I have no idea how to start this post...
Monday night I landed safely in Frankfurt Airport where my mum waited to pick me up.
Everything is somehow..strange right now. The last days in Spain were strange. The first days here were strange. I'm switching between overly excited to melancholic and back. On my pre-departure seminar I was told it happened quite often that it takes a while to settle in when you've been away from home for a long time. 
I'm feeling like being in between two worlds. On one hand there are all these memories of my stay in Galicia - the people, the experiences. Everything cut off all of a sudden. Things I will never forget and that surely changed me. And on the other hand there is everything I have here in Germany. It's all a bit...yeah...strange :D Nevertheless, I'm sure that if I give myself a bit more time everything will find its place again.
Next weekend I'll be heading to Bonn for the last seminar of the EVS. I'm curious of how the others experienced their return.

My view - just marvellous!

Well then...now it is time for the final and concluding words, my loyal readers.
I had an amazing time in Spain. I'm glad I decided to participate in this volunteer programme. All the goals I set for myself I achieved. I learned Spanish. I found something I want to study. I became more certain of who I am and what I want. I gained selfconfidence. I made new friends. 

A whole lot of the success of the project is due to my collegue and flatmate Sabrina. I'm really grateful for sharing all these experiences with her. We have seen a lot of places and had a lot of fun together. 
I reckon everywhere you go you make a whole lot of acquaintances, some friends but only a few true friends that will last for a lifetime. It seems like I had the luck to find such a friend in Sabrina.

However, now new adventures are awaiting me and I can't wait to see whatever there might come!

And with this I will be closing the blog that tells the story of a girl who lived for 11 months in a small town in Galicia called Ribadavia.
A huge thank you to everyone I met for making my stay so colourful. And thanks to YOU for reading my blog. I wish you all the happines and joy you deserve!
Greetings, hugs and kisses,
Isabell

Wednesday to Sunday. Five days in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, with Sabrina.
Conclusion:
Lisbon is nice but not as nice as I thought
Sintra is now officially one of my favourite places on earth
and I will probably not be able to climb so many stairs in just a few days ever again

We arrived by train in Lisbon. Trying to make these vacations as economic as possible we decided to discover the city (nearly) exclusively on foot. Lisbon itself already is quite hilly and then we also visited a lot of monuments and, as I love high places, of course we had to climb every single tower and every single wall so that by the end of the trip our legs were stronger and fitter than ever!
After finding our hostel (number 53 had somehow dissappeared...) we walked around town and tasted some of the innumerous cakes and custard slices. 
The Portuguese speak a perfect English but Sabrina could also find her way in Spanish. We had a lot of fun by replacing all the s's and c's with sh sounds, adding an "ao" at the end of the words and pretending we were speaking Portuguese :D Well, only when noone was listening, of course!

On Friday we went on a day trip to Sintra which is about 40 minutes from Lisbon. We had really bad luck with the weather but nevertheless I absolutely loved that place! It has surprisingly many palaces and castles and the foggy and rainy weather gave it a certain enchanted touch.
Walking from the train station to the center we passed some kind of sculpture avenue. I thing there is also a garden with artwork that belongs to it, but we didn't have time to visit it.

First we visited the old castle on one of the hills of Sintra. It dates back to the 10th century but is pretty well preserved. It has some wonderful walls that reminded me of the Chinese wall and the fog was just amazing and fitted very well to the overall atmosphere.

