York United

Monday was the day for academic orientation for my faculty. So, I went to the location where it was held, and thank goodness I didn't go to the wrong place. I heard a lot of French and German going on so I knew I was at the right place. The funny thing I noticed that I was the ONLY Asian in the entire room of 400 students I think? I felt a bit left out, but it was a minor feeling.

Just when I was waiting for the orientation to start, someone approached me shouting, "OLIVER!!!"

I turned around and saw Kristen!!! She's also from York and I was so estactic to see her in the same room! I thought she might have been at a different place because she was studying different than what I had. But at that moment I felt so much better just to be able to talkin in English!

The orientation was really straightforward and course enrollment wasn't to bad to understand, just a bit unorganized with the schedules and lists. After orientation Kristen and I hung around the faculty building, and updated on each other's lives since being in Valencia. I am so thankful to have people from my university studying here in Valencia with me.

We later talked about where we're living, and it turned out she might be living close to me! So we decided to go to her place, do groceries, then to my place, and then search for cellphone booths to get SIM cards. As we approached her apartment, I noticed that she lives DIRECTLY across from the gorcery store I shop at!!! NOT FAIR. That'll be soooo convenient for her!

Her place was really comfortable! Very bright with lots of natural light! When I was in her room she had her curtains on so it was a bit dim, and it honestly made me want to have siesta at that moment. :D

We went to the grocery store ACROSS from her place (GRRRR, still jealous), bought lots and lots of food. We decided that she can put her stuff first before going to my place. So we went to the apartment entrance door and she just COULDN'T open the door! The key fitted the lock, but she just couldn't turn it! For 15 minutes, I tried, she tried, I tried again, and she again, but it just wouldn't work! I was like, that's not good...

Just when we were frustrated about the door, she looked up and was like, "Weird, I don't think I ever saw... OMG!!!" At that moment she broke out with laughter and fell to the ground.

I was like, "HUH?? Is everything okay?"

She said, "It's the wrong apartment... This one is 40, but mine is 42..."

I went silent, ".................................................................................................................."

Wow. I can't believe we were so stupid to miss that! Both entrance doors of the apartment had the same design...

Anywayyyyyyy

We went back to her apartment and I waited as she put her groceries away.

So we later went to my apartment to put away my stuff and we set off to find SIM card!

But we got lost... We were walking fine until we saw this tourist shop, and later walked around the Central Market that smelled like intense GARBAGE! BLEHHH... We tried to get back on track finding the way to Plaza de Ayutamiento, but we got more lost and decided to rest at Starbucks. There we just relaxed and I talked about Barcelona since she hasn't been there. After Starbucks we got to Plaza de Ayutamiento but the cellphone store ran out of SIM cards so... :S

We walked back to our apartments, and since we were meeting Larissa Strong (I think coordinator of York International?) at 7, we decided to meet up around 6:15 and go to her hotel. When we met up, she was talking to Chris, another Yorkie, and he was trying to get directions, LOL. So Kristen and I took the metro and went to Larissa's hotel. We were pretty late because Chris and Larissa were outside waiting for us... (We thought Chris would be late since he looks pretty clumsy, LOL)

Since Larissa's hotel was close to the beach, there were a lot of restaurants, one of which is La Pepica, very famous. Many politicians and celebrities and well-know people, like Ernest Hemingway, has dined in the restaurant. But when we got there it was 7:30 and it doesn't open until 8:30....

So we decided to walk on the beach! And it was greaaaaaaat. The Valencian beach is not as beautiful as the ones you seen on Pacific Islands, but it was really really really relaxing. And it was wide! You could probably walk like an hour and still not get to the end of the it.

While we were walking, we talked to Larissa about our experience in Valencia, how much we love it, and how much we have felt and changed since coming here. The three of us all agreed that we made the right decision to come over here, and that we've grown and discovered all these qualities we have after coming here. We would also recommend future students to do the same. Larissa commented and assured us about our experience. It was so nice of her to come to Valencia just for us. She was so nice and very encouraging.

So around 8:30 we went back to the restaurant, and Larissa said it was on her. At first I felt bad but... considering the menu was expensive and it was the school (well, our tuition) paying for the bill, we decided to order el menu del dia! We talked a lot about different things, such as personal lives, work expereinces, etc, while enjoying great wine and fabulous food! It was epic.

But when we finished dinner, it was 11:30. OMG... no way! Larissa was obviously very tired, so we walked her back to the hotel and said our farewells, wishing her a safe trip back to Canada.

