Remains of a celtic hamlet

       As many of you may know, the celts were the former dwellers of the north-west of Spain, so there are plenty of remains all around. In Galicia there are countless  reasonably well preserved "castros", as their villages are known. The photos I'm posting today have been taken in Castro de Borneiro, during one of our rambles.

     This little hamlet was ideally located, nestling in a cosy leafy valley, next to a lovely stream abounding in trouts. It was a very sheltered place, where hunting and fishing must have been quite good. Furthermore, it must have been very difficult to discover for potential invaders, completely sorrounded by such a wild wood.

      It was a nice and interesting visit, trying to make out the past. Imagining our ancestors walking around, doing their daily activities. The alleys crowded by children, craftsmen and women buying/exchanging goods. Not to speak of the domestic animals, hens, goats, pigs... Maybe I have a wild imagination, but this could be a fantastic location for a historic or epic film. With this lush vegetation on a foggy day it would  make the perfec atmosphere...

     Nearly two thousand years later and still standing, in spite of not being constructed neither by engineers nor by architects! Concrete was still to discover, of course.

Someone's home

     
       Some excavations should be carried out here. The whole place has to be full of all sorts of tools, ranging from pottery to weapons or jewlery, for example. This is culture, OUR culture, our past, and we should know as much as possible about it. It's a pity there's not a little museum or something here, like in many other "castros".

     All in all, the visit was worth it! It is a relaxing place, with the singing of the birds and the murmur of the brook in the background.

We'll come back for another visit at some point

              

Switzerland, I miss you!

     

Heidi, have you come back from Frankfurt?

   What I miss about having a job is the economical capacity to travel. I know I can, and in fact I do, travel on the cheap, you know; going for one or two-day trips, avoiding restaurants, sleeping at inexpensive hostels and so on. That said, I must admit that I'm looking forward to going for a real vacation again. I can't wait to visit Switzerland once more as soon as possible. A place where traveling and living "on the cheap" is an utter utopia.

         I like visiting those hidden and almost unknown lovely places which, in too many occasions, are just round the corner, so to speak. I think everybody should explore and discover their own country, as there is so much to see in the most unsuspected places. But Switzerland... it's Switzerland! It has always called to me so intensely... Those lovely landscapes on the wrappers of the delicious chocolates my father used to bring me when he came on holiday made me dream of a fairy tale country. I first read Heidi at the age of 6 and then re-read it dozens of times. I remember the cover of the book showed a wooden hut surrounded by fir-trees, with a snow-capped mountain in the background; the typical alpine landscape. That drawing used to make me feel happy for my dad, who, to make up for being  alone and far from us, worked in such a beautiful place. :) I spent my childhood dreaming of living there one day, when I grew old enough.

        Now that I'm an adult, concerning work, the country is no longer what it used to be in the 70's and 80's, when, like my father, many others migrated there looking for better working opportunities. I've never lived there (yet) but I was lucky enough to visit it two years ago. Needless to say I completely fell in love with it. It was a pity we could not spend more days there, enjoying it all as it deserved. All in all, we visited many places which caused a great impression on us:

Bassel.

        There we visited the city centre and the zoo, but given that we went to see my brother's inlaws, we couldn't explore as much as we would have liked to.

Altdorf, a cosy little village, near St. Gottardo tunnel.

   
            When we were there, the new one was still in construction. We flipped with the tunnels they have there, the ones which are not real tunnels as one of the walls is "missing", so you can enjoy the views. The first of this type we saw was in our way from Wassen to Interlaken and we  were bowled over by the scenery.

Beautiful Bellinzona on a cloudy day

Coming from Interlaken

      

         Our intention was to go to Sion, but we got lost and ended up in Interlaken. Sadly enough we got there around nine o'clock in the night, so we don't have any decent photograph. A real sorrow, given that it was one of the places we liked the most. When we can afford it we'll go back, this time during daylight and take lots of them. Although they never catch the magnificiency of the landscapes and the views, which is rather frustrating. Not being  able to show your friends the real beauty of the places you have been to.

