla sevilla Sevilla" and "omg... hello USA".

Day 2 in Morocco was nice we went to the Blue city of Chefchaouene walked through the mountain town got a talk about how they made the fabrics and saw the actual loom. Our moroccan old man tour guide said i didn't look American I looked like him (ok?) We bartered for some things, I got some scarves and we were back to our hotel in Tangier. We were going to go out dancing, but dinner didn't sit well with me so it was just a quiet evening in the hotel for me, oh well... Our last day came and we got to ride camels (one of the scariest moments of my life!), walk around Tetouan and do a bit more haggling, and end the trip having lunch in an Arabic Palace. Now it was time for the long trek back home!

The two girls we had met on the trip didn't have a place to stay for the night, so I gave them the name of our hostel and she called to see if there was availability. A while later she came back and said they had availability the problem was that they didn't check people in after 11, and since our ferry was later we weren't going to get back to Sevilla until almost 1am. So in a panic i called the hostel and tried to reason with them that we'd be quiet entering our shared dorm, that we needed a place to stay and that I had already

made the reservation, and it's not my fault our ferry was late. The man wouldn't budge and only offered me a much higher price private room, which wasn't worth it because my friend was leaving at 6am. So in the end we cancelled the reservation (thankfully he didn't charge me for it since it was a short notice cancellation) and we slept (or didn't sleep) in the bus station, in the cold (with no jacket remember), just laughing with my friend because our Winter Break vacation ended the exact same way in the Barcelona bus station.

I waited for my bus which I thought was at 9am but it was at 9:45, got the the bus and started on my journey to Caceres then finally back to Navalmoral. When I got to the bus station around 3:30pm it started pouring rain, and since I had no jacket or umbrella I waited another half hour til I was able to get home. Finally arrived to my humble abode where I tossed my purse onto my bed and my Aquafina water bottle exploded soaking the bed and reaching my precious laptop! (Oh no!!) I rushed to save it dried it wit a towel and tried to see what happened. No response. My world was coming to an end, so I just left my laptop on my desk to dry and went into an exhausted emotional coma for the next few hours. Around 11pm I woke up and gave it another go and MIRACLE it turned on and it's been pretty okay ever since *fingers crossed*

Well it's not the first time I say my bad luck is impressive, but this really is up there on the list. It was a good vacation overall and I'm ready to keep movin' on up! 

Thanks for reading !! 

~Cathy

2014 (1) Nike Attitude

Here I am again in front a blank screen for a blank blog post that should soon be filled with witty and charming tales of my daily meandering around. The last time I hit "publish" on this blog was back in August, and even then several posts begin with a sincere apology for my absence since I know (hope) that the tiny little things I write inspire something (laughter, thoughtfulness...etc.) in those who read. This isn't the first time I've sat in front of this screen between my last post and now, it's just the time that I've decided to suck it up and write, the longer you prolong it the guiltier you'll feel. So here I am. I know it's not totally rational that I feel guilty when not writing things in my blog, and of course seeing things like this makes it even more sad.

2014 (0)

This blog started slow because I was crazy in my senior year of college, and I didn't really have time to fit in blogging in the mere 24 hours that we have in a day. Jump to my first year in Spain lots of posts leading up to my departure and the several (mis)adventures that popped up along the way. I was also churning out a lot of posts because I involved myself heavily in the blogging community, and wanted to give my readers something worth coming back to my page for. When I found my niche in Spain, it left less time for me to be blogging about the things I was doing, and instead I was just doing them. Comments and readers dwindled and so did the posting. Now we are in 2014, and I'm not really sure what the fate of this blog is. I don't think I have the heart to close it down completely, because it does give me a space to share my thoughts in a different way than I can on facebook and/or twitter, but I am not quite sure I have the same aspiration I did 3 years ago with having a super popular famous blog where everyone reads it, and not only my family. Even though there is a high number of page views on my blog I'm sure 80% of them are spambots from Russia. I also want to keep writing because I am a bit of a nostalgic person and having something to go back to is important.

It's funny though, I really thought that by living in rural Spain I'd write so much more! There weren't going to be lots of distractions like activities and lots of friends that I had in Madrid, and even a fellow writer friend of mine told me that what a lot of writers want is the time and space to write. That's what I got lots of time and plenty of quiet moments to just sit with a pen and a pad (or a blank blog screen) and just let the words flow from my brain to the page. It hasn't happened quite as I'd planned. I haven't been completely dry on the writing block. My poetry blog has had a few entries, and I'm excited that my Spanish skills are evolving to a place where I can write poems that aren't half bad.