Afterwards, we decided to go to Chris's apartment. On the way we joked so much, and the streets was so quiet that our laughs pretty much echoed. LOL. We got to his apartment, which was situated at a nice neighbourhood, but we didn't use the elevator because Chris got stuck in there once for some hours...

His apartment is very nice and basic, and we got to meet his roommate, Jan, from Belgium. We were supposed to go to this club for ERASMUS party with free mojitos and agua de valencia (until 1:00), but we just chilled and talked and joked until 1:30, and it took us like 30 minutes to walk to the club. And it was SKETCH!!! Like, yea, it was free entrance, but it was soooo stuffy with bad music and no space to dance! After like 30 seconds we decided to leave...

And since it was 2:30, we were pretty much tired, so Kristen and I took a cab home, and Chris walked home.

And that was the first day York united in Valencia. And I felt great, just to be able to talk in English again and associate with people whom I can relate a lot...

Barcelona Inspiring

Spending 3 days in Barcelona might not have been long, but it was enough to see the major attractions, which are mainly Gaudi's architecture. The streets of Barcelona are filled with gorgeous residential buildings with unique balcony and fence designs!

Well, Francesco and I saw Casa Batllo, Casa Mila, Park Guell, Crypta de Colonia Guell, and more, but I'd like to talk more about his masterpiece, La Sagrada Familia. No, it's not that other houses and architecture are of less importance, but going ot the Sagrada Familia gave me an inspiring and fulfilling feeling.

The church itself is still under construction, as it has been since 1882... It projects to finish in 2030, which would be close to 150 years. YIKES. WOW.

Anyway, there are 3 facades in the blueprint, but so far only 2 have been completed (Passion and Nativity), the other one (Glory) just started construction. The interior of the church is very big! Unlike your typical Gothic or Baroque cathedrals, Sagrada Familia is more a representation of modernism. Gaudi uses a lot of mosaic on the exterior of the buildings. Every part of the church, inside and out, you can see so many religious expression, such as Jesus, Mary, Fruits of the Spirit, the 12 Apostles, the 4 Evangelists, Birth and Cruxificion of Jesus, and pretty much just anything you know in the 4 Gospels!

The best part of the visit, in my opinion, was taking the lift up in one of the towers in the facade to get a closer look of the sculptures and design and the view of Barcelona! Just when Francesco and other tourists were looking out on a balcony, I was walking up the tower by myself. The wind was blowing through the small windows. The stairs led up to another higher balcony that looks over Barcelona. And I was by myself. At the moment, I thought.

Wow.

I can't believe I'm actually here in Barcelona.
I can't believe I'm actually in Spain.
I can't believe I actually just went for my dream and did the exchange.
I felt as if I had Barcelona and Sagrada Familia all to myself.
I felt a great sense of joy, peace, satisfaction, fulfillment, and many more.
I was happy.
I did the right choice.
I wanted to cry with joy.

But it was interrupted by Francesco. "Ollie donde estas?"

:P

After 10 Years...

It was really cool, insane, weird, and very nice to meet up with Kelly after 10 years! The last time I saw her was when she left in 3rd/4th Grade back in Morrison. It's amazing how sites like Facebook work, lol!

Anywayyy... Kelly took me to see the Book of Kells exhibition, because it's free since she's a student. The funny thing was that she said she's been in Trinity for over 2 years, and yet she still hasn't seen the exhibition though it's located directly across from her lecture halls. WHAT??? If I were a student in Trinity I'd go there to take a break! Plus, the Old Library is so big and grand that I would be motivated to study!!!

After the Book of Kells, she showed me around the school in a bit more detail. But throughout that time we just talked about memories in 3rd grade, and updates on our lives after 3rd grade. Wow, it's really been a long time! We also talked about the news about Shane and Jeni (*TEAR*) and how we felt when we heard them. We pretty much had about the same feelings about their news...

What surprised me was that after she left Morrison in 3rd grade, she has frequently visited Taiwan during the summer, even till now!!! (Her dad still worked in Taiwan). I was like, WHAT????? Why didn't you visit Morrsion???

"Well, because I thought everyone in our class has left, or wouldn't remember me, and I'd feel so alone and weird visiting the school where no one would know me."

LOL!!!

