I've been offered a job! Yes, I have finally achieved my goal of re-entering the rat race...ahem, I mean labor market. Well, nothing is signed yet, but the offer is on the table and contractual negotiations begin next week. Woo hoo! The great thing about this offer is that, considering the number of crappy jobs with shitty pay and terrible hours I threw my CV at, it's pretty amazing that when I finally got an offer, it was for one of the most high-end jobs I applied for. Like, the ones you think might be a little out of your league, but you apply anyway hoping for the stars to align and deliver your dream job to you on a silver platter. That's pretty much what happened here. They were looking for someone with WAY more experience than me (like, three times more) but as for the rest of the profile I think I fit it pretty well. The pay is something like what I was earning in Dublin, so for Barcelona, it is quite a decent salary indeed. It is very much like my EA job at Genesis, but in a larger, multinational company where the directors are travelling 99% of the time. Actually, the selection process went a lot like the Genesis one: a positive first interview, what I thought was a horrendous second interview, being completely convinced they were never going to give me the job, them offering me the job, me being completely surprised, and then wondering "shit - can I really do this?". Last time it turned out I could, quite easily, so hopefully things should work themselves out in a similar manner this time around.
The timing of all this couldn't be better. Firstly, I was starting to lose hope a little bit, at least that I would find something soon. Everyone kept telling me to be patient, with stories like "Well, don't worry, it took me four months to find a job." "Four months? It took me six months!" and other horrors that did little to lift my morale. I was just settling into the idea that this was going to take a LOT longer than I originally thought, and yesterday I went around to some restaurants and cafés in the Ramblas area to see if I could get some part time waitressing work to tide me over. To be honest I was even looking forward to waitressing for a little while - I like having a job that requires you to be active, and sitting in front of a computer all day can get boring. I'm sure after two or three weeks I would have remembered all the reasons I hated waitressing, but having been out of work since August, and time healing all wounds, it didn't seem like a bad option at all. I even did a trial for a couple of hours at a café this afternoon, which I think went well, but sod that, I have a real job now! It was nice to be able to earn a little cash in hand though, and it's not like I had anything else to do with my day. Other than sit in front of the computer and send CVs of course, like every other weekday for two months. After I got out of there I scored another interview (I have two now on Monday that I am not sure I am going to attend), and was feeling pretty buoyant. Then they called me and told me I had the job there, and then I went from buoyant to airborne.
The other great thing about getting the offer just now is that it's gonna take about 10-15 days for me to actually start working, what with the contract signing, getting stuff ready, et cetera. Normally I wouldn't really care much about that, although days off are generally a good thing. But now it's especially fabulous as my mum is coming to visit me tomorrow and my dad is coming next week, so I'll even get some time with them before I start working. Is that perfect or what? I can barely believe it. Let's hope the run of good luck continues!
Friday, October 24, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
One conversation, three ways.
Stationery - not as straightforward as you might think. I went to the newsagent today, with a short and specific list of requirements. Four sheets of red A4 paper, a Glue-Stick, contact for books, a letter stencil, and a Stanley Knife. This is how the transaction would have gone in Melbourne:
Me: Hi, I´ve found most of the things I need, but where do you have the contact?
Stationery Lady: It's over by the wrapping paper, third isle.
Me: Oh, I see it.
Stationery Lady: That'll be eleven dollars thirty nine cents thanks love.
Me: Thanks! Bye!
Everyone's a winner.
This is how the transaction would have gone in Dublin:
Me: Hi, I've found the glue here, but I need red paper, contact, a letter stencil, and a Stanley knife.
Stationery Lady (in thick North Dub accent): Contact? I don't have any of that now, we only stock it in September. The schoolbooks, you know. Red paper...is it somebody's birthday? No? Just a minute dear. Oh, no, well we have orange or yellow, will that suit you? Oh, I'm sorry. What was that other thing you said? Knife? We don't sell knives here any more, not after that young wan, your man from Limerick, don't remember his name now, used one of them things to cut the heads off all his sister's Bratz dolls. Good idea if you ask me, I hate those Bratz, they're unnatural. I know Argos sells knives though, you could try them.
Me: Just the glue then.
Stationery Lady: That'll be eleven euro thirty five cents.
Me: Thanks! Bye!
