After a long hard day of removal, nothing is better for me than sitting in my own empty room and writing my last tribute to my second home of Nuestra Señora de Africa...
Without the ear piercing rock music my stupid spanish neighbour is playing right now, I would surely have more imagination and concentration to summon the nostalgic sad feeling that may inspire memorable heart-breaking phrases like "I can't bear the thought of parting from my beloved Africa".
On the (extreme) contrary, I am so desperate to get out of this greenish student's residence.
Not that I don't bring any good memory during my stay with me, but the present is so unbearable that I just can't wait to try living a real life out there where people and things are different.
By the word "different" I mean...
- No more stupid spanish brats (oh yeah, I'm being a racist here, but mind you, it's not my fault!) who played music so loud as if their parents had never educated them before.
- No more itchy feeling while entering the Comedor. Lately when most of my friends have gone, I feel quite uneasy while walking through the canteen's door and most people turn their head to observe me (actually, they are observing whoever making the entrance, dramatic or not). I won't waste a paragraph to analyse the cause of my uneasiness here since it is obviously about unexplicable emotional thing.
- No more dealing with people that I don't get along well (at least for my part). Well, to tell you the truth, this problem never has a permanent solution. Everywhere you go, you are destined to bump into someone who has a different tune. But for me, the problem in Africa has at last come to an end. Phew!
- No more bloody rules that sometimes make things more complicated and turn the residence into a prison.
- No more dealing with the brain-dead Residence's Management Team. Bye bye Fabien!!! Hope you get lots of praises from future students!
You may think that I'm being so damn negative here (as always). To counterbalance all the cons above, I have squeezed my brain (till the last drop, of course) for some good things about Africa as well!!!
Here are what I have found out...
- I have had chances to meet interesting (and not so interesting) people who gave me their friendship and the opportunity to widen my perspective and taught me about tolerance. Thanks guys! You really teach me a lot, though unconsciously. If you spent time with me here in Africa and are reading this, there's no doubt that the message is for you :)
- Africa has become a crucial turing point in the road of learning for me. Thanks to everybody who was, has been and is part of it and has accompanied me along the way.
- My spanish has improved dramatically since I arrived because of the conversations in the Comedor and the cafes. Living here did help me master my language in various topics and fields.
- I can now say that I have eaten (almost) all the possible traditional spanish food. It's like a one-stop eatting experience; stay here for one year and you will taste it all! (ahem, I'm not talking about the food quality though, just want to keep things nice).
- The staff such as cleaning ladies, Carmen and Luisa in the laundry, Felipe and Juani (and Jimbo the dog) at the reception and José the tecnician are all very nice. Hate to say goodbye to them.
- Swimming time in summer! Ooooh, I really LOVE that. And it's free! (Beware! The water is so damn cold that you may get cramp easily within minutes).
- My ears have never had a rest here due to the constant gossips that fly here and there through out the building (but I has always been the last one to know about the most interesting gossips! I don't understand why!)
- If you are a dude, you have quite a chance to enjoy pretty pleasurable sights ( which I didn't) provided that there are so many girls here. Beautiful, cute, model-style, fashion conscious, conservative, liberal, humourous, talkative, showy, bitchy, sensual...You've got it all for you.
- But since I'm not in for girl watching (or hunting), I have to talk about guys instead, heheh. The point is that there are (and were) quite a few attractive guys here, so I can't say much about that; Not that they are unattractive, but the type I like can not be found here... until recently :) when new (and young!) spanish students came. That's really a pity for me to leave Africa. I can even see that some of 'em are gay and can be good prospects for a "my partner" position. Heheheh. Anyone interested?
Well, I think that's all I can think of. Too bad that I can't make it more sensational so that it can jerk some tear out of you.
After this incredible two full years which have passed so fast, it is finally a time to say goodbye to Africa which is and will be one of the most impressive memories in my life.
As everyone says "Life goes on", mine also does the same, although I don't even know exactly where I am heading. But surely at some point and some time in the future, along the road, I will look back and think of you and the good time we all spent in Africa. And in this way, I will be able to smile and keep going on again until I reach my destination.
