Back to the Ballroom

I am sat on the train en-route back to London. I have paid the extra and am travelling first class. Basically that means a bit more room, a leather seat and a free cup of tea. Still, after my experience last time returning to London in standard class I think the extra £10 supplement is worth it.

I can honestly say I have had a really great Christmas and New Year. Quiet and relaxed and yet busy every day. I managed to see all the family I needed and also friends. Amazingly, I also met up with a group of friends from primary school and we spent around 6 hours catching up. As some of them live in London we are going to catch up there too.

Well, rereading this shambles of a blog, I realised that this time last year I made some resolutions, none of which I seem to have upheld for the entirety of the year. 2012 will be different. I know, I know, easier said than done and all good intentions etc. but this time I mean it. I don”t like odd numbers and so 2012 has to be better than 2011 straight away. Also, I have come to the realisation that this year I need to find my vocation or at least something that will keep my from job hopping this year as I have in the last, well... 9 years!

Resolution number 1: Discover what I really want to do. Again, I know this is easier in theory than in practice but I am confident that I can do it this year. I know that there are jobs that I don't want and just because my experience is in them doesn't mean I should stick to them otherwise I will be on the wrong track forever.

I can't believe just how much I have eaten over the Christmas period. Seriously, I don't think I've ever eaten so much meat in the space of 2 weeks before. I haven't put on weight or anything (No surprises there!) but I feel really unhealthy and fell like my face is showing signs of the festive food and drink onslaught.

Resolution number 2: Get fit. Oh how resolutions are so simplistic and optimistic. Just as well I am an optimist really. I intend to get fit a fun way. I know that I won't stick to any regime if it bores me and I would be quite content never to set foot in a gym again. So, that leaves with starting to do activities that I enjoy and can get me fit at the same time. Time to go back to a the ballroom and running outdoors again. I am also considering doing some random activities such as rock climbing. I would not be adverse to frequenting Bikram Yoga once in a while either. Okay so my past experiences haven't been amazing, thinking I am going to die, nearly collapsing and looking so red I was purple. Still, Once in those effects can't be bad. After all who doesn't appreciate life more after feeling on the brink, a good snooze and a tan!

As addictions go I don't think caffeine is terrible but I have realised that I must be addicted to it. I get a headache if I don't have it and recently seem to be glugging on a ridiculous amount of tea and coffee. I would hate to see the colour of my insides. If the song is correct and it is supposed to turn your meat to leather then I must be prime hide.

Resolution number 3: Drink more water. Last year I did quite well at this at least for the start of the year but then it was easier in Spain as you felt you needed to keep well hydrated. Also, I always carried water with me in my bag, had bottles on the car or drank copious amounts at home and in school. This is definitely doable this year! I think it may be wise to invest in a proper water bottle as I know that if I put it on my desk I will drink it.

There we have it, three resolutions, yes, I know that is an odd number and I don't like odd numbers but I have already started my 4^th and that is updating the blog at least once a week.

Happy New Year!

Oh bright new day, we're moving away. We're starting all over again!

Wow! Nearly 6 months has passed since my last post and boy how much has changed in that time. Let’s get up to speed. I have had a whirlwind move from the laidback, sun cream wearing days of island living to being squashed against the window of a tube door in a position usually only achieved my circus people. Yes… London!

After coming back and discovering to my horror that being a fairly well qualified, presentable, experienced, work ready person meant claiming jobseekers harder! It actually amazes me how all these people manage it. If only I would have hung around outside Job Centre Plus in a tracksuit, a Greggs dummy and a spot of Elizabeth Duke then my life would have been a lot simpler and strangely financially better off. Instead, I turn up in a full suit! Damn it, alarm bells should have started ringing when the security guard asked if he could help me and when I explained I was here for an interview, asked me what company I was from! Mistaken for the interviewer! Anyway turns out that finding yourself any kind of work, even a week’s casual work puts you on the bottom of the pile and you have outwitted the system actually securing work for yourself without being asked! And then when you have your first meeting to discuss your progress and claim your allowance, to inform the Assistant hat you have found work in London with a university! Well that just takes the biscuit!

I digress.

I am in London after a bit of a whirlwind move and managed to find a rather nice flat and a good job amidst the backdrop of rioting. Hmmm. Note to self “Avoid getting mugged”, whoops, too late, already happened.

