Apologies for the lack of blog of late, but things have been a little hectic. The uni is uber-organised, so classes are actually going reasonably well. There's only been one that sucked my soul out and necessitated a hot chocolate after so I could function well enough to get home, so that's not too bad. I need to find something to replace it but at the present time I have Mondays and Tuesdays off, so I'd rather not suddenly get something (mainly because I'm planning a few weekends away, and travelling on Tuesday is so much cheaper...)
Claire (flatmate who is also from Lancaster, for those of you who haven't been updated), arrived with her Mum, and we did a lot of food shopping and sight-seeing. On Saturday we went to Anzere (a ski resort in the mountains) and I stayed until yesterday. It was absolutely stunning, the mountains are like nothing I've ever seen before. I tried to take pictures but they really don't do them justice at all (but still, have a look!). Before you ask, no I didn't ski. I would like to return to the motherland with all my limbs if you don't mind. I can do without a trip to hospital.
Anyhow, I'm just waiting for my next lecture. I might geek-out and do my translation work for tomorrow's class (which I may or may not be allowed to take, as I'm still waiting for Lancaster to say yay or nay as it's a Master's course and so I apparently won't pass the exam, but the nice tutor said I could take it and he'd write a report for Lancs and they can decide at the end what grade I should get. Glad to see nothing changes on the emailing front.) One thing is certain, this is a heck of a lot easier than Bilbao was!
P.S. Flat Ted and Millie also having a great time.
Wednesday, 29 February 2012
Thursday, 16 February 2012
Je suis à Genève!
Bonjour bloggeurs!
Well I have arrived after a remarkably stress-free journey (which involved 2 buses, a train and a plane). First win of the day was being bang on 20kg according to Difficult Jet's scales (I'm sure they add a few kg just to charge you more).
The journey was pretty unremarkable, but it was fine, can't complain. My amazing landlady met me at the airport and took me to my flat, which not only sings and dances but pretty much turns somersaults as well. I didn't do much before collapsing into bed (which has pillows so fluffy I kept falling off them in the night!) with Millie, my marvelous hot water bottle, and Flat Ted, who is happy to be on the move again.
This morning I slept in a bit, then drank a fair amount of tea while googling where the tourist info is. I'm technically living in Ornyx, but practically speaking I'm in Ferney-Voltaire, which is on the French side of the border. Anyway, I found the tourist info, asked the nice lady how to get to Geneva etc, then faffed about for a million years getting change for the bus as the machine doesn't take notes. I finally made it to the bit of Geneva I was supposed to be at, then I got slightly lost trying to find the transport office, which was right under my nose, en fait. I got my 'carte de base' (which is a free thing you need in order to buy monthly travel tickets), and got the bus back before my good luck ran out!
On the way back I saw the UN building (I had wondered where it was on the way there and we stopped somewhere called 'Nations', must have had my eyes closed because it's huge). I called at Carrefour on the way home, didn't even need my directions to wander back to my flat and make spag bol.
All I can say is, I now remember why I love the Francophonie. The people are very pleasant and I've not spoken English all day, even though I know for a fact that the tourist info lady and the bloke who gave me my travel card both spoke English. People say hello when you pass them in the street. They don't look at you funny because you're a foreigner. Things couldn't be more different than when I went to Bilbao, and although I appreciate that having done it once it's a heck of a lot easier to do it a second time, things are different. As long as the uni doesn't annoy me too much over the next weeks, I might never leave!
Thanks for the love blogeurs, now who wants to come visit? I CAN SEE THE MONT BLANC!!!!
Well I have arrived after a remarkably stress-free journey (which involved 2 buses, a train and a plane). First win of the day was being bang on 20kg according to Difficult Jet's scales (I'm sure they add a few kg just to charge you more).