Bye bye Africa.
Telón.
Showing posts with label Life in the Dorm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life in the Dorm. Show all posts
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
To Stay or Not to Stay
There's only 1 month left and my happy-time scholarship will automatically cease its life cycle, which means...
No more 600E per month.
No more super shopping experience in H&M, SPF, Zara, Principe Pio, etc.
No more european trips every now and then.
No more Colegio de Nuestra Senora de Africa (And with this, no more badly-cooked and hardly edible food in the Comedor as well! Yeah! Finally!!!)
No more first quality health insurance from DKV
Etc.
Soon my student/resident card will expire and I'm bound to head home to start my life anew there.
I DON'T WANNA GO HOME!!!
Well, not yet, at the moment.
Come on, I don't plan to stick here forever with the bulls and the flamenco dancers (spanish dudes are an exception, of course!)
Despite lots of things to take into consideration, I've finally come to a well-thought conclusion (Which means...even my family can't change my mind, heheh)
For the moment, I'm gonna stay in Madrid till April, guyssssssssssss!!! Hurraaaahh, good news for those who reside in Madrid, or even in Barcelona (I don't forget u Evans y Bong!) and supposedly bad news for my buddies in Bangkok (Don't cry! I'll be there in the end, my whole life is on that track, not here).
Let's see if I can make it through until April (or even further). Becuz I don't really know when my company will kick me out, in case their well-planned million-euro project fail (Ojala no!).
And here come the time and opportunity to...
Live in a shared apartment with my lovely austrian lost love Trixi :P and the gang.
Work, work & work (I don't complain about this though. Actually I appreciate that I've GOT one).
Cook what I really wanna eat (and learn how to!!!) :D
Do the cleaning.
Do the laundry.
Hang out with friends freely whenever I WANT without having to go back to the Colegio in time for a meal.
And much more....
It's about time to live a real life here. Despite the two years that I have been here, I feel like I'm as inexperienced as those who have just arrive yesterday in term of living on one's own. It's like I have not really been living in Madrid (like all others) at all because things in Africa is too systematically prepared and organized. Everything is too easy. I can get (almost) everything without efforts here.
As for those who are in Bangkok, they can surely wait for me. Hey! I'm not taking u guys for granted, but I'm just trying to say it's just 6 months or a year more! And we'll have quite plenty of time to hang out together! (Including u, Patto!)
Until next time, plan your life well and tell me about it!
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
1-year break... Whoops! That was more than enough!
It's been more than one full year that I haven't updated my blog.
All the reasons that I can come up with can be extracted into one reasonable excuse; I didn't have time.
Last September, I decided to embark on a grand certificate-hunting mission by enrolling in a course of Hispanic Studies as a Diploma which would take away all of my precious spare time I had always had in the first year.
My routine activities were no more than waking up, going to class, coming back for lunch, doing homeworks, going to another class, coming back for dinner, doing more homeworks and going to bed.
Not that I didn't have any chance to get relaxed by going somewhere else, but I just couldn't travel as much as I had done the year before. And that was excruciatingly boring.
However, I tried to make the most out of the little time I had to see the world. Italy, Greece and Valencia the main destinations I travelled to during this academic year, not to mention another trip to Barcelona and Paris with my family :)
Well, as summer approches, now I eagerly await for my next well-planned trip to London and Edinburgh with my best thai friend, Manao. I'm so sure that it's going to be one of the most expensive and least comfortable trip that I have ever taken, taking in to account the ridiculously high cost of living of this british metropolitan. Anyway, we'll enjoy it, I'm sure of that.
Actually I have loads of interesting stories in my mind waiting for their turn to be told, but I hardly have organized what to write first and later. That's why I decided to begin first with this introduction before I really come up with the reviews of what you guys have missed during this period!
So... see ya on the next post! :)
All the reasons that I can come up with can be extracted into one reasonable excuse; I didn't have time.
Last September, I decided to embark on a grand certificate-hunting mission by enrolling in a course of Hispanic Studies as a Diploma which would take away all of my precious spare time I had always had in the first year.