Well, I informed her that there are couple of people in our class who would still know her and such. And that our 3rd grade teacher Miss Neff is still teaching. And she told me that after graduation she'd love to go to Taiwan to teach English, and learn Chinese. She just loves the environment, the food, and the people in Taiwan. I was so happy to hear that, not only that I would be able to see an old friend more often in the future, but also that a foreigner is so interested in Taiwan.

Even though our visit had to cut short, all I can say is that I made a great decision to visit Dublin, Ireland. At least we know that next time we meet won't be another 10 years!

Out and About in Dublin!

Here are some of the famous tourist attractions in Dublin. I recommend you to visit these places when you are in Dublin!

Trinity College

This is the oldest university in Ireland, built in 1592, during the Elizabethan age. It is very beautiful with cobbled-stone plazas, Georgian architecture, large green fields, and such. One of the most famous attractions of this institution is the Book of Kells, stored in the Old Library of Trinity College. The Book of Kells is one of the oldest surviving texts of the 4 Gospels (probably written in 800 AD), and it is also known for its sophisticated, detailed, and vibrant drawings and designs. If you are interested in art, history, books, religion, and such, you definitely have to visit the Book of Kells! (So far I haven't gone in to see it, because I'm waiting to go with Kelly so it'll be free! But when I do, it'll be an breath-taking experience!)

St. Stephen's Green

This is probably the largest park in Dublin, and it is really relaxing to walk in! It is not as sophisticated as a lot of Victorian Parks in England or Canada I've seen in books or person, but it was definitely nice place to take a walk after hours of site-seeing.

Grafton Street

Based on my observation this would be the fashion district in Dublin! Very busy street, with thousands of clothing stores! From Aldo to Foot Locker to Tommy Hilfiger to Diesel and Louis Vuitton! Brown Thomas is like Holt Renfrew in Canada, but it has more brands and clothing than Holt! In addtion, there were quite a few street performers entertaining the busy pedestrians.

Christ Church Cathedral

This is the oldest cathedral in Dublin built in 11th Century when the Vikings and Celtic tribes were still around, and the interior proves it all! I did an audio walking tour, and the audio explained every history and detail of the cathedral. The cathedral indeed had a lot of history and treasures too! So many eye-catching sculptures, stained glass windows, paintings, artifacts... etc.

Dublin Castle

I didn't really do the tour of the castle, because I was pretty tired by that time, but I did walk on the outside. The castle was first built in 13th Century, but it had been destroyed so you can see some later architecture mixed with the old stoned tower. I was a bit disappointed with this because I was expecting it to be old and gray and such, but instead it looked more like an aristocratic mansion with a large court in front of the building entrance. But it was nice to see it nevertheless!

St. Patrick's Cathedral

This cathedral came a bit later than Christ Church Cathedral, but for me it had a lot more history, decorations, and artifacts than Christ Church. There was a lot of monuments, statues, and sculptures commenmorating important Irish personnel. Plus, since this was named in honour of the patron saint of Ireland, this building is a lot more famous and has more significant activities.

St. Audoen's Church

The church is the oldest parish in Ireland. It is now converted to a museum, but sermons are still held in the more contemporary chapel behind the museum. Outside the museum are the remains of the older chapel, with some faded tombstones. It was a bit sad to see the ruins since it used to be a prominent and significant part of Dublin during the older times.

Guinness Brewery

This is definitely a must see!!! Like, hello, Guiness is world renowned Irish beer! The brewery is located on the western side of the city (a little bit sketchy to be honest). On the outside you can see the old and traditional brick walls of the brewery. It's a large area, and much of the brewery still brews Guiness, whereas another part is designed as a museum. Inside the museum you could tell the company is proud and committed in educating people about their beer! It's very high tech and each station is about each brewing stage. And most of all, you get a FREE pint at the end at the bar! Or you could repeatedly get small portions of the beer for free at the testing lab, lol! The bar was located on the top floor, and it over looked the entire city of Dublin!

Book of Kells


This is definitely the highlight of my visit in Dublin! Thanks to Kelly with her status as a student at Trinity, I was able to see the exhibition for free! And let me tell you, it is so worth going! Not only does the college exhibit the Book of Kells, it also had collections of old bibles (primarily the 4 Gospels in Latin) from other parts of Europe, like France, England, and Italy, written in the 11th or 12th Century! It was phenomenal that after more than 800 years the colour in the drawings are still vibrant! And what I didn't understand was how were people able to write the texts so neat as if they were printed? LIKE HOW??? Each book is as thick as those big door-stopper dictionary (and it only contains the 4 Gospels!). The font is very big and some pages are just drawings with very intricate details! There was one page in the Book of Kells they exhibited and the page was solely a drawing (or design) of the first word of the chapter or Gospel!!! Like, how in the world would you know what word it was with all those drawings, designs, details, and colour that covered the one whole page? (I was not allowed to take a picture so.. you might have to google it to know what I mean.) Anyway, Mr. Holton would be proud! And I highly highly highly advise you to see the Book of Kells when you are there because it is an representation and combination of culture, history, religion, art of Medieval Europe, especially that of British Isles!