Next, we made for the Palace of Pena which is like a Portuguese "Neuschwanstein". A colourful fairytale palace from the 19th century. As Lisboa lies in the south of the Iberian Peninsula you can find a lot of moorish influences in the architecture, like tiles and round shapes. We did not have any view (normally you can see the castle and whole Sintra) but I still enjoyed the place. Especially the garden was wonderful. It seems like the queen spent a lot of time there and personalizd it after her fancy. What I really liked was that the gardens weren't as strictly laid out as many other palace gardens are. It had...secrets..if you know what I mean ;)

And at last, after warming up with a cup of creamy hot chocolate, we visited my favourite place. The Palace of Regaleira and...its magical garden
The palace seems to be taken directly from Rivendell and in the garden you can find a construction of the most astonishing kind. It is an unfinished well, built like a tower in the ground. Spiral stairs allow you to go to the bottom of the hole. I was absolutely blown away by this place. It felt so unreal, mystical and enchanted like dwarf and fairies coming to life.
The fotos can't capture it's magic but they might give you an impression. I also took a video which I unfortunatley cannot upload here. 
You can enter the well from above or from one of the tunnels. The first starts in the middle and leads to another unfinished well. The other one starts a little higher up and ends behind a waterfall. And then there are some smaller ones building a real systems of caves and tunnels. 
It was all so...unexpected! 

On Saturday we went to the cinema in the afternoon. There was an international animation film festival going on and we visited a presentation of super-shorts. Animated film clips of 2 or 3 minutes from all around the world. They were critical, funny or artistic. 80 minutes in total - I enjoyed it!
Sunday, before taking the train back to Galicia, we took the train to Cascais - a coastal town in the west of Lisbon to breath some fresh air and see the "Boca do Inferno", the Hell's Mouth. The rocks of the coast are arc shaped there and the waves entering and bursting out on the other side tend to make a demonic sound when the sea is rough - hence the name...

Right now I am preparing everything for my departure - giving last classes, finishing the bureaucracy, having dinner with friends...
I am really torn between wanting to go home and staying. 

The next post will be written in Germany and it will be the last one.

Until then, enjoy these fotos because it took me the hell of a time to uplaod them in the quality they deserve :D

Why is the weather the small talk topic number one? Why does everyone talk about the rain and the sun and the temperature? Well, because it affects us! Our mood is always at least partly influenced by the weather outside and this is why I am going to tell you about the lovely spring that is making the mimosa blossom and the fog vanish. Right after carnival some kind of thermic front hit Spain (and as it seems also the rest of Europe) and brought us warm sunlight and colourful flowers in the park.

However, now step by step.
First Sabrina and I held our "upcycling" workshop:

Then my mum and my sister went to Cáceres in the Extremadura and I quite spontaneously visited them for three nights, driving to the south with blablacar, which is an Europe-wide car sharing website. Unfortunately it was not as warm as I hoped it would be but nevertheless I enjoyed it a lot to see some more of the diverse landscapes of Spain.

On my way back on monday I spent a few hours in Salamanca. It is a beautiful city with an amazing old town. I can only imagine how nice it has to be to visit it in summer or study on that awesome campus which is situated right in the center in the old sandstone buildings.

On that same Monday then I went directly to a little Galician town called Xinzo de Limia to meet up with Sabrina, Flo and Luismi to celebrate the carnival. 
We decided to dress up as Alice in Wonderland characters. The Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts, the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat and...well...unfortunately we did not have our Alice as Gwen couldn't come. So we were not "Alice in Wonderland" but "The Madmen of Wonderland".
Carnival here in Spain is very similar to the carnival in Germany. There are some regions where it is a really big thing and in no way inferior to the carnival in Cologne or Mayence. Parades, music, everyone (but really everyone) in costumes! And then there are other places where you might...maybe...only with a lot of luck...spot someone with a clown's nose ;)
Of course there are some rituals or traditional costumes which differ from what yoz find in Germany but in Xinzo I sensed the same madness in the air as in Cologne.

Aaaaaaand our second Fimo workshop:

About two hours ago Gwen and Flo went home to France. So Sabrina and I are alone again. It was very nice to have some company here. It was quite obvious that two months are very little time to spend abroad. They just got used to everything and started to feel comfortable and then they had to leave. 
However, I will never forget these moments worthy a good old joke:
An Italian, a Frenchman and a German are sitting at a table having a conversation in Spanish...