My routine activities were no more than waking up, going to class, coming back for lunch, doing homeworks, going to another class, coming back for dinner, doing more homeworks and going to bed.
Not that I didn't have any chance to get relaxed by going somewhere else, but I just couldn't travel as much as I had done the year before. And that was excruciatingly boring.
However, I tried to make the most out of the little time I had to see the world. Italy, Greece and Valencia the main destinations I travelled to during this academic year, not to mention another trip to Barcelona and Paris with my family :)
Well, as summer approches, now I eagerly await for my next well-planned trip to London and Edinburgh with my best thai friend, Manao. I'm so sure that it's going to be one of the most expensive and least comfortable trip that I have ever taken, taking in to account the ridiculously high cost of living of this british metropolitan. Anyway, we'll enjoy it, I'm sure of that.
Actually I have loads of interesting stories in my mind waiting for their turn to be told, but I hardly have organized what to write first and later. That's why I decided to begin first with this introduction before I really come up with the reviews of what you guys have missed during this period!
So... see ya on the next post! :)
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Africa, la segunda temporada.
Just let it be… Just let it will be… Oh…just let it be…
Although this ear-pleasing new song of my sister (aunt, to be more precise) Madonna that I was listening while writing this message seemed grammatically disastrous, I still enjoyed it anyway.
Well, actually, the fact was that I would be happy to listen to any music that I myself chose to play, but… definitely not the one my generous neighbors kindly shared to me every weekend’s night.
Laughter, conversations, guitar melodies and, of course, techno/electro music burst out in unison from the room next door every Friday’s and Saturday’s night. Here came the end of peaceful era…
At first, I was glad to have a cute Spanish university student who was full of great interpersonal skill, considering from the fiestas he threw every weekend, living next to my room. Not only that I was desperately in need to get to know him (and, well, a whole lot of his friends) due to the fact that last year, Africa was full of the (mostly) middle-aged (and unattractive) latinos, but also I expected another year full of peace in my neighborhood on the 7th floor (that I exclusively had chosen and moved in before the influx of the new incoming students in hope of a better living condition).
New Spanish friends, new becarios, new room with better view, new neighbors and new courses…Wow..Africa… the future Utopia for my second year!
Yeah, that was all my dream, and dream it still is today.
As the second year of the scholarship started, all of my best friends had already moved to their own lovely apartments, pursuing their academic or professional goals, leaving me alone with the fear of having to face the whole new life in Africa alone. It didn’t seem so bad at all, frankly spoken. I only had to armed myself with a Miss Congeneality smile and fired basic questions to any newcomers who unluckily came within range. The best opportunity to get as much information (and friendship) as I could was when we had meal in the canteen. I quickly made acquaintance with the new becarios without any problems thanks to my unique (but stunningly beautiful) oriental appearance. As I was the only so-called chinito in the dorm, every one had no problem recognizing me. Sometimes, I even didn’t know the name of those who said hello to me when we met in metro!
The first phase went by without requiring me too much effort. I had made a few best friends who were both newcomers and those who had made a (wrong) decision to stay here one more year.
Then the exodus of the university students hit the dorm. Like a terrifying wave of Tsunami that could leave thousands of property and people devastated and with suffering, these energetic Spanish youngsters full of creativity, joy, happiness and destructive power who sought a better future through a process of academic maturation, financially supported and spoilt by their wealthy parents, roamed every corner and corridor of Africa.
They came, they saw and they conquered. Literally it was this way.
It had been three months since the departure of the oldies and the arrival of the Spanish newbies, which had changed the major aspects and conditions of the dorm; a door left broken, toilets left without being flushed, tissue papers all over the bathroom’s floor. These rowdy teenagers didn’t only throw fiestas in their rooms on Friday’s nights, filling the entire floor with more-than-90-decibel techno and rock music, they also ran stomping through the corridor regardless of the time. Sometimes they even made a reunion to enjoy their home cinema with a full range of hi-fi sets at midnight while leaving the door open.