Other Attractions

The remaining places that I'm going to list is not of less importance, but it's just very straighforward without further explanation.


St. Stephen's Green Shopping Centre is one of the larger malls in Dublin, but it's not as huge like Eaton Centre or Yorkdale with lots of shops in Toronto. However, I do enjoy the architecture, because the roof is transparent so it was really bright and cozy. There were a lot of high-end fashion or local designer shops that I will never see in Canada, but too bad that it's too expensive or else I would've shopped a lot!

The headquarters of the Bank of Ireland is located adjacent to the the front gate of Trinity College. It looks just like a traditional bank office in Europe, built in marble architecture with pillars, and the interior is large and filled with wooden furniture.

Like the bank, the General Post Office shares a similar architecture style. It is located on O'Connell Street, close to my hostel. It'll be convenient for me to mail the postcards back home!

My First Encounter with Dublin and Ireland

Dublin has been an amazing city! People here are so friendly and the weather right now reminds me of Canada a lot.

Well, when I got off the plane I had to go through passport control, and the stamp was BIG!! It pretty much took up like half a page... After getting my luggage I exited and was a bit lost with all the buses. Plus, I was panicking on the other hand because I totally forgot to buy an adaptor while I was in Madrid! I doubted that I would find it in downtown Dublin, so I searched EVERYWHERE (Arrival and Departure) in the airport, but just couldn't find it. Whatever, I thought, I'll just wish for all the best.

I got so confused with the buses too! I entered and exited and entered and exited the airport many times trying to find the bus line that goes directly to Dublin! So I went to the tourist centre, and the lady was so NICE!!! She showed me a map and wrote all the lines that go from airport to city centre and back, and the location of stops in the city centre. I bought a round-trip ticket and she kindly told me how to use it. That was a first good impression of the city for me! So I got on to the double-deck city bus (pretty much all the public buses in Dublin are like that!), and of course I chose the upper deck to get a better view! On the way to city centre, everywhere was so GREEN!!! :D

So I got to the city centre pretty soon, and the street I got off was really busy! So many people walking around, and there were so many tourist shops! All about stereotypical Irish things, like lucky charm, leprochaun, Guiness ... etc. I passed by the Spire of Dublin, and it was just this needle pointing in the air, lol! I thought it would as big and tall as CN Tower.

Anywayyyy, I got to the hostel, and people were really nice! I barely talk to people in my room whenever I live in hostels (so far a lot of people I've met in hostels aren't really nice...), but this time was different! I got to know a girl name Marta from Spain who was really interested in learning English, and I talked to her a bit in Spanish just to refresh :P, and she was kind of happy to hear that cause her English was really limited. I understood how she felt. She told me that all tourist shops had adaptor, which I later purchased (CRISIS AVERTED!!!). There's another guy named Shane from France, and he too was learning English. He was interested in going to Canada.

So... that night Shane invited me to go out for the night with other people in the hostel. I totally don't remember their names (cause I'm pretty stupid like that) but there were 1 Mexican, 1 Finnish, and 3 British. We walked around downtown, mostly where the bars were because we wanted to drink. Dublin was a lively at night!

There were a lot of street performers, and still some shops and restaurants were open and packed with people!

We went to this place that the British went the day before, but one of them thought it was too loud, so we walked up to the roof garden.

It was like 5 floors up... Well, when we got there apparently we weren't supposed to be there! It's like private location and only people with invitation could go in. Well, there was NO ONE but one bartender, and he was really nice so he allowed us to stay for a drink. PERFECT!!!

The roof garden actually has a roof that opens and you could see the stars and sky!

Since I was in Ireland, of course I had to order a Guiness!

The 7 of us just talked about anything, but the place was still dead after 23:00. The bartender said Wednesday is usually dead. Not a surprise. So we decided to leave after our drinks, and went for another bar, which was supposedly the cheapest in Dublin.

