Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Changes

My blog posting will be erratic for the next few weeks. It's that time of year again where auxiliaries are saying goodbye to friends, tears are shed, and people move on with their lives. Some will stay because they've fallen in love with small-town Jaén. Some have received new placements in bigger cities. Some will go home.
  The common denominator is that we came together and shared our tears, fears, and laughs. We created memories that we will look back upon fondly. Every experience we've had, good or bad, can't actually be classified as good or bad - they're just life experiences.
  I'll be heading to Canada soon, to say hello to friends and family, as it's been a long time. I've got a month to catch up with everyone. Once I've had a good rest, I'll post on here again and let readers know what's up.

Friday, May 6, 2016

Another Move

Number of times I've moved, starting with moving from Canada to Spain in 2013:  Four

Number of items for Move #1:  1 large suitcase, 1 backpack, 1 cat 
Number of items for Move #2:  1 cat, 6 boxes
Number of items for Move #3:  1 cat, 8 boxes
Number of items for Move #4:  1 cat, 12 boxes, 3 angry friends 

Yes, I've moved house again. The fiasco with my former roommate and his candles, amongst other things, didn't help my living situation. Luckily the move was only a short walk away. To compensate for my friends' hard work, I treated them all to Chinese takeout and fabulous sweet wine from Jerez de la Frontera.
  Now for the hard part: unpacking umpteen boxes. I would love to say that living in Andalucía and making less money than I did in Canada has taught me to make do with less and still enjoy life. The last part is true, but the former definitely is not, as evidenced by the guest room filled with stuff. I really don't understand where everything came from. Meanwhile, my new roommate has graciously moved aside his six items in the bathroom (can you tell he's male?), leaving me to figure out where to store an entire box of beauty products when there's only two small square shelves.
  The worst has been finding things that I haven't touched since I bought them years ago: a camera tripod, which I said I'd use to work on my photography hobby; an expensive acoustic guitar, a gift that is used more by visitors than by me; unfinished books; discarded makeup. The list is never-ending. Time to reach for that garbage bin and make space.