Well, I didn't get what I wanted that time, but at least I escape the situation with minimal or no embarrassment.
So, this afternoon I went to the newsagent for that list of items, with one small problem: I don't know the Spanish word for Stanley Knife. Or stencil. Or contact. Or glue. Here is a pretty much verbatim conversation from this afternoon, translated of course:
Me (start with the easy thing): Hi there, I'd like some red paper please.
Stationery lady: Wrapping paper?
Me: No, just regular A4. But red.
Stationery Lady: How many?
Me: Four please.
Stationery Lady: Here you go.
Me: I'm also looking for that plastic thing, to cover books?
Stationery Lady: *puzzled look*
Me: You know, it's plastic, and it's sticky on one side, you stick it on books to protect them...
Stationery Lady: Oh that! No, we don't have that.
Me (starting to get flustered): OK. Well actually, I also need...a plastic thing to draw letters...
Stationery Lady: *puzzled look*
Me: (now with other patient customer waiting in the background and listening in) You know, it's plastic, and you put the pencil inside it, it helps you to draw letters...
Stationery Lady: A stencil?
Me: Yes! A Stencil! That's it!
Stationery Lady (rummaging in drawer): How about this?
Me: Do you have anything bigger?
Stationery Lady: What about this one?
Me: That one has more letters, but I need one with fatter letters.
Stationery Lady: Well, this is the only one I have.
Me: OK, never mind that then. Er, I need, um, well, you use it to stick stuff together...
Stationery Lady: *puzzled look*
Me (spying packet of superglue): Like this, but not as strong.
Stationery Lady: For paper?
Me: Yes, for paper.
Stationery Lady (pulling out Glue-Stick): Like this?
Me: Yes, just like that.
Stationery Lady: The big one or the small one?
Me: The small one please.
Stationery Lady: Is that all?
Me (with my bag of four red A4 sheets and mini Glue-Stick): Yes, that's it.
Stationery Lady: That'll be three euro and twenty cents.
Me: Here you go. Thanks very much!
Stationery Lady: You're welcome!
Ran out of the door, cheeks ablaze and resolving to improve my stationery vocabulary. Needless to say I wasn't valiant enough to attempt the Stanley Knife.
Me: Hi, I´ve found most of the things I need, but where do you have the contact?
Stationery Lady: It's over by the wrapping paper, third isle.
Me: Oh, I see it.
Stationery Lady: That'll be eleven dollars thirty nine cents thanks love.
Me: Thanks! Bye!
Everyone's a winner.
This is how the transaction would have gone in Dublin:
Me: Hi, I've found the glue here, but I need red paper, contact, a letter stencil, and a Stanley knife.
Stationery Lady (in thick North Dub accent): Contact? I don't have any of that now, we only stock it in September. The schoolbooks, you know. Red paper...is it somebody's birthday? No? Just a minute dear. Oh, no, well we have orange or yellow, will that suit you? Oh, I'm sorry. What was that other thing you said? Knife? We don't sell knives here any more, not after that young wan, your man from Limerick, don't remember his name now, used one of them things to cut the heads off all his sister's Bratz dolls. Good idea if you ask me, I hate those Bratz, they're unnatural. I know Argos sells knives though, you could try them.
Me: Just the glue then.
Stationery Lady: That'll be eleven euro thirty five cents.
Me: Thanks! Bye!
Well, I didn't get what I wanted that time, but at least I escape the situation with minimal or no embarrassment.
So, this afternoon I went to the newsagent for that list of items, with one small problem: I don't know the Spanish word for Stanley Knife. Or stencil. Or contact. Or glue. Here is a pretty much verbatim conversation from this afternoon, translated of course:
Me (start with the easy thing): Hi there, I'd like some red paper please.
Stationery lady: Wrapping paper?
Me: No, just regular A4. But red.
Stationery Lady: How many?
Me: Four please.
Stationery Lady: Here you go.
Me: I'm also looking for that plastic thing, to cover books?
Stationery Lady: *puzzled look*
Me: You know, it's plastic, and it's sticky on one side, you stick it on books to protect them...
Stationery Lady: Oh that! No, we don't have that.
Me (starting to get flustered): OK. Well actually, I also need...a plastic thing to draw letters...
