When I was in South America I didn't feel like I was missing things, or like I wanted to buy stuff all the time. The only things I longed for sometimes where a room for myself, a better command of the Spanish language (ok, this I wished for every day), and maybe a nicer shower.
Back in Holland however, this has changed. Straight away I started noticing that everyone owns só many things. The iPhone for instance, is so normal here that I have friends that wouldn't want to be seen with it, it's nothing special anymore. People have iPods, laptops, big plasma tv's, expensive shoes, jackets, bags, houses, cars, etc etc. You have to be strong not to get tempted. Well, big surprise, I am not that strong.
Things I never knew I needed but now desperately want to own:
- Philips wake-up light
- coloured contact lenses
- Mac desktop computer
- expensive moisturizer
- about 15 pairs of stockings/leggings
- anything else they will give me in exchange for money
I might not be strong enough not to get tempted, so far I have managed to stop myself from actually buying things. But I wonder how much longer I will last.....!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Why I bought a one-way ticket to the Netherlands
Yes you are reading this correctly, I bought a ticket Barcelona-Amsterdam, for this Thursday. After all my talk about not wanting to go back and live in Holland it appears that that is exactly what I am going to do.
Two weeks in Barcelona was long enough to make it clear to me that instead of getting excited, I was just feeling…lethargic. I am not blaming the city, I think I have just been away for long enough to finally appreciate that Holland isn’t all that bad. And that my Dutch friends are precious to me and I am really longing to see them and spend time together or at least talk on the phone for less than a euro per minute.
In a previous post I mentioned that I was feeling ready for a career. Well, I still sometimes think I am, and in this respect Holland is a much better bet than Spain as well.
But after about 6 days of weighing the pros and cons, it still really just comes down to a feeling, the feeling of wanting to go home no matter what the arguments. Part of me feels like I am taking the easy way out, giving up, etc etc, but when I think about it objectively I don’t agree. In fact, I am quite scared of going back to Holland because I know it will be hard!
I just wanted to say thanks to everyone that has already expressed their happiness over my return and the offers of places to stay, airport pickups, meals…it feels great! Donations of winter clothes are very welcome too by the way, and if you have an extra bike, let me know!
And also many thanks to my old and new friends here in Spain, you have helped me a lot and it was great catching up with you!
Two weeks in Barcelona was long enough to make it clear to me that instead of getting excited, I was just feeling…lethargic. I am not blaming the city, I think I have just been away for long enough to finally appreciate that Holland isn’t all that bad. And that my Dutch friends are precious to me and I am really longing to see them and spend time together or at least talk on the phone for less than a euro per minute.
In a previous post I mentioned that I was feeling ready for a career. Well, I still sometimes think I am, and in this respect Holland is a much better bet than Spain as well.
But after about 6 days of weighing the pros and cons, it still really just comes down to a feeling, the feeling of wanting to go home no matter what the arguments. Part of me feels like I am taking the easy way out, giving up, etc etc, but when I think about it objectively I don’t agree. In fact, I am quite scared of going back to Holland because I know it will be hard!
I just wanted to say thanks to everyone that has already expressed their happiness over my return and the offers of places to stay, airport pickups, meals…it feels great! Donations of winter clothes are very welcome too by the way, and if you have an extra bike, let me know!
And also many thanks to my old and new friends here in Spain, you have helped me a lot and it was great catching up with you!
Sunday, February 1, 2009
It's all about the money...or is it?
Happy as I was to say goodbye to hostel-life, the real world isn’t all they make it out to be. Sure, I’ve got my own room now and I am not woken up anymore by people leaving early in the morning, and also, I don’t have to be quiet anymore when I get home or get up.
On the other hand though, I am suddenly not meeting new people anymore, and instead of noisy roommates I now have noisy neighbours: a baby, mother and grandmother that love speaking to each other VERY LOUDLY on one side, a couple with child that love to ARGUE AND CRY VERY LOUDLY on the floor above, and on the floor below there’s an old man that loves to listen to his radio at 5 in the morning, but only in summer. Lucky me that it’s winter. In short, I am not so sure yet how I feel about my new life.
These mixed feelings have also been brought on by the fact that I am suddenly stuck in a European winter, with nothing to do but look for jobs that do not interest me in the slightest. You could get depressed from less I think.
Spain has been hit hard by the financial crisis, with an increase in unemployment of around 7% (compared to 4% in the Netherlands). In fact, Spain is the country in Europe that is suffering the most, and the Netherlands the least. So a request for my friends back home: please stop telling me that the situation is not good in the Netherlands, it’s all relative and you don’t realize how lucky and rich you are!
Available jobs for foreigners in Barcelona who aren’t bilingual Spanish/Catalan (and which foreigner is) can be divided in two categories: teaching English and call centers/customer service centers. As you might recall from my last post, I’ve already ruled out teaching English. Leaves me with the call centers. And to make matters worse, you probably pay your cleaning lady quite a bit more than what I would earn in a call center.
