52 lists: List your best qualities

1. I am a constructive advice giver.
2. I'm always about to listen to your rants, share in your excitement and commiserate when things are kinda crummy.
3. I am a excellent translator of Samlish/finder of lost words.
4. I am a great steak eating companion (though don't be shocked if I put away a whole 14 ounce before you've had half of your 8 ounce).
5. I usually cook to feed the entire street, so there is always food for you if you'd like to join me!
6. I am trip planner extraordinaire.
7. I am a great procrastinator - if you need stuff to distract you, I'm your girl.
8. I give great hugs.
9. If you have excess wine, I am always there to finish it for you.
10. I am infinitely childish - Disney movies, duvet forts and colouring? I'm there! 

The 52 lists project is organised by Ema over at Made in Hunters, take a look at her list here

Taking stock... 'Hey, its ok'

Coming up to my Seville monthiversary, I was feeling a little disheartened. A whole month in Spain and what did I have to show for it? Unruly classes and a fairly well loved duvet fort, that's what!

I felt guilty for wasting valuable 'Year Abroad' time doing sod all. The more I thought about it, the worse I felt, the more I wallowed and the more time I wasted! A vicious circle indeed.

In the style of Glamour magazine, I've decided to tell myself 'Hey it's ok...' :

• to procrastinate. Who the hell wants to work on their dissertation at 10pm after work or when its 20+ degrees outside? - NO ONE!
• to give yourself time to settle in. Yes you want to have hobbies and friends and know all the coolest places to go, but Rome wasn't built in a day - give yourself a break, find your feet and don't try and run before you can walk.
• to not be productive every second of the day. Everyone needs to veg sometimes - you're not Superwoman, even though you'd like to be. 
• to not always be sunshine and smiles. Just because you've had a bad day or two doesn't mean your whole life is going down the pan! Don't get caught in the swirling vortex of 'life will always suck this much'. No one's life is perfect 24 hours a day 7 days a week - far from it. Take a moment, chin up and carry on regardless!

This morning, I just told myself to breathe, take stock and remember that even the smallest achievements are worth celebrating.

and you know what...

I feel more cheerful already. 

52 Lists: List the good things about your town

Ask a languages student about their town...go on, I dare you! Your reply could consist of:

1. grumbles and groans as they try to select a town

or

2. a list of 3 towns with pros and cons of each one. 

We are children of the world - we have our home town, our uni town and the town in which we currently reside, which one would you like a summary of?!

Despite the fact my uni town (Bath) and my current town (Seville) are both infinitely more interesting, I have chosen to delight you with a few facts about my home town.

If anyone asks me where I'm from, my automatic response is London. 1. It sounds far more glamorous. 2. Avoids the 'I've never heard of it, where's that?' scenario.

I, in fact, reside right out in zone 6 (the wild outer fringes of Greater London). In reality, two steps left and I would be in Kent! It's not the best of places, it may have a bit of a reputation in the area but it's home! So here goes...Orpington represent.

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1. Due to the lack of any decent shops on the high street (it's a charity shop and estate agent haven), we have an abundance of amazing restaurants. Most notably: Fiesta Mexicana, Xi'an Chinese, Ephesus Mediterranean.
2. Jo Johnson is our MP. He is Boris Johnson's brother (Mayor of London). Occasionally, this brings the floppy haired, walking disaster zone to our lowly town, which is good for comic value, if nothing else.
3. Nugent Retail Estate, which has bought both Nandos, Debenhams and TK Max in to our lives - enough said really.
4. Our Wetherspoon's on the High Street, normally frequented on Tuesdays (for Steak Club), which is rough but always welcomes us for hours on end, with our sometimes questionable topics of discussion.
5. It's proximity to London - A 15 minute fast train out of this dump, YAY!
6. It's where I grew up and made some of the best friends a girl could ever wish for.
7. No matter how scummy it is, it will always be home.

The 52 lists project is organised by Ema over at Made in Hunters. See her list here.

Spanish Life Lessons 2

Spaniards are sun-seekers. If there is one square meter of sun in the whole city, they will find it and bask.

Making friends: it can't be that hard, right?

