Diary of a Wanderer

Two months of Madrid madness have now passed me and we are staring the start of March in the face. WTF. Can someone please tell me where the time is going? Anyone? In brief, here’s the story so far: My biggest fear while sitting on that flight, Madrid bound, was that my housemates would absolutely not be up for living with an English girl that could barely speak a word of Spanish. After a bus from the airport and a cab from the centre, I took the lift up to the fourth floor and tentatively knocked on the door. Rafa answered, not that I knew it was him – I wasn’t sure who I was looking for, and out poured from my mouth a pile of inaudible mumbled Spanglish that resembled neither Spanish nor English. Turned out I was in the right place, and my room was ready and waiting for me. A bloody annoying guy, resembling that off of the YouTube “Gap Yar” videos, once told me “when living with the nomads in the Sahara desert I found out you don’t need language to communicate with people.” I gu...

One of the most wonderful men in my life (along with my Dad and Brother!) passed away in December. My Grandad truly was the most warm-hearted, gentle person I know. He had time for everyone and cared for his family above everything else in the world. He was so proud of us and everything we achieved. I will never forget the time he had tears of pride when reading my dissertation last year. He loved to know what we, his grandchildren, were doing. He gave my brother his collection of gardening and plant books he had invested in over the years when my brother started studying horticulture as college. He gave my sister his antique thimbles because she is studying costume design and construction at university. Knowing we were doing well provided him with such joy. When we were young he would always let us sit of his knee. He’d pick us up from school and would always have some sweets for us (something Mum would never do!). His car always smelt of air freshener and cigarettes. His pride and p...

So it has recently dawned on me that despite having an extremely busy and fun filled couple of months, with a few tough times in there mixed in with some moments that will be forever memorable, I have failed to update my blog. Ironic. I am possibly the worst blog writer in the world. In a nutshell: December brought with it a whirlwind of emotions… I finished working in Os Peares and was quite happy to leave remote village life and head back to the hustle and bustle of a city. I managed to find a nice little teaching job in a private language school in Madrid. I flew with Hannah and Andrea to Madrid, where I embarked on a frantic search to find somewhere to live for January. I met my boss and saw where I was going to be working in the New Year- wasn’t too shabby at all After staying in a hostel for a week, I managed to find an apartment to live in with 3 Spaniards. Yay! I flew home and was once again reunited with my family; however it was to be under the sad circumstances...