Luzern left us completely spellbound

        

         As you can see, the buildings were amazing, tastefully painted and decorated. This was the cleanest city we ever visited. Everybody was willing to help you and spoke English if necessary, something that didn't happen in Ticcino. In italian speaking cantons it can be difficult to find someone who speaks English with relative fluency. You might think that being Spanish, italian shouldn't be too difficult to understand for me... So thought I before having to comunicate with italian speaking locals!

Messing around by the lake in Luzern

    On that occasion we were also to Milan and other villages on the North of Italy. It was great to visit the two countries and see the differences. Milan was disappointing, but if we had not visited it we wouldn't have known it wasn´t worth the visit, so...

Steep Italian village. Our knees hurt after walking hundreds and hundreds of stairs!

        When we finally go back, we'll focus on Switzerland and explore the countryside a little more. A relative of mine who lives in Bellinzona can put us up, and from there we plan to explore the North-East part: I'm particularly interested in visiting the Via Mala, which is said to be amazing, and stroll the sorroundings on foot. We regret not having done it then, when we first visited the country, the problem was that we had no car and trains were anything but affordable. Now, on the contrary, we do have a reliable new car but we lack the money for the journey, so we have to wait. Meanwhile we look at the old photos and remember the great time we had.



Goal achieved!

    

 Yessssssssssss, I have made it! I have finally got my Certificate of Advanced English. I passed the Cambridge exam in july, so I can say that my level is C1!! I'm feeling pretty proud of myself at the moment, as I've prepared the exam on my own, without attending classes. I would have liked to, but unfortunately I couldn't  (Just one among the manifold drawbacks of living in a hamlet).

       My next goal is to get the Proficiency Certificate, although I haven't thought of any deadline, as I don't know how much spare time I will have to study or how much practice I will get. Never mind, sooner or later I will get it!

        If I got a new work, this summer would be perfect. But that hasn't happened yet: :((  I have just gone to a job interview, but much to my sorrow and given that I don't have any expertise in that field, I'm rather unlikely to be chosen. I'll keep searching!

Temporary work

             I have finally managed to get a temporary summer job whilst covering for two employees' holiday period. It is certainly not too much... but it is better than nothing. Anyway, I am so glad that it is not clinical work any more that I can hardly express it with words.

             Ordering the clinical and surgeon vets what to do and where to go first are part of my duties... and today I could'n help feeling an enormous relief that I no longer was one of them. It was one of those awfully stressful days with loads of surgeries, difficult births and long distances between the customers in the hamlets... I truly felt sorry for them, while at the same time I was happy that I wasn't in those self-same jams, as I used to be not so long ago. I heartedly hated them!!  For me all that stress and ungrateful farmers and bosses have never worth it. Hence, I quit! As simple as that.

            In fact, for all these months during which I have been unemployed I have never regretted having left my former work; not even once! This afternoon I was amazed that I had coped that situation for more than four years. Maybe the sheer stress didn't let me realize how on edge I was. Otherwise, I would probably have gone crazy. I can't think of any better explanation.

           It's a pity that my current contract is just for a month cover! :( I'll keep looking for something longer. Meanwhile I will have to take advantage of what I have.

Enjoying Cáceres off the beaten track

         The heat was unbearable, so after my boyfriend arrived from work, he picked me up and went to have a bath in a relatively nearby brook. The spot is superb, with its stone bridge and its crystal clear waters, not to speak of the fantastic mild temperature. It's known by Garganta de Cuartos.

No crowds, plenty of space to swim.

Just a handful of people in the water

             Loved the quietness of the place, it released peace... It was utterly relaxing to be there, just swimming and listening to the river, the birds... and enjoying those last hours before dusk. It was perfect.


           We also had time to go for a stroll along a little path alongside the river. All the people there were very respectful to the environment, so no-one left rubbish behind and the whole place was very clean. Nobody would bother the other visitors, either. On the contrary, everyone had impeccable manners.There weren't the typical annoying yelling children running around, nor the gangs of drunken youths like in most beaches, which was great!

Little hidden paradise.

             We explored...

Lovely leafy walkway.

... and explored...

... and climbed like goats.

   
             To get to this wonderful spot; a pond of crystalline waters and countless golden fish.

