October was fantastic, and so has November been so far.
I had the one of the best weeks of my life in Gibraltar with my boyfriend, for my 21st birthday. We were actually staying in La Linea, Spain, but we went to Gibraltar almost every day, and did a lot every day, many of which was new and fulfilling.
Firstly, the monkeys! They were so much fun. I’ve never seen wild monkeys before, and these ones are incredible. They’re great to watch, especially when they’re playing with each other, and stealing people’s food.
Another good thing about Gibraltar is how cheap the alcohol is. We bought quite a few bottles of William Wallace whiskey, which was only £1.98 a liter, and tasted very nice. This is an extreme though – most were quite a bit more than that. So, it was new and fulfilling to find that!
On my birthday, I had the best meal. It was an oriental buffet, where you took plates of raw food to be cooked in your choice of salsa. Then there was also cooked food, sushi, fruits and ice cream. It was the best buffet I’ve ever been to. Plus, at the end, they gave us a scroll type calendar for next year with a Chinese design on it, but all the months and days of the week are in Spanish, making it very unique looking!
I haven’t yet mentioned the best part of the trip: going to Morocco! It was fantastic! We took a tour, which seemed very cheap for all it included – ferry from Algeciras to Ceuta (the part of Spain which is in Africa), a coach trip all around Morocco, a guide through the towns and lunch at a traditional restaurant.
It was so unique and incredible. We walked through a maze of market filled streets in Tetouan, at parts being accosted by street sellers. I discovered I enjoy bartering. I bought some sort of bongos for my brothers birthday present, and my boyfriend bought a leather wallet that smelled very bad for a long time. We were shown around a house used for selling carpets, with a shop in the basement, where they tried had to make us buy things.
After a huge lunch – where they even provided me with vegetarian food – we drove to Tanger, a very different, much more modern city. We were told not to buy things from the street sellers, which included a very insistent man with whom we enjoyed a conversation, half in English half in Spanish, with a man selling ‘Rolexs’, trying to convince him Fernando was indeed Mexican, even if he wasn’t ‘chocolate’ colored.
Here, we went to very large shop. It was the day Obama had been voted president, and a guy told me I could have a huge discount for being American. They’ll try anything to make you buy things! But, I have to admit, I met some very nice and interesting people that day.
Coming home again was going to be very sad. I wish I was back there. However, the journey back went very differently to expected! Getting through customs was horrible – I did know if we would make it.
Fernando got held for an hour and a half, for which time I was told very little of what was happening. I had to keep making internal phonecalls, at different times, being sent to different departments. By the time I did get through, I found out they were disputing his visa, as I had expected, as his divorce is going through in four weeks now. On the phone, they told me he would have to bring his wife with him the next day, to see if there was still a relationship there, which would be a problem as she lives miles away, and also can not lie.
He’s very good in these situations, and ended up just managing to get them to call her the next day, when he had her number. They held his passport, and we were convinced he was going to be given a month before he had to leave. It was certain we’d be going to Mexico before Christmas, but we half didn’t mind.
We talked it over, planned it that night, and I had training for a new job with a very nice lady with MS the next morning. I waited anxiously for him to get back from the interview.
He called me to say it had been different people that day. They had been happy with the fact he was getting divorced (a fact we had concealed close to unsuccessfully the day before) and that she was still living in England (as a Hungarian). Now, we don’t know how long he has, but are busy planning for Mexico next year, followed by studying, for both of us, in America, but all the details still need to be sorted out. In fact, we both felt a bit empty when we found out he wasn’t getting kicked out.
The new job the next day was very challenging, but went very well, as the lady I was caring for agreed. I was supposed to be doing all weekend, but she found someone more qualified, who may be able to help her walk again. This is very unfortunate for me. Later this week, she called me up and said she thinks I’m too young. She’s worried I won’t stay long enough, too, which is true, but I have no idea how she knew that. So, I’m still jobless, which is really not nice. I didn’t think the credit crunch would affect care work.
Let’s hope I start working for real in November to finish of two, so far, very fulfilling months.