The journey was pretty unremarkable, but it was fine, can't complain. My amazing landlady met me at the airport and took me to my flat, which not only sings and dances but pretty much turns somersaults as well. I didn't do much before collapsing into bed (which has pillows so fluffy I kept falling off them in the night!) with Millie, my marvelous hot water bottle, and Flat Ted, who is happy to be on the move again.
 |
| Just to prove I was on a plane... |
This morning I slept in a bit, then drank a fair amount of tea while googling where the tourist info is. I'm technically living in Ornyx, but practically speaking I'm in Ferney-Voltaire, which is on the French side of the border. Anyway, I found the tourist info, asked the nice lady how to get to Geneva etc, then faffed about for a million years getting change for the bus as the machine doesn't take notes. I finally made it to the bit of Geneva I was supposed to be at, then I got slightly lost trying to find the transport office, which was right under my nose, en fait. I got my 'carte de base' (which is a free thing you need in order to buy monthly travel tickets), and got the bus back before my good luck ran out!
On the way back I saw the UN building (I had wondered where it was on the way there and we stopped somewhere called 'Nations', must have had my eyes closed because it's huge). I called at Carrefour on the way home, didn't even need my directions to wander back to my flat and make spag bol.
All I can say is, I now remember why I love the Francophonie. The people are very pleasant and I've not spoken English all day, even though I know for a fact that the tourist info lady and the bloke who gave me my travel card both spoke English. People say hello when you pass them in the street. They don't look at you funny because you're a foreigner. Things couldn't be more different than when I went to Bilbao, and although I appreciate that having done it once it's a heck of a lot easier to do it a second time, things are different. As long as the uni doesn't annoy me too much over the next weeks, I might never leave!
Thanks for the love blogeurs, now who wants to come visit? I CAN SEE THE MONT BLANC!!!!
Sunday, 12 February 2012
Reflections on being home.
I am such a bad blogger when I have nothing to moan about! Sorry for the lack of blogging but I've barely stood still since I got back. I won't bore you with all the details, but I've managed to visit all the family members I needed to, and seen my new baby niece (nawwwww!)
Anyhow, this blog post is something I've wanted to write for a long time, but I needed to wait till I'd been back in England for a while before I could write it. I went to Lancaster first (which is becoming something of a tradition but it's just been more practical that way) which was lovely. Seeing everyone was great, and although it fits like an old glove it really does serve to highlight the hundreds of miles of difference between old me and new me. And the fact that I haven't got a clue about the pain in the backside that final year appears to be, and therefore I'm very little use when people are going through tough times, though I can still brew a decent cup of tea (Lucy 1-0 Spain). Has to be said, I really don't want to do final year if that is what it looks like. But hopefully my year doing something different will be good because I've had some distance from the Lancaster bubble.
Home home (that is, York home) is less weird, because I've been coming and going from York for two years already, so it's just like normal. The only thing I have noticed is that my accent is back, partly because I am tired as anything and partly because I've had to attempt a daft accent for 5 months, the time to be myself is now, before I go back to being an Erasmus tourist.
And, for those of you who were wondering, I did have a very lovely Christmas/Birthday at home home too (several in fact, due to wonderful parents and wonderful friends!)
I move to Geneva on Wednesday, so no doubt there'll be more interesting bits to read then.
Till the next time :) x
Anyhow, this blog post is something I've wanted to write for a long time, but I needed to wait till I'd been back in England for a while before I could write it. I went to Lancaster first (which is becoming something of a tradition but it's just been more practical that way) which was lovely. Seeing everyone was great, and although it fits like an old glove it really does serve to highlight the hundreds of miles of difference between old me and new me. And the fact that I haven't got a clue about the pain in the backside that final year appears to be, and therefore I'm very little use when people are going through tough times, though I can still brew a decent cup of tea (Lucy 1-0 Spain). Has to be said, I really don't want to do final year if that is what it looks like. But hopefully my year doing something different will be good because I've had some distance from the Lancaster bubble.
Home home (that is, York home) is less weird, because I've been coming and going from York for two years already, so it's just like normal. The only thing I have noticed is that my accent is back, partly because I am tired as anything and partly because I've had to attempt a daft accent for 5 months, the time to be myself is now, before I go back to being an Erasmus tourist.
And, for those of you who were wondering, I did have a very lovely Christmas/Birthday at home home too (several in fact, due to wonderful parents and wonderful friends!)
I move to Geneva on Wednesday, so no doubt there'll be more interesting bits to read then.