Stationery Lady: *puzzled look*
Me: (now with other patient customer waiting in the background and listening in) You know, it's plastic, and you put the pencil inside it, it helps you to draw letters...
Stationery Lady: A stencil?
Me: Yes! A Stencil! That's it!
Stationery Lady (rummaging in drawer): How about this?
Me: Do you have anything bigger?
Stationery Lady: What about this one?
Me: That one has more letters, but I need one with fatter letters.
Stationery Lady: Well, this is the only one I have.
Me: OK, never mind that then. Er, I need, um, well, you use it to stick stuff together...
Stationery Lady: *puzzled look*
Me (spying packet of superglue): Like this, but not as strong.
Stationery Lady: For paper?
Me: Yes, for paper.
Stationery Lady (pulling out Glue-Stick): Like this?
Me: Yes, just like that.
Stationery Lady: The big one or the small one?
Me: The small one please.
Stationery Lady: Is that all?
Me (with my bag of four red A4 sheets and mini Glue-Stick): Yes, that's it.
Stationery Lady: That'll be three euro and twenty cents.
Me: Here you go. Thanks very much!
Stationery Lady: You're welcome!
Ran out of the door, cheeks ablaze and resolving to improve my stationery vocabulary. Needless to say I wasn't valiant enough to attempt the Stanley Knife.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Kaixo!
Well, not too much has changed since the last post. I'm still unemployed, still worried about it (though I have three interviews scheduled for next week, so the worry is somewhat mitigated) and I still have all my fingers and toes intact after a small kitchen mishap this morning involving our gas cooker and the sleeve of my bathrobe. Erik has been extremely supportive, which helps a lot. He helps with my cover letters, offers to iron my hair, and tells me "you did an amazing job" when I get a "Dear Jane" rejection letter. I would survive this on my own too, but having Erik makes this situation a lot easier to bear. My family has helped loads, not only with encouragement, but also translating my CV (thanks to mum, dad, Rodrigo and Erik, it was a real collaborative effort). I think the end of the dark tunnel must be near (it just has to be, ok?) and one day I will look back on this and say hahaha, I was so worried and look how great everything turned out in the end. Of course there is also the possibility that I will look back to now and think "Oh, and I thought that was tough!", but I prefer not to think about that possibility.
Although I am still out of work, stuff is still happening. We've still been going out at the weekends (although now that is over until I find a job), and I've been out and about to interviews, which gives me a chance to enjoy the gorgeous sunshine. One new thing I've started: Basque classes. I wanted to learn a bit of Basque, both for the fun of it and also that way I can get a little closer to Erik's culture and where he comes from. I know that living in Catalunya I should really be learning Català (Catalan), rather than Euskara (Basque), but really the Catalunyans are so indignant about the necessity of everyone to speak Català that I feel like not learning it just to spite them. Anyway, Català is very similar to Castellano (Spanish) so I am sure that after a while I will pick it up without ever having to shell out a cent for classes. Well, after a fashion.
So, I decided to study Euskara (Basque), and since we happen to be located in Barcelona, I have to study it here. The only language school that offers Euskara here is the
Escola Oficial d'Idiomes Barcelona (Official Language School of Barcelona) which has the added benefit of being heavily subsidised by the government so it is very very cheap. This is handy for me right now. I wasn't going to sign up as it's a bit ridiculous to be spending money on classes now, but otherwise I would have had to wait until February and my impulsive nature just can't wait that long.
The process of signing up for classes is drawn-out and complicated. First, you have to pre-register via the web. Then they do a draw, to see which of the applicants actually get a place on the course. This is completely down to luck, I met a guy who waited six (six!!) semesters before finally getting to study Japanese. If you get a place, you have to show up IN PERSON to the school at a particular day and time to register. Too bad if you work or have other commitments, because clearly learning languages should be your top priority and if you can't move around your entire calendar just to accomodate your language school registration you aren't taking it seriously enough. If you don't show up, your place goes to one of the people on the waiting list who didn't get a place in the draw, you have to wait until the next semester, and everybody gives a big cheer for the rigidity of Spanish (and Cataluñan) bureaucracy.