A day without rain? Let's go outside!!! Quickly, quickly, before it starts again! 
Florian, Sabrina and I went for a walk on the mountain behind the house the other day. The ground was still muddy but at least we didn't get wet from above. Even the Galician people themselves say that it's a very wet winter with extraordinary long periods of rain. I feel sorry for Gwen and Flo as they are not going to experience how nice Galicia is, when it's warm and sunny. It can be quite depressing some times and any warm ray of sunlight is like balm for the soul.
At least the hard wind stopped so that we can sleep save and sound at night. That reminds me of an animated Spanish film I watched a few days ago which I got from the library. It is called "Nocturna" and it's about a little boy who overcomes his fear of the dark. It is a beautiful little story in a lovely style. I truly enjoyed it! If you like this kind of animation, this movie is highly recommendable. Here the English trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J3kkUt2Gkg

Photo session 1 -  Playing with perspective:

I'm feeling how the projects slowly but surely comes to an end now. There isn't much more than a month remaining and I notice how I'm planning the time that is left to make the most of it and I'm also already planning what I am going to do when I'm back home. It is a strange feeling. 
On one hand I'm happy to go back as I miss my family and friends and I feel I have lived in this small town long enough. I achieved, what I wanted to achieve. I had a lot of experiences (and I will still have some more!), I got a better idea of my future and learned Spanish. However, on the other hand it's strange that all this should be over then. By now I got to know people I will actually miss when I leave. One settles in in 11 months.

Last weekend we had another dinner in our flat. Everyone brought food and drinks and we had a lot of fun taking weird pictures with the hats we have in our costume box. (Photo session 2)

The same weekend I had another quite special new experience (photo session 3). An actual fotoshooting. Jose Carlos, the photographer who also gave the photography course I attended last year, is going to start a small company together with a make-up artist to offer photography and hair & make-up for brides and weddings. They asked me if I would like to be in some pictures for their new website. So Sonia made me up like a beautiful bride and we took some portraits at Jose Carlo's house and later some fotos in the old monastery of Melón. It was terribly cold but the fotos turned out amazing with this stunning dress. The new website is not online, yet, but Jose Carlos already posted some fotos on his facebook page. It is pretty odd to see myself as a bride. People actually congratulated me on my merriage :D haha

And this is the plan for the next weeks:

• "Upcycling"-workshop
  
• weekend in Cáceres (Extremadura) with my mum and my sister
  
• carnival
  
• visit of my mum in Ribadavia
• another Fimo workshop
• the last weekend of Gwen and Flo
• trip to Portugal with Sabrina
• and then already my last weekend!!!

I will be reporting! ;)

The famous Galician rain. It seems like it is simply never going to stop! The river rises and rises. Luckily we don't have to fear to drown as we are living in our tower high above everything else. Well, maybe the wind will carry us away instead. 
This blog turns more and more into a fotography-blog. I hope you don't mind. There are just not as many exciting thing happening as in summer.
Here you can see some summer/winter comparison. The river turned into a stream with pretty dangerous currents in some places!

Last weekend we went to the "Xantar" in Ourense. It is some kind of food convention. Xantar simply means "eat" in the Galician language. We could try and buy several foods from Galicia, Portugal and this years guest country Cuba. Gwen, me and Sabrina could not resist to try the mega-pulpo. It tasted like plastic and was pretty hard to chew ;)

The weekend before there was a so called "Ruada" in one of the bars in Ribadavia. We participated in a little workshop of the traditional Galician dance. Later there was music, a lottery and food, but we went home quite early because we felt we would lower the average age a little too much.
Sabrina organised a three day long crash course of Italian. What I will remember for sure from this course is the word "tartaruga" which means turtle. We listened to a song called "La bella tartaruga". Very catchy.
And, certainly, the famous Italian gestures! 

Three days
One and a half hours per day
12 participants in total
Some facts about Japan
A lot of new symbols
A lot of new words
A lot of new sounds

And a first impression of the Japanese language.