I think part of my lack of motivation/ inspiration is partly due to this "fish out of water" feeling I sometimes have in my current place of living. I hadn't anticipated missing Madrid as much as I do, now that I am so close yet so far, and that in turn has occasionally not really allowed me to connect with the place that I live. It doesn't help that I commute to work so the friends I make at work are far away, and the friends I have where I live I can count on one hand (yeah, it could be much worse--- I've been much worse, but it's my blog and I'll cry if I want to :P ). It doesn't help that I have several moments like this in Navalmoral de la Mata, but I'm growing and learning to not shut down because of it.

But I guess with all things you want to accomplish you kinda have to put yourself in the Nike attitude (Just do it!) So that's what I'm doing--- Just do it (write!) Just do it (be happy!) Just do it (clean your room!... well) lol. I think it has also really helped me to take part in the #100HappyDays challenge. If you're curious to see what it is take a look at my fb album and check out www.100happydays.com.

That's all for now, let's hope you'll be reading me again soon! <3

Ciao Ciao

@CathyArely

There's Always A Story- Puente~ing- Cáceres

Lucky for me last weekend brought on another puente since I work in Madrid center and have Mondays off. A sudden change of plans from Valencia to Alicante, and finally the decision was made to trek to Extremadura and spend the weekend in Cáceres.

It hadn't really occured to me before to visit this regions on top of every where else, but it seemed to work out the best and my hermana Nelly was really interested in going to see the land where many of the conquistadors came from, so we bought our tickets, booked the room, and were on our way.

Coming back from a packed weekend in the Basque Country, and heading full swing into a week of work, private classes, rehearsals, and having a semi-social life, by the time Thursday came around I was exhausted and this break was exactly what I needed. All I had to do was make it there and everything would be fine.... apparently for me, this is easier said than done. Thursday night came, and my clothes were still needing to dry on the line, which meant I needed to pack them in the morning before leaving for my 8am bus. So I set my alarm for 6am, this way I could shower and be fresh for the bus ride, and then pack my suitcase (hoping not to forget anything like i had the previous weekend. Well I had woken up naturally at 5:45, so I decided I could indulge in those last 15 minutes (always a big mistake).  The next time I opened my eyes, I had the strange sensation that I was just a bit too comfortable in my bed and looked and it was already 6:50! Desperately needing to shower I raced off and got everything together as quickly as i could, and headed to the bus station still a good 35 minutes away. Much to my dismay when I got to the metro the digital sign lit up and displayed the next train would arrive in 6 minutes!! (Darn you holiday schedule!!) While on the train I texted Nelly panicked thinking that I really wasn't going to make it, and when I got to my transfer my heart fell when i saw the other train would arrive also in 6 minutes. Finally arriving to the bus station, I bolted off the train and ran up the stairs only one flight away from the bus, and I get the text message "We just pulled out :("

Story of my life...

My heart sank, and I slowly headed over to the ticket office trying to see if I could sulkily get the guy working at booth to let me trade my ticket for a later one. When it was no go, I told him fine let me get on the next bus and surprisingly it was at 9am!! Such a relief because I thought the next one was at noon, which would have thrown off everything! So I called Nelly to tell her the plan, and we were only slightly off schedule.

For the first half of the ride I knocked out in my window seat only waking up occasionally to a view just outside of Madrid that seemed a bit mediocre after having come from the lush green of the north the previous weekend. My knees were crushed because the people in front of me decided that they wanted to recline their seats all the way back. I decided not to say anything because of a near fight that broke out for the same reason when my sister came to visit me on our trip to Málaga.

As scheduled we had a 20 minute break at a rest stop in the middle of nowhere, where people go and buy overpriced snacks and head for the bathroom. I got off the bus to stretch my legs, leaving my backpack in my seat since I was just oustide of the bus I could see who was getting in and out of it. When I got back on the bus I noticed the people that the people who were sitting around me before had gotten off and were replaced by a group of elderly people.

When I got to my seat the old lady across from me on the other side of the bus said "That seat is already reserved, head to the back." Being that it was my backpack there, I was confused and still sleepy I guess, and in return from my confused expression she repeats again "You have to go to the back" I tell her it's my bag there and she says no and continues to insist that I need to go the back. Another lady who is sitting in front the older woman came to my defense and said "Well that´s where she was sitting before..." I take my seat and try to pay no mind to the crazy sour faced old woman as she's having a conversation with the first lady insisting I shouldn't be sitting there because "someone's" bag is there. The other woman reminds her that I told her it was my bag, and then the older lady replies "Pues la negrita solo pudo haber dicho que era suyo" (The black girl could have just said that it was hers...)

