After a more extended hiatus than intended I am back! I have now been in Madrid for 5 weeks, although it feels like a lot longer, having been a rather challenging month... To be completely honest I wasn't really looking forward to coming here, I would have very happily gone back to Brazil for the rest of the year. The lifestyle was amazing; I travelled almost every weekend, made the most of the brilliant weather, didn't once think about the dreaded year abroad essay and most importantly made the most amazing friends who I was sad to leave so suddenly and continue to miss so much. But Brazil wasn't real life, and I had to come back to reality with a bump!
Los Reyes parade
However, without wanting to sound overdramatic, the events of my first month here, have made it even harder to adjust. I arrived on the 3rd of January and booked myself into a hostel for 2 nights. I had planned to view flats over the weekend and early the next week, with a view to being settled in time for starting work on Wednesday 8th. It hadn't really crossed my mind that it was Los Reyes Magos and that no one was in Madrid to show me their apartment over the weekend. After staying for much longer than intended in cheaper and cheaper hostels (my bank balance was decreasing rapidly), Rozzy, my best friend from school who is also in Madrid for the year, returned and I was so relieved to be able to crash on her sofa. I was feeling more positive, I had lots of house viewings booked and was excited to start my new job...
Fellipe makes a flying visit to Madrid!
Dinner at Naif with Fellipe
When I arrived for my first day of work on Wednesday I was faced with my second problem... Without going into all the boring details, the small wealth management firm I was meant to be interning at was basically being bought out. I was told that there would be none of the everyday work to do and that they couldn't pay me as they were starting legal action! They said I should stay on until they knew what would happen with the court case that they would be facing and that they could give me some project work and teach me the basics of fund management...I was then told to "write a report on the Spanish economy between 2008-2013". I sat in the office on my own for 2 days trying to write the report but unable to think about anything apart from how I was going cope with sitting alone for 5 months and receiving no money to do so!
La Tabacalera with Rozzy
At the end of day 2 I quit, they had completely messed me around, and by making me quit, knew that they could not be held accountable by the university. They were businessmen that knew exactly what they were doing and I felt so angry that the placement I had been so looking forward to turned out to be such a disappointment.
Over the next 3 weeks, I sent CVs and cover letters to everywhere I could possibly think of, probably around 30 companies in total. I cold called all the big finance/management/PR companies, I applied for NGO programmes in South America, I even went to the local job centre. There was nothing, the Spanish job situation really is as dire as reported. The only position I an offer for was volunteering for an NGO in Argentina, which sounded amazing but I had the small issue of not being able to afford the flight and also would have had to pay the erasmus grant back, difficult when I had almost already spent it all on my deposit and rent even though it was meant to last for 4 months!
Late night run in the Retiro with new housemates, from left to right: Belén, Blanca, Chio and Sophie
I was not having the best time, not having a lot to do is not something I find easy or relaxing. The thing I found hardest was having no structure or routine to the day. Everyday I would get up to write cover letter after cover letter whilst receiving intermittent emails saying, how sorry they felt for me in my position but that they had filled their internships spaces in December. Again, without wanting to sound overdramatic, I gained a new respect of the awfulness that is being unemployed, it must be the most unrelaxing feeling ever. If I felt stressed and found it hard to sleep, I cannot imagine how someone would feel with real responsibilities such as a family to feed or a mortgage to pay. If the situation didn't change for me I knew that I could ultimately get on a plane home or ask my parents to help out, something that being fiercely independent I didn't want to do, but in the back of my mind I knew that it was always an option.
On the Friday afternoon of my third week of being jobless, when I was beginning to despair and on the verge of giving up, I received two emails at the same time. One from the British Chamber of Commerce and one from the Madrid Council asking me to be a teaching assistant. After, answering some challenging written questions on the Spanish economy, I had an phone interview with the chamber that evening and due to my work experience in a similar area in Brazil, was told I pretty much definitely had the job and just needed to come to the office on Monday for a face to face chat. Great, phew, panic over, stressful couple of weeks but it will all be fine...
My apartment in Brazil also had a sofa made from crates, it must just be the taste of the type of people I get on with!