We were there for a while, and later some people went to get Indian food. After getting food we walked back to the hostel and ended our day. Not bad for a first night in Dublin!

School Stuff Again

I am currently in Dublin, Ireland, but before going through the details and fun of the city, allow me to update on school enrollment.

So... I decided to go back to the International Office and ask them what I really need to do. This time was a different lady, and she told me I just need to go to the faculty office and ask the administrators for the letter.

And so I did. And got even more confused. I showed the administrator the application form and the reason why I needed the letter, and she asked other people about it. Just as I was waiting, two local students said to me that, "The school just doesn't function that efficient." Oh, like I didn't know already? Good grief... The administrator came back and told me I actually had to go BACK to the International Office and get the letter. Well, obviously I know that wasn't true because the office doesn't confirm my studies and length of study.

I didn't want to argue so I walked back to the office and told them everything. This time it was a different lady, and she was a bit quirky but REALLY HELPFUL. After listening to my situation she decided to call the faculty to ask what the hell was going on. So apparently here are the steps for me to finalize my visa extension:

1. On September 21, go to the administration office (secretaria) exactly at 11:00 am for information on enrollment. After that I'll be able to get a letter confirming my studies.

2. Bring the letter, my passport and visa to the International Office. They would then send like an application fee or such to my address

3. Once I get the fee, I need to go to the bank and pay it, keep the receipt

4. I then go to the Comisaria with the receipt, passport, and they'll take two pictures of me, and then DONE.

At least theoretically it is so...

And just yesterday I got the email from the coordinator that he's in office Wednesday and Thursday. Ay ay ay... Whatever, I'll just go to him and explain everything... Hope by then he can help.

School Stuff

Well in case you guys don't remember, I'm here to study, not party or on vacation.

So... after going to the International Office on Friday, I went to my faculty as advised to meet my coordinator to go over courses and details and mucho mas...

Well, I went there and it was CONFUSING. I asked the fronk desk where I could find the coordinator, without remembering his name. She asked "Se llama Domingo?" and for a second that kind of sounded like the coordinator's name, so I said yes. She later said turn right towards the stairs and go up.

And I did. And got even more confused and lost. Like, hello, to WHICH floor??? There were FIVE floors, and I obviously did not have much time to look through EVERY floor. I went back down to the lobby to see the map of the building. Hmm... Spanish deparment was on the third floor. So I went there and it was hallways of very small offices for professors. Each office does not have its own room. Poor professors. I thought York Professors had a bad deal... But the offices did not have signs on so I didn't know where to go to find the coordinator... AY. You may wonder why I didn't ask the fronk desk again? Well, I was not in a mood, and the lady wasn't very kind and helpful to start off...

To avoid more disappointment and confusion, I went to get more groceries while going home. After getting home and having lunch, I checked the list of coordinators that the International Office had given me. The coordinator's name was actually Javier Santorre Grau... no way did it sound like Domingo at all... Whereas, Domingo was the coordinator of the French department. WTF. DO I LOOK LIKE I KNOW AND STUDY FRENCH????? Maybe the French are seen as... dumb by the Spanish? Just a thought...

And I thought York was pretty bad already with its bureaucracy.

I KNOW YOU WANT ME, YOU KNOW I WANT YOU!!!

After talking to Erika, I felt so much better. And as I was about to take a shower, Danillo called me in to the living room and asked me if I wanted to go out for the night just for a drink. HELL YES!!! It was around 10:30 pm, and they were leaving at 12:00 am. After shower I got dressed and we headed out to meet 3 friends (2 Brazilian and 1 Portuguese) of Danillo. We dropped a bar for a drink, and during the time I pretty much just listened, LOL. I did my best to understand what they were saying, and it’s either me or their slower Spanish (because it’d be their second language) I was able to understand more than what I had expected!

Just when I thought we were going back to our house to sleep (it was like 1:30?), they decided to go to another bar/lounge to dance and drink more. On the way, Danillo made fun of the song, “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho),” saying it was stupid and didn’t make sense, yet kept on singing it on the way… We got there, and really… the music was pretty bad… Weird mixes and short songs… We met more friends over there too, but we were at the lounge place for like 2 hours??? I was exhausted already considering I had the Canadian mentality of partying… I would be sleeping by then.

