mi pueblo inglés

I have to say, this week was one of the best weeks of my entire life.

The past three summers, I have worked as a monitor for the Pueblo Inglés summer camps. I had heard about the adult programs, but I had never put much thought into them. I am so glad I decided to go ahead and finally volunteer to do an adult program.

It was a week full of constant activity and a whirlwind of positive energy and emotion and too much food. About a kilometre from La Alberca in Salamanca exists an amazing resort that has a village for an English-immersion program. From the arrival and lunch on Friday afternoon until the departure lunch today, it was non-stop English for the poor Spanish and me. (Prefiero castellano como todos ya sabéis.)

After the icebreakers on Friday, we had a brief overview of the basic schedule and what we would be doing. Speaking English all day and all night.

A typical day started at 8.15 with the wake up call. Breakfast was at 9, and at 9.50 began the one to ones, where a Spaniard and Anglo were paired up to discuss whatever. Being me, I had to ask tons of questions about Spanish history and government. The Spanish had to do presentations in English, which we could be assigned to be part of the audience of. At 13.00, there was a 2 to 2, which is what it sounds like. 2 Anglos, 2 Spaniards. Lunch was at 14.00, and after lunch there was a siesta until 5. 5 was a group activity which were all discussion based, and then two more one to ones before meeting room at 8. During meeting room, there were performances and theatre acts. I was asked to volunteer to be a part of one of the theatre, an X-Factor parody in which I ended up being a famous porn-star judge. I had so much fun doing it (and I included him quitting at the end to go work with Mariah and Nicki Minaj a troix).

Monday night was a party that went on all night with too much alcohol (the favourite drink was black vodka). So much music and dancing, and then on Tuesday we had a tour of the pueblo La Alberca.

La Alberca is a historical village of about 1200 people and a pig. The pig is taken care of by the town. If he decides to stop at your door at sunset, you have to take him in and feed him and give him a place for the night. During the day, he is allowed to roam the village as he sees fit. At the end of the year, they raffle off the pig which is usually then turned into jamón serrano.

La Alberca also has the place where the world's first cheques were made for soldiers on their way to fight the crusades.

Wednesday I taught a Body Combat presentation to some of the Spanish girls, which was fun. I was basically out and the only gay boy, but no one had a problem with it or me. One of the older British women commented on how she loved how I lived my life how I wanted and asked me if I were gay. We're being accepted, people.

Thursday was the last day, last chance for everything. Lots of tears were shed. There was a fancy dinner at the castle hotel and another party. What happens at Pueblo Inglés stays at Pueblo Inglés.

And today, I am sad but grateful for this amazing week I have had. I cannot wait until next August when I can volunteer again, and I hope to see some of the Spanish friends again. Trust me.

Save tonight, fight the break of dawn. Come tomorrow, tomorrow I'll be gone.

mi bucket list para los años de 30

I am just over six months into my 30s, and while the first half of it, outside my professional life, has not gone too well, things are already looking up. I think it's okay if I looked ahead to the rest of my 30s with some goals. Who knows what life will throw at me, either good or bad, but I think it's okay to get excited and dream, ¿no?

-Find a boyfriend and start a family. Or at least the golden retrievers. I think I want to do more of foster kids, as I feel a calling to work with teens. Someone has to do it.

-Obtain a Spanish passport. After a conversation about the differences between Spanish and American/English school systems, I honestly don't know if I could go back to American ways. I would like to either return to Valencia or go to Catalunya (a town near Barcelona, or Girona capital).

-Obtain a stable job teaching secondaría in Spain.

-Have one of my novels published, and finish Novel #2 and Novel #3 (and hopefully 4 and 5, as I have the ideas for both of them even if I haven't started them.)

-Travel to Morocco, Ireland, Greece and Argentina. I hope to pick up Australia and Asia too, as I want to step foot on every continent...but little by little.

-Have my Spanish driver's license and a car.

-Have my credit cards and most of my student loans paid off. The loans are in perpetual forbearance right now.