I went to the office on Monday, in a great location, 5 min walk from my apartment. I met Laura who I would be working with, she gave me another interview which I hadn't been expecting but said that I had the job and that she just needed to discuss my start day with her boss and that she would get back to me soon. Certain that everything was settled, I declined the teaching job that I had been delaying giving an answer to and headed home. In the middle of making lunch, I received a phone call from Laura's boss, the director of the British Chamber, based in Barcelona. She also interviewed me, and though she was not very friendly, and actually was pretty aggressive, I thought I dealt with the questions well and she seemed satisfied. Just before she hung up she asked me to clarify that I was available till the end of July. I said, no, I discussed the dates with Laura and explained that I had an internship in London starting 3rd week of June and and that she had said this was fine. She replied, err no, we have to have someone until the end of July, the contract is for 6 months, sorry. So that was that I had rejected the teaching job and now didn't have a job with the chamber either! In hindsight I am glad that the chamber job didn't work out, the hours were horrendous, they were paying appallingly and there seemed to be lots of issues among the team.
Sightseeing with Greta
I called up the teaching woman, said there had been a misunderstanding and begged for the job again. She was so sweet and completely understood and said it was fine but that there had been a misunderstanding on her side too and that I couldn't start until the 17th February. Great... another month of rent to pay from the barely existent erasmus grant and another month of nothing to do except the omnipresent essay. Why is it that you are least productive when you have nothing to do?!
Anyway, the saga continues, that week I was contacted by the British Embassy about a job I had applied for a few weeks previously. I had heard nothing back so assumed I had been unsuccessful. However they said that they wanted to interview me but not until the end of the next week. I was so relieved, something that I was really interested in and that was decently paid too, by this point I was seriously running out of money! I went to the interview which was one of the toughest I have had, an intimidating boardroom, interviewed by a panel, swapping from Spanish to English every couple of questions. Competency questions in Spanish are more of a challenge than I thought! I wasn't hopeful but late afternoon on friday I got a call saying I had got the job. It was a huge relief, I had a brilliant weekend, I ate out, did a big food shop and even bought some clothes for work knowing that it would not be long before I was paid.
Great find Greta, the best Brazilian food in Madrid.
On Monday morning, I received an email asking for about 10 different documents in order to sign the contract, almost none of which I had. I spent 3 crazy days running around Madrid, getting special police forms from remote suburbs, required to work at an embassy, buying my travel card, and opening a Spanish bank account, difficult without the equivalent of a National Insurance number and also not cheap... I sent all the forms to HR who were were impressed, as like anyone who lives in Spain knows, the bureaucracy is not the easiest. The next day (Thursday) I was going to be sent the contract and on Friday and the weekend I had planned to enjoy my last few days relaxing before the hard work started... On Thursday morning, the unthinkable happened, I received a call saying that the man, who I was replacing's operation had been postponed until March and that I would now not be needed until then. I couldn't believe it... I explained my situation, that I was a student with no income and that I had spent a lot of money to get everything prepared for Monday. The woman from HR was sweet and said that she understood and that she would speak to my manager to see if there was any way of me working part time during February and that she would get back to me on Friday.
Hmmm, I did take one, and it hasn't come true yet...
I was unable to think about anything apart from how bored I would be during another month in Madrid and also about how poor I would be! Friday morning came and I heard nothing. I emailed asking for news and still nothing...Mid-afternoon I received a call saying that there was no budget for me to work part-time and that my job could not even be guaranteed in March as the operation may be postponed again. I couldn't believe it. This was the British Embassy, meant to be setting an example for other British employers and they had effectively dumped me on the Friday evening before starting work on the Monday. I called and asked to speak to the manager and was told she was out of office and couldn't speak to me. What had frustrated me most was that she hadn't even had the politeness to talk to me herself and had made the junior HR staff do her dirty work for her. That was yesterday. I am pretty fed up at this point but am determined to stay positive. Obviously everything could be a lot lot worse and it sounds pathetic complaining. I am so lucky in so many ways; I am living with the sweetest housemates, 3 sisters from Jerez (their accent is impossible!) and a lovely Belgian girl who is studying at IE business school. Yesterday when I was feeling tired and fed up we went for supper in IKEA which definitely cheered me up! Food is always the solution! It's been a crazy month but I keep telling myself that it's character building and part of the year abroad experience! My cynical side is thinking how much easier it will make answering competency questions such as 'describe a challenging time and how you overcame it?' in future job interviews, very sad that that's what I think of I know!
Anyway, I don't know what I am going to do next, I am going to see if the embassy makes any attempt to contact me/reimburse me and then guess I will try and beg for my teaching job back AGAIN! It is funny how things have worked out so differently than I imagined. I had envisaged Brazil being the challenging part of my year abroad, and thought Madrid, a city which I already knew well, would be a much easier place to settle. In reality it has been the total opposite, and I am still in the stage of wanting to return to Brazil everyday at the moment. I am not a very reflective person but I think my year abroad has already changed this a bit, whether it's a good or bad thing. First Brazil, and now the last month, have really reinforced that friends and family are everything. This month would have been so much harder, if I hadn't had the support of my two best friends who I am so lucky to have out here too. My mum's signature tough love whatsapps also continually remind me to look at the bigger picture when it seems everything is going wrong, even though the lack of sympathy annoys me at the time!
