adios seville!

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Yet another exciting year of living abroad has quickly come to an end!

My final few months at work were very busy and one of the scariest moments involved mumbling my way through around 40 parents meetings... in Spanish!

However, some of the more FUN things that I did in the last few months were...
- enjoy a day out to Isla Magica (the theme park!) with rakhi and joel where i was persuaded to go on one of the biggest and scariest roller coasters i have ever been on!
- dance the night away at a music festival, featuring the go team and de la soul as some of the big names (no, i'd never heard of them before the night either!)
- chill out at the water park, aquopolis, a few times when the weather started to reach 40 degrees! phew!
- spend a weekend in granada to visit the famous alhambra palace and walk around the beautiful town centre

So, my second year of living abroad has given me the opportunity to… explore some beautiful cities in Spain (and enjoy capturing the stunning scenery on my trusty camera which I take everywhere!), teach an interesting mix of loud but very sweet and welcoming Spanish children and learn more about the customs, festivals and traditions of Spanish culture…

So am I as sad to leave Spain now as I was when I left Japan last year?! Honestly, not quite. Whether my time in Japan was extra special because it was my first year away and a huge challenge because I arrived there on my own or because it was such an incredible place to live with such warm and friendly people, I don’t know! But Spain has definitely been a good adventure for me and there are a lot of things that I will miss and also some things which I won’t miss!

I’m looking forward to mornings when I don’t get woken up at the crack of dawn by the church bells next door! I can’t wait to hear people say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ once again and offer service with a smile. I want to throw away my earplugs and allow my hearing to return to normal, after blocking out the incredibly loud voices that a lot of the Spanish have, even when you are standing only a metre away from them! I have seriously never had so many headaches in my life!

However, saying all that… all my niggles that I have absolutely make the place what it is… a city that never sleeps and is always buzzing with noise and excitement. Yes, the people can be loud and sometimes argumentative, but I get the impression that the Spanish thrive on the drama and welcome the opportunity of a good rant here and there! Yes, they may jump on the defensive (and get SUPER loud!) when you make any slight comment about Spain (my favourite is hearing them argue that their wonderful diet… full of pastries, biscuits and chocolate milk for breakast and everything cooked in oil… is actually very healthy because everything is cooked in olive oil and not butter) but this fiercely passionate nature shows how much they love their country and is actually quite an admirable quality. The places that I have had the opportunity to explore in Spain have been absoutely beautiful. I will admit that I used to think of Spain as a cheap and tacky touristy destination, but once you get away from the tourist traps and visit quieter beaches and lush countryside areas, you realise how much Spain has to offer… especially when the weather is, almost always, perfect!

Perhaps before deciding for certain where Phil and I will be heading to next, we need a bit of a break in order to clear our minds and chill out for a bit ... so what better than a holiday in australia!?!?!?! i'm flying out tomorrow for a 3 week holiday and am very excited!

expect an australian blog update when i'm back at the end of july! : )

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