I had no idea how they had managed to completely eradicate the innate common sense, supposedly inculcated by their parents and the Nature itself in their childhood, from their brains. They never stopped to think about how other people would feel about the disturbance of peace that they had made. The people incapable of thinking logically on their own. And that was what irritated me the most.
As for Africa itself, the food could never be worse. The becarios were much more open-minded than those of the last year. Apart from this, everything was supposed to be fine if it hadn’t been for the robbery that took place twice within a month.
And one of the victims was me. I could blame no one but myself for trusting too much in the security of the colegio. Last year, not a single robbery taken place in a resident’s room was reported. How did I become a poor victim of such a heinous crime? Well, as I said, it was all my faults. I sometimes left the door unlocked during a couple of minutes when I went to the bathroom. Apart from the fact that a houskeeper could enter my room to do her duty every other day, it was left to no doubt that someone, in a blink of an eye, sneaked into my chamber and snatched away the unguarded treasure.
During the first stage of mental trauma when I realized about the disappearance of my mobile phone, I came up with hundreds of possible hypothesis. Logically, I first suspected the maid who regularly did the housekeeping, but, in the end I came to the conclusion that it could be anyone passing by, discreetly observing from a corner of the corridor waiting for a good opportunity to strike. It could even be those little disgraceful Spanish kids who came as usual to the party next door.
All I could do in retaliation for this shameless action is to post a well-written condemnation message, wishing all the worst in the world to the thief and his/her family, so that the public would know that we had a villain living amongst us.
As soon as I recovered from the shock of the robbery, another odd event mercilessly stroke Africa without warning, a mentally-ill SOB randomly made obscene internal phone call to the residents. As expected, I was included in the list of the unfortunates. One fine day while I was doing my translation homework, the phone rang, so I picked it up, only just to listen to faint breathing on the other end of the line during 5 seconds before it was disconnected. A couple of days later I got another call, it was exactly the same, except that the panting was clearer, louder and seemingly more aroused and then he hung up. Later on I was bothered by this phone call for a couple of times before the culprit got bored of stalking me. As writing this diary, I had no idea if he still went on with his telephonic sexual pleasure project. I only hoped that all this freak would come to and end very soon so that I could return to normal life.
Well, that’s all about my life in Africa at the beginning of the second year. Since recently I have been spending most of the time locking myself in the room, in order to recover from the incision that had opened again almost a month ago, I can’t find any more interesting anecdotes than what I have written here. After the Xmas vacations I would surely come up with something new. Until then, I would keep praying and hoping that my beloved little neighbor would reunite with his clan very soon for the celebration and leave a chinito like me in peace for once!
Although this ear-pleasing new song of my sister (aunt, to be more precise) Madonna that I was listening while writing this message seemed grammatically disastrous, I still enjoyed it anyway.
Well, actually, the fact was that I would be happy to listen to any music that I myself chose to play, but… definitely not the one my generous neighbors kindly shared to me every weekend’s night.
Laughter, conversations, guitar melodies and, of course, techno/electro music burst out in unison from the room next door every Friday’s and Saturday’s night. Here came the end of peaceful era…
At first, I was glad to have a cute Spanish university student who was full of great interpersonal skill, considering from the fiestas he threw every weekend, living next to my room. Not only that I was desperately in need to get to know him (and, well, a whole lot of his friends) due to the fact that last year, Africa was full of the (mostly) middle-aged (and unattractive) latinos, but also I expected another year full of peace in my neighborhood on the 7th floor (that I exclusively had chosen and moved in before the influx of the new incoming students in hope of a better living condition).
New Spanish friends, new becarios, new room with better view, new neighbors and new courses…Wow..Africa… the future Utopia for my second year!
Yeah, that was all my dream, and dream it still is today.
