Saying Goodbyes

Today I had the last class with some of my students.
As I hugged them, kissed them on the cheeks,
n wished them luck in their future endeavours,
it hit me that it was probably the last time I'd ever see them..

Moving from 1 city to the next through the past few years,
I've said goodbye too many times
to way too many people..
Some I've seen many times after,
but some have just left me beautiful memories.

Through the years, I thought I would become better,
But I still havent coped with saying goodbyes.
It hurts to be torn apart from people you love.
Dreams and ambitions might be important,
but nothing weighs more than people you love.

The hardest times have been over,
now goodbyes don't seem as hard as it used to be,
but still, leaving friends n students who have made an impact on my life
seems to be harder than I'd ever imagined.

Valentine's

Alberto booked a table for us at 1 of the most romantic restaurants in Madrid
for our Valentine's dinner..
awww...
we had a great time
sipping Cava (Spanish champagne),
having some exquisite modern cuisine..
n just enjoying some time with each other :)

Appetizer - Lobster cake..
glaced with rich sauce..wooo..

Alberto's chicken

i had crispy duck with caramelized mango sauce..

dessert - chocolate cake with hot fudge wooozing outta it

the food was heaven,
the atmosphere was romantic,
the company I enjoyed thoroughly,
the night was just perfect.

From the perspective of a guiri in Spain - living in this wonderful country

I've met a fair amount of foreigners living here
in fact all my friends are foreigners, just like me.
We all packed our bags, uprooted n decided this is where we wanna be,
somewhere new, exciting and by all means different from where we come from.

Having lived abroad for abit,
I've noticed that many foreigners actually don't respect or appreciate
the culture/food of the country where they've chosen to live in.
That shouldn't be the case at all,
If you dont even enjoy the culture, nor the food,
what the fuck are you doing here?!

Funny enough, friends who are seasoned travellers, n have lived here for abit
do not have a single respect for this country n their culture.
I would expect an experienced traveller who've seen enough of the world,
to have that least bit of understanding and perhaps delighted puzzlement
for a different way of life and actually learn to love it.
But I was wrong.

We have a fren who has been incessantly complaining about Madrid,
how cramped it is, how crowded it gets everywhere
she doesn't like the food too much..
According to her, Paella is just a mess of rice and seafood
-listen to that! JUST seafood...the Spanish must be thinking damn these guiris lol.

I love the national pride in Spain,
it is hilarious; everyone, im saying, EVERYONE is proud of their country,
they love their food, their beer, traditions, beaches, mountains..
what's not to love abt Spain??

The foreigners (known as guiris here in Spain) beg to differ...
they loud-mouthedly claim how much they love living here
bt taunt n jeer at their weird traditions,
at their dirty narrow streets and bars,
their over-friendliness and the apparently oily food.

I'd say they don't know a thing about the incredible country they live in,
about the passionate, world's friendliest and warm Spanish,
about the wide-varietied, colorful and possibly to-die-for Spanish cuisine.
It's funny how foreigners love to only hang out among themselves,
most of them rarely have a single Spanish friend, n barely speak Spanish..
They talk about how well they know the streets, the language, better than home,
but have no clue abt what's really going on, in this country I proudly call my 2nd home.

Perhaps I'm biased, defensive n opinionated,
(Alberto being Spanish, has nothing to do with this ) :)
Regardless of which country u've chosen to live in,
U've chosen to uproot n lead a new life here,
if you don't even enjoy the food, know the locals, or speak the language,
isn't life a tad bit miserable for you????

That's all I have to say about this,
let's all cheer to a great revelation,
and to this beautiful n amazing country.

Snowy Norway - Memoirs of a drunkard

Thanks to Ryanair,
we got our ass off to Norway for a short wkend
for pure 26 fucking euros!!!

So right after we touched down,
our Couchsurfing host Terje picked us up
and off we went to his house to party!
Couchsurfing is a great idea,
you meet locals, get to stay at their place,
try Norwegian food n have the greatest time ever! :)

Terje was such a superb host,
his apartment looked right outta an IKEA catalogue!
Aft some drinks, we were lk long-lost pals. lol.
we got freaking drunk, ok i got crazily drunk
from the lethal Absinte n spanish brandy
and puked alll over his beautiful parquet flooring (how embarrassing!)