Umm... wait... what??

All I said in response to her is "estas muy equivocada señora" (you're very wrong ma'am), and then went to replay the incident in my head the rest of the ride. As outraged as I was by the incredibly racist remark the lady made, I didn't have the energy to argue and escalate the scene, and quite frankly I knew it wasn't going to go anywhere. Even though this isn't entirely applicable to everything I think the phrase "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" may come into play here.I knew if I got in her face this woman would probably just reinforce whatever negative she thoughts she has in that closed mind of hers. After talking to my co-workers I also realize part of why I didn't say anything is because really when it's happening you're just in shock that someone could be that way. I mean even the fact that I'm not black is beside the point, she could have said gordita, alta, bruta, it would have all come off as offensive. It was an expensive 40 minutes to sleep in... Oh society, we still have a ways to go...

I didn't let the totally rain on my parade... even though it did rain throughout the weekend (again). I met Nelly and we were shown to our tiny room with an incredibly comfortable bed, and then we ventured off to try to find lunch. We got some recommendations from friends and fellow auxiliares, so we went looking for a good spot recommended by a native of Cáceres. The restaurant was in the medieval city, so we climbed and trekked only to be told that the restaurant was closing. (Oh Spain!). So we went looking elsewhere for food, only to find that EVERYTHING was shut down after lunch... even the kebap place!! I guess in Madrid we're spoiled and don't truly experience siesta. This left Nelly and I only to eat the snacks we had brought for our long bus ride, and hold out until dinner.

For dinner we tried to head to the same place, but we headed in to early and it didn't look like they were ready to serve so we went another route. Saturday we went to the centro commercial "mall" that we had scene on our taxi ride from the bus station, only to find that it was a very sad selection of places to shop...I was looking for a jacket since I only brought a hoodie in the midst of my rushed packing, and luckily roaming the streets I found a great one! (Love retail therapy!)

Most of the rest of the time we spent wandering through the old city, taking pictures with several size doors, taking a look at what the people looked at before they made their voyage to America. We searched for Moctezuma's Palace, only to be extremely disappointed that it looked just the same like everything else, and it was closed.

Definitely a nice weekend!

Ciudad Medieval

Thanks for reading!
~Cathy

There's Always A Story- Puente~ing- País Vasco

Hey Hey Everyone, 

  Sorry for the slight pause in posts, things have been getting slightly hectic, and of course I'm going out and living the Spanish life, not only writing about it. 

I want to take a slight detour before I get into what's been happening. I've come to the realization that... I'm happy. With all of the things I've had to overcome in this last year, that's the very reason for this epiphany. I'm finally at a point in my life where I really enjoy my job and my co-workers (also that I'm blessed that I have a job), I'm healthy, I'm really living the dream here on the other side of the world and trying to take advantage before the sand runs out of the hourglass. Life isn't perfect, but for now I'm really happy. Ironically, after having this realization my sister posted on facebook that she was having a similar revelation which only makes the smile on my face even bigger. 

Now... with all that being said... even though things are good, that doesn't mean I stop being Cathy, because like the title of this blog says there's always a story....

Here in Spain they call long weekends puentes because often times if a holiday falls on a weekday, they'll connect it with the weekend. November 1st was All Saints day, therefore it was a 4-day weekend four most, but 5 days for me since this year I have Mondays off. So I decided to take advantage and go check out the Basque country. Originally I was supposed to be going with a friend but last minute plans changed, and I decided to go on alone... sort of. A few other friends were making the same trip, but because they work on Monday my trip was kind of a day behind theirs so I wasn't alone the whole time...

Photo courtesy of my good friend Matt

I made it to Bilbao after sleeping pretty much the whole 6 hour bus ride, since we had our 1 year roommate anniversary party at my house the night before... and people were still going by the time I headed to the bus station. I was greeted by rain, and taxi-ed over to my hostel. Met up with my friends, and some of their friends and then we were off to see what kind of pinchos Bilbao had to offer, but not before heading to the view point to see the city. 1 euro to take a trap to the top of a hill, at first with the rain and the gloominess it was apparent why they only charged 1 euro but as the sky calmed a bit, it was a beautiful sight.  