Understandably, I spent the past week checking out flight prices to Eindhoven or Dusseldorf on ryanair.com and trying to picture myself back in the Netherlands. Only reason I am still in Barcelona is because I have already paid a full month’s rent, which stops me from giving in to my urge to run back to the land of family, friends, extremely well-paid jobs and last but definitely not least: hot, high pressure showers.
It’s also easy to fantasize about all the things I could do with the money I would (probably) earn and save so quickly back home. Like go on a new trip, or just go on a little weekend trip every month. It would also be so easy to deal with everything in my own language again, and to know exactly where to go and who to talk to, no matter what you need. Or, heaven forbid, maybe I could finally find a job that is actually challenging and rewarding. Imagine that!
To be honest, it’s not just the already paid rent that is keeping me here. Although staying here would clearly not be good for neither my bank account nor my career, I started thinking about the things that I find difficult here and how they would be better in back home. And the answer is that they probably wouldn’t be. Because one thing I dislike after spending so much time in countries with lots of sunlight is the cold, dark and grey weather, but this will only be much worse in the Netherlands. A few days ago it was actually sunny and 19 degrees here, so I shouldn’t even say anything about the winter in Barcelona.
Another thing that’s different from Sydney or South America is the openness of the people here. But it takes about 6 months to make a new Dutch friend! (In the Netherlands, abroad it’s a different matter.) And I don’t know if I am ready for people using their diary to plan going for a coffee, let alone constantly having to listen to others and myself complaining about how tired and busy we are…
That’s why I have decided to give it another chance. But man, writing a motivation letters for jobs that have about 0 aspects that you like is really, really hard! So don’t be surprised if my next post is written at the airport after all….
Or, if someone has a car and some spare time, you can come pick me up if you like! A little road trip through Europe, wow, I think I am onto something here!
On the other hand though, I am suddenly not meeting new people anymore, and instead of noisy roommates I now have noisy neighbours: a baby, mother and grandmother that love speaking to each other VERY LOUDLY on one side, a couple with child that love to ARGUE AND CRY VERY LOUDLY on the floor above, and on the floor below there’s an old man that loves to listen to his radio at 5 in the morning, but only in summer. Lucky me that it’s winter. In short, I am not so sure yet how I feel about my new life.
These mixed feelings have also been brought on by the fact that I am suddenly stuck in a European winter, with nothing to do but look for jobs that do not interest me in the slightest. You could get depressed from less I think.
Spain has been hit hard by the financial crisis, with an increase in unemployment of around 7% (compared to 4% in the Netherlands). In fact, Spain is the country in Europe that is suffering the most, and the Netherlands the least. So a request for my friends back home: please stop telling me that the situation is not good in the Netherlands, it’s all relative and you don’t realize how lucky and rich you are!
Available jobs for foreigners in Barcelona who aren’t bilingual Spanish/Catalan (and which foreigner is) can be divided in two categories: teaching English and call centers/customer service centers. As you might recall from my last post, I’ve already ruled out teaching English. Leaves me with the call centers. And to make matters worse, you probably pay your cleaning lady quite a bit more than what I would earn in a call center.
Understandably, I spent the past week checking out flight prices to Eindhoven or Dusseldorf on ryanair.com and trying to picture myself back in the Netherlands. Only reason I am still in Barcelona is because I have already paid a full month’s rent, which stops me from giving in to my urge to run back to the land of family, friends, extremely well-paid jobs and last but definitely not least: hot, high pressure showers.
It’s also easy to fantasize about all the things I could do with the money I would (probably) earn and save so quickly back home. Like go on a new trip, or just go on a little weekend trip every month. It would also be so easy to deal with everything in my own language again, and to know exactly where to go and who to talk to, no matter what you need. Or, heaven forbid, maybe I could finally find a job that is actually challenging and rewarding. Imagine that!
To be honest, it’s not just the already paid rent that is keeping me here. Although staying here would clearly not be good for neither my bank account nor my career, I started thinking about the things that I find difficult here and how they would be better in back home. And the answer is that they probably wouldn’t be. Because one thing I dislike after spending so much time in countries with lots of sunlight is the cold, dark and grey weather, but this will only be much worse in the Netherlands. A few days ago it was actually sunny and 19 degrees here, so I shouldn’t even say anything about the winter in Barcelona.
Another thing that’s different from Sydney or South America is the openness of the people here. But it takes about 6 months to make a new Dutch friend! (In the Netherlands, abroad it’s a different matter.) And I don’t know if I am ready for people using their diary to plan going for a coffee, let alone constantly having to listen to others and myself complaining about how tired and busy we are…
That’s why I have decided to give it another chance. But man, writing a motivation letters for jobs that have about 0 aspects that you like is really, really hard! So don’t be surprised if my next post is written at the airport after all….
Or, if someone has a car and some spare time, you can come pick me up if you like! A little road trip through Europe, wow, I think I am onto something here!
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