It left us spellbound!

            We decided to cross the brook to have a look at some remains we had seen on our way here.In spite of being getting gradually darker, we went on and found them.

The building was formerly used to produce electric power.

Scary, right?

         Not as scary as the fact that we did get lost at night and could't find the walkway back, though. It seemed as if all the creatures in the forest were waking up and making noises in the bushes around us. My overdeveloped imagination saw all sorts of hazards lurking in the darkness.

Hello...? Is anybody/anything there?

         Luckily, we managed to cross back the river and arrived save and sound.

             Given that our long stroll had worked up a big appetite, we were feeling faint with hunger!. On top of that there was a mouthwatering aroma of fried squid...

But we had got leftovers from the lunch at home and wanted to make the most of them. A way of cutting costs, you know. What we did was to quench our thirst having a pair of soft drinks before returning to the village.

There were still swimmers messing around.

         All in all, it was a great afternoon! Looking forward to being able to repeat it.

Different expectations

         I admit to being addicted to travel blogs, since they enable you to read about the interesting experiences you'd like to live yourself but owing to one thing or another can't do it. In addition, reading them you can take a closer look at certain issues.

          The thing is that many of the Anglo-Saxon bloggers usually explain their desire to travel as a form to escape their 9-5 jobs... I guess that moaning about a nine to five job is a way of speaking to complain about their tedious, boring, stressful, or whatever works, rather than about the hours themselves... The average spanish worker would kill for them!!! 

         Here few people, if any, who had such a job would quit easyly. And those who did quit, would never do it on account of the hours!! Imagine ending your work at 17:00... In summer daylight lasts until around 22:30; you would have more than five spare hours in which you could do lots of things, ranging from going to the beach to attending classes or whatever. That's why our so called "funcionarios"  (Government employees) never ever quit!  ;)

      

Is justice blind...?

        ... Or it turns a blind eye to certain matters?

        It never ceases to amaze me how easyly certain politicians or bankers - I'll name no names.- get away with much worse offences than those for which normal citizens would be imprisoned almost for life. Worse still, they don't just go unpunished, but their social acceptance rises all the same and get important jobs despite having commited crimes.

        Maybe the point is that they often steal enough money to share with powerful people and to sweeten other politicians or even magistrates. Thereby everybody is happy and therefore, silent. I can't think of any better explanation.

        In the highly improbable case that the people thought to be responsible for the rescue of Spain and some of its banks were found to be guilty, I dare to bet that they would neither be imprisoned for too long nor have their vaste properties attached to pay back at least part of the stolen money. The Spanish citizienry on the whole will have to replace it. I daresay that within a few years these same people will continue to be sickeningly rich and powerful due to their influential connections and the heaps of dough they will have hidden in other countries to avoid police and get round taxes. What makes my blood boil is that while all of us suffer financial difficulties, they'll get again important posts in government or in new banks as if nothing had happened, laughing in our face.

To go or not to go to university

          Reading an article about post-graduates' life has left me thoughtful... although many of the conclusions they came to had already occurred to me.

 

 

          For one thing, they point out that many graduates don't earn as much as undergraduates do. After all, we must bear in mind that by the age of 24 or 25, undergraduates are already quite experienced after having been working for around 7 years or so. So, apart from having more expertise in their field, they also tend to be more mature, with more adaptability and drive (which certainly makes them more employable). Unlike most graduates, who have nothing more than insecurity trimmed with outstanding qualifications, which leads them to get one temporary badly-paid job after another until they turn 30 or even more!

 

 

         For another thing, for our generation going to university has become a sort of fan. Mind you, there are those who have always known what they wanted to study and went for it. Many others, however, just went to university because they were expected to do so, and it's only years later that they're realizing they don't like their lifestyle.

 

 

         Many agree that all those years' effort didn't worth. After all, they don't have an easier life than the ones who haven't studied, on the contrary! In actual fact, too often having an university degree makes them uneasy when having to do the same kind of work (which is becoming more and more usual, by the way!). Others do have well-paid jobs, but jobs which don't suit family life, involving a lot of travelling or long hours, for example.