I have studied Japanese for a couple of years at school and I am in possession of the first Level Language Certificate of Japanese. Considering it a very exciting language that differs a lot from my own I thought I might be able to arouse this interest in others as well. 
And yes, it has been the best-visited of my courses so far. People had either connections to the Japanese culture through manga, anime and alike or were simply interested in checking out a new language.

The workshop was a success. I prepared listening, speaking and writing exercises so that the participants could get a good overview and at the end of the course be able to present themselves both orally and written. 
I might actually repeat the workshop as there were a few people who wanted to attend the course but couldn't come. The second time would be easier for me anyways because I could calculate the time better.

Personally the workshop motivated me to browse a little bit in my Japanese books again. It would be a shame to loose what I have learned all these years. I realized that I did not actually forget. I just lost some things and now I have to find the spot in my brain where I stored it ;)

I enjoy living with more people in the flat. It is nice to have the possibility to watch TV with everyone in the living-room in the evening or play a quick game of cards; but at the same time I can retire to my own room if I need some time off (which is essential for me, by the way). 
Before Gwen and Flo came I was the one who couldn't speak Spanish. However, now they are learning from me! This, on the one hand, is a little scary because I don't want them to adapt my mistakes and on the other hand a great feeling because it really shows the progress I have made during my stay here.

And now the weather.
The last couple of weeks have been rather unsettled and mainly rainy and foggy as so typical for Galicia. The rivers are rising to an astonishing level. Temperatures vary from 3°C to 15°C and it is advisable to make the most of the few times when the sun comes out as it is warm and pleasant.
This is it for today, stay connected to "EVS-Galicia NEWS", my name is Isabell and I wish you all a wonderful week.

Pimping up the living room table!

Space in the cupboards? - Check
Space in the bathroom? - Check
Beds in the bedrooms? - Check
Heaters turned on? - Check

We were ready for our two new flatmates. 
Gwendoline and Florian are two french volunteers who are going to work in Ribadavia for two month. They participate in an European work experience project called "Leonardo da Vinci". Gwendoline will be with Sabrina and me in the office and Florian in the home for the elderly.
They arrived on Saturday and it made me remember how I felt, when I arrived. Excited but a little disoriented. They both speak a little Spanish and a little English. So basically we are communicating with a mix of...everything. I can see how they are listening and more or less understanding what people are saying. However, not every word. What's happening is that you try to give a sense to the words you do understand, try to connect them somehow, which most of the time works out but unfortunately not always. 
First night, first misunderstanding. Sabrina and I went to the dinner of the volunteers of the Noite Meiga. We had to buy tickets for that beforehand so we couldn't take Gwen and Flo with us. This caused some confusion and we felt like leaving them alone. Or at least I did. Well, this is something you also gotta learn when having language issues - to not be frustrated or feel bad about this kind of misunderstandings. 
The dinner was fun, everybody was in a good mood and people were loudly praising the Noite Meiga with rythmical songs and fervent speeches at the table. While everyone was eating their meat, I had to come up with something vegetarian to order and got scrumbled egg with mushrooms and too much tortilla as starter and too much bread while waiting for my food and too much pastries for desert. I rolled home. 
The next day I went running in the morning :D haha

Have you ever heard about upcycling? 
It means to create something new and even better out of something old. Based on "one's trash is another's treasure". I really enjoy doing work like that. 

Wall decoration:

So search your trash and switch on your creativity!

Next time I'll tell you about the upcoming Japanese workshop!

Coming home after 7 months abroad might be strange at first but you settle in quickly in your own house. When I entered the house I felt as if everything was smaller than I remembered and all the little details that have changed immediatly drew my attention. However, a few days later I already felt home again as if I've never left. This vacation in Germany has been very intensive for me as I wanted to spend as much time as possible with my family and friends. The first few days I was nervously excited about everything ( - yes...several days...pretty nerve-wracking after a while!). I realized that people fall back into old habits when being in an "old" environment. So the change I feel I personally went through might not be as obvious to others at home as it is to me. 
In general people said that the time in Spain has done me good. I agree! And...it is not over yet!