The next day my friends headed to San Sebastian, and I had the day to myself exploring the Guggenheim, and wandering around the city a bit. When I got back to the hostel, the other people there didn't really seem that open, in a kind of un-Cathy way I decided I wasn't going to try to make friends, and it was too cold to go off and venture alone, so I just went to the grocery story, and read for the rest of the evening. 

Saturday Morning I woke up ready to head off to San Sebastian, when i notice that I'm kind of itchy, when I finally make it over to a mirror I see that I was bit by a mosquito ON MY FACE!! A huge red spot right above my eyebrow and on my cheek. I mean, I've been bitten by insects a million and one times in my life but the face is such a sacred place! Luckily my hair was already swooped over to that side, so I could try to be as normal as possible. 

When I arrived at my hostel in San Sebastian, it wasn't the same kind of trendy venue that I'd slept in Bilbao, actually it was some lady's apartment that she'd turned into a hostel, but it was clean, and a place for me to sleep, so it'll have to do. The guy in charge was really interested in talking to me since I could speak Spanish well, and he was tired of being surrounded by all of the English speaking tourists. I cut the awkward conversation short though to go and see where my friends were. 

Source

We had a nice lunch, and then went looking around the city. I found a little store that everything was 3 euros so I bought a necklace and some belts. At that point I was out of cash, one I needed an ATM. My friend couldn't remember where she saw my bank, but at that point, to me I didn't mind the fee of a few bucks compared to wandering the streets all night to find my specific bank. So the first ATM we see I decide to hit it up. I put my card in the machine, I put in my code, and the machine is processing for a while, then comes up with the message "This card is suspect of fraud, please call your bank." SERIOUSLY?! It was Saturday night, so I had no hope of coming the next morning to have them open it and getting my card. So I called the number, and all they said is that they could cancel the card and I'd have to go to my bank to order a new one. At this point I wasn't too stressed out though, because I have two debit cards for my account, I just don't keep them with me because I figure if I'm robbed I'll always have the other one. The trick was just making it through the rest of the weekend. Fortunately my friend came to the rescue and lent me some cash money... CRISIS AVERTED.

My friends left back to Madrid and I still had one day in Pais Vasco. One of my friends from studying abroad in Puerto Rico is from a little village close to San Sebastian, so I was off to go meet her and spend the night in the mountains. As I was headed to the train station from my hostel, I stopped at corner that had a sign that pointed in the direction of various points of interest, just to make sure I was headed the right way. Then I hear "Guapa! Necesitas ayuda?" I turn and I see two guys walking and they're asking me if they can help me find where I'm going, I politely say no, and cross the street in the direction of the train station. I walk down the street and a few minutes later, there the guys are again asking if I'm sure they can't help me find my way, I assure them I'm alright, and I can make my way, then I make a sharp left to get away from them, and as I'm continuing down the street I realize I'm not entirely sure of where I am now, so I sit on a bench to check my map, figure out my bearings and get up to head to the train station. Again I'm greeted this time by only one of the guys asking if he can help me to find where I'm going. Again I say no, but also weary that this fool might go crazy (just like the pizza boy) I put up with him walking and talking with me to the train station. He comments on how I look like such a nice girl, and how we should go for a walk or for a drink, but I insist my friend is waiting for me in the village, so I must go. We get to the train station, and say our goodbyes, and I'm off to the pueblo. 

2009/2012

While on the train i realize that I didn't take that good of a look at what the stops were on the way to Zumaia, and I'm struck with a brief sense of panic as I'm not sure if I got on the right train, and there's no signs anywhere about what the next stop is... luckily I was alright. Then it was wandering around in the rain with a dead phone (my smart self left the charger at home) and asking around where the bar my friend worked at was... luckily I made it, and we had a wonderful time. Her family is beautiful, her 10 year old sister drew me some pictures when I arrived, we got all nostalgic about Puerto Rico, and the mom packed me a lunch for my bus ride back to Madrid. 

An interesting weekend of sorts and a good time.

Thanks for reading,

<3 CathyArely

Round Two- Let the Games Begin!

Hey Hey all,

   So some of you may or may not know... but I was really sweating my future for this year because some unfortunate ideals, I was booted out of my old school. When I contacted the ministry of education to check on my status of getting reassigned to a school, the lady had said I was put on a wait list... OH NO!! For weeks I was contemplating worst case scenarios in my head as if they were a Glee marathon. 

Last week, one of the ladies called me and told me "We're going to give you a placement, today." That's it. I was calm as I awaited the email with the details during my rainy relaxing weekend in Valencia. 