 

 

        I put this disappointment and general feeling of failure down to having decided our future in a hurry. Students usually choose a career the very summer they finish high school and very few, if any, take a gap year to do different things, to broaden their horizons and to learn more about the world and themselves. This would give them time to think about what they want to study and what they want to achieve in life.

 

 

        In short, it would be worthwhile to set some time aside to ponder the advantages and drawbacks of going to university and to make up your mind.

Learning English the easy way.

         As one of the bloggers I follow says, learning a language has to be interesting and amusing. Otherwise you'll, later or sooner, give it up. You need something that grabs your attention. Here are some of my tricks:

1. Don't agonize over learning lots of vocabulary every day- it's no worth! You'll probably not be able to remember so many words, anyway. Instead, try to remember just A FEW each time and use them immediately afterwards. That way, little by little, you'll gather a pretty good amount.
2. There's no doubt that grammar is essential, however, don't worry too much about studying it over and over again. With daily reading you'll quickly familiarize with it. This truly enhances your intuition when writing.
3. Use interesting stuff. You know what you like, so go for it! Reading boring textbooks is nowhere near as good as those ones you choose. I mainly read children's books (for basic vocabulary) and travel blogs (for slang and more elaborated idiomatic expressions) along with translation ones. Find those  that attract to you! Thanks to the internet there's plenty of stuff available- more than ever! So, take advantage of it!
4. Audio-books are superb, namely those aimed at kids. As a general rule, it's always easier to remember something said in a cartoonish funny voice than in an expressionles flat one, right? You're far more likely to remember something said by Heidi or Peter Pan or Donald Duck, for example, than something said by Tony Blair, aren't you? ;)
5. Subtitled films are another good option, too. Although there's the music problem in there, which in too many occasions prevents you from hearing what's being said. That's why I think audio-books overtake films. (Furthermore I'm an absentminded who remains staring at the images and doesn't pay attention to the dialogues. I must admit to being a bit weird! hahahah)
6. And finally, there're fantastic web pages around that'll help you to improve your English for free! I've lately been using www.wordreference.com and the more I use it, the more I like it!

           What are the tricks that best work for you? What are your methods?

Relative privacy

          After being asked to upload a photo of myself, I can't help but pointing out that what I like most about this blog is precisely the safety anonymity gives me when undressing my soul. Just this way I can feel so comfortable writing about myself and my personal concerns. And writing is somehow a sort of therapy for me, something I truly need and enjoy (even being as it is, a big amount of nonsenses).

          As you can see, there's a good reason for not publishing it, so there won't be a photograph (at least not yet) I don't want to lose this little shelter ;) That's all I can say!

Aimless life

     Today, as many other days, I'm blue. The reason? My shitty life...
- I've no work. The job I used to have was a  real rubbish, as any other I might get right now.
- I'm not living on my own yet.
- The relationship with my boyfriend probably goes nowhere. Up to nine years simply going with the flow, without the least willingness of him to get engaged or to live a common life.
- Living in a hamlet with nothing to do and no-one to spend my spare time with. Each day is as much the same as all the others: dreadfully boring!

Cardboard doors

            After changing our old doors and breaking them to make a fire we got completely taken aback. Why - you'll be wondering.  Because of this, have a look:

Made of paper!! Unbelievable but true!

          There's always someone trying to trick us... and sometimes they suceed in doing so.

Highway to burnout

           First of all I must say that I put my dissapointment with my career down to my utter lack of vocation for it, so I bear no grudge towards the company which gave me my first job. Working there I earnt a good sum of money, for that reason I'll always be grateful to them. Sure it was a good money but the hours were ridiculous. Furthermore there were no young people to talk to and gradually I start finding the work tedious and boring, as well as really stress-inducing. Moreover it turned out that I didn't have the ability to cope with pressure.

          At first, while I still had a real willingness to learn despite my lack of vocation, my workmates and even the boss would withhold knowledges and were reluctant to update me on the latest treatments and breakthroughs. I soon discovered that there is no such thing as team spirit, so without real vocation and any support I completely lacked the tools to deal with my dissatisfaction with the situation and with the profession itself.