I probably have more things, but I think this is a good start.

mi euskadi adventure 2012 part II. Donostia

Previously, on senorbrightside:

Semana Santa, 2010, Pablo went to San Sebastián (Donostia) and Bilbao in País vasco and fell in love with the landscape, declaring Donostia his favourite place in the world due to the peace he felt there and the beauty that is Donostia.

Christmas, 2010. Pablo visits a friend in Bilbao, has a breakdown, finds peace in Sanse-Donostia.

2011: Pablo leaves his beloved Valencia and returns to living in Madrid.

27 April 2012, Pablo sojourns back to Bilbao. He was about to board a bus to Donostia on the 29th....

So I got to Donostia, checked into the pensión, whose owners are super nice and friendly. It's located right in the old part of the town, my favourite part. It's sunset time, so I hightail it to the beach to watch the sun set...I went for some pintxos, which I am getting sick of by now, then went to the other beach used mainly for surfing. I really want to try surfing, but classes are 52 Euros, and I am part catalán, cheap. So after watching the waves crash for a while, I head back to get some sleep.

Monday morning, I got up bright and early to catch the train to Hendaye, just over the Spanish-French border, to go to Biarritz, which is supposedly the French San Sebastián, still being part of País vasco. Still have Euskera and stuff.

It is not.

I got a ticket for a cancelled train, laughing at the Spanish used on the French system. The French apparently get other languages totally wrong just like the Spanish. The French guy asked me if I spoke Spanish, and explained that the train had been cancelled due to a strike, so he changed it for me. I then saw a couple get kicked off the train for not having validated their ticket, which was actually entertaining. It sucks for them, but hearing the conductor's bad English tell them this information? Priceless.

The second I stepped off the train, the downpour started. I was going to try to walk to the town, but the rain made me turn around and wait a bit, trying "cafe au lait et crossaint". Super expensive. The rain let up, I walked into town which took about 40 minutes. Then the second downpour came. Everything in my backpack got ruined as my umbrella broke. I had a 3,20 café au lait...which in Spain is never more than 1,30€ except at the most pijo places.

The rain let up, and I walked around a bit, trying a crepe and eating chicken at some place in town. I found my friend's supermercado and bought the world's smallest Coca Cola can, which they threw out this morning grrr.

There were some cool sights, but I prefer Spain. It felt so good to hear Spanish when the train arrived in Hendaya. I felt like home.

I got back in time for a walk around Mt. Urgell along the sea, and went for more freaking pintxos and trying mosto, which I am now loving. It's like a grape juice. Watched more waves crashed and contempelated life, wanting a boyfriend, a golden retriever, to live by the sea and write.

Today I slept in til 9 when I woke up on my own, went for a hike up to Jesus (a giant statue of our Saviour) on Mt. Urgell, then took off to Zarautz. The bus said it would take 15 minutes. I obviously got on the INDIRECTO bus, as it took 45 minutes through some amazing scenery. Zarautz was a bit touristy for my tastes, even if they were Spanish tourists.

I caught Euskotren back to Donostia, treated myself to a Menú del día for 9,80, went to my favourite cafe in Donostia, rested a bit, walked over to El Peine del viento, another long walk and more pintxos later, another amazing sunset, sad to be headed back to Madrid tomorrow, but having to say, as always, Donostia has been an amazing, rejuvenating trip.

I seriously need to try surfing again next time. I tried it in Hawaii. Amazing.