The benefit of living with a Belgian
Anyway rambling over, I can guarantee this will be the longest blog post I ever write so thanks for reading and sorry that it's not as interesting as the stuff I got up to in Brazil. However, obviously as well as trying to find something to do during my 5 months, I have had plenty of time to enjoy myself! A few of the many highlights have included: the Los Reyes parade, a visit from my Brazilian friend Fellipe, cultural stuff with Rozzy, dog walks with Greta and Teki (her new sausage dog!), and Sunday night suppers with and Ger and Rozzy. I am managing to keep myself as busy as possible, I have a Spanish class three times per week, meet with a sweet Brazilian exchange to keep my Portuguese going (challengingly just before my Spanish class!), have joined a running club, have actually read some good novels, and am giving english classes twice a week to a group of four year olds and to three boys with 'behavioural difficulties'! Got to earn some money somehow! And obviously the world count for the year abroad essay is still 0, and I have the added challenge of writing it in Portuguese while in Spain, not the smartest move! Being jobless doesn't change some things!
Gourmet supper in IKEA on a Friday night, nothing beats it.
Anyway, I will definitely try to post on here more frequently from now on, it was good to get it off my chest and who knows what I will be doing in two weeks time!!
The state of São Paulo has the largest Japanese population outside of Japan. Obviously this is of great cultural importance but more importantly for me is that it means the sushi is incredible and a lot cheaper in the UK! Even at the cheapest por kilo lunch restaurant there is normally a plate of freshly made sushi on offer. My new favourite type of sushi that I tried for the first time when I arrived in São Paulo is Temaki. It is so popular here that there are restaurants where it is the only dish served, called Temakerias.
How a Salmon Temaki should look!
Temaki description from Wikipedia!: Temaki (手巻, "hand roll") is a large cone-shaped piece of nori on the outside and the ingredients spilling out the wide end. A typical temaki is about ten centimeters (4 in) long, and is eaten with fingers because it is too awkward to pick it up with chopsticks.
Last week Paula had some friends over and we all had a go at making some Temaki ourselves. It was definitely not Paula's first attempt, she made it look very easy.
Mine didn't look so professional but wasn't bad for a first attempt! It was seriously yummy and so much cheaper than at a restaurant. I will definitely miss the Japanese food when I come back to the UK and will be bringing back lots of sushi making ingredients!
On Saturday night I went out for Thais', a friend from work, birthday. We started the evening in a Catalan themed bar called "Gràcia".
Thais had bought a table and when we arrived there was vodka and lychee juice laid out for us, great combo! Like usual, I arrived too early, will I ever learn?! However by around 10, the place was heaving and there was a great party atmosphere. No wonder it is considered one of the best in São Paulo. Thais' friends were all so sweet and very patient with my Portuguese; I did feel it improved during the night though, I wonder why?!
After the obligatory queue to pay we left the bar and drove to what we thought was a PUC University party. We arrived at around 1:30 and were met with the customary huge queue. It moved quickly though and after being thoroughly frisked for drugs, we headed inside! It was one of the weirdest clubs I have ever been to. It was more like a warehouse than a club with no decoration and it had obviously been taken over by non PUC students as Thais and her friends didn't know many people there. We were determined to have a good time though and the fact it was an open bar made it a little easier!!
When we first arrived the DJ was playing standard house music which I could just about cope with. However after a while a women and a man took to the stage and gave out lots of free alcohol including packets of pre-made caipiroska which landed by my foot(we chucked it back!). Then the funk began! Yeah favela funk was new to me too... it's hard to explain so I've uploaded some videos below.
Funk Carioca or just funk(pronounced funk-y!)began in the favelas of Rio in the 1980s and is now popular all over Brazil. It's normally an electric drum loop with a man and a woman rapping to each other using some pretty explicit lyrics. All I can say is that it was insanely difficult to dance to; some of Thais' friends were so good at it and tried to teach me but it just didn't work! It was a lot of fun as an experience but i'm afraid it's not going to be my music of choice any time soon!
Although it isn't funk Anita was also played a lot, again not my favourite, but fun to dance to and made a change from David Guetta!
At around 4 most of us called it a night and took a taxi home, Thais and her friends partied on until the end! I had a great night, even if I hadn't realised that dancing to favela funk was on my to-do list! On Sunday morning, after a solid 10 hour sleep, I woke up to this...
