Watersnoodramp

My first real workday and what did I do, we went down on some serious business. How to save water after 'the industries' (they kept saying that don't really know yet what kind of industries they meant?!) used it and how we could recycle water. Of course this a funny project because the Dutch are never short on water! So I tried to let them name the project watersnoodramp but it didn't make it. Too bad :(

I did tell them that the last time I hold a bottle of NaCl was in Secondary School, but they have full faith in me, after some short practical rules they gave me a little pop quiz to test my theoretical knowledge about general chemistry (PH level, atoms, Acid reactions, ...) didn't even do that bad! So from today on I am a research assistant in a pollution lab. Sounds pretty cool, don't really know yet what this title means. My desk is now in the middle of the laboratory, if everything goes the way it is planned I will have a desk in an office next week. But for now this is my view.

Airshow

The nice thing from having a roof terrace apart from that it is easy to dry your laundry, plenty of space to sunbath and you can spy on the neighbors (if you like). You can follow a whole airshow in Barcelona, cause the planes just fly over our roof :)

Sant Llorenç del Munt i l'Obac

Since Saturday isn't really a day people do a lot here I decided that I wanted to go to a nature parc. According to my brochure I got from the international office it is 10 minutes by car. So I googled my route and it turned out that it is close to a 3 hour walk, and google maps was so kind to put this just above the route "Use caution – This route may be missing sidewalks or pedestrian paths."

Saturday morning I packed my bag, water, map, food, sunscream (tho the weather forecast predicted 19C and cloudy, ideal weather to go walking), phone and a sweater. As soon as I walked out of the building I knew the sweater was not going to be used today, so after a quick stop at the bakery I was on my way...


Google Maps couldn't be more right about the pedestrian paths, after 10 minutes I saw the sign 'you are leaving Terrassa'. On the road I had been walking I had noticed loads of cyclist cycling down the road (I had been walking up in a straight line and according to my route that is what I was going to be doing for the next 2 hours). Since I didn't know any other route, and if I would change my route it would probably double my traveling time. I decided to walk next to the road to see if something like a pedestrian path would show up. After an hour of walking next to the road. I saw the first hill which had a dark and steep forest on the side I was approaching it. After a little bit of climbing (my Converse never let me down) I reached one of the sand paths, and there was absolutely no-one :)

Quite peaceful but since the temperature had raised to about 24C and it wasn't even noon yet I wasn't planning on doing any more climbing and just walked around. After 15 minutes I walked into someone who was walking his horse (yes you read that right, the man had his horse on a 'leash' and was walking her). He tried to have a little small talk, but since I don't speak Catalan it turned out more to be a pointing and guessing words conversation about the area.

The only problem of going somewhere by foot, you also have to go back. Luckily this part would be all downhill. And it took me only an hour, just in time for some late siesta.

Ryanair

I tried to book a flight from Girona to Eindhoven, all of the sudden I got a flight to Brussels? So now I fly to Holland for Christmas via Brussels and ow yes a day earlier then I putted in the online booking. The only weird thing is that this flight could not be selected on the website? Very weird.
And I almost forgot I checked around 21h for flights, and I booked at 23h and they were about €10 more expensive! How ridiculous?!

Brabants Kwartiertje

Friday 11.00u UPC The Institute of Textile Research and Industrial Cooperation. I was there in time, luckily I already understand that 11.00h means 'somewhere around that time'. It took them 10 minutes to pick me up, and another 30 minutes to come to the appointment (luckily I did bring my book)

After I was picked up by the PhD student I am going to work with (she didn't know herself that she was PhD, just that she did a master and was doing some extra research). I got more then a dozen research papers to read before I start on Monday, luckily they selected only the English ones. After my little introduction I went to the international office to get some more information about language classes. To bad there was only one person there (Friday is not a real workday according to a lot of office people) and that person spoke Catalan and English with a Catalan accent.

I got a welcome bag and in that I found these things, which I found kind of funny

Sorry I haven't bough at new cable for my camera yet so you have to do it with my Photo booth pictures!

After the visit at international office I wanted to rent a bike, since it was only 13.00h and I had no other appoinments for the day. The city lends you bike for free, has something to do with subsides project of ministry of Energy. They only problem was that my passport picture didn't resemble me, and my accent wasn't Dutch. So I was either Scandinavian (probably the pale skin) or I was English. But not Dutch? Hello I want to rent a bike, of course I am Dutch?! They believed me in the end, and I can come lent a bike next week.