         I usually felt I was a small cog in the wheel. Nothing I did really mattered. I had reached burnout and I lost all the interest for that work. I gradually became more and more careless about it; I was sort of trying to get sacked. Finally, not being able to cope with that weird atmosphere I had contributed to create I quit the job and, for the first time in nearly 5 years, I felt free. Despite still being on the dole, it was worth leaving, otherwise I would have gone crazy.

Sniffing scents

          When I worked, at the end of the day I usually went to see my dog and played a little with him before going to bed. He would always sniff me carefully and eagerly, searching all kinds of scents on my clothes, except when I had touched other dogs, that to my amazement  he would turn away jealous and upset. This behaviour made me think about the importance of this sense and made me aware of the importance of this source of information for dogs. Supposing he were a person he would never ask me the tipical "What about your day? What have you done today?" since it would be completely unnecessary. Simply by sniffing he would be able to gather all the information to work out the answer.



Don't you envy them their smell?



         Human beings are much more reliant on sight and hearing, even though these senses are far less  acute in us than in many other species. Each specie see, hear and smell things in a completely different way, it's like if each of them lived in their own world! For example our sight has nothing to do with dogs', cows', bees'... they can't see colours! It could be said the Earth contains as many worlds as ways of experiencing and feeling it, don't you think so?

When plans come to nothing...

           Yes, guys, my attempts to start working again met with complete failure. Unexpectedly enough, at the last moment I fell flat on my face and found this:
<<<-------------------<<<

        But don't worry, I won't let it get me down, you can be sure of that! Admittedly I was rather upset for several days, but not now! I just wonder why they told me in so many occasions (4 times!!) that they liked me sooooo much for the post... It annoys me to think that while I was hopefully waiting for a definite answer, they were kind of teasing me. If the post I wanted was for another person, they could at least have been straight with me and tell me the truth right from the beginning, could they? They drive me nuts, liar people!

Has everything to come to an end?

       Yesterday I phoned a friend who studied with me at the university and, despite we hadn't been in touch for several months, we didn't have too much to tell each other... While both of us were studying, we weren't like a house on fire, but were certainly quite close friends and could spend hours talking about anything. Then we used to meet every day and we would always have something to tell, even all sorts of nonsenses. Now we scarcely get in touch, and however we quickly catch up! Once we've told each other the major news, it seems like if there wasn't anything else to be said. We both remain silent... and somehow feel uncomfortable. Admittedly, the less you see a person, the less you have to say!

           I think this happens because we and our circumstances change with time, therefore our relationships change too. As long as we adapt to new situations we're no longer exactly the same we used to be, so our ways of thinking and seeing life also change. That's why when we meet up someone we haven't been in contact for quite some time, we usually get bored... Mind you, you're happy to see that friend again, but you feel you're poles apart now, since you don't understand each other's problems as you used to do... There's no doubt that if you're single, with no kids and living abroad for example, you won't identify with someone married, with several kids and living in the same city as ever, will you?

           In short, to our great sorrow nothing lasts forever! :(

Long-lasting brief trips

         What??? Long-lasting or brief? Well..., both in fact! Don't frown like that, let me explain it. Have you ever took a vacation for just a few days, but in your mind it lasted much longer as you remembered it with great fondness?

        This happens mainly with those first trips on your own. I have a pair of good examples:

      My mother's holiday in Schwitzerland
             
             Today, my mum was silent with her typical dreamy smile... So I said: You're in Schwitzerland in this very moment, right? 
- How do you know it?
- Your face speaks for you! :)

          She was there this october just for 12 days to visit my brother and his, by that time, girlfriend. Well, her vacation began the day she knew she was going... Immediately afterwards, started looking for a cheap flight to Milan, then going shopping and deciding what kind of clothes she might need there, wondering what to give them as a present to thank them for putting her up... Even the search of a good suitcase was made with utter eagerness. And once she found it, it was ready almost one week before the departure day!