Yes, walking home and being surrounded by four guys in hoods what was I to do, other than hand over my “Ashamed of your mobile?” mobile phone and my wallet (which did need actually need a good emptying out if truth be told) and having my watch and ring taken from my wrist and finger respectively. (The ring which I was too ashamed to admit to the WPC was actually a bit of vintage Elizabeth Duke circa 2002) The last thing to be taken was my bag. A red Dunlop bag that I was rather keen on. HaHA! Little did the criminals know that I was secretly trying to educate them as they will have found two copies of Anna Karenina within as well as a DVD (Eat, Pray, Love) (I know, hardly reaffirms my tough appearance) and my rusting, yes rusting, IPod complete with Frank Sinatra and Glee.

Well, that’s chapter one for now… more to follow. (I promise!)

Progress

Progress! This last week I have actually done most of the things on my list. I have started filling a bottle of water to take to school with me and then between every class I drink. The intake of water is definitely on the rise. The only problem now is that the trips to the loo are also on the rise and I am wondering if I seem like I have some sort of small bladder problem to the rest of the teachers. Incidentally, my exercise is improving, not just from my frequent lavatory visits and all that excess walking but I have started dancing n school. Not randomly in the corridors I hasten to add, but rather, teaching the students some dance in PE lessons and also they are teaching me! Bonus, a free workout and a new skill!

Macaroons? What is the sudden fashion for them? Did the Great British Bake Off spur the trend or what? I understand their appeal (nicely coloured, small, a good present idea, different flavours) but really, don’t people want an actual piece of cake and not a bit of chocolate cream between two pieces of air. Perhaps they are supposed to be for the diet conscious so it might be advisable to buy shares in Slimming World now.... hmmm. I wonder whether they come under a red or green day. They are mostly made of egg, so does that mean a red day? But then you only use the white so maybe green? Note to anyone on Slimming World: Check before you eat! So, I thought I would give it a go. They seem easy enough for Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry. I soon realised that without an electric whisk it is hard work! Mrs Stinchcoombe’s voice is in my head (from food technology class) as I’m whisking “If your arm’s not aching you’re not done whisking.” “Is it ready Miss?” “Is your arm aching?” “No” “Then it’s not ready!” So I carry on whisking. Oh no, problem, I only have liquid food colouring, not powdered. Will it work? I think not. By the way, food colouring is like gold dust in the Canary Islands apparently as very few shops sell it. Like reasonably priced toiletries and bagels, they are in the distant future for behind the times Spain!

Anyway, I digress. Turns out liquid food colouring is definitely a no no as it made the mixture, which once formed lovely soft peaks, a runny mess. Perfect for pancakes, not so much for macaroons. Okay, so the first time was a failure, next time will be better.

After a pretty uneventful week, on Saturday I ventured to my friends’ house for dinner. It was like returning home again and that warm waft of nostalgia and relief enveloped me. I took along a bit of a homemade rice pudding or Arroz de Ross (Arohh de Rohh in Canaries). Well, I couldn’t very well take the macaroons! I got there at about 8.45 and was greeting by the usual friendly faces and a mountain of food. Yes, to my delight, there was a trestle table buffet! Only not with the sausage rolls and party rings, but different cheeses, olive, Spanish omelette, bread, cured ham and homemade chorizo. I could not stop eating it. I try not to think where it comes from or how it is made (even though I have seen photos) but the taste is too delicious to leave it on the plate. I also tried some genuine Russian savoury crepes. (Yes I know crepe is French but I don’t know the Russian equivalent). The evening was great and in fact I got home at a very respectable 4 o’clock in the morning. God bless Spanish time!

Well, the start of the week and already made and eaten a flapjack, sorted out more papers in the department and attempted a new batch of macaroons. They are not looking too bad at the moment but probably best to wait until they’re finished. What’s that saying about counting chickens?

So much for Resolutions!

Why do I do it? Just as expected, I have spectacularly failed my new year's resolutions. Well, I have drunk slightly more water than before and cut sugar from my tea. So whilst not a complete disaster I have neglected the two most important: a) keeping in contact with friends, and b) updating this lovely blog. Oh well, 8 months to make up for it and then I can make some more realistic resolutions.