So after sufficient music and dancing, the group decided to go to an after-party place. OMG ARE YOU KIDDING ME. I was about to DIE. But maybe because of the street lights in the city, it was soooo bright that I didn’t feel like sleeping. And everywhere we walked there were people, but they weren’t loud. We got to the place, but something went wrong. I didn’t quite understand what was going in on because I was so tired, but I guess… we had to pay for alcohol in order to get in, but Lorenzo didn’t want to because he didn’t want to spend any more money on drinks? The girls wanted to go, but the guys just didn’t. In the end they spent like 30 minutes outside of the place deciding where else to go. Towards the end we decided we would go home, so we started walking. But 5 meters later at an intersection they talked again, for like 20 minutes. 2 people left, and we crossed the road and talked AGAIN for 15 minutes about things I didn’t comprehend. Okay, so later we started walking for like 3 meters and passed by taxis for the girls, and there they talked AGAINNN for another 10 minutes. OMG PEOPLE WHY SO UNDECISIVE??? DIDN’T YOU SAY YOU WERE GOING HOME TO SLEEP????? So after saying farewell to them my roommates and I walked back. It was peaceful walk through the old cathedrals and towers but I was way too exhausted to appreciate the beauty of the night. I got back home and ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ…

Language Barrier

Lorenzo has been really nice talking, asking, and listening to me, but at times I feel bad because I know I have trouble talking in Spanish and he seemed confused with my words … Even when they are talking to each other I would know some things they are saying, but I’d have trouble to join in the discussion in Spanish.

I know I’ve only been here for 3 days, and I will pick up soon (Lorenzo has confidence that after 1 month, especially after school starts, I’ll be speaking it well), but I just wish the barrier just wasn’t there…

After dinner I went online and talked to Erika about Spain. It was nice talking to friends again and to be able to express in English. It’s not that I don’t like speaking Spanish, it’s just at times when I want to express things, questions, ideas, opinions, or feelings … etc, it’s so much easier to do so in English than Spanish.

Alojamiento

I woke up Friday morning, and went to the student housing company to finish up some details, get the keys, and move in. I could have taken the bus, but I didn’t know how it worked so I just walked. The office was a bit far, but it was on a main road in the city so I wasn’t lost. But it was definitely hot walking…

Anyway, I got to the office, signed papers, and the key. But I had to go out to bank to withdraw money because I had to pay first month’s rent at that moment. Well, I was informed that Spain was somewhat notorious for pick-pocketing and theft, so I was a bit scared walking back with like bills and bills of Euros in my wallet. (Just for the information, I passed by a school, I think, and the students looked pretty ghetto and sketchy…). So I paid my rent, and that time the office told me about my roommates. I currently have 3 (2 Italians and 1 Portuguese, all guys), but they are moving out at the end of the month. They told me they’ve been there for like a year or two? And they had their contract set at that date, so they’re just moving to a different apartment in the city. I felt weird hearing that. Oh well, I do know that I have another roommate (Spanish) moving in like next week or two, so that’s not bad.

I walked back to the hostel, packed a small-duffel load of clothes, and went to the apartment. The apartment was exactly where I had seen days earlier! The entrance and lobby was nice and had a securing feeling. I got to my apartment floor, and kind of struggled opening the door because there were 2 doors, and I had 3 keys to use… But eventually I opened it! The door opened to the kitchen and to the left is the laundry area. There’s another door towards the left of the kitchen, so I opened it, and it lead to corridor… with more doors…

Just as I was walking to figure out which room was mine, I passed by the first bathroom and TAH DAH my roommate was washing his face… in the dark. I introduced myself to him, and his name’s Francesco, de Italia (Sicily). Another roommate came out, and he was Lorenzo, from Portugal. They guided me to my room, which was on the right side of the kitchen door. My room door looks like a living room door, wooden and with a sophisticated lock! And the room looked just like I had seen in the photos, but better and brighter! Fireplace (I wonder why???), small chandelier, big window, long green drapes (somewhat broken, but it’s going to be fixed by the company), and a nice view of the park and city!

I started to unpack and went back to the hostel to get more things (it wasn’t that far; and I get to see the narrow and tranquil alleys during siesta). I came back and just when I was going to take a nap (or have my own little siesta) my other roommate Danillo (from Sicily, Italy too!) came in and greeted me. He has been here the longest, so he showed me around some of the things in the house and a basic rule: no noise or open doors before 11:00 am or during siesta because they’d be sleeping. LOL. That’s not a hard rule for me.