In 5 minutes it is siesta time, that means to whole country comes to a stand still and no one can do any labor anymore. So that is a good time to do some grocery shopping since no one does any shopping at that time.

Mara de Déu de la Merce

Barcelona is easy accessible by public transport, that said you should first find the station in Terrassa! After a short search through the city the station turned out to be under the ground (not very easy to spot.)

But it was worth the 30 minutes search for the station, Steve and I took some picknick stuff and the moment we stepped outside the metro we found a good spot to have our lunch. 24 of September is a holiday in Barcelona, they celebrate Mara de Déu de la Merce. That means people party, get entertained, fireworks, get a day of work, faires all over the city and all shops are closed. And to top all this the weather was great, in the afternoon some clouds but apart from that sunny :)

As Steve and I are bad tourist (we just walk around until we recognize something from the travel guide) we had lunch and wandered around La Rambla, the most touristy street of Barcelona. We saw a small exposition about Giant Dolls, no idea why they were there and what the story behind them was. Later that day we saw in the news that the were specially shipped here for this holiday. Still doesn't really explain what giants have to do with the day a city celebrate the life of their patron saint.

After sitting at the harbor for a bit looking at expensive yachts, we wanted to go up to Montjüic, the best way to get up there is by cable car! The only 'problem' was that to get to the cable cars we had to walk around the whole harbor and since we already walked around for quite a lot we decided to that next time and catch a metro to the Olympic village.

Who ever want to come to Barcelona, please do not go see the Olympic village! There is nothing there, the only reason you might want to go down there is because there is quite a nice boulevard which has a nice view over the sea (and according to my travel guide, they also have nice fish restaurants....but since it was only late in the afternoon it was a bit to early to find out if the authors were right)

To end the day in Barcelona we walked through the old part of the city over some really nice squares. And then we headed back to Terrassa, walked some more, did some grocery shopping, cooked some food, and then my second favorit part of the day: went to sleep!

Rain in Spain

We've arrived safely in Spain, but I don't really have time to post regularly yet because I have to sort out some work related stuff, meet my flatmates, getting organized with all my stuff and not the least important: see something of the country!

I do have to tell you a few things which I've noticed the 2 days I have been here now.
1. People in Terrassa love, love their banks. For every supermarket, H&M (yes ladies we have one here too), phone shop, etc there are 2 banks?! I haven't found out why people need all those banks. Most people who live around this area of town are students (and old people who dye their hair the wrong color), so maybe students get paid more here, or they haven't invented the bankcard yet?

2. So far the only thing I think I forgot is my camera cable, I think that is quite an achievement. Tomorrow I am going to Barcelona and will see if I can find a cable for my camera and find a nice Spanish prepaid phone.

3. Although one of my travel books said that it will never rain in Barcelona area for more then 5 days in a row, tomorrow will be day 4 of rain so I think we can 'celebrate' that we are going to break this record!!

4. I just found out that 2 Dutch students (same University) do their internships here too, and they are my neighbours. Why didn't anyone tell me this? And the best part was that my Portuguese flatmate introduced them as 'German'.

That is it for now, hasta luego.

Welcome love handles

Saying goodbye to people is going to make me: fat.
















Thank you colleagues! A basket full of chocolate things, you people know me so well :)
















And the same day I got yet another great basket full of food! (more chocolate!) Thank you grandpa en grandma.

Bye bye IKEA Breda Welcome IKEA Barcelona

Since I am going to Spain next weekend and stay there for about 5 months some people have been asking me to keep them updated about my (so far not very interesting) life. So I promise you if I have time after my busy work schedule, me moving to Terrassa and after all the tourist things I want to do...then I will keep you updated on this blog.

Tomorrow is my last day at work for IKEA, who would have thought? After 5 and a half years of selling absolutely everything then can be bought at IKEA I am going to have a break from them. But luckily there are 2 IKEA's in a 50 kilometer range from my house!

So not a lot to tell you right now, I hope all of this will be slightly interesting. Don't be to jealous of me going to a place that hasn't seen the temperature drop below 13C for more then a decade. I will think of you when it is raining in Spain (I promis).