Lots has happened since the last post. Here is a very quick summary:

Dressed up as Woody the Cowboy from Toy Story in an attempt to promote English through film; got hit on by a traffic warden whilst dressed as Woody even though I still had to pay the fine; Had my first visitor, Bronwyn, with whom I circumnavigated the entire of Gran Canaria in the space of three days; got a haircut from a hairdressers where I came out with more cut than hair; booked into a spa hotel to discover half of the facilities were in the nudist section of the hotel, something that the website kindly failed to point out; dressed up as Danny from Grease to go out during the craziness that is carnival week; spent too much in the sales and even more in the second sales including three coats, two jackets, countless t-shirts, all perfect if I had a limitless luggage allowance on my return; had my second visitors, my mum and dad, who I took to all the best restaurants I knew; island hopped to both Lanzarote and Fuerteventura care of Binter Canarias cheap flights; flown home for an interview that never happened; taught ballroom dancing and watched the royal wedding in 30 degree heat whilst eating a proper fried breakfast.

Phew! That was quite a mouthful but there was a lot to catch up on. Okay so this week I am going to be better. Drinking water, doing exercise, updating my blog and keeping up to date with friends.  Oh and I should probably get out of the habit of writing in lists too!

New Year's Resolutions

Well, here we are again!

After a delightful Christmas break I find myself back in the island, exchanging snow for sun and earmuffs for sunglasses. I must say, it is nice not to feel cold once again although I wouldn’t have missed wrapping up warm and sitting next to the open fire for the world.

Well, my break started with slight diversion. Instead of landing in Cardiff, we landed in Bristol due to the inclement weather after an aborted landing in Cardiff. Still, home safe and sound and looking forward to the Big Apple.

New York was out of this world and I will live there at some point on the future. Of all the places I have visited, San Francisco and New York are two of only a few places I could live. I suppose I need money first!

Anyway, back to the Island, life is flowing pretty smoothly and it feels, two weeks in, like I was never away or had such wonderful adventures or such cold weather.

School has started again and I seem to be getting more involved already than I have previously. The teachers seem to be giving me more responsibility or rather trusting my judgement more and I have a renewed interest in working to make a difference. Something I have noticed, however, is the shocking pronunciation of a lot of the students. This is my next challenge. Yes, I know all objectives should be SMART but for the life of me, and I’m sure to the dismay of my ex business studies teacher, I can’t remember what they all mean. By the end of February I aim to be hearing no more “Free-ends” (friends) or “Ehh-peaking” (speaking) or any other such atrocities to the ear. Probably best then if I stop imitating them and start talking properly myself!

There also seems to be a lot happening in the next few months and it appears that I will find myself at the end of my contract before I know it. It has definitely been different this time. The pressure has been off me to learn Spanish and in fact I am surprised by just how much Spanish I know. I still need to push myself to speak on every occasion I can just to get my fluency tip-top but it is definitely more laid back. Perhaps I’m just becoming more Spanish.

New Year’s resolutions have not started so great but then they never seem to when you aim to do everything in the first week. I am aiming to get fit, drink more water and cut down on both caffeine and sugar, write more on my blog and keep in contact with my free-ends. SO the fitness part has not started too well at home. The running and rollerblading I promised to do religiously at least 3 times a week has fallen slightly by the wayside but on the upside I did do three PE classes in one day. (not just teach, actually do sport)...... I’ll wait while you recover from that shocking fact and equally reassure you that there was not one single note form my mother in sight to excuse me. The caffeine and sugar I have forgone until February to make it more achievable. As of the blog, well this is my first post since November but hopefully one of many more to follow. Any friends reading this may have to take this as keeping in contact as you know how pants I am at actually replying to a text message. Take this as progress.

Let’s see what this week brings!

The Lighthouse

With one karaoke performance under my belt, I felt no worries when at 8.30 in the morning I was asked to sing to a group of 4 year olds. The only problem this time was I didn't know the song words or tune. I was reassured that it was easy. "It's the same tune as 5 Little Monkeys". Shame I also didn't know that one either. Oh well, I managed to sing the song and got told I had a good voice. Not bad but I didn't think Simon Cowell would be looking for someone who could sing "5 current buns in a baker's shop, round and fat with sugar on the top..."I was more impressed with my actions personally!

After a quick change at home I set off with my flatmate to board a ferry to Tenerife. It was beautiful to see the island from another point of view and the weather was ideal for sightseeing. I do enjoy travelling by boat. There is something very relaxing and almost majestic about it. The boat took about 3 hours and once arrived we set off on the hour long drive to the south of the island. Here we checked into our last minute bargain 4* apartment. Brill, now another quick change to meet up with my flatmates friends from back home for a very tourist night out.