Till the next time :) x
Monday, 23 January 2012
Saying 'agur'
Hello Followers! (as I've now left Spain, I can't call you blogueros anymore and as I've not hit Switzerland yet I can't say 'blogeurs' yet, so live with being called a sensible name for a few weeks)
Well yes, the end happened. The last few weeks in Bilbao got a bit mad, hence the lack of blogging, but I had one last exam (which wasn't all that fun, but this time last year there'd have been no way I could even attempt to write three essays in Spanish on Medieval Literature in an hour and a half. So even if I fail that exam, it's still a victory). The rest of the time was spent meeting up with people, and showing Kate around (as we had about a week's cross-over between her coming out to Bilbao and me leaving). Pintxos (Basque tapas) happened, as did Txacoli (Basque white wine), and chocolate con churros. I feel like I spent a week eating!
So I said 'agur' for the last time while leaving the Chinese shop that had practically set me up for the semester with mugs and teapots and such, and rammed as much into my hand luggage as possible due to Easyjet's rules on weight limit (basically, your hold luggage has to be 20kg or less, but your hand luggage can weigh anything as long as you can lift it. So a blanket, 3 jumpers, all my electricals and work went into one rucksack with a bit of brute force). I was still 1.5kg over when I got to the airport, but the nice lady didn't charge me so I consider that an epic win, given just how many clothes I brought back!
Right now I'm in Lancaster, chilling my beans in the Learning Zone and even working on my dissertation (shock, horror!) It's hilarious that I'm procrastinating from looking at DELC310 by doing 6000 words of translation, but this is the way I roll these days. So hard-core. I'm having a nice time though, I just feel a bit useless as everyone else is so busy and I have no idea what they're going through anymore, not having done final year yet.
Reverse-culture-shock is also a condition I feel I should probably write a self-help guide for in the near future. It's an interesting phenomenon that no one ever talks about, so I'll get round to it soon.
Right, dissertation time. See you soon people!
Well yes, the end happened. The last few weeks in Bilbao got a bit mad, hence the lack of blogging, but I had one last exam (which wasn't all that fun, but this time last year there'd have been no way I could even attempt to write three essays in Spanish on Medieval Literature in an hour and a half. So even if I fail that exam, it's still a victory). The rest of the time was spent meeting up with people, and showing Kate around (as we had about a week's cross-over between her coming out to Bilbao and me leaving). Pintxos (Basque tapas) happened, as did Txacoli (Basque white wine), and chocolate con churros. I feel like I spent a week eating!
So I said 'agur' for the last time while leaving the Chinese shop that had practically set me up for the semester with mugs and teapots and such, and rammed as much into my hand luggage as possible due to Easyjet's rules on weight limit (basically, your hold luggage has to be 20kg or less, but your hand luggage can weigh anything as long as you can lift it. So a blanket, 3 jumpers, all my electricals and work went into one rucksack with a bit of brute force). I was still 1.5kg over when I got to the airport, but the nice lady didn't charge me so I consider that an epic win, given just how many clothes I brought back!
Right now I'm in Lancaster, chilling my beans in the Learning Zone and even working on my dissertation (shock, horror!) It's hilarious that I'm procrastinating from looking at DELC310 by doing 6000 words of translation, but this is the way I roll these days. So hard-core. I'm having a nice time though, I just feel a bit useless as everyone else is so busy and I have no idea what they're going through anymore, not having done final year yet.
Reverse-culture-shock is also a condition I feel I should probably write a self-help guide for in the near future. It's an interesting phenomenon that no one ever talks about, so I'll get round to it soon.
Right, dissertation time. See you soon people!
Monday, 9 January 2012
The trip to the home of Manuel!
Hola blogueros!
So I went to Barcelona (hence the title of this post - Manuel from Fawlty Towers was from Barcelona)! I was met by the AMAZING Laura and Liria, and we had a disgustingly decadent brekkie of waffles with choccy sauce! We found my hotel, which was right down by the Sagrada Familia (you know, that great big church designed by Gaudí which hasn't yet been finished...) and it's so impressive I can't even describe... you should all book a ticket and go see it, you have to be there!
Anyway, we had some amazing tapas for lunch, then Liria and I went to Casa Batllo (another of Gaudí's creations). We think we might buy it when we have enough money! After, we met up with Laura again and we did something else. But right now, it escapes my memory!