         No, no, guys! Don't raise your eyebrows like that. Her behaviour wasn't odd at all, ultimately that was her first time doing a lot of things. Her first:
* True holiday.
* Time abroad.
* Flight.
* Time alone for so many days.
* Try to speak and understand a different language. (She's really proud of being capable of going to the supermarket in Lugano and buying all the things she needed) Even now she often asks: Do you guess how "X" is called in italian?  :) That's why I use to say that her brief vacation is being a long-lasting one, as at times she still seems to be there! Her thoughts are always there! She really enjoyed it before it had started, while it was going on and even now, so many months later!

           My english course in Kettering, England



Stratford-upon-Avon

               Its real length was just one month... But I could hardly sit down with anticipation during the two preceding months! And, like my mother, after coming back I would be always going on about it, because that trip was  full of first times too (I was just 17):
* 1st time alone on my own for one whole month.
* 1st vacation.
* 1st time abroad.
* 1st time speaking English almost all day
* I had never met so many people from so many different places...

(No, not that first time you're thinking of! Don't be gossip!!)

        We can make many more trips to amazing places, but admittedly none of them will be quite the same, won't them? For one thing, first times only happen once!!
   

Don't weep around the corners, guy!

       If there's something that get on my nerves, it's narrow minded people. Yesterday I came completely by chance into a post written by an english man living in Galicia. The thing is that in his post this guy moaned about galician language. All right about this... But he complains about galician language being taught at school. Can you believe it?!? If you are living and working in a country, you're expected to be able to speak its language, indeed! We are spanish and galician, therefore we speak and also study both of them.

          If you can't teach your children something you don't know, at least let us teach ours something we do know and even don't know but want them to learn. By this I also mean english. As you'll have regarded, mine is rather bad... However I do want my children to learn it and learn it with the utmost accuracy... I can't teach them properly, so I want them to learn it at school, so that they'll be better at it than me.

         I'm sick to death of being critizised for speaking my language in my land. And even be called narrow minded... ME, who always want to learn everything about eveywhere. NO COMMENTS! What about YOU, who don't learn anything at all about anywhere? Galician people speak galician with each other, but we switch to spanish when we talk to other people so, what on earth do you care what I speak with my people in the place where we live?!

         I really needed to get this off my chest, and a good old moan every now and then is very healthy!

Wonderwoman real story

            My great grandaunt Gumersinda died when I was 16 or so, nevertheless I've not forgotten her. For one thing she and her sister were the two people who brought me up as my father worked in Switzerland and my mother and grandparents were always too busy working at our farm and weren't able to look after me. Today I'm going to tell you her story.

           She was born in 1904 and was orphaned 6 years later, when her mother died after having birth a less able babygirl. So Gumersinda, who had just turned 6, was sent to the priest's house to work as a servant, where she was to stay until the priest died, around which time she was fortyish. In her twenties she had been about to marry a young man, but the damn priest didn't allow them! From that time onwards she wasn't to have any other relationships with any other men and, strange as it may seem, she remained working for that boss as if nothing had happened... Well, not so weird, actually, as she was really reliant on that job since she had no other place to live in. Furthemore she was the only person who cared after her disturbed sister Erundina as all their other siblings had emigrated to Argentina.

           During all those years she had been setting money aside in order to get built her own house, aim which she achieved. Both Gumersinda and Erundina moved into their humble dwell and soon afterwards, Gumersinda asked my grandparents (my grandmother was her niece) to come and live with them. She needed someone who looked after her sister while she was working and, in return, she would help them by sharing her home. Her propposal came out of the blue since they had had a relationship for roughly 15 years, but hadn't married because they were really poor and had neither a house to live in nor the money to get one built or to buy a piece of land where they could work. So they inmediately accepted.

          They went on being a poor family and everyone had to work. My grandfather emigrated to Switzerland where he worked for several years in the railways , my grandmother was a dressmaker, Erundina had 3 or 4 cows, one pig and several hens and rabbits, and Gumersinda had managed to become a great chef while working as a servant, which turned out to be really helpful every time the family had economical problems (too often). She used to work in places that were something like 20 km away and she went there on foot and alone! She left early in the morning and came back late at night... Amazing tireless brave woman!