I was lucky enough to be chosen in the draw, but I almost wasn't able to register given that I turned up to the registration at the wrong time (thankfully early rather than late), without any of the necessary forms completed, or any photocopies of my ID. I managed to go home, get my forms, get the IDs photocopied and get back there in time to register. I got the class I wanted (19:00-21:00) and I breathed a sigh of relief. Right, I was registered, I was paid up. So now, what exactly is the story with the classes?
First of all, I figured that since this language school is strictly for people learning a language for non-curricular purposes (you are not allowed to study the same language you are studying in school) that the courses would take it kind of easy, a little bit at a time, poc a poc. Turns out the classes are two hours, three times a week. With six hours of Euskara a week, I'll be fluent in no time. It feels like a fairly heavy schedule, but in for a penny in for a pound, right?
So, I rock up to the first class, bright eyed and bushy tailed, and the teacher starts to talk...in Català. My assumption that the classes would be in Castellano (Spanish) was a bit silly, in hindsight, given that a) this is Catalunya and b) all the website, documentation, registration etc. was in Catalá, but, c'est la vie, n'est-ce pas? After I got over my initial shock and actually started to concentrate on what the teacher was saying, it turned out I could understand her pretty well, if not perfectly. Luckily Català and Castellano are very similar, and it doesn't hurt that I know a little French as well as Català borrows a lot from French and Italian. In the end I consoled myself that I am getting two classes for the price of one: learning Català and Euskara at the same time. The only downside is that almost all of the students are Catalan - making friends in class is difficult when you don't speak Català, although everyone in the room speaks Castellano. Thankfully there is a Russian chick who also doesn't speak a word of Català, so I have a buddy. Most of the people in the class (90% female) are pretty friendly, except for one girl who shall remain nameless who is a total bitch and a smartarse who thinks she is brilliant at Euskara already but I just make sure to sit across the room from her. I absolutely love the teacher - although she speaks in Català she does plenty of hand gestures and non-verbal body language which help LOADS for me to understand her. She is Euskalduna (Basque) but has studied Català (obviously) and also speaks French, English and is now studying Japanese (the reason for this escapes me, but has something to do with wanting to study something as foreign to her as Euskara is to us). She is totally Euskalduna-looking, petite and slender with short, pixie-style hair and pixie-style clothes (I don't know how else to describe them, picture a pair of jeans and a long black t-shirt with a jagged hem, slitted sleeves and a chunky belt) a wide smile and a friendly demeanor. Anyway she is a really fun teacher who makes the class a pleasure to attend. I hope I get her for future courses!
I am learning a little at a time, the course goes fairly slowly as there are 35 of us. Grammar in Euskara is weird and unlike anything I have seen before - the language doesn't have articles or prepositions (things like the, a, in, at, from), but instead they declinate the nouns with different suffixes. For example, the city Bilbao is Bilbo, but if you want to say in Bilbao, it's Bilbon; in Barcelona is Bartzelonan, in Melbourne is Melbournen. From Melbourne is Melbournekoa. Weird stuff like that. It's fun, I always liked the grammatical part of learning languages, so this is super entertaining, only it's quite hard to remember it all! Kaixo, in case you were wondering, is "Hello", and you say it "kai-sho", with the accent on the "sho". I won't bore you with any more Euskara lessons, suffice to say it is worth visiting Euskadi (the Basque Country), especially the coast which is really beautiful. The food is also very good there, lots of seafood (tuna and cod in particular) and of course the ever-famous pintxos. I have only really seen Donosti (San Sebastian), Mallabia (Erik's town) and Bilbo (Bilbao), so there is a lot to be discovered even for me. Every turned stone when learning about the Basque culture yields surprises and delight, it really is a fascinating place and people, with a long and politically charged history which I won't go into now because a) I would be here all night and b) I don't know anything about it (though that never stopped me before).
Tomorrow, another interview, another batch of cookies (gingerbread this time). I am beginning to find out where to get all the strange things I require for my varied kitchen, La Boqueria is proving to be very useful for everything from dried spices to molasses to cornstarch, which for some reason is not available in any supermarket I have been to. Nobody so far seems to have tamarind paste, though they do sell whole tamarinds...if anyone has any idea how to make tamarind paste out of tamarinds, I would appreciate advice. Today I had a bit of a fright at the chicken shop, they only had chickens with the head and feet still attached! I thought I was going to have to google "dismembering chickens" when I got home, but when I bought it they cut them off, phew. Of course, sly things that they are they weighed the chicken before cutting it up, and thus added a couple hundred grams to the price.