On Thursday we went to the gothic quarter and had an amazing tour round by one of Laura's friends who knew lots about the history - he should really get a job as a tour guide. We also went to the port for some lunch, and a crepe. Hilariously, a bird chose this moment to poo on me and Laura nearly killed herself laughing at me. Typical! Anyway, no harm done and the good luck came true as after, Laura and I went to the Sagrada Familia (as in, inside it!) It was impressive, what can I say? You do really have to go to see it in person! But the more impressive thing is that we managed to walk straight in, which was incredible as the day before there was at least a 2 hour queue when we walked past it. See what I mean about good luck?
We went to watch the parade for Reyes, which I found brilliant! Such a novelty to see the Three Kings come in a parade and throw sweets out for the children. Dinner followed, then we all collapsed into bed!
Friday was my 21st, so I had a nice lie-in, then called big sis (as it's her birthday on the same day). Then I went to meet Erin for coffee (the same Erin that came to Bilbao a few blog posts back!) and we had a Starbucks - well when in Spain! Laura then took me to her house where her mum had done a lovely dinner for us, with a birthday cake and everything, it was lovely to spend time with a family too. We went to Park Guell (another Gaudí creation... anyone spot the theme emerging?) and wandered round there, then we all went to see these fountains in another park which have different coloured lights put on them, and music plays, and the fountains put on a little show! It was amazing! Sadly, they only did one performance because there was a technical issue so they had to cancel the rest, but what we did see was brilliant! From there we went for a birthday drink in a bar on top of the old bull fighting ring (as bull fighting's been outlawed in Catalonia they turned the Plaza de Toros into a shopping centre). There was a great view over the city, and we took advantage of a last few hours to chat as I had to leave ridiculously early the next day to get my flight back to Bilbao.
The flight wasn't too stressful, though my body clock is all confused after eating McDonalds at 6am (I know, weird!), falling asleep on the flight (which is only about 40mins long) and being woken up by an air-hostess telling me I had to turn my MP3 player off for landing. That would have been fine, but she spoke to me in Catalan first and I was genuinely sure for a moment that I'd forgotten all my Spanish! But by the time I'd got off the flight, waited for the bus, taken the metro and got to my flat, I was past being tired so just watched TV and napped a little bit for the rest of the day!
Anyone who wants to go to Barcelona, give me a yell, I'm up for a second visit! And it was a GREAT way to spend my 21st :) BIG THANKS to Laura and Liria for making it so wonderful and helping me to see as much as possible in very little time!
Till next time blogueros x
So I went to Barcelona (hence the title of this post - Manuel from Fawlty Towers was from Barcelona)! I was met by the AMAZING Laura and Liria, and we had a disgustingly decadent brekkie of waffles with choccy sauce! We found my hotel, which was right down by the Sagrada Familia (you know, that great big church designed by Gaudí which hasn't yet been finished...) and it's so impressive I can't even describe... you should all book a ticket and go see it, you have to be there!
Anyway, we had some amazing tapas for lunch, then Liria and I went to Casa Batllo (another of Gaudí's creations). We think we might buy it when we have enough money! After, we met up with Laura again and we did something else. But right now, it escapes my memory!
On Thursday we went to the gothic quarter and had an amazing tour round by one of Laura's friends who knew lots about the history - he should really get a job as a tour guide. We also went to the port for some lunch, and a crepe. Hilariously, a bird chose this moment to poo on me and Laura nearly killed herself laughing at me. Typical! Anyway, no harm done and the good luck came true as after, Laura and I went to the Sagrada Familia (as in, inside it!) It was impressive, what can I say? You do really have to go to see it in person! But the more impressive thing is that we managed to walk straight in, which was incredible as the day before there was at least a 2 hour queue when we walked past it. See what I mean about good luck?
We went to watch the parade for Reyes, which I found brilliant! Such a novelty to see the Three Kings come in a parade and throw sweets out for the children. Dinner followed, then we all collapsed into bed!