I skipped siesta and went to do grocery shopping. Now there is a difference between Spanish groceries and Canadian ones. First thing, it’s CHEAPER, especially with seafood (compared to seafood prices in Toronto). I got all kinds of fish fillet (salmon, cod … etc), and they were good portion and each is less than 2 Euros!!! Another difference is with fresh produce. You know how you put fruits or vegetables in the plastic bag and have them weighed and priced at the cashier, right? Well, in Spain the cashiers don’t do that. You had to do it yourself with a scale that’s in the area. When I got to the cashier she told me I had to go back and weigh them, but first I have to pay the things first because there were like 7 people behind me (another EMBARRASSMENT). I did that, went back to the cashier, paid, and walked back home to cook. The stove was interesting. It’s gas, but instead of the stove starting the fire, it only gives out gas, so you’d had to use a lighter to light it. WTF… I’ve played with fire but NEVER with gas because it’ll be dangerous!!! So I asked Lorenzo for help…

En el primer

Departure

It was really hard to leave Canada. I’ve made so many friends, and got acquainted with the city so much that I felt I’ve only started to enjoy. But, going abroad and improving my Spanish are my dreams I’ve wanted to fulfill. So I must leave things behind for a year.

Thanks to Silang for driving me to the airport even though she was dead tired from all the overtime work for the past few days. When the car got close to the airport, I wanted to cry. When I unloaded the car and gave her a good-bye hug, I wanted to cry. As if I won’t see my friends ever more. But I didn’t. She wished me all the best, and I entered the terminal. I guess I just needed blessings and reassurance.

The line to check in was pretty fast, but I got charged for overweight luggage ($100 CD). ARGH. At first they wouldn’t let me check in because it was 34 kg (the limit is 32 kg), so I had to transfer some to my other luggage. Good grief. Now I’m concerned about my luggage when I come back. But I now have an idea of how to arrange my luggage when I return.

Anywaaaaaay, since my flight was until 22:00, I went to restaurant for dinner, while calling many friends on the phone about my departure. Some either didn’t know or forgot that I was going to Spain. There were some that I was so happy that I called them. Honestly, just talking to my friends and receiving blessings from them is such a reassuring feeling. Thanks to you all Luce-Yole, Karina, Jenn, Josh, Amy, Erika, Pacifica, and Silang. I apologize for others that I didn’t have the chance to give you guys a call because by that time the plane took off.

Flight

The flight to Madrid itself wasn’t too bad. But because it took off at night, so I was really tired. I tried sleeping but was so tempted by the free movies I’ve always wanted to watch (Wolverine, I Love You Man, Ice Age: Meltdown, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Star Trek … etc). I watched some of it but got tired and ended it early. I fell asleep while watching Ice Age: Meltdown, and woke up with drools around my mouth. Yea, it was definitely disgusting (and that’s a problem I have when I sleep upright), but thankfully there was no one sitting next to me, or else it would have been a great embarrassment!

When the plane flew over Spain I was so excited! It flew over Santiago de Compostela (Josh! Josh! Josh!) and other cities too. I felt most of Spain in that area was somewhat dry, because it didn’t have much forests or green vegetation. But the plane flew over some mountains, and it was gorgeous! And of course, Madrid too!

Arrival in España

The Madrid Airport was pretty nice, just a bit busy and somewhat unorganized. My concern was going through customs, because I was entering early as a tourist not with my student visa. When I got to the counter, honestly, it took like less than 2 seconds for the officer to stamp and take my immigration form. SWEET! I had to go through security again, take a shuttle bus to another terminal. It was HOTTTT when I exited the door for the shuttle. It reminded me of Taiwan a lot, just minus the humidity. The surrounding area was really dry, almost like a desert, which is something I’m not used to because I’ve lived in places with so much green space (Taiwan and Canada).

So I got to the second terminal, and checked the monitor to see which gate my flight was located. The departure time was there, but the gate was not listed. WTF. The flight was 15:40, and the time then was 12:00. So I went to the information desk at Spanair, and the representative was like, “Oh it’s too early to know but I’ll check. Hmm… nope, it’s too early. Just walk around and check the monitor frequently.” WTF. What kind of organization is this????? Whatever, I walked around duty free shops. It was fine. (The best duty free shop I’ve been to is Tokyo Narita Airport. The terminal itself was a mall). I bought an adaptor for my electronics.

