A little about my neighborhood

So, I live in El Raval, which has always been a neighborhood for immigrants. Here it is on the map BCN Map

A lot of the locals look down their noses at El Raval, and many of them call it "Ravalistan" because of all the Middle Eastern residents (ie Pakistani).

Here's what Wikipedia says:

"El Raval is a barrio in Ciutat Vella district of Barcelona, Spain. The neighborhood is also known as Barri Xino, meaning "Chinatown." El Raval is bordered by one of the two historic neighborhoods near the Rambla. The neighborhood is home to 200,000 people.

It is currently the home to a very diverse immigrant community, ranging from Bangladeshis and Indonesians, to a more recent Eastern European community, especially from Romania. El Raval is also becoming one of the hippest up-and-coming neighbourhoods of Barcelona where many artists live and work. It is home to many bars, restaurants, and night spots."

I love it. It feels very cosmopolitan and interesting. It has the old-Barcelona feel, I think it was part of the original walled city. So the streets are narrow and winding and there are tons of balconies and window boxes and people hanging out and little shops and places to buy cheap handbags and belts. It's great.

My flat is big and full of light. We have french doors in the living/dining room that open onto a non-balcony, it's only big enough for a little window-box, but it looks out onto a tiny tiny plaza (or placa as the Catalans call it) with a fountain that doesn't work so it just looks like a statue and there are pigeons on it's head.

I have an internal room, which means my window looks out onto the stairwell. LOL. Most of the rooms I looked at were this way, I think that's just the way it is. On the upside there's no street noise!

Actually, my room is really nice. Pretty big in comparison with the others I saw and we're on the 3rd floor (European 3rd=American 4th) and there's only one floor above us, the attic apartment, so I get a lot of light. No view, but light. I'm usually in the living/dining room anyhoo.

There are lots of little shops around to get food ("Paki-Markets" as everyone says, there's even one named that!) and the street is always full of people.

I have two metro stops (actually three I think) near me, one is about 5 minutes away and the other's about 7 minutes (I don't know where the third is, probably about 8 minutes away...).

La Rambla is 6 minutes away with all the human statues that bcn is famous for, and the flower markets and the people who sell birds and rabbits and guinea pigs. It's a great street.

There are two big markets with fruit and vegetables and fish and meat and some cheese on either side of me. One is on La Rambla, it's very famous, La Boqueria, and I love it. The other is famous because on Sunday they sell books there. But during the week it's a regular huge market, and this one also has cheap and not-so-cheap clothes and shoes and stuff along the edge.

Last week I walked home from the beach, it only took me an hour. So, that's pretty cool. And I was on the nice part of the beach, there are closer ones I think.

So, that's the neighborhood! I love it. LOVE LOVE Love it.


Check out this site if you want to read about stuff that's happening in Barcelona, BCN Homepage.

I made the choice

And I chose a lovely small school called Harvest English. I really liked the two women who run it, the girl I'd be replacing has been there for 3 years (a LIFETIME in tefl teaching) and I think I'll be really happy there. There are only 5 teacher total. TINY. But sweet.

So, that's the dealie. I've been here for 10 days, maybe 11, and I found a flat, a job, and a few friends. Unfortunately the job doesn't start until Sept 17, but nothing starts earlier, and really, I could use a vacation!

So, time to play in Barcelona! Beach. Walking around. Free days at the museums. The markets. Making lunch at home (to save those precious euros). Learning Spanish from the book I bought, reading signs, translating with my mini dictionary, speaking awkwardly to strangers in shops and to my Spanish speaking friends. Beach.

I think it'll be nice.

From no job to three

Spain may be all manana manana but when things happen they really happen. I was offered a job at one school today and so I called my other top contender and she offered me a job. And then I checked my email, and another school wants me to come in and meet with them, I think to talk about hours. Woohoo! I have more work than I can stand :)

3 down, 3 to go

So, after that first interview I felt pretty low. But, I've had 2 more since then and things are looking up. I've never been one to settle!!!

So, it looks like every school has kid's classes. Well, there's no time like the present to see if I like teaching kids, right?

I'm heading off to another interview in an hour and a half, and two more tomorrow. We'll see what happens.

My interview this morning was really nice, small school, all women (plus and minus) and the director really seems to know and care about BOTH her teachers and students.

So, I think it would be a nice place to work. The pay isn't great (not horrible) and it's out of bcn... So, pros and cons all around. But the teachers seem to stay a long time (3 years!) and the newest teacher has been there a year... so that's pretty good.

I'll let you know how things develop.

I have a flat, now for the job

(From September 3)

So, I have a great flat. Lovely lovely lovely. But now I'm looking for a job. I had an interview today and it doesn't seem that great. I'd be making a little more than in Prague (not much...really, hardly more and my flat is 3 times as expensive) and I'd have to teach kids teens and something they call "nursery" and commute to a suburb thats about 45 minutes from my flat EVERY DAY. What am I, a glorified babysitter/train hopper?