Friday was my 21st, so I had a nice lie-in, then called big sis (as it's her birthday on the same day). Then I went to meet Erin for coffee (the same Erin that came to Bilbao a few blog posts back!) and we had a Starbucks - well when in Spain! Laura then took me to her house where her mum had done a lovely dinner for us, with a birthday cake and everything, it was lovely to spend time with a family too. We went to Park Guell (another Gaudí creation... anyone spot the theme emerging?) and wandered round there, then we all went to see these fountains in another park which have different coloured lights put on them, and music plays, and the fountains put on a little show! It was amazing! Sadly, they only did one performance because there was a technical issue so they had to cancel the rest, but what we did see was brilliant! From there we went for a birthday drink in a bar on top of the old bull fighting ring (as bull fighting's been outlawed in Catalonia they turned the Plaza de Toros into a shopping centre). There was a great view over the city, and we took advantage of a last few hours to chat as I had to leave ridiculously early the next day to get my flight back to Bilbao.
The flight wasn't too stressful, though my body clock is all confused after eating McDonalds at 6am (I know, weird!), falling asleep on the flight (which is only about 40mins long) and being woken up by an air-hostess telling me I had to turn my MP3 player off for landing. That would have been fine, but she spoke to me in Catalan first and I was genuinely sure for a moment that I'd forgotten all my Spanish! But by the time I'd got off the flight, waited for the bus, taken the metro and got to my flat, I was past being tired so just watched TV and napped a little bit for the rest of the day!
Anyone who wants to go to Barcelona, give me a yell, I'm up for a second visit! And it was a GREAT way to spend my 21st :) BIG THANKS to Laura and Liria for making it so wonderful and helping me to see as much as possible in very little time!
Till next time blogueros x
Friday, 30 December 2011
The holiday that never was...
Hola a todos
There's not been much to report since Christmas. The Spanish have no clue how to take a holiday, I know this because at 11am on 26th Dec I was teaching English to a poor little lad who barely knows Castilian Spanish (thanks to his first language being Basque) never mind English. And I was back there again on the 27th, because heaven forbid he skip a week (due to me being in Barcelona when he should have a class. Oopsie).
I also went up the funicular to watch the sunset the other day and it was stonking! An absolute corker, here's the link to the pics (but you might want to just look at the thumbnails rather than scroll through them - there's a lot, but they're worth a look!)
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2884938131695.2149593.1507386366&type=1&l=5c0557bf07
Anyway, yesterday I was invited to Bermeo, where the other lad I teach lives. It was nice to spend the day with him and his mum, and talk to someone who's not a student for a change! I saw lots of the Basque countryside and had a great lunch, it was a superb day, even if it did decide to rain on us. A few pics here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2905128596444.2150118.1507386366&type=1&l=7344ead609
Not much else to say, I just relaxed a bit today and we'll have to see how new year pans out!
Hasta Luego blogueros!
There's not been much to report since Christmas. The Spanish have no clue how to take a holiday, I know this because at 11am on 26th Dec I was teaching English to a poor little lad who barely knows Castilian Spanish (thanks to his first language being Basque) never mind English. And I was back there again on the 27th, because heaven forbid he skip a week (due to me being in Barcelona when he should have a class. Oopsie).
I also went up the funicular to watch the sunset the other day and it was stonking! An absolute corker, here's the link to the pics (but you might want to just look at the thumbnails rather than scroll through them - there's a lot, but they're worth a look!)
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2884938131695.2149593.1507386366&type=1&l=5c0557bf07
Anyway, yesterday I was invited to Bermeo, where the other lad I teach lives. It was nice to spend the day with him and his mum, and talk to someone who's not a student for a change! I saw lots of the Basque countryside and had a great lunch, it was a superb day, even if it did decide to rain on us. A few pics here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2905128596444.2150118.1507386366&type=1&l=7344ead609
Not much else to say, I just relaxed a bit today and we'll have to see how new year pans out!
Hasta Luego blogueros!
Sunday, 25 December 2011
How to survive Christmas by yourself (yes it is possible)
Hello blogueros, this is a slightly different post today. I realised, while googling 'how to avoid committing suicide while spending Christmas Day by yourself' (I am kidding... but some websites pretty much say this!) that there is a distinct lack of practical advice out there for people who, for whatever reason, are not going to be with their nearest and dearest. So here is my self-help guide.