Funny how you can take one thing, say a tomato. In some countries they sell them whole and would look at you funny if you wanted it canned. Here in Spain I had trouble finding canned chopped tomato, as most of the tomato here is either fried or pulped. In Aus you get the fresh kind, chopped, passata, loads of stuff. Depends on the culture. I use powdered ginger, parsley, basil and coriander (though I use the fresh stuff when I have it), but I would never dream of using powdered onion or garlic, and I don't even have them in the house. I'm sure in India nobody uses powdered coriander. It's just about what you are used to.
I am getting used to doing interviews in Castellano - in fact yesterday I did one in English and it felt very strange! I have gone through my CV so many times I can do it all by heart, but it feels good to be going through this process, I am learning a lot about the job market and my Castellano is improving in leaps and bounds. I am SO glad I didn't move to Barcelona six months after Dublin as planned - I wouldn't have found a job anywhere with my pitiful Spanish at the time! I'll be fine as long as I don't have to interview in Euskara...
Gabon!
Although I am still out of work, stuff is still happening. We've still been going out at the weekends (although now that is over until I find a job), and I've been out and about to interviews, which gives me a chance to enjoy the gorgeous sunshine. One new thing I've started: Basque classes. I wanted to learn a bit of Basque, both for the fun of it and also that way I can get a little closer to Erik's culture and where he comes from. I know that living in Catalunya I should really be learning Català (Catalan), rather than Euskara (Basque), but really the Catalunyans are so indignant about the necessity of everyone to speak Català that I feel like not learning it just to spite them. Anyway, Català is very similar to Castellano (Spanish) so I am sure that after a while I will pick it up without ever having to shell out a cent for classes. Well, after a fashion.
So, I decided to study Euskara (Basque), and since we happen to be located in Barcelona, I have to study it here. The only language school that offers Euskara here is the
Escola Oficial d'Idiomes Barcelona (Official Language School of Barcelona) which has the added benefit of being heavily subsidised by the government so it is very very cheap. This is handy for me right now. I wasn't going to sign up as it's a bit ridiculous to be spending money on classes now, but otherwise I would have had to wait until February and my impulsive nature just can't wait that long.
The process of signing up for classes is drawn-out and complicated. First, you have to pre-register via the web. Then they do a draw, to see which of the applicants actually get a place on the course. This is completely down to luck, I met a guy who waited six (six!!) semesters before finally getting to study Japanese. If you get a place, you have to show up IN PERSON to the school at a particular day and time to register. Too bad if you work or have other commitments, because clearly learning languages should be your top priority and if you can't move around your entire calendar just to accomodate your language school registration you aren't taking it seriously enough. If you don't show up, your place goes to one of the people on the waiting list who didn't get a place in the draw, you have to wait until the next semester, and everybody gives a big cheer for the rigidity of Spanish (and Cataluñan) bureaucracy.
I was lucky enough to be chosen in the draw, but I almost wasn't able to register given that I turned up to the registration at the wrong time (thankfully early rather than late), without any of the necessary forms completed, or any photocopies of my ID. I managed to go home, get my forms, get the IDs photocopied and get back there in time to register. I got the class I wanted (19:00-21:00) and I breathed a sigh of relief. Right, I was registered, I was paid up. So now, what exactly is the story with the classes?
First of all, I figured that since this language school is strictly for people learning a language for non-curricular purposes (you are not allowed to study the same language you are studying in school) that the courses would take it kind of easy, a little bit at a time, poc a poc. Turns out the classes are two hours, three times a week. With six hours of Euskara a week, I'll be fluent in no time. It feels like a fairly heavy schedule, but in for a penny in for a pound, right?