Along the way, I finished one of my goals on my Bucket List. To read Don Quijote in Spanish.

mi bilbao 2012

I am sitting here at a cafe in Plaza Nuevo in Bilbao, sipping my 4th café con leche of the day (I should've asked for green tea. Oops). The rain of the day has started, and I left my umbrella at the pensión. It's less than 5 minutes away, and soon I will board a bus to Donostia-San Sebastían, my favourite place in Spain if not the world. Friday afternoon, after actually getting permission to leave early from the jefe de estudios (SHOCK OF THE CENTURY), I went to pick up my NIE, which is finally ready. I no now longer expire the 1st of November, 2010. I went home, chilled for an hour so and caught the bus to BILBAO (Bilbo in euskera, or Basque). The bus stopped in Lerma in Burgos, which is now on my must list. I watched two movies and the excellent live 30 Rock on the way here. The bus arrived only one minute late, at 22.46, I caught the metro and checked into the pension, which didn't have wifi. I took a quick walk in the rain, then got a good night's sleep. Yesterday, I woke up at 8.45 and did some excercises, then showered and grabbed breakfast. I went to the bus station to find out it was not where the bus to Gernika (in Spanish and a famous painting by Picasso: Guernica. So I arrived at the train station to see the bus leave. Since there is one every half hour, no pasa nada. I caught the next one after being accidentally manhandled by a stranger thinking I was part of his tour group. The bus arrived, and met up with my friend from Bermeo. He showed me the famous arbol de Gernika, tree from Guernica, and then took me to several places in Vizcaya (province Bilbao is in). We ate at Leikeito and walked around in the rain, then drove past Ea, in the Guiness Book of World Records for having the shortest name in the world, Elantxobe, which is a vertical village, going up hill, in the rain, a two hour hike in the rain through Bosque de Oma, a painted forest I would love to go on the full hike when it's not during a monsoon, Mundaka and his pueblo, Bermeo. We had to run to catch the bus back to Bilbao, but we made it right when it was about to pull away. I have realised this trip that a lot of my problems comes from not knowing what I want, as I do know what I want in life, BUT from not knowing how to achieve my goals. I really want to meet a guy to accompany me on my travels...mi principe azul ya. I missed the call from my friend who didn't return the call, so I ended up just going to bed early. Today I got up, had breakfast and saw that there wasn't a bus to Donostia until 17.30 (I'm catching the 18.30 bus), so I went to Getxo to the "puente colgante", the bridge that ferries cars and people over the river. I walked through Getxo and then took the bridge across the river to Portugalete, had a ton of pintxos, then came back to take a walk along the river and Guggenheim museum. A lot of it is under construction. Now i am off to San Sebastian.

mi trabajo

What is it I do exactly? I teach English at a private school in a suburb of Madrid. I teach from 3 year olds to 17 year olds (and I prefer working with teens, as I am still very much a teen at heart). The teens also are more likely to entertain me with their English, and they are less trying on my patience. To primary children, I teach Science, which I really know nothing about. Since Science in English only gives the general outlook and it's their Science in Spanish classes that give them the details, I'm okay with that. I just don't feel as motivated or driven to work with this age as I do with the teens.

How is my day? I wake up at 6.15 to check email, eat my Muesli that I'm addicted to, do some pushups and situps if I'm awake enough to do it, shower, leave at 7.15, have coffee, catch a metro and then bus to begin work at 9.

My school goes from 9-5, with a half hour "recreo" at 11, and a 2-hour lunch break/siesta from 13.15-15.15. While I am considered to only be working 28 hours a week, it is a full 40 hour week, trust me.

Monday is Body Combat day at the gym. If I can make it home before 6 to make it to Body Combat on Friday, I'm happy, but it's a rare day that happens. Wednesday and Friday I go to the gym to lift weights, as to find a boyfriend in Madrid, you must have the body of Cristiano Ronaldo (who to me is one of the fugliest men on the planet due to his damn personality) to even make friends if you're gay.

My body remains far from that.

Tuesdays and Thursdays, I go to catalán, trying to build my CV for a future one day in Barcelona.

I am pretty much burnt out.

I have accepted the renewal to return next year, but in a few weeks, I'm going to receive a job offer to work in Catalunya, possibly Barcelona, which is my dream. However, this job, while it will be working with only secondary school, will come with a paycut down to 700€. Which is not that liveable for even pueblo Catalunya, as it is second to only País vasco in terms of richest parts of Spain. (Funny how it's the two richest parts of Spain that want to be independent. They will never be independent as without them, as Spain needs them economically.)