Come Monday morning (the day I was supposed to start class), my inbox had not been graced by the message I was expecting. So I got up, and went over once again to the main office. It was kind of funny because as I was passing through security, I already had my id out and my bag off my shoulder to put it through the xray. The security guard was surprised and then just laughed and commented about how I wasn't a stranger to the house anymore. When I got to talk to the lady in charge, she was surprised I wasn't at work (umm... I would be if you had told me where I needed to be). She recalled the conversation we had but apparently forgot to give me the crucial information. So she looked up where I needed to be. When I asked where about in the city the location was she phoned the school to get a better idea than google maps, and before hanging up she said, "Okay great, your new auxiliar is on her way..."

Umm... what?

Actually I wouldn't have found this a problem if I had been prepared, but because I went to the office with the expectation I was going to be shooed away for another few days, I went the office in jeans, a hoodie, and barely brushed hair... not really the kind of first impression I wanted to make, but I sucked it up and went on over.

I initially had mixed feeling about my placement. I was very apprehensive because the school is located pretty much at the most inconvenient metro stop, but I was excited because it's still on the metro line so I would be paying less for my transport! I was also grateful because I had been put into an elementary school, finally getting more relevant use out of my degree, and away from apathetic teenagers (even though I'll miss my kids).

When I got to the school they said they weren't expecting me for another month since the ministry told them I was from the waiting list... even though i was hired since Thursday... oh isn't communication great? I went to some classes for the rest of the day, and got a hug from some of the 2nd graders on my way home (!!)

So many things are on my side this year... great kids, supportive network and fellow auxiliars at my school, and I can't wait for what's ahead. Of course I'm sure the Cathy-like misadventures are sure to keep occurring... like my dress being tucked into my underwear on my way to work this morning.... but let's just keep our fingers crossed that's the worst of it all.

Thanks for reading!! Ready to Rock Year 2!

@Cathy Arely

My Year Summed Up In A JPG

Although some people remind me that... it's actually the summary of my life. lol

<3CathyArely

P/S Check out our new Reader Spotlight

Oui, what?

Hey Hey Everyone, 

   Spring break has come and gone, along with my birthday, and now I'm left with a few stories to share with you all. 

    My sister and some of her friends came for Spring Break with the incredibly horrible mediocre trip planner I am the itinerary for the week was as follows: Friday-Sunday Madrid, Sunday-Wednesday Paris, Thursday-Friday Malaga, Saturday- ship the girls back. All of this meant a lot of early mornings, a lot of packing and repacking, but overall it was an adventure.

Since so much time as gone by I've decided to share this post in comic-ish form. Enjoy.

Hopefully that was a breath of fresh air, I actually had a lot of fun creating these. Until next time!

~Cathy

Self Censored

Hey Hey all,

 As usual I'll start my blog off with an apology for being away longer than expected, but I really am trying to make this a project that doesn't get forgotten or left behind as the mountains of diaries or previous blogs have in the past. 

 When I first started the idea of blogging I had the idea that it was going to be kind of like a diary...keeper of my thoughts and day to day activities. What I've come to realize is that with a blog you can't really say or write everything that you want. In a day and age where the things you put on the internet can affect your future prospects there are lots of things that get left out, but more than just censoring professionally inappropriate things (not that I should worry that much about it, I am La Angelita after all...jajaj just kidding), I realize that there are thoughts, that although they may be good for the entertainment purposes of this blog. Certain stories or opinions I have to share aren't meant to fall upon all ears (or eyes, I guess).

  I mean if I wanted to talk about how bad of a time I had at a certain person's party, or how certain people's decisions are cruel and life-altering, or how someone is a horrible wingman, or the deetz of a potentially budding love story that started in a beach town or big city. 

What if the people involved were to read those things and think I'm a horrible person for saying them? 

What if people don't really want stories about them on my blog? 

What if what I think/say gets thrown back at me for some reason?

It's questions like these that stop me from writing some potentially good blog posts, or keep me from going into further detail on certain aspects. Obviously this isn't going to keep me from writing, or keep me from posting interesting things that happen in my life, it just means I'm thinking about being careful AND if you're ever REALLY interested in more details of something questions about the things I write please feel free to tell me. Shoot me your email in the comment section or hit me up on facebook, I won't be shy. 

Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!!

 Look out for upcoming posts about Valencia and Spring Break!

<3 Cathy

Baby will you Walk me home?

