I think it is time for another adventure

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So after arriving back in the UK from an amazing time in Latin America I was feeling very nostalgic! I missed the culture, the language, the food and just the general happiness of the people. So I decided that I would spend the summer in the country where all of these things come from…Spain. I have become addicted to a website called Workaway! I have mentioned this website before but just to explain again, this is a website which offers opportunities for volunteering and working worldwide. There are so many things on offer, however be aware they won’t all come back to you! So I looked at various different options, helping a teenager with her English preparation for exams, working on a farm, helping at a hotel and then came across one which involved working as an au pair so after an interview and a few skype calls I booked my flight to Barcelona for the 26^thJuly. My plan – to work as an Au Pair in the school summer holidays, learn about the culture explore the country and practise Spanish .



On arrival to Barcelona airport I automatically felt at home ‘Buenos dias que tal’ said the passport man! Yes I can answer you! After collecting my bags and walking in to the arrivals I could not see anyone who looked familiar to this family I had been communicating with. Having travelled a lot, I did not panic and took a seat in a café. Then a message came through, it was a selfie of the man who had come to meet me! Only problem every door in the airport looked the same as in his picture!! SO I walked up and down the airport, till I decided to send a selfie of myself in the café. I’m not sure why we didn’t phone but hey always new ways to communicate? Eventually we recognised each other and straight away he made me feel very welcome. He told me the family would like to take me on their holidays for the week…amazing! So our first stop would be Salou!



Salou



Salou is a coastal town. It is well known in Catalonia and many locals holiday here, also many British and Germans. There are many bars and shops and plenty different beaches. On arrival we unpacked so much stuff and walked to their family beach apartment. This apartment overlooked the sea. Straight away I knew this was the right workaway for me! I then met the rest of the family two girls, 7 year old twins, the mother and the 2 year old baby girl anything under 4 is a baby to me. They were all very excited to meet me and gave me two kisses to greet me. This is the Spanish way of greeting people, I’ve never given so many kisses and I’ve only been here two weeks.



In Salou we visited three different beaches, I have to say the sea is absolutely beautiful there. We made lots of sandcastles, went on beach walks and I tried shell fish. Basically if you go in the sea you can find these fish in shells on the sand. To me they just tasted of salt water though. In Catalonia and Spain they take a lot of time preparing their food. Each meal involves around 2 hours preparation!! Then they all sit down at the table together to enjoy the meal, as the family told me – we eat to enjoy the company and flavours not just to fill a hole in a stomach! The first traditional food I tried was tomato bread, the two girls made this, they had to cut the tomatoes and the bread, then they rubbed the tomato on the bread to make ‘tomato bread!’ This was delicious. Another traditional time of the day is the well-known siesta, which so makes me want to move to this country. Between 3-6 most shops, companies and families shut down and take some time to have a sleep or relax. This is due to the heat too as it is extremely hot at this time of day.



I have also had to get used to the timings over here, everything is around 3 hours later then my life back in the UK. We have breakfast around 10am. Lunch is around 3pm and dinner around 9/10pm! With a snack in the late afternoon. The first few days I was starving between meals but now I take full advantage of the snack time. Also they go to bed late, normally around 11:30 or even midnight!



One day in Salou we met up with their family friends in a little fishing village, which also had a beach. This was the first day I really felt like I can’t speak Catalan!! After learning pigeon Spanish in Latin America I felt really prepared to use this. However I did not realise Catalan is a complete mix of Spanish and French. Infact I can’t understand a single word of it and the minute people talk in Spanish I have this automatic smile that yes I can understand, even if I can only understand 1 word!! So anyway this family all spoke Catalan. So I have no idea what was said this day, we had lunch with them in their house which was very nice and I attempted to play with their children too using good old actions.







The Pyrenees’s



After leaving Salou our next holiday destination were The Pyrenees mountains. I did not know much about these mountains, only that the Tour de France goes through them. However I now know, these are a chain of mountains that go through Spain and France. The family explained that we would be camping on the French side of the Pyrenees which was exciting. However on the first day when buying a bottle of water, I went to say ‘please’ in French and realised I couldn’t even remember it! Only learnt French for 5 years of my school life….Of course everyone at this town/camp site were French or Catalan so I had no chance of communicating with anyone during my time here apart from the dogs!



We stayed in a beautiful and quaint French village with a French bakery and butchers. The mountains surrounded this village making it very scenic. During the night the family stayed in their motorhome and my home was a single person tent. I can’t say I’ve ever slept in a tent on my own before, but it did not bother me. Until…I got woken up by an animal launching itself at my tent! This animal just kept running backwards and forwards and crashing right in to my tent. It was the size of a fox, but I do not know what it was maybe a deer? Dog? Cat? but there was no way I was going out to find it! But it scared me because that evening the family had told me that bears had been introduced to these mountains, bears from Canada. There are currently 20 of these bears living in the Pyrenees mountains.



On our first full day we trekked to a beautiful lake on the Catalonian side of the mountains, when translated the lake is called bird home. This sits at around 2400 m above sea level and was absolutely beautiful. We ate our lunch here and the children and men all went for a swim in this freezing lake!!



The next day we visited some thermal baths. On arrival all I could see was naked people walking around men and women mainly hippies and yes they were French. However, we still enjoyed these baths fully clothed. It seems the thing in France and Spain to go nude in water/on beaches however I haven’t quite found the confidence to do this yet!! I fully recommend a visit to the Pyrenees mountains whether it is in Catalonia or France. These are so beautiful, even being holiday season I found them very peaceful. There are amazing places to camp and the scenery is spectacular.



So it was the end of our week holiday and time to head back to their village. I am very grateful for a family I barely knew to take me on their holiday, show me around, feed me and welcome me. It was time to head to their village of Belmunt. This is situated 1 hour 40 mins north of Barcelona (by bus, quicker by car!) The nearest main town in a place called Lleida. So a little about my job which I will write a blog on next. I am an au pair which means I look after children; however the requirements of an au pair vary massively. I am in charge of 3 children. I am expected to play with them 4 hours a day and talk English (these children speak basic English except the 2 year old who can say hello and peeaasee), I am also helping the mum and dad to be grammatically fluent in their verbal English. In return I have my own room and bathroom, 3 excellent meals a day and a small amount of money paid each week and of course being taught some Spanish. I am based in a small village with only 200 people living there. There are not any shops in the village and it is situated on a hill. SO a car is needed! I am very much enjoying my experience here as for me I travel to create new experiences. Adios or in Catalan Adeu 😊

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Photos

The hot pools
These are natural hot springs in the mountains. You have to hike to get to them! There were 5 different ones.