We caught a tax to tourist central and got accosted every 2 metres by bar touts. In only 15 metres we had travelled all around the UK and the accents seemed to continue into every bar we went. The drinks were cheap and so was the entertainment. A girl dancing in a cage who really shouldn't have been. What disgusted the girls more than her less than impressive figure or gyrational moves was the fact that her bra and pants didn't match! We gorged ourselves on a McDonalds and wrote the night off as a trial run.

Next day we decided to climb Spain's highest mountain. My little hire car did well considering the roads it had to scale and with a full load of 5 people. WE reached as far as we could go by car and then caught the Cable car to the summit: 3,718 metres above sea level. We also found ourselves above cloud level which whilst might be good for getting a tan is less than warm. The views however, were spectacular and all agreed it was very Mary Poppins to be sat on top of the clouds. You can see the remains of the huge volcanic craters and the rocks even at the summit are still warm to the touch. After descending pretty rapidly, time to warm up with some nice Canarian grub!

Back to the south for a Canarian night out! Oh no, not again! WE all got ready and went for a curry. (Okay I know that's not typical Canarian) The lady who ran the restaurant was either extremely happy to have customers or had had one too many before we got there. She was lovely though and gave me free onion bajhis! YUM! We went across the road to what we thought was a Karaoke bar but unfortunately was a pub that seemed like the most run down social club you have ever set foot in, full of expats. Off to somewhere that is supposed to be good.

WOW! The club was called El Faro (The Lighthouse) and was a two floor club built right on the water's edge with its own manmade lighthouse. The top floor was open air and everything was chic, even the open air toilets. Strange to have a wee and see the stars at the same time though. Although I suppose you could say that for most camping trips too! The music was a mixture of chart music both Spanish and English and salsa! It was incredible! The drinks were expensive but the mojitos were worth it. As you can expect, the accents started to emerge after I'd had a few sambucas and mojitos. The line of the night was a group affair and had us in stitches for the rest of the night. "Curry: 15 Euros... Sambuca: 2 Euros... Mojito: 6 Euros... dancing to the Waka Waka with your mates: Priceless!" Needless to say we had an amazing time which ended at about 6.30 after drinking a final martini in a petrol station cafe surrounded by people eating breakfast and looking at the crazy foreigners. Finally at 7.00 I crashed out on the bed as soon as my head hit the pillow. Shame our check out time was 12 midday. Still, 4 hours sleep wasn't bad and thank god my body can handle alcohol and doesn't give me hangovers!

After a quick trip to the shops we set back off for home on the boat as the most gorgeous sunset was disappearing. What a weekend, but now where's my bed! School in the morning!

The Return to the Mountain

English activities at altitude was the concept. Two days in the mountains on an English retreat. Great.

Mince pies in hand (bit early I know!)we set off on the bus up to the mountains.... yes, this is on the same windy road that was only big enough for two cars to squeeze passed each other and we found ourselves on a 50 seater coach.

We got there in one piece to the camp site and after inspecting the cabins and finding them free from cockroaches or worse we set about

sorting out the food for the evening. Delicious food delivered by the catering company including one of my favorites: old clothes (ropa vieja) a stew of chickpeas and veg and yumminess. If this is traditionally poor persons' food then I'm quite happy to forgo some of my luxuries.

That night was also a first for me. I sang karaoke! After listening to the children murder various Lady Gaga and Rihanna songs it was only fair for the teachers to show them how it was done. So, microphone in hand and imaginary leather jacket on, I launched into a Summer Nights duet with one of the other teachers. Students off to bed time for the teachers to get very merry and sing and dance to karaoke songs and attempt to do moves only usually attempted by children in PE class. Not a pretty sight I would imagine for any flies on the walls of the hall.
Next day, Christmas activities. Yes, before my birthday and nothing more than a t-shirt needed still. The activities were great especially the Run Rudolph Run activity that involved the students applying Vaseline to their noses and sticking cellophane red circle on them. Even more amusing when the teachers attempted it!

Time for the walk/hike/treasure hunt across the mountainside. Each teacher in charge of around 5 kids on a walk that would never pass health and safety regs in the UK. I think walking along the side of a ravine and exploring abandoned mines would flag up on some database. But of course, with common sense and a bit of singing, no one got hurt or lost. Well, one group did take the wrong path for a while but found their way back! No harm done and a great opportunity to explore the mountains.

Thank goodness the weekend was approaching!