As the second year of the scholarship started, all of my best friends had already moved to their own lovely apartments, pursuing their academic or professional goals, leaving me alone with the fear of having to face the whole new life in Africa alone. It didn’t seem so bad at all, frankly spoken. I only had to armed myself with a Miss Congeneality smile and fired basic questions to any newcomers who unluckily came within range. The best opportunity to get as much information (and friendship) as I could was when we had meal in the canteen. I quickly made acquaintance with the new becarios without any problems thanks to my unique (but stunningly beautiful) oriental appearance. As I was the only so-called chinito in the dorm, every one had no problem recognizing me. Sometimes, I even didn’t know the name of those who said hello to me when we met in metro!
The first phase went by without requiring me too much effort. I had made a few best friends who were both newcomers and those who had made a (wrong) decision to stay here one more year.
Then the exodus of the university students hit the dorm. Like a terrifying wave of Tsunami that could leave thousands of property and people devastated and with suffering, these energetic Spanish youngsters full of creativity, joy, happiness and destructive power who sought a better future through a process of academic maturation, financially supported and spoilt by their wealthy parents, roamed every corner and corridor of Africa.
They came, they saw and they conquered. Literally it was this way.
It had been three months since the departure of the oldies and the arrival of the Spanish newbies, which had changed the major aspects and conditions of the dorm; a door left broken, toilets left without being flushed, tissue papers all over the bathroom’s floor. These rowdy teenagers didn’t only throw fiestas in their rooms on Friday’s nights, filling the entire floor with more-than-90-decibel techno and rock music, they also ran stomping through the corridor regardless of the time. Sometimes they even made a reunion to enjoy their home cinema with a full range of hi-fi sets at midnight while leaving the door open.
I had no idea how they had managed to completely eradicate the innate common sense, supposedly inculcated by their parents and the Nature itself in their childhood, from their brains. They never stopped to think about how other people would feel about the disturbance of peace that they had made. The people incapable of thinking logically on their own. And that was what irritated me the most.
As for Africa itself, the food could never be worse. The becarios were much more open-minded than those of the last year. Apart from this, everything was supposed to be fine if it hadn’t been for the robbery that took place twice within a month.
And one of the victims was me. I could blame no one but myself for trusting too much in the security of the colegio. Last year, not a single robbery taken place in a resident’s room was reported. How did I become a poor victim of such a heinous crime? Well, as I said, it was all my faults. I sometimes left the door unlocked during a couple of minutes when I went to the bathroom. Apart from the fact that a houskeeper could enter my room to do her duty every other day, it was left to no doubt that someone, in a blink of an eye, sneaked into my chamber and snatched away the unguarded treasure.
During the first stage of mental trauma when I realized about the disappearance of my mobile phone, I came up with hundreds of possible hypothesis. Logically, I first suspected the maid who regularly did the housekeeping, but, in the end I came to the conclusion that it could be anyone passing by, discreetly observing from a corner of the corridor waiting for a good opportunity to strike. It could even be those little disgraceful Spanish kids who came as usual to the party next door.
All I could do in retaliation for this shameless action is to post a well-written condemnation message, wishing all the worst in the world to the thief and his/her family, so that the public would know that we had a villain living amongst us.
As soon as I recovered from the shock of the robbery, another odd event mercilessly stroke Africa without warning, a mentally-ill SOB randomly made obscene internal phone call to the residents. As expected, I was included in the list of the unfortunates. One fine day while I was doing my translation homework, the phone rang, so I picked it up, only just to listen to faint breathing on the other end of the line during 5 seconds before it was disconnected. A couple of days later I got another call, it was exactly the same, except that the panting was clearer, louder and seemingly more aroused and then he hung up. Later on I was bothered by this phone call for a couple of times before the culprit got bored of stalking me. As writing this diary, I had no idea if he still went on with his telephonic sexual pleasure project. I only hoped that all this freak would come to and end very soon so that I could return to normal life.
Well, that’s all about my life in Africa at the beginning of the second year. Since recently I have been spending most of the time locking myself in the room, in order to recover from the incision that had opened again almost a month ago, I can’t find any more interesting anecdotes than what I have written here. After the Xmas vacations I would surely come up with something new. Until then, I would keep praying and hoping that my beloved little neighbor would reunite with his clan very soon for the celebration and leave a chinito like me in peace for once!
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