Christmas has long been advertised as the time for families to get together. If you don't make an effort any other time of year, Christmas should be the time that you do, right? Well my question to you is this: how does that make ANY sense? Christmas is the very worst time of year to travel (overcrowded public transport, flight delays and cancellations, over-priced tickets, snow, rain, wind, etc etc). Not only that, but if you do chose to travel, you have to stay in said place for days on end (unless you have a car) because transport stops functioning properly. Also, back in the days of Dickens, the servants most certainly didn't get a day off to be with their family, and the working class were in the majority back then. So where exactly does this romantic view of Christmas with the family come from?
One word: Oxo.
Yes, the gravy/stock people. Their adverts forever tell us that the whole family should be around the same table on Christmas Day. Well oxo, I have to ask, WHY?! It had never really happened before unless you were upper class, so why do we put so much emphasis on it now? All it does is make a great proportion of England feel under pressure to produce this amazing day, with very little chance of everything being 'perfect' because life isn't like that. And those of us faced with the prospect of spending Christmas by ourselves find ourselves googling 'how the heck do we survive? We're going so against the grain I won't make it past midday!'
Fear not. Here's some tips that I would have found useful over the past few weeks, if I'd bothered getting in touch with Dr Who and jumping into his TARDIS, going into the future to post this, then going back again.
1) Do what makes you happy. If you wanna wear your jimjams all day, then fine. But work out whether this will actually serve to make you think about Bridget Jones and therefore end up depressed. If jimjams = genuine happiness, then go for it. If jimjams = depression, get up, get dressed, put make-up on.
2) Make a slap-up lunch. Even if there is just you. So it doesn't have to have ALL the trimmings, in fact, you might be in a country where stuffing doesn't exist (like me). I decided that I was going to have a bash at making stuffing from scratch, which was very fun. But as Spanish sausages aren't much cop, and neither is their bacon, I decided to scrap the idea of pigs in blankets because they would just be a disappointment. Weigh up before the day what would be great to treat yourself to, and what would just be not worth bothering with. Chances are you'll end up with some kind of traditional meat, some roast spuds (very simple to make when you get down to it) and some veg. If you're in foreign lands, make your family post you some gravy, because no Christmas dinner isn't complete without it, and it makes any culinary disasters look edible!
3) Take pictures! It helps your family to know that you're still alive and having Christmas regardless. I say this from experience :)
4) Skype. Is a marvelous thing. It's amazing how many people you can end up talking to on Christmas day even when you're not with them. Webcam is also nice, unless you're the sort of person who'll end up sobbing over it.
5) It's all in the mindset. If you wake up and think that the day's gonna be rubbish, then it will be, and I will personally disown you for letting the Oxo adverts beat you into submission! DON'T GIVE THEM THE SATISFACTION!
6) Go for a walk. Seriously. Find out when sunset is and head out about 3/4 hour before that time, and you could be in for a treat if you look sky-wards. If not, head into the town and look at the Christmas lights.
7) Remember, Christmas is just another day! You've never spontaneously combusted before just because you've not been with your family, and it's not about to happen now! It's just a day, 24 hours, like any other, and it's really not a big deal.
8) If you're in the God Squad, just think, Mary and Joseph didn't have stuffing, pigs in blankets, or gravy either. Also, if you believe in Christmas for what it really is, every day should be Christmas because every day we should be remembering that Jesus came for us. Yay! So it really doesn't matter where, when, or how you celebrate. In fact, celebrating every day would be far more appropriate!
9) Christmas happens every year. If you live to the average age, you'll have at least 74 other Christmases with your family to look back on. Surely that's enough for anyone?! You're really not missing out. Missing someone's wedding, that could be considered missing out, because it's (hopefully) a once-in-a-life-time event.
10) Go get yourself something nice. In some parts of the world (like Spain) gift wrap is a big thing, and it doesn't cost anymore than the cashier just shoving it in a carrier. Get it gift wrapped so you have something to open :D
11) Remember - this means you don't have to watch the Christmas episode of Eastenders! WIN!!!!
There we are, a little list of stuff to help you survive. In fact, it's more than surviving, it's ENJOYING. So chin up, keep calm, and carry on.