Despite an evening that was pretty rocky,  A few interesting things came out of my walk home-
On Gran Via-
1. A guy said hola guapa as we were walking toward eachother than when he walked passed me he licked my arm as a lioness would her cub
2. Guy wanted me to take a picture with is friend.
3. Guy says hola guapa and caresses my belly as he walks past me
4. On Calle Tutor 1 block away from home a group of drunk people picked up a thrown away hotel uniform hat and threw it at me
5. I realized only when I got to the door that I didn't have my keys because I switched purses, and woke up my roomie to let me in at 5:30 am...Oh bless him ♥

That is all.

~Cat

Extran Hero Abono Adventures

Hey Hey all!

  So a fellow expat and blogger has started an awesome blog called Extran Hero! I immediately got hooked because it was definitely something I could relate too, and there are a lot of parallels in my blog posts/thought process and this blog/comic.

  I was so excited when it was announced to the public that there was going to be a Create-Your-Own Extran Hero day! For one, meeting new people is always fun, and two getting to be a part of something cool!

So here's my Extran Hero. True to my essence, it's probably too wordy, but that's how it goes.

This made it into a special section of the blog. It was really nice to get to be creative(ish), collaborating with great people, and  just be out doing something different. Until Next time!!

~Cathy

Online Food Ordering

So...with the my whole back thing, and roomies/buddies gone for the weekend. I didn't have very many options for dinner tonight. 

I could either make a bowl of hungry jack mashed potatoes (which I already had for lunch), make some pasta (which would have taken longer than I am comfortable standing at the moment), or get delivery. 

I'll take door number 3, please.

With a quick google search I ended up on just-eat.es, which is essentially like Grubhub order online, and get food delivered to your door. After looking through my options, and seeing when things were open, how much was the minimum order/delivery fees. I went with a hamburger meal from an Italian/Argentine restaurant (the irony, I know). An hour later I was happily eating my mini meal for 8 euros delivered to my door. 

This quick exchange, reminds me of not one of my best moments lol. 

Last year right before final exams, I was a big mess, boys were dumb, I had gotten the flu, sprained my ankle/knee at work, and the biggest assignments of my life were due. Again I was in the same predicament about food, and went with ordering and pasta and salad from Dominos.

So given the state that I was in I can tell you I was definitely not lookin' fine. The delivery guy came to door,  and gave me my order, the slip I had to sign for the purchase, and a gaze like whoa. He wasn't bad looking just like 5'4, and I my friends am 5'11 (refuse to believe I'm over 6 feet lol). So I went on to eat my food, and finish agonizing over my personal life and professional life if I didn't get my capstone paper done. 

Like an hour later there's another knock at the door, and it's the delivery guy. He comes back with the excuse saying he didn't remember if he brought me ranch for my salad, and then asked to use the restoom. I know, I know this is the big red flag, no don't ever let a stranger in your home, but alas I did. I think at the moment I thought the awkwardness of saying no, was worse than my personal safety (as I said, not one of my best moments)

So he comes out of the restoom, stands right in my living room, and just stares at me. Then here is the exchange we had:

Him- Can I tell you something?

Me- Umm...sure...

Him- You are very beautiful.

Me- Umm...Thank you.

(He still just stands there staring no movement, awkward silence)

Me- Algo mas? (anything else?)

Him- Oh you speak Spanish where are you from...

(A few more quick exchanges, now in Spanish and him telling me more how HERMOSA I am...and me telling him that I am awfully busy with lots of work to do)

Him- Can I give you a kiss here (points to his cheek)

Me- Okay, can you please leave?

And he leaves in peace...

I know, I know...stupid Cathy... I felt so guilty afterward thinking of what could have happened, what could have happened to my roommates because of my stupidity, but I guess I handled the situation the way I did because at the moment I thought, if I'm mean to him, he might snap, just go with it and ease him out...which is what I did. Totally got creeped out by every dominos car I saw whenever I waited for the bus for the next few weeks going to school.

Well there you have it folks another one of my (mis)adventures, I figured a good laugh was in order. I know most of you probably think I'm crazy for ordering online again after that lol but a girl with no paper and only plastic has only so many options...and no crazies tonight.

December's Reader Spotlight is up! Go check it out.

Hasta Pronto!

~Cat

Your Bad Luck Is Impressive (two point oh)

So when I wrote yesterday's post, this was not the title I had in mind for my next update, but keep reading and you'll see why it was inevitable.