My friend Isobel has, on more than one occasion, turned to me with a look of surprise and said 'how do you make friends with everyone?!'. Shop assistants, bus drivers, bar tenders, I'll talk to just about anyone like I've known them for years. Tis a source of amusement for many, Isobel included. 

Therefore, it is a juxtaposition that I am so terrified about tonight.

Tonight, one of my students has invited me out to meet her friends and the thought fills me with more than a mild sense of dread.

Since I turned 18, I have lived in 4 countries other than my native England and I've always done just fine - made friends, socialised - so I don't know why each and every time I reach a new place I doubt my ability to do it again.

Moving away is a bit of an assault on the senses - new place, new pace, new way of life. Everything just kind of smacks you in the face at once - new job, new language, new city. When the day is done, its tempting just to curl up in bed with a spoonful of Nutella and hibernate* (*This in no way alludes to how I have been spending the last three weeks in Seville *cough,cough*). Sooner or later, however, this little routine gets old - especially when you see your counterparts elsewhere in the world having an awesome time (damn news feed).

Its no secret that the best kept secrets of a town are known only by the locals and that life, alone, in another language can be pretty isolating. Unless you want to live life in your new town by the guidebook and spend your free time alone or worse, speaking English with other exchange students (never advisable), you're going to have to put yourself out of your comfort zone. When opportunities come knocking, you have to grab them with both hands even if you're inner worrier is bombarding you with every reason not to. 

What if it's awkward?

What if I don't know what to say?

What if they can't understand me?

What if they don't like me? 

For every awful 'what if' that's going through your head right now, there will be a worse 'what if' if you choose not to go: the wondering if those were the friends you could have had. 

Lessons to be learnt:

• Even the most outgoing people get scared sometimes.
• Take a deep breath and tell the voice in your head to pipe down (Jenna Marbles style)
• Remember you've got nothing to lose but everything to gain.

So when six o'clock rolls around, I'll guess I'll have to suck it up, open the door and hope I don't make an arse of myself.

My Valentines LDR Survival Guide

Today, on the cheesiest of holidays, many girls will be waking up to flowers, breakfast in bed and a host of surprises to look forward to. I, on the other hand, have woke up alone with a nose bleed and the prospect of another afternoon of countable and uncountable nouns with 12 year olds - not comparable, huh? That, my friends, is the joy of the Long Distance Relationship.

Today, I'm recycling an article I wrote for the wonderful Scriptoeris magazine for their travel section: how to survive what most couples dread...

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The life of an international girl often seems envious…gelato by the Trevi fountain, hot chocolate on a snowy Red Square, Peking duck in Shanghai. Though we’re grateful, those of us who are lucky enough to be living the dream will readily tell you that we’ve sacrificed things to allow us to make that dream a reality. For some it’s living without peanut butter (yet to be a hit in Russia), for others it’s going without a daily fix of drama from Albert Square. But of all the things we do without, the worst thing in the world to have to leave behind is a relationship.

The prospect of embarking on a Long Distance Relationship (LDR, from here on in!) is often daunting and the pages and pages of internet drivel on the subject are more likely to have you running scared than feeling reassured. LDR pintrest is enough to make you want to vomit (soppy is not even the word), magazines who claim to offer helpful advice end up printing what is effectively a guide to sexting. I know that there are no bunny-boilers amongst my readers and that, if you’re willing to commit to an LDR, your relationship is based on more than the occasional saucy picture.  With that in mind, to whom can you ‘sorted’ girls (and guys!) turn for advice?

The essential LDR Survival Guide, of course!

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First things first, please don’t view your LDR as a second class alternative to your relationship at home! Of course you’d prefer to be there snuggled on the sofa together and sometimes you may resent being in an LDR but always remember that making your choice to live away doesn’t mean that you are sacrificing a life together. It may be different from the life that you’re used to but that doesn’t mean you’ll get any less from it. The best relationship advice that I have ever been given is to each live your own lives and also live your life together. Happiness is in the freedom to be your own person and make your own choices, and also to have someone to share those things with.

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It may sound blatantly obvious, but trust is the most important basis of an LDR (and of any relationship for that matter!). How can a relationship survive across the miles if you’re living in constant fear of the girl that your Mr may or may not have spoken to on a lad’s night out? The fact that you have committed to a LDR says a lot about your relationship – if he wanted to be with someone else, he would have ended it before you got on that plane.