Until next time! xxx
Christmas has long been advertised as the time for families to get together. If you don't make an effort any other time of year, Christmas should be the time that you do, right? Well my question to you is this: how does that make ANY sense? Christmas is the very worst time of year to travel (overcrowded public transport, flight delays and cancellations, over-priced tickets, snow, rain, wind, etc etc). Not only that, but if you do chose to travel, you have to stay in said place for days on end (unless you have a car) because transport stops functioning properly. Also, back in the days of Dickens, the servants most certainly didn't get a day off to be with their family, and the working class were in the majority back then. So where exactly does this romantic view of Christmas with the family come from?
One word: Oxo.
Yes, the gravy/stock people. Their adverts forever tell us that the whole family should be around the same table on Christmas Day. Well oxo, I have to ask, WHY?! It had never really happened before unless you were upper class, so why do we put so much emphasis on it now? All it does is make a great proportion of England feel under pressure to produce this amazing day, with very little chance of everything being 'perfect' because life isn't like that. And those of us faced with the prospect of spending Christmas by ourselves find ourselves googling 'how the heck do we survive? We're going so against the grain I won't make it past midday!'
Fear not. Here's some tips that I would have found useful over the past few weeks, if I'd bothered getting in touch with Dr Who and jumping into his TARDIS, going into the future to post this, then going back again.
1) Do what makes you happy. If you wanna wear your jimjams all day, then fine. But work out whether this will actually serve to make you think about Bridget Jones and therefore end up depressed. If jimjams = genuine happiness, then go for it. If jimjams = depression, get up, get dressed, put make-up on.
2) Make a slap-up lunch. Even if there is just you. So it doesn't have to have ALL the trimmings, in fact, you might be in a country where stuffing doesn't exist (like me). I decided that I was going to have a bash at making stuffing from scratch, which was very fun. But as Spanish sausages aren't much cop, and neither is their bacon, I decided to scrap the idea of pigs in blankets because they would just be a disappointment. Weigh up before the day what would be great to treat yourself to, and what would just be not worth bothering with. Chances are you'll end up with some kind of traditional meat, some roast spuds (very simple to make when you get down to it) and some veg. If you're in foreign lands, make your family post you some gravy, because no Christmas dinner isn't complete without it, and it makes any culinary disasters look edible!
3) Take pictures! It helps your family to know that you're still alive and having Christmas regardless. I say this from experience :)
4) Skype. Is a marvelous thing. It's amazing how many people you can end up talking to on Christmas day even when you're not with them. Webcam is also nice, unless you're the sort of person who'll end up sobbing over it.
5) It's all in the mindset. If you wake up and think that the day's gonna be rubbish, then it will be, and I will personally disown you for letting the Oxo adverts beat you into submission! DON'T GIVE THEM THE SATISFACTION!
6) Go for a walk. Seriously. Find out when sunset is and head out about 3/4 hour before that time, and you could be in for a treat if you look sky-wards. If not, head into the town and look at the Christmas lights.
7) Remember, Christmas is just another day! You've never spontaneously combusted before just because you've not been with your family, and it's not about to happen now! It's just a day, 24 hours, like any other, and it's really not a big deal.
8) If you're in the God Squad, just think, Mary and Joseph didn't have stuffing, pigs in blankets, or gravy either. Also, if you believe in Christmas for what it really is, every day should be Christmas because every day we should be remembering that Jesus came for us. Yay! So it really doesn't matter where, when, or how you celebrate. In fact, celebrating every day would be far more appropriate!
9) Christmas happens every year. If you live to the average age, you'll have at least 74 other Christmases with your family to look back on. Surely that's enough for anyone?! You're really not missing out. Missing someone's wedding, that could be considered missing out, because it's (hopefully) a once-in-a-life-time event.
10) Go get yourself something nice. In some parts of the world (like Spain) gift wrap is a big thing, and it doesn't cost anymore than the cashier just shoving it in a carrier. Get it gift wrapped so you have something to open :D
11) Remember - this means you don't have to watch the Christmas episode of Eastenders! WIN!!!!
There we are, a little list of stuff to help you survive. In fact, it's more than surviving, it's ENJOYING. So chin up, keep calm, and carry on.
Until next time! xxx
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