So my second round of semi bad luck started last Saturday. I started having horrible cramps in my stomach and wanted to throw up, but couldn't. My roommates had just finished coming down with a stomach virus, so that's what I figured it was. So pretty much all weekend I was just living on water. (Sidenote- also during this weekend we (my friend Natasha and I) were invited to an 80s style birthday party at a bar, and let's just say our interpretation of the 80s and everyone else's were not eye to eye)

Monday rolled around, and I wasn't feeling that much better, but at work you have to get a doctor's note to justify your absence, and at that point I really didn't want to go to the doctor, so I toughed it out at school. Tuesday, however, was a different story. I couldn't handle the stomach cramps and nausea anymore, so I called in sick and went searching for my nearest doctor in the big book of doctors my insurance gave me.

I finally found one that was open on tuesdays, and called for an appt, but the lady said that appointments weren't necessary, just show up between 6:30 and 7:30pm when they're open. So I was good to go, just stickin' to my water diet, and got all ready to by the time 6:00 came around. My roommate Musta accompanied me to the doctor. We went to the address that was published in the book, room 2D. Right when we go there under the doorbell was a sign that said NO ES MEDICO, we rang the doorbell anyway. Got a grumpy guy talking through the door saying this isn't a doctor's office and he didn't know where they had moved to. I tried calling the same office from inside the building, but no reception, and once we got outside, the lady confirmed it was the same address but they were at 1D. So Musta and I went back inside signed in and the receptionist told us who I was after and there we waited, I was the 6th person -_- (well I probably would have been higher on the list if we would have had the address right).

So I get inside with the doctor, sit down and he asks me "de que sociedad vienes?" (literal translation- what society do you come from?) So I stare at him with a blank face, and he repeats the same thing, again exchange a blank face because I have no idea what he means (umm...western society??) and then he sees my big book of doctors in my purse and says oh you're from mapfre... (conclusion- Spanish translation- What insurance are you with?) So from there he took all of my info, asked me my symptoms, wrote me a prescription, and I was in and out in less than 10 minutes.

That was it...

Your doctor, doesn't matter what you have, they'll prescribe you Ibuprofen.

So this may come off as... "hey I'm American so I deluxe treatment with everything" kind of thinking... but I was really surprised, he didn't take any of my vitals, just asked what my symptoms were and took my word for it..i mean I could have had the plague and he could have prevented it, but without checking me now we'll never know lol!!!

So by Friday I was all better, had an amazing Thanksgiving dinner at my place with my other auxiliar peeps (no pictures unfortunately...waiting on my friends to post some so I can steal them :P). After dinner we put on some music and were having a grand old time. At some point either busted myself busting a move or SOMETHING and my back started hurting. At first, I dismissed it as just being sore from the chairs we ate on, but as the night progressed I just got worse and worse, and as much as I wanted to tough it out and keep partying, I went to bed at 2am (yes I know I'm a lame spanish party goer).

The next morning, I was a million times worse, and after googling my symptoms it came down to hey I pinched my Sciatic nerve. I stayed in bed all weekend only moving for painful trips to the restroom, hoping that a weekend full of rest I would be ready by Monday to hobble off to work, but come Monday my body was still not having it. So I called in sick, forced myself to take a shower finally and gave the urgent care number to my roommate to call (because I wasn't gonna chance another "sociedad" incident) and figure out if I had to suffer to go get a taxi, an ambulance would come, or a doctor would come to the house. 

So the doctor came to our house, she was very nice, asked my my symptoms, and proved my google research right. So she gave me shot in my back with some anti-inflamatory medicine, and prescribed me a gel of the same medicine, and 6 more injections to be put on by a nurse once a day. 

So that's where I'm at now, getting the nurse to come was it's own ordeal, but now on a scale of 1-10 my pain is about a 7.8, which is still bad, but it's definitely progress I finally made my own dinner tonight. This definitely was not the ideal week to be out sick, since it's pay day and when the rent is due, and all that jazz. Not to mention also my appointment with the attorney to see if I can get my deposit back. Luckily I have made a few gems of friends while being here so rent is covered until I can go get paid on Monday, and we'll see about rescheduling that appointment. 

A tiny ray of sunlight, the doctor that came to see me said that she wanted to better her English, so for those who know me as the networking person I am, I busted out my card, and told her to contact me, and we could work something out. I mean I definitely believe that everything happens for a reason, I just hope I didn't have to go through this pain for an extra 15 euro a week lol. 

So thanks for sticking with me this far. I really appreciate all of the support I've gotten from everyone while this dark cloud had been on my tail. Also a reminder it's already DECEMBER (What?!) Which also means first to comment gets to be this month's Reader's Spotlight.