There are pros and cons to each. I wouldn't be as stressed, and I could possibly work on my master. However, I don't see me having money for my master this year. I also wouldn't be able to travel, which we all know is something that I love to do.

I also think honestly, I'm not going to find a boyfriend in Madrid. My personality meshes well with valencianos and Spanish from the north of Spain...but these personality types do not work well in Madrid. And yet madrileños say that it's the people in the north who are cold and people of the south that are falso when the vast majority of madrileños are BOTH :) I digress.

I have a huge decision on my shoulders, and I'm not sure what to do.

mi visado...otra vez.

The joys of living abroad (in a place that feels more like home than the US ever did, for the record).

In October 2010, I rushed off to present my papers to renew my NIE (the visa in Spain) in Valencia the second I obtained the papers necessary that granted me a job and insurance to stay in Spain. They were accepted, was told there was no problem, that I had everything.

Due to some jackholes I was living with at the time, I changed flats as soon as possible. Since I had instructed the letter saying everything was fine to be sent to my school, this was okay.

Apparently they sent me a letter in March 2011 saying that I needed a paper that they already had. They don't deliver to schools.

In May 2011, I finally found out that it was "no favorable", so I had to go down, find out that I was missing this paper that they already had, gave them a second copy, and VIOLA! Two days later I was favorable.

I went down and waited two hours to have my new ID card for the NIE. They told me that since it expired the 31st of May that they weren't going to make me a new one as it was the 15th of May. I rushed off to Barcelona, as I had plans to do my master there and was already admitted, and they told me I was still legal as long as I presented my papers for renewal within 3 months of the expiration date due to a new change in Spanish law.

Things change, I receive a job offer in Madrid and was unable to do the máster due to finances. I accept the job, make the appointment to have my NIE renewed within the 3 months even though it wasn't until November. and on 4 November, present the papers.

Back to en tramite, but I am 100 legal. En tramite every day for four months.

Last week, I see that it had been changed to "favorable". I am still waiting to receive the letter. Because I want to go to Italia during Semana Santa, I need to get a "autorización de regreso". Thursday, I go in to get it. I didn't pay the right tax, even though I paid the right amount (10 Euro), so I have to go down to the bank and pay it, and go back, and wait in line all over again.

I get the permiso de regreso just to be told "by the way, since your NIE expires 30 May, we're not going to make you a new ID card. We don't give a damn that your job is until 26th June. By all means, continue using your card that expired 1 November 2010!"

So...now I have to make another appointment, after 30th March, to go in to have it renewed. Which means I will most likely be stuck in Madrid as I cannot turn down the job renewal I received this week that is going to allow me to be in Spain another year, even though other options will probably come up.

Seriously. I have tried to explain it like everyone is 2, but...this stuff just doesn't make any sense no matter how many times you explain it.

mis propositos de 2012 y mi 2011...un repaso

2011 was an interesting year, needless to say. It had its ups, its downs, but overall, I have to look at it and say that I came through the rain and am dealing better with life than I was a year ago at this time.

Last year, I said maybe 2011 would be the year that changes everything. It wasn't quite that, but a lot of things did change.

I made good on my goals of joining the gym, finding a decent job (although it's not in Barcelona or Valencia, and grad school still looms on the horizon). Social anxiety (fobia social) is mending slowly but surely. Not entirely over anxiety and depression, but they're also on the mend. I made it to the remaining comunidades autonomas that I hadn't been to. I am conversational in "catalavalenciano". Most importantly, I picked myself up after the disaster that was 2010.

Before I look at the future, I want to look at the past, the year that was 2011.

January started out returning to Valencia after an emotional breakdown in Bilbao. January was quite horrible since the Comunitat Valenciana was unable to pay me whilst certain presidentes de la Comunitat and "closeted" lesbian mayors were galavanting in Italia in New Suits. I went to Peñíscola with the school.