So, I rock up to the first class, bright eyed and bushy tailed, and the teacher starts to talk...in Català. My assumption that the classes would be in Castellano (Spanish) was a bit silly, in hindsight, given that a) this is Catalunya and b) all the website, documentation, registration etc. was in Catalá, but, c'est la vie, n'est-ce pas? After I got over my initial shock and actually started to concentrate on what the teacher was saying, it turned out I could understand her pretty well, if not perfectly. Luckily Català and Castellano are very similar, and it doesn't hurt that I know a little French as well as Català borrows a lot from French and Italian. In the end I consoled myself that I am getting two classes for the price of one: learning Català and Euskara at the same time. The only downside is that almost all of the students are Catalan - making friends in class is difficult when you don't speak Català, although everyone in the room speaks Castellano. Thankfully there is a Russian chick who also doesn't speak a word of Català, so I have a buddy. Most of the people in the class (90% female) are pretty friendly, except for one girl who shall remain nameless who is a total bitch and a smartarse who thinks she is brilliant at Euskara already but I just make sure to sit across the room from her. I absolutely love the teacher - although she speaks in Català she does plenty of hand gestures and non-verbal body language which help LOADS for me to understand her. She is Euskalduna (Basque) but has studied Català (obviously) and also speaks French, English and is now studying Japanese (the reason for this escapes me, but has something to do with wanting to study something as foreign to her as Euskara is to us). She is totally Euskalduna-looking, petite and slender with short, pixie-style hair and pixie-style clothes (I don't know how else to describe them, picture a pair of jeans and a long black t-shirt with a jagged hem, slitted sleeves and a chunky belt) a wide smile and a friendly demeanor. Anyway she is a really fun teacher who makes the class a pleasure to attend. I hope I get her for future courses!
I am learning a little at a time, the course goes fairly slowly as there are 35 of us. Grammar in Euskara is weird and unlike anything I have seen before - the language doesn't have articles or prepositions (things like the, a, in, at, from), but instead they declinate the nouns with different suffixes. For example, the city Bilbao is Bilbo, but if you want to say in Bilbao, it's Bilbon; in Barcelona is Bartzelonan, in Melbourne is Melbournen. From Melbourne is Melbournekoa. Weird stuff like that. It's fun, I always liked the grammatical part of learning languages, so this is super entertaining, only it's quite hard to remember it all! Kaixo, in case you were wondering, is "Hello", and you say it "kai-sho", with the accent on the "sho". I won't bore you with any more Euskara lessons, suffice to say it is worth visiting Euskadi (the Basque Country), especially the coast which is really beautiful. The food is also very good there, lots of seafood (tuna and cod in particular) and of course the ever-famous pintxos. I have only really seen Donosti (San Sebastian), Mallabia (Erik's town) and Bilbo (Bilbao), so there is a lot to be discovered even for me. Every turned stone when learning about the Basque culture yields surprises and delight, it really is a fascinating place and people, with a long and politically charged history which I won't go into now because a) I would be here all night and b) I don't know anything about it (though that never stopped me before).
Tomorrow, another interview, another batch of cookies (gingerbread this time). I am beginning to find out where to get all the strange things I require for my varied kitchen, La Boqueria is proving to be very useful for everything from dried spices to molasses to cornstarch, which for some reason is not available in any supermarket I have been to. Nobody so far seems to have tamarind paste, though they do sell whole tamarinds...if anyone has any idea how to make tamarind paste out of tamarinds, I would appreciate advice. Today I had a bit of a fright at the chicken shop, they only had chickens with the head and feet still attached! I thought I was going to have to google "dismembering chickens" when I got home, but when I bought it they cut them off, phew. Of course, sly things that they are they weighed the chicken before cutting it up, and thus added a couple hundred grams to the price.
Funny how you can take one thing, say a tomato. In some countries they sell them whole and would look at you funny if you wanted it canned. Here in Spain I had trouble finding canned chopped tomato, as most of the tomato here is either fried or pulped. In Aus you get the fresh kind, chopped, passata, loads of stuff. Depends on the culture. I use powdered ginger, parsley, basil and coriander (though I use the fresh stuff when I have it), but I would never dream of using powdered onion or garlic, and I don't even have them in the house. I'm sure in India nobody uses powdered coriander. It's just about what you are used to.
I am getting used to doing interviews in Castellano - in fact yesterday I did one in English and it felt very strange! I have gone through my CV so many times I can do it all by heart, but it feels good to be going through this process, I am learning a lot about the job market and my Castellano is improving in leaps and bounds. I am SO glad I didn't move to Barcelona six months after Dublin as planned - I wouldn't have found a job anywhere with my pitiful Spanish at the time! I'll be fine as long as I don't have to interview in Euskara...
Gabon!
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