I had the same problem with the flat. Do I take what I can knowing that if it's awful I can quit and find something different (or move as the case may be) or do I hold out for something fantastic? And if I hold out, what if I'm holding out for something that doesn't exist?

So, I'll do more research. I think I can do better. I hope I can do better. I have another interview tomorrow. Let's hope it'll pay better, have less travel, and not be teaching "nursery".

Oh, and btw, she was very very intense and in the email telling me when my interview was there were no directions except that the school was only a 10 minute walk from the station. 10 minutes in what direction? So I did a lot of research online trying to find a map with no success and finally had to ask my flatmate for help. Jeesh.

I’m in my new flat

And I love it. It's in El Raval, a changing neighborhood that used to be quite dangerous but was cleaned up for the Olympics. I'm living with a Catalan girl, Silvia, who's fantastic. I'm really happy. It's perfect. More later.

A Blog Backlog

This having two blogs thing is time consuming.... Sorry I haven't posted here in a while. Here's what you missed!

Waiting for Chronically Late Students from August 14

so forgive me if this ends abruptly

Since I've been her a little over a year and it was just my birthday and I'm leaving soon I've been doing a lot of reflecting.

It's remarkable that I've actually been here a year. And that I'm heading off into a haze of beach-fantasy and sangria-lust for another foreign country.

And, it's remarkable how different I feel now. I can't even put my finger on it, but there's a steadiness a sureness a confidence that I didn't have before.

I guess it's about experience and growing up and all of those things, but it's not that things have gotten any easier, per se, it's just I'm less skittery. God, it's really hard to pin it down.

I agonized over the decision to move to Barcelona, and I'm still having second thoughts (fleeting ones, don't worry) and I'm still frightened, but I'm certain that I'll be ok whereas before I had faith that I would be ok. I know now that I can land on my feet. That I'm quick and bright and ready to fling myself into life and that that will serve me well




Continued from August 20


So, it's still the same but a week later!

I'm still not ready to leave but oh so ready to leave and I'm not packed and I'm procrastinating packing because it feels like too big a job and I hate saying goodbye because at least when I left the states I knew I could come back but with Prague I don't think I'll come back, maybe for a visit.

Whew.

This is the countdown. 2 more days of teaching, Wednesday and Thursday, and then I'm jumping on a plane on Monday. Yow.

So, that's my life. Have a screaming headache and I wish it was all packed and ready to go. No such luck.

I might not post for awhile... don't know what the situation in Barcelona will be like! Wish me luck in finding a job and a flat!

2 days from August 25

yowza

I’m in SPAIN from August 27

It's real! I'm here! My couch host is really nice and I actually have a bed, and his friend is going to help me tomorrow with getting a phone and looking at flats and going to the beach!!!!! The beach!! Life is great!

Still here... from August 29

...and still happy.

But, like with every new place I'm exhausted. There's so much to pay attention to, the metro, figuring out where to go when I come out of the metro, everything. But, it's a lot of fun too.

I looked at two flats today (4 yesterday) and I love one of them... I hope the flatmates love me :)

It's in a really cool neighborhood (Poble Sec), pretty near the beach and it's got the Barcelona romance that I fell in love with when I was here in April. Charming old buildings with balconies, I could hear birds in one as I was sitting at an outdoor cafe, a street one street over is pedestrian only (well, except where the cross streets cross the pedestrian area), and it really had a lot of charm. And the price is right. The room is small (very small) but the flat is pretty spacious (not huge, I saw a bigger one yesterday) and seems to have a lot of light. The two guys that live there seem nice...

I have 2 more to see this evening (at 8pm and 9.15 of all hours!)

So, remember all the complaining I did about the men in Prague? Well, Spain is the opposite. I was walking up a zillion stairs out of the metro station and this guy was talking to me, seemed like he was complaining about the zillion stairs, so I smiled. And then he said something directly, and I'm so used to saying I don't understand a language, that I said I didn't speak Spanish, and so he said "nice ass". And like an idiot I kept smiling... until I realized what he had said but by then he was long gone.

So, I guess I can't have my cake and eat it too.

So far everyone else has been nice, all the rooms I've looked at are interior so they look out into an air shaft or the stairwell or something, but that's the way it goes. I'm glad I've seen two flats I like (and 4 that I didn't, or that the timing was wrong) so I have faith that I'll find something pretty soon. It's all about timing. The flat has to be free when I need it and I have to get along with the people and they have to like me enough. I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it people like me!

So, now I'm off to figure out how to recharge my mobile phone... Can't be that hard, right?

But maybe a short siesta first. That's what Barcelona's all about.