31 January, I joined the gym. A week later, 7 February, I tried Body Combat for the first time and was immediately hooked. These two decisions changed my life. Although sometimes I overdo it STILL at the gym nearly a year later, for the most part it has given me more confidence and boosted the self-esteem.

Vacations/Holidays. Daytrip to Teruel and Segorbe when I missed the bus back to Valencia. Barcelona first weekend in March, last weekend in May and last weekend in December. Madrid, Murcia and Alicante/Calpe for Semana Santa (where I had another breakdown in Madrid, grrr), daytrips to Xátiva, Cullera and Morella. Month in Jerez de la Frontera. Move back to Madrid, trips to León/Asturias, Almería/Granada, back "home" to Valencia and Girona/Barcelona.

I applied and was admitted to the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona to do a máster de "llengua espanyola" (I mean, a master in Spanish is only good if the title is in catalán, right?). I didn't have the 500€ when needed, didn't get the scholarship, got a call from a place in Madrid, had to take it. Valencia continually screwed me over with visa issues, and I was technically illegal from 1 June until 4 November. I am still waiting for my letter to come so I can pick up my official card so I don't have to have bazillions of copies of paperwork 24/7.

Writing wise...not where I want to be, but 2012 is going to change that. Less time on Facebook and Twitter, more time on Livejournal and writing.

Then there were two television shows (and a returning one) that dominated my entertainment. How I Met Your Mother in February/March, Buffy in June and August-November, and my beloved True Blood from June-September.

What does 2012 have in store for me? That remains to be seen, but seeing that we survive the Zombie Apopcalpyse on 21, here are the goals I would like to be discussing that I have accomplished next year in this entry.

1. Not hear Beyonce for the entire year (and continue without having heard Justin Beiber, ever.) Beyonce causes panic attacks and/or depressive states. It is best not to be exposed to her music. Also, I would like to note that perhaps the Maya prediction is more about her giving birth in 2012. End of the world? We'll see!

2. Find a boyfriend. I still have issues that I'm working on, but who doesn't? I want to meet someone to settle down with. I also want to expand my social circle, go out more, spend less time on the internet.

3. Come out to my mother. Every year, I'm more and more okay with being gay. I think last year was when I finally truly accepted myself as gay and started to love myself as a gay man. It only took 29 years. Now, especially if #2 happens, I don't want to have to hide this aspect to myself.

4. Eat healthy. Again, say this every year. I want to give up Starbucks (I'm here right now), re-give up soda/pop/fizzy drinks/etc like I did from Feb 2006-Sept 2008 and again from Feb 2011-July 2011. I hope to maintain 68 kg/150 pounds throughout the year and add a bit of muscle tone.

5. Read Don Quijote in Spanish and do more time reading.

6. Read the Bible every day. I am no longer sure I believe in God. However, I'd rather have the hope that comes from believing and be wrong. Like Fox Mulder says, I want to believe. I like attempting the Read the Bible in a Year. I more or less accomplished it last year, but from July-December it was more like skim 3 weeks at a time. We'll see how this year goes on the Chronological plan.

7. Get my first novel published and finish my third novel. I also want to do the research and get well into my second novel (the alternate history of Spain.) I vow to write an hour a day. Not sure where I'll find the time for this.

8. Do more hiking. This will prepare me for the major goal of the year....

9. CAMINO DE SANTIAGO. July. I need to do research into this. I want to walk from San Sebastian to Bilbao, and then the last 100 kilometres to Santiago. I also want to go to Finesterra, or however it's spelled. (Gallego sadly lacks me.)

10. Snowboard. Again, every year. Still yet to try it.

11. Go to Greece, Morocco, Ireland and/or Italia.

12. Get back into films and music. Did 2011 even have any music outside Lady Gaga and Rolling in the Deep? Any films outside Scream 4, La piel que habito and Pa negre?

Here's hoping 2012 takes 2011, a "not too shabby" year, and improves upon it.