Terje n his huge collection of alcohol!

me n Melinda completed wasted
she cleaned my puke!! awww that's what friends are for.. lol

them in his deck!
freakin cool balcony, all filled with pure snow..

more drinking...

Next day, all hungover,
we wondered the streets of Oslo.
It was all snowy, white n tranquil
Scandinavian beauty.
we explored the Viking Ship Museum
(where i spent most of the time bent over the toilet bowl)
n chilled out on the tram,
nursing our hangovers. hee..

the Vigeland Park.
Sprawling park filled with bronze statues
from a famous artist..

Night scene.
we just chilled at a cosy bar..peace n relaxation..
we rarely do that in Spain,
cos all the bars here are always filled to the bream,
maximum noise level!

Harbour of Oslo.
Terje's neighbourhood.

Terje's apartment.
Typical Norwegian breakfast - sourcream porridge.
View from his deck.

SUNNY!
I loved how u just step into the white snow right outta the front door..
ahhhh...pure white snow everywhere..

a superb view of the Oslo Fjord.
A fjord is basically a bay surrounded by small steep-sloped islands
it was such a pity we cldn't go on a boat ride
along the world-famous Norwegian fjords...
they only operate in summer..
the clear blue sky, reflected on the calm n peaceful lake.

We took the metro all the way up to the mountain..
(only 30mins from the centre - state of the art technology)

Terje brought his sledges for us to play!!!

the view along the sleding slopes..
i had imagined just sliding down small slope (like in Granada)
but no wayyy, this was wayyyy impressive!
an entire route consisting of bends, slopes watever u can find
to make the whole Sledding experience fast n exciting!

my first real sledding experience! :)
the one in Granada didnt count :P

Holmenkollen Ski Jump.
the Winter Olympics took place here.
the slope was almost vertical!

another view of the entire Oslo fjord n surroundings

Soaking up the sun amidst the snow..
ahhh saying gdbye to Winter Wonderland..
it was a fantastic trip,
we made a new friend, who made our trip sooo authentic
n a true travelling experience.

Jetting off to freaking cold Norway!

In a few hours' time I would be jetting off,
Gonna be freezing my ass off all the way up North in Norrrrway!!!
It's probably gonna be the most Northen part of the world Ive ever been to..
damn no wonder Alberto doesnt wanna come with me,
he's too freaked out by the cold!
Gonna be venturing into the North with Melinda,
n we'r gonna surf the couch of a Norwegian! ahh how exciting!

SO we've reached the last leg of preparations before our big Africa adventure lol..
Quitting our jobs, looking for new occupants of our apartment,
getting yellow-fever vaccinations, applying for the visas (annoying process!)...
and definitely leaving our somewhat settled-down lives in Madrid,
for the big unknown.

well the big unknown's just gonna last a coupla months,
but still, we don't have the slightest clue what's in store for us,
so thats fucking roof-thumping adrenaline-pumping exciting man!!!

3 Kings' Day in Granada

Melissa came over from London for a visit
she came just at the perfect time,
for the most celebrated day in Spain,
los Reyes Magos
(the 3 wise men in the Bible, who brought presents
for Jesus when he was bornt in Bethlehem)

first thing first,
TAPAS!!! Tapas hoppin from 1 bar to another...

then Alicia came n join us,
so we all hung out with Alberto's pals
that day was reeeally great fun..

after taking her on the standard visitor's route lol,
we went to check our the Parade!!
they were throwing loadsa candies from the carriages..

3 Kings day itself,
i got sooooooo many presents from Alberto's family :)
his mum gave me a shopping voucher worth 300euros!!!
(i bought sooo much stuff for our Africa trip)
n his sis gave me a huge backpack for tripping!

To end the trip,
we had some tapas in my favourite cave
and went to watch some flamenco...