The knife saws through the dry cake. The hole family is waiting full of expectation until...the blade hits a hard small obstacle. "What is it? What is it?"
"It`s the king!"
He proudly presents the little figure. Then he hands it to me.
"You can have it, It`s for good luck."


My tutor Luis had picked me up at the bus station of Vigo and we went to his family's house where they celebrate the Twelfth Day - el "Día de los Reyes Magos". A Spanish custom for that day is to eat the traditional King's Cake in which a little King's figure and a big bean are hidden. Whoever finds the bean in his piece has to pay the whole cake.
As the cake is very dry, we dipped it into a cup of homemade hot chocolate - yum!

This week I tried to settle in again. Sabrina will arrive a little later. I had time to go for a walk and enjoy the hours without rain, when everything is washed clean and the sun warms your face. It's quite a contrast to the busy vacation I had at home. Right now, I feel a bit far from everything. 
However, I am sure, that soon (when Sabrina is back, all the clases started again and especially when the two French guys come) the place will revive and the three remaining months will go by in a flash!

Feliz Navidad - Bo Nadal - Merry Christmas
Originally there was no Santa Claus in Spain bringing presents on the 24th or 25th. In the Spanish culture the 6th of January is the important date where the three kings bring presents. However, the climbing Santas hanging from windows and balconies clearly indicate that the big white-bearded grandpa in his coca-cola-red costume has also found his way here. The streets are decorated with lights and in the shops glow and glitter the christmas trees. 
The date did not, as you might assume, change from the 6.1. to the 24.12. No. Spanish kids are lucky. They get presents TWICE. (Although the 6th remains more important)

Sabrina and I organised a Fimo workshop to craft little Christmas presents last week which was great fun and we will probably repeat it next year!

Yet, I won't experience Christmas and New Year's Eve first-hand as I'm going on vacation to Germany! Surely I considered staying in Ribadavia to take part in the festivities here, but I couldn't stand being alone on Christmas, because to me it is a family celebration. And as much as I enjoy my time here, it is always wonderful to come home. So this will be the last post of this year 2013 and I will continue reporting when I come back in January.
I wish you all a very merry Christmas and all the best for 2014!!!

I heard of a Spanish costum of New Year's Eve: By each gong of the church bells at midnight you have to eat a grape for good luck! These better are grapes without seeds...

After the seminar in Rascafría Sabrina, Jovana (a volunteer from Serbia who is doing her EVS in A Coruña) and I went for two nights to Madrid and visited Segovia on our way back. We stayed in the flat of a Swedish-Peruvian couple I met during the Couchsurfer meeting on the Cies Islands in June. 
Altough I've been slowed down by a pretty bad cold I gotta say that I (still) really love Madrid. It's a beautiful city and I could easily imagine living there for a while.
Miranda and Miguel warmly welcomed us and I was glad they made me feel at home as I felt so exhausted. 
There is a quite peculiar language story about the two them: They met in France so they usually speak French with eachother. Miranda knows Swedish of course and now, as she is living in Spain, also Spanish. They both speak a very good English and Miguel lived in Germany for a while as well, so he knows German as well...
French,
Spanish,
English,
Swedish,
German
...a clash of cultures!

Segovia is a Roman influenced town with an old city and Aqueduct that were declared World Heritage by UNESCO. It is sorrounded by mountains and definitely worth a visit. Especially at night the town is beautifully illuminated.

On our way back in train Sabrina and I were (as always) chatting in Spanish. After a while the person who sat in front of us asked why we were talking in Spanish. He probably noted our accents that additionally differ from one another. We were a little perplexed by this question and told him it simply was the language we both knew. 
Thinking about it, it might actually really seem strange listening to people who talk in a language that clearly is not their mothertongue. You expect them to speak either one of their languages or English.
Well, it made me smile :)