Until next time---hopefully with good news...,

~Cathy

A Series of Unfortunate Events, and A Few Good Things In Between

Hey Hey all,

     I know the title of this blog isn't that convincing that I'm having a good time here in Spain, but the truth is things so far have been on the mas o menos side lol. I mean don't get me wrong, I'm happy to be here, the people for the most part have been nice to me, and I'm living the dream, what isn't there to love?? Well sometime living the dream doesn't mean life stops, and real life things still happen in dreams. For example, I am currently writing this blog with a semi-stuffy nose after a 4 day run of a feverish cold/sinus infection.

    It just seems like I've hit a stroke of good luck and bad luck at the same time. In the past two weeks I have dealt with this cold, the wrath of mother nature's curse on women, my computer charger giving out on me, washing my clothes 3 times before I could figure out how to rescue them from the washer  and NOT break the lid, among other things. The most annoying though, I would say would be the million of ads I called in order to try to find a place in the city (so I can have a night life and meet friends my own age). Of those million, okay maybe a I'm exaggerating A LITTLE jajaj, of those several places that I'd called to get information about, many just said, "sorry, it's already taken"-- gee thanks for leaving up your ad. One of the places I called from a for rent sign was for an office building, lol super embarrassing. I'm happy to assure you all though I did find a place. and I'm going to be moving in on SATURDAY!! (But more about this a little later)...

    Some of the good that has been sprinkled in between these mishaps includes the day I went to go visit my school and got to stay and volunteer with my coordinator. It was during the time teachers were striking so there was a mixed response among students going to school or not (I plan on writing another blog about all my experiences with huelgas). The first of her two remaining classes was without students, but her last class was her seniors, and they were all there. In this class the teacher takes off points for students who speak Spanish more than one word following the phrase "How do you say...?" Honestly, I think this is going to be just as hard for me as it is for the students lol!! I mean I know my role is to come here so that the students have a native English speaker to help them learn the language to a proficient level, but truthfully everything about me screams Spanglish (hence blog title). This is something I'm sure I'll deal with and get over, but for now I'm cool (apparently a very American word for students who are mostly exposed to British English). During the class the students got to ask me questions, and it was a great time. I got asked where I was from, how come I know Spanish, what I want to do with my life (AHH!), and my favorite food. I answered this question without thinking and said of course Salvadorean Tamales. After finding out that there are not Spanish  Tamales the teacher goes on to say, oh well why don't you explain to us what that is...in English. So it was pretty interesting for me to have to explain something that I've never talked about before, in ENGLISH. "So there's a dough that you put stuff in it, wrap it in a banana leaf, and cook it" lol I did a better job than that, but that was the gist of it lol.

    Another great thing that has happened is that I got to be reunited with one of my good friends who I studied with in Puerto Rico, Brittany! I picked her up from the airport, and off we were to find the hostel we'd be staying at. The first of many misadventures, we got off of the subway apparently at the wrong side, asking a few strangers along the way if they knew how to get to Plaza Santo Domingo, and slowly but surely we were pointed in the right direction. When we finally get there, we see there's a the subway exit that would have taken us to the front door of the hostel...like i said the first of many misadventures. Unfortunately for us, our reunion was not as lively as we'd imagined it being, I was feverish, and getting the worst part of this cold, and she hurt herself in Paris, making her knee swollen and painful to walk. So here we were, two 23 year olds in the heart of Spain on a Saturday night, and we ended up going to bed early like a bunch of can't breathe, can't walk old bitties. 

Side note- felt very good as I was helping Brittany communicate with people in terms of getting her phone unlocked and buying a backpack, that people thought I was actually from Spain (woo hoo go me)

    Anyway so Brittany and I set off for a mini adventure to go see Museo del Prado, and various other attractions in the area, since her friend told her that it was free on Sundays, which it is, only it's free from 5-8pm... a minor detail that we weren't aware of. So we decided that we didn't really want to spend the 10 euros to get in so we walked next door to the botanical gardens which was only 2,50, but they didn't take plastic, and my darling B didn't have cash so we chucked that idea out the window two, and just took pictures around the outside of both places. We then went to Retiro Park, and took a mini nap on a bench. After all of that we decided that we wanted to go to a movie, after three failed attempts, being directed to the wrong place by metro workers, and lots of walking and subway transfers, on our way back to the hostel/me heading home, we found a theater that was right around the corner from the hostel, hilarious failure.

Thank you all for reading this far, I'll update more about my new place once I move in on Saturday. Please check out our Reader Spotlight, and be on the look out for next months spotlight! :)

Much Love,

~Cat