...Much more my cup of tea!!! All part of life's rich experiences! Thanks so much Thais, I had an awesome time!
I can't really believe that it was a month today that I arrived in São Paulo, time has gone SO fast. I can honestly say that it has been the most amazing month. I was very prepared when I left that it was going to be tough and that it would take time to adapt. I am all too aware that very big cities can be lonely places and I thought I would feel a definite sense of culture shock. However, I haven't once had a moment when I've wanted to be at home and haven't really missed anything to be honest (well except Cadbury's maybe!). This has got to be down to the people I've met that have made it so easy to settle in; from my lovely Brazilian flatmates, the office that already feels like family, to the guy that hands me a free paper on my walk to work, I have been stunned with the kindness I have experienced. To be honest it still hasn't really sunk in that this counts as part of my degree, it still feels like I'm on holiday, especially when this is the view I wake up and go to sleep to every morning and night!
Thank you so much to everyone I have met so far for making my first month so much fun and bring on the next four!! Here are a few things about Brazil that have surprised me during my first month, nothing very deep I'm afraid! 1. Brazilians are very concerned with dental hygiene! It is totally normal to bring your toothbrush and toothpaste to work. After we come back from lunch we all go to the bathroom to brush our teeth together. I think it's a very sociable habit and something that the UK should adopt!
2. The bureaucracy is AWFUL. Even worst than I imagined. However, like everything else, you get used to it and after a while queuing for 15 minutes to pay in the supermarket or having to commit identity fraud in order to sign up for the gym just becomes normal!
3. Brazilians must be the most hospitable people in the world. Never have I been made to feel so welcome by complete strangers. I keep thinking why is she doing this? What's in it for her? But this is just me being a cynical Brit. and I am gradually getting used to people being so generous! 4. Most apartments don't have hot water(apart from the electric shower). This was a bit of a shock, I kind of assumed that there would be. We have it seriously easy in the UK, things like dishwashers pretty much don't exist here. Washing dishes with cold water takes a lot more effort and my clothes are definitely beginning to feel grubbier each week! I have got used to it now and know that I will appreciate washing my face with warm water to look forward to when I return home!
5. At my gym you get a personal trainer!!! Sorry really not interesting, but I have always wanted one for some reason!! And my gym is not expensive. Whether this means I will come home weighing less, especially on the Brazilian diet is another matter, but it's definitely encouraging me to go more! I have a very busy weekend ahead of me so better go and get ready! Out tonight, training for my new teaching job tomorrow morning, flatmates birthday party tomorrow night and then a day in the countryside playing tennis on Sunday!
I thought the first weekend in the apartment might have been a bit lonely but it was the total opposite, people came over on Friday night and all day Saturday, the girls I'm living with are serious partiers (is that a word?!), they put me to shame, especially considering I'm 10 years younger!
By Sunday I was ready for a bit of a rest so after a good lie in I was happy to hear that one of my flatmates was planning to go to a Bolivian cultural celebration (well that's all I understood at first, my brain is telling me that I have listened to enough Portuguese now and I am struggling to understand a lot!) and asked if I would like to join. Of course I said yes... We arrived in the car park to see it full of very drunk Bolivians in traditional costume staggering around, a funny sight!! We arrived at the Latin American Memorial, a cultural exhibition centre where all kinds of events celebrating Latin America take place.
The costumes were amazing
There we met up with Paula's Bolivian friend Chris, it was great to be able to go with a Bolivian as he explained what the event was all about; celebrating Bolivia's independence day from Spain. I stood out completely as obviously I don't look Bolivian but also as I was about a foot taller than everyone else, including the men!
Traditional cholas wearing their bowler hats
You may be wondering why there was a Bolivian celebration in São Paulo, I thought the same thing, Paula explained that the Bolivians are the largest recent immigrant group to move to the city, figures estimate that there are over 500,000, most of them doing the worst paid jobs, largely in the textile industry.
Absolutely everyone took part
It was an amazing experience, like nothing I had ever been to before, I felt super lucky to be there as there were no tourists and we only got to go because of Paula's Bolivian friend. It felt such a privilege to be able to experience what was obviously a very important day for the Bolivian population and the atmosphere was amazing.
The cutest baby I have ever seen!
When I got home in the evening I achieved the impossible and managed to make brownies without a tin, scales, caster sugar (their sugar is like icing sugar), and difficult gas oven! They only came out a little bit dry, but they'll be better next time! I brought them to the office this morning where they were demolished in seconds! It's so nice having lots of unfussy people to bake for!!
