Lately, when talking to people here in NL, the image of a hamster frantically running around in it's treadmill has been popping up in my mind a lot. Together with the term rat race. Because I actually didn't know the exact definition of a rat race, I decided to look it up in Wikipedia:
A rat race is a term used for an endless, self-defeating or pointless pursuit. It conjures up the image of the futile efforts of a lab rat trying to escape whilst running around a maze or in a wheel. In an analogy to the modern city, many rats in a single maze run around making a lot of noise bumping into each other, but ultimately achieve nothing (meaningful) either collectively or individually.
And this quote:
The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat
I really don't want to offend any of my friends by saying I think they are engaging in something endless, pointless and self-defeating, nor do I want to suggest that I myself have never fallen prey to rat race-like behaviour. In fact, I don't think there is anything wrong with joining the rat race at all, as long as you are enjoying it. And this is where (in my eyes) things go wrong. I think a lot of people got sucked into it and now feel like they are stuck, and like they would have to give up on too much (i.e. money, status, security) if they would step out of it.
From what I've read, hamsters do enjoy running around in their treadmill, so I guess I am trying to say that I think we should be more like hamsters, less like rats. At least, I hope I will be.
In the meantime I am still job-hunting. I have such a great feeling for timing, coming back to look for work just as the crisis starts to take effect! One thing I've decided though, is that I'd much rather work in a nice little café (like my sweet Creme Anglaise in Woollahra), than in some sort of boring office job where I still don't have to use my brain (although figuring out some coffee machines can be quite tough). But of course ideally I'd like a well-paid, interesting and challenging job, with funny and friendly colleagues, you know, the ones that are the hamster kind.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
To consume is to exist....
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.....!
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.....!
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!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Children, anyone?
Coincidentally, both Sara and one of her friends wrote a post about children while I was thinking about this children-related post for my blog. There must be something in the air.
Those of you that know a bit more about what I did in Sydney last year know that children are still not my idea of fun. Even when I get paid for it I can only just tolerate them. Don’t get me wrong, I like some children. The ones that are related to me for example, but only if they are smart and well behaved. And they need to like me too. I also like the ones that like to read, as in, like to sit in a corner with a book and stay there quietly for an hour. And it helps if the parents are around to take them back when they start annoying me, or if I am allowed to bribe them with chocolate or tv. To cut a long story short: working with children definitely doesn’t belong on the ‘things I like’ list.
My life here in Barcelona seemed to go pretty smoothly. In the week since my arrival I arranged a room, a job interview that actually led to a job, my work permit and social security number. Not bad, especially considering everyone was telling me it would be very difficult to find a job. I got a job as an English teacher at a small language school. Yesterday was my first day and you can imagine my joy when it turned out I had to spend 90 minutes trying to teach three 5-year-olds some English. This was when I remembered that I DO NOT like kids. And also, that I do not like teaching! (Duh, might that be why you didn’t pursue your career as a trainer even though you spent a year of your life getting a masters degree in that area??)
So today I did something that I am not proud of. Even though my other classes wouldn’t be with children, even thinking about going to work made me feel stressed and unhappy. And trust me, this is not because I just generally don’t want to work, because I really do. Today I was supposed to assist another teacher so I could get to know the students and take over next week. But on my way to the school all I could think was ‘I don’t want to go, I don’t want to go I don’t want to go’. So, I just didn’t go.
Hey, aren’t we always bombarded with magazine articles that tell you to listen to your feelings? Well, that’s what I did. I got off the metro, walked around to the other platform and took the next metro back. I am not proud of what I did but I feel so happy and relieved about not having to do that job! I have no idea what I am going to do now, but I am sure good ideas will come to me soon.
So now I am in Barcelona with no clue about why I am here. Barcelona was on my list of cities-I’d-like-to-live-in, so I guess that’s why . But I’d better come up with some more reasons soon! I just can’t help but compare everywhere I go with Sydney, and Sydney always wins. I know that that’s the place I really want to be, but I just don’t really see how I can make it happen. If anyone has any good ideas, please let me know. If you are male and Australian I consider a marriage proposal a good idea too.
For now I will stay here in Barcelona, watching Italian movies dubbed in Catalan. Joy!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Dissolving bodies in acid chemicals
I am back in Europe (Spain) and my everyday life here gives me loads of ideas for posts. So why haven´t I written anything since Chile? I don´t really know, but I think it might have something to do with not having my own space. Hostel computer areas are not suitable for thinking, let alone writing. Plus I feel guilty spending time writing blogs because I feel I should be looking for jobs instead.
But good news, I am moving into an apartment tonight! The bad news is that my laptop has a virus or something, so I will have to go to internet cafés until I get it fixed. If you know a computer genius in Barcelona please let me know!
For now, instead of writing about Barcelona, I want to share some fairly bizar news with you. This is the link to an article I found on the Dutch news website www.nu.nl:
http://www.nu.nl/algemeen/1905075/stoofpottenmaker-bekent-oplossen-300-lijken.html
If you can´t read Dutch (idiot!), it´s about a Mexican guy in Tijuana that gets paid 460 euro a week to get rid of people that are murdered by drug lords. Ok, nothing special you may think. But he does this by letting the bodies soak in acid chemicals until they are completely dissolved. Kind of smart come to think of it.
Mr. ´Pozolero´ (after a local cooking tradition that uses stewing pots, or pozoles) thinks he dissolved around 300 people this way. Give or take.
When I was travelling by bus from Santiago to Mendoza at the start of my trip I actually saw a movie in which a serial killer did something similar. It makes me wonder whether film makers get their ideas from the real world, or whether real world criminals get their ideas from films. Either way, someone in this world is sick enough to come up with it first.
I´m telling you, watch out for people that got straight A´s in chemistry......
But good news, I am moving into an apartment tonight! The bad news is that my laptop has a virus or something, so I will have to go to internet cafés until I get it fixed. If you know a computer genius in Barcelona please let me know!
For now, instead of writing about Barcelona, I want to share some fairly bizar news with you. This is the link to an article I found on the Dutch news website www.nu.nl:
http://www.nu.nl/algemeen/1905075/stoofpottenmaker-bekent-oplossen-300-lijken.html
If you can´t read Dutch (idiot!), it´s about a Mexican guy in Tijuana that gets paid 460 euro a week to get rid of people that are murdered by drug lords. Ok, nothing special you may think. But he does this by letting the bodies soak in acid chemicals until they are completely dissolved. Kind of smart come to think of it.
Mr. ´Pozolero´ (after a local cooking tradition that uses stewing pots, or pozoles) thinks he dissolved around 300 people this way. Give or take.
When I was travelling by bus from Santiago to Mendoza at the start of my trip I actually saw a movie in which a serial killer did something similar. It makes me wonder whether film makers get their ideas from the real world, or whether real world criminals get their ideas from films. Either way, someone in this world is sick enough to come up with it first.
I´m telling you, watch out for people that got straight A´s in chemistry......
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