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Balance is the key to a happy relationship wherever you may be. Any relationship is a two way street and effort has to be made on both sides – if one person instigates every conversation, sends messages to no avail and waits patiently on Skype when the other has forgotten a chat was even arranged, resentment is going to build.

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Be considerate. If you’re the one on the adventure, you may want to launch in to an hour long account of all the exciting experiences you’ve had this week, but remember your other half has things they want to share too. Remember the little things – ask how that meeting went or how the essay reading is going. Though you’re off on a new adventure, let them know that you still want to know about their life back home. Equally, if you are the person left behind, put yourself in your partner’s shoes. Sure it’s exciting being in a new place but it can also be quite isolating. Your other half could be waiting on a message from you and its always disappointing if it never comes – if you’re too busy to talk just let them know. Don’t underestimate the power of common courtesy!

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With all the technology now open to us, the world has never been smaller. This is a godsend for those of us in LDRs! No more spending thousands on long distance calls and texts – all that you need in life is a smartphone and a couple of apps. By all means use Whatsapp for funny anecdotes, send cheeky pictures on SnapChat and share tourist snapshots on Instagram, but don’t let them become a substitute for actual conversation. After all you, don’t want to forget what his voice sounds like! Let Skype become your new best friend! It’s a great medium through which you can organise date nights too – what do you love to do together when you’re at home? If its popping down the pub, why not both buy your favourite tipple and have a virtual drink together? If it’s Saturday afternoons on the sofa watching Big Bang Theory reruns, why not watch the same episode together over Skype?

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On hard days, you will most certainly have to remind yourself that an LDR isn’t a permanent arrangement – keep your end in sight. It always helps to have something to look forward to be that a visit from the Mr or a special day you have planned for when you get home. Spending your time moping won’t make the clock tick any faster, so throw yourself in to every new experience and take every opportunity that comes your way. You’re away for a reason – make it one to remember.

We've done it before, we're doing it again and we're still going strong!

What are your tips for surviving long distance relationships?

P.S. Happy Valentines ;)

52 lists: List your to-do list this week.

As a participant of this project of ours, what I am about to say may sound slightly perverse. 

I am totally averse to to-do lists

...I know, I 'll give you a second or two to recover from the shock. 

About a year ago, determined to be a more conscientious, hard working student, I purchased a to-do list book (from Paper Chase, no less!).  I had grand notions of productivity and imagined feeling that satisfaction that to-do list pros describe when talking about crossing out completed tasks. Alas, my flirtation with the idea was short lived. I got no pleasure out of it. The lists got longer and longer, the ticks of completion appeared less and less often and I got more and more stressed.

It turns out making lists doesn't suddenly give you the superhuman qualities that the perfect version of you would possess. 

Bummer!

As an ESL teacher, you often don't have a clue what will happen hour by hour (or even minute by minute) but some how time still passes: classes work out somehow and you survive another day. Days pass, the week ends and a lot of the time you don't know where it went or what you did! A dreadful cycle - one I definitely need to snap out of quick!

Maybe a to-do list intervention is needed to find a balance between all my lives? My ESLteacher/placement life, my study/dissertation life, my explorer life and my social life (which is currently non existent). Just for you guys, I'll give it a half hearted bash!

1. Sort dissertation work in to my new folder and do questionnaire analysis up to question 8.

2. Do something blog worthy then write about it (I was rained in all weekend!! Andalucía has 0 wet weather activities)

3. Crack on reading 'The Book Thief' in Spanish.

4. Open the grammar book.

5. Paint my nails (to prevent biting them all off again - damn nervous habit!).

6. Spend some lazy time with an eye mask on (the poor little buggers are so tired!)

7. Find a group general hobby/friend making activity and vow to take part next week. 

8. Make the Banana and Nutella Cheesecake before I eat all the Nutella with a spoon!

9. Find some activities to add to my games box for the children at work.

10. Work out a way to celebrate Valentine's day long-distance (Idea's of Skype dates welcome!)

The 52 lists project is organised by Ema over at Made in Hunters. See her list here.