Once it was time to board, I walked through the tunnel to a shuttle bus. HUH? I didn’t understand. The bus just drove us to the plane, and during the entire time I was wondering which plane was my flight. I really felt we were off for some concentration camp. So I got to the plane, which had SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) logo on it. WTF??? I wondered if the driver knew. I walked in and the seats had Spanair logo on it. Okay, that was really confusing. Weird. Anyway, the flight was short and fell asleep again.

VALENCIA BABY!

Getting the luggage was fast, and the taxi drive to the hostel was fast too! I experienced my language barrier when I was paying the driver. He was giving me change, but I didn’t know how to say, “I don’t need change, just keep it” in Spanish, LOL. (It was like 12.50 Euros, but since he was so nice and helpful I just gave him 20 Euros). I was like, “Es todo para usted (blah blah blah)” and he became a happy driver. Most of the roads in Valencia are one way, and there is a special lane for taxis and buses only, so my driver couldn’t drive me to the side of my hostel. With 4 things to carry, I ventured to cross the road when there was no traffic. But in the middle of the way my luggage fell, so I had to pick it up quickly before the cars came (and trust me there were a lot of pedestrians so it was utterly EMBARRASSING; that’s the first impression the locals have with me already, LOL).

The hostel was really nice and comfortable. I was sweating like no other by carrying my luggage around. So I went to take a shower, and went back to the room to sleep at 5 pm. I woke up around 8, and decided to go out for a walk and maybe food (I wasn’t that hungry because of so much food on the plane and stuff).

The city is ridiculously gorgeous. I love the narrow alleys; so romantic, comfortable, and mysterious at the same time. All the street lights in the small streets are built on buildings, not roads. And there’s one for like every 3 meters. Therefore, it was so bright! Almost as bright as it was during the day. There were so many old buildings, like cathedrals and medieval towers around the hostel, so it was nice! But it was still hot. I was sweating pretty badly after walking for 5 minutes. At least I know I’ll lose weight after living here for a year! I was looking for food, but there were so many selections and I didn’t know how to order in Spanish, so… I went for Starbucks instead which was 10 meters from the hostel. It’s sad I know. Starbucks was dead quiet. I was like one of the 3 customers.

I came back to take a shower, and I went to the shower room I was in earlier, and there was a girl in it and she said, “Um… sorry, the guy’s shower room is over there.” OMG. I felt so embarrassed that I used the girls shower room earlier without knowing it! Thank goodness there weren’t any girls in the room during that time. Plus, the door and sign was not facing me, so how the hell would I know? And thanks to living in co-ed dorms for like 2 years and sharing bathrooms with girls in the apartment during the summer, I just have the mentality that bathrooms are shared in accommodation areas.

The wireless was not working, so the front desk gave me an account that allowed me to access the internet on the computer for 1 hour (They charge you 1 Euro per hour for internet use on their computer, but since it was their fault that they didn’t have wireless, I got a deal…). Thanks for all the comments and likes on my Facebook status people! I’ll definitely keep you guys posted with photos and stuff. I chatted with Rowan, who apparently is moving to London!!! Now I have free accommodation when I go for London MUN!!! :D

I went to bed around 11:00, because I had an appointment at 10 with the university. However, I woke up at 5:00 am thanks to jet lag. I went to get water cause it is ridiculously dry in Spain. I tried to put myself to sleep by listening to iPod. I fell back to sleep again and woke up (DUN DUN DUN) at 10:40 am. OMG!!! I WAS IN A PANIC!!! I darted out to the university immediately. Even though I had a map, it was still confusing to get to the school. But I passed by the park and royal garden, which was so relaxing and marvellous! By the time I got to the university it was like, 11:30? But there was someone calling out, “Anyone named Oliver Shen?” WHEW. I apologized for being late, but she was very kind saying it’s fine cause the important thing was that I did come to the office after all. The appointment was quick and easy, but I forgot my passport………… so I had to go back to my hostel and return again.

Rather than going back the same route, I passed by my potential apartment! OMG IT WAS SO NICE!!! The area was nice, and it had security/front desk! I was unable to go in, but I saw the first floor lobby was handsomely furnished!!! Now I’m really excited to move in!

I got my passport and went back to the university. The office just had to photocopy my visa in case I lose it (which is very ………… possible since I throw things everywhere). I went to a Chinese restaurant for lunch, since I felt more comfortable with my own people, LOL. Now I’m here typing everything above, and off to have my own little siesta. I’ll probably explore the area again and beyond, and maybe just get something light for dinner. Tomorrow I must go to the student housing company for last details and move in some things.