         A few years later my great grandaunt found a new job. She was to be an important doctor's servant for several years. His wife was a teacher and, having seen Gumersinda couldn't read or write, she taught her for free. The first letter she was able to read made her cry, both with joy (she was truly reading a letter addressed to her for the first time in her whole life!) and sorrow, as she was told to return home as soon as possible because her sister was very ill.

        Take notice she had lost her mother being a very little girl, and from that very moment onwards she had to work really hard all her life. Despite her life was dreadfully difficult, she would always try to help everbody and care for everyone. Having never going to school, while working as a servant for rich people, she perfectly learnt how to look after herself so that no-one could ever cheat her, even being single and poor as she was.

        In a nutshell, working restless she managed to got her house built, paid her social security and her sister's, gave my grandparents a home, and brought up my mother, my brother and me. Was one of the first people in the hamlet who had electricity and running water, helped to dig her own well... By the way, thanks heavens we still have it, if not our farm would run out of water in summer. It never ever gets dry! Still useful and even essential so many years later!

        Last but not least, my parents built a bigger house as the family was growing and Gumersinda agreeded to convert her own old house (which had required so many efforts to be built) into a farm in order we could have many more cows. But she knew it was a great step forward, so... I usually wonder who else would have done that. I'll tell you: NO-ONE! It must have been sooooooo heartbreaking seeing her beloved house being smashed down...  This proves she was a wonderful woman, a real angel, don't you think so?
        

A new chapter in my life

        In the end, today I've been asked if I would like to work again for the bosses I have been looking forward to working for. I'm so happy! I'm feeling really lucky right now! But not everyone feels in the same way: in the mornig, while explaining my boyfriend the conditions I could see his disappointment... He is earnig nearly the double I'll earn, you know what I mean... Nervertheless it doesn't bother me at all! I'm pretty fed up with always trying to fulfil someone's else expectations about me. From now on I'll just try to be happy on my own way. Never mind what other people might think or expect. For goodness' sake, my life is mine!

         My boyfriend, my family and most of my friends are just aware that I'm not going to work as a vet... And none of them seem to realize or regard that that's EXACTLY what I most want! I'm very tired of being a vet, awfully cheesed off! They simply can't see or undestand my happyness and I can't help but wondering what they care more.

        I'm going to be paid 950 euros/month. It's certainly not too much, but it's the best job I can get right now and I'm willing to start as soon as possible.

Cuarterlife crisis

        

  I've just turned 30 and haven't yet reached none of those things I'm supposed to have... Neither a good job nor my own family. And to tell you the truth, they both still seem beyond my reach. Concernig the job; I'd been working for a few years for a vets' team where partnership didn't exist and there wasn't a good rapport. Even the bosses weren't on good terms with each other. They didn't teach me anything at all and little did they care whether I was feeling comfortable there or not. I was so fed up with the situation and with the work itself that I left it nearly one year ago, even before getting a new one, but I didn't care! I really needed a fresh start, and I don't just mean that job, but that kind of work. I'm looking forward to switching careers! Working as a vet can be very stressful many times. The problem is that I don't have the knowledge or the experience to do it.

          Then, in the summer, I came across an advertisement for a vet in a nearby village, so I applied, was choosen and worked there during the whole summer, while the other workers enjoyed their holidays. It seems that my new bosses liked me. :) So, to cut a long story short, as they're opening a new branch in a different town, they asked me to work again for them, but not as a vet, but as a shopper with wide knowlegde about drugs. Thus I'd be able to advise customers properly when they came to buy them. I inmediately loved the idea and accepted. Who knows, this may be my chance of shifting away from veterinary practise and towards a different area. I'm not ambitious at all, I just wish to live my life in a quiet way.

           The short supply of good jobs (or just normal jobs) nowadays is the main reason for my boyfriend and me not being to live together yet. He's thirtysomething, has worked as an engineer for almost five years, all of them away from home, and now when he's quite experienced and supposedly would be able to find the job of his dreams, all our plans have exploded with the outbreak of this bloody crisis. Our parents at our age were reasonably comfortably off, however we must face the fact that we'll probabily be poorer than them all our life. My biological clock doesn't stop whispering me: "the time to become a mum has come, has come, has come..." But the economical security hasn't arrived yet, so litttle can I do!