Palawan

Good morning ladies and gentlemen! Per fi he trobat una estona per escriure...

No sabeu lo difícil que se'm fa últimament trobar un moment per dedicar-me al blog; entre el xinès, buscar feina i els amics, gairebé no paro mai! Però sé que em trobeu a faltar, així que aquí torno a estar! -rodolí ;)-. Bé doncs, com que "lo prometido es deuda", avui seguiré amb la història del viatge a les Filipines...

Així doncs, prosseguim des d'on ho vam deixar, la nit en què vam acabar en un show "diferent", on vaig haver de lluitar -i guanyar!- amb en Todd per l'amor d'en Phillipe, que com a premi -o càstig- em va regalar un parell de petons -a la galta, no sigueu malpensats! Encara que haver d'esquivar l'epicentre de la seva cara...- i un intent de striptease... Va ser una nit ben divertida!

I al dia següent, cap a Palawan, una de les illes més maques de les Filipines. Pel camí, gairebé perdem l'autobús cap a l'aeroport -de fet el vam haver de parar amb el cotxe, posant-nos davant seu-. I què tal Palawan? Genial. Vam estar en un hotel que estava al mig del no res, davant d'una platja paradisíaca i amb la selva a l'esquena. I quina selva, tan verda i tan densa... I com que estàvem aïllats del món, doncs vam dedicar els 3 dies que vam estar allà a fer excursions: a unes cascades al mig de la selva, island-hopping, a un riu subterrani, un dia vam llogar unes motos i vam fer carretera -quins paisatges!-. Però una imatge val més que mil paraules oi? Doncs aquí teniu l'equivalent a uns quants milers de paraules...

Quan torni a tenir temps segueixo amb la història. Serà el torn de Boracay, the party island...

Fins aviat!

El xinès

Let's go to paradise!

We survived 12 days in the Philippines... and here I am, back and ready to explain you everything, including the dirty details!

So everything started... with a delay on the plane. They kept us inside the airplane, with the air-con off because it used too much petrol, for 3 hours! During this time I had some interesting talk with the hostesses, who explained me why, from their point of view, the reason we were stuck in Pudong Airport. Unfortunately I have to censure it, can't make it public... :)

Well, after sweating all the water we had inside, walked from one side of the plane to the other, have some funny talk with the hostesses... we finally left! It was just a 3 hours flight, so before we realized we were already in Manila, where Boyet, a Philippine friend, came to pick us up from the airport... together with Dani, her daughter... God, that girl had energy... She is 8, and in the beginning she looked shy but as soon as she felt more confident, there was nobody who could stop her!

Boyet took us to her mother's place, Yolanda, were we had dinner and slept. We can't thank them enough for all they did for us those last days. :)

As the trip was kind of improvised, we had no plan at all, we had to spend the next day planning everything: buying plane tickets, booking hotels... I FREAKED OUT! But we succeeded and when the night came, after a great Turkish dinner, we went out. First, to a club that was empty. Literally empty, we were the only ones so, after a while, we left and walked through Manila's streets till we found a club were a funny show was being performed. First I was reticent to go in -and that night would prove I had better stayed home ;)- but, following the girls' orders, as always, we bought the ticket and found a table next to the stage. The first show was performed by Philippe... Can you imagine the rest? We were the only foreigners, so as soon as he saw us, he told us to go to the stage. How did it all end up? As expected... Todd and I had to perform a show where we fought for Philippe's love. God, that was funny and embarrassing at the same time! There are videos and pictures, but they're censured by now! ;)

Ladies and gentlemen, I have to go. I arrived yesterday and I still have a lot of stuff to do, from catching up with the classes to look for a job. Tomorrow, more!! Have a nice day!!

PS: Yolanda, Boyet, Rita, Shirley, Jordi, Dani, David... and all those who've made of this a great trip, THANKS!!

Next destination...

Finally I'm back again! It has been a long time since I lost wrote in the blog... And it wasn't because I didn't have things to tell but because I did not have time nor patience to write. But cheer up, smile, because here I am again!! :) What has kept me so occupied lately? Trip to Nanjing, level 3 midterm exams, housewarming party in Shanghai and, now... PHILIPPINES!

Yes, I'm going to the Philippines! In fact, I just finished packing everything I need -not much, really. Some shorts and a bathing suit- and in approx. 20 minutes, I have to go to take a bus which will bring the four of us -Toddy, my love Bianca, my sis Yanyie and me- to the airport. I'm so excited! We're gonna spend 12 days there, starting in Manila and then flying to different islands. Take a look at some pictures from the Philippines and you'll see that it looks like paradise! "Estoy en el paraíso, yeah Fiona?" ;) Though we haven't organized much of the trip yet... but who cares, improvising is fun!! I'll explain you everything, with all the details, when I'm back!

And couple weeks ago we went to Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province, for 3 days, together with two German friends. How was it? Well, let's say unexpected things -which became funny- happened, but it was fun!

Oh, and I already have the mark from the Chinese grammar exam: 94 out of 100. Not bad yeah? ;)

Ladies and gentlemen, I have to go, the Philippines are waiting for me! But don't worry, as soon as I come back I'll let you know how the trip was! Wish me luck and fun!!

Greetings and love from the other side of the world!!

PS: For the next post, remind me to explain how it is to have your hair cut in China!!

Disappeared!

I know, I've been disappeared for a long time... But I got my reasons: from moving up to level 3 -which leaves me less free time- to the visit of daddy Pere -just awesome!-, plus the nice weather which forces me to spend the day outside, etc. But I'm finally back and ready to explain all of you how everything is going on!

Right now I'm sitting on a pretty comfortable sofa, listening to some relaxing music, drinking a good coffee and surfing the Internet in - I'll give you three options, let's see if you guess it-...

1. The Chinese jungle, scratching a baby panda's belly while I write this post.
2. The Philippines, laying on a hammock in front of the sea, drinking a coffee because it's still too early to start with cocktails.
3. Starbucks, enjoying a Sunday's morning in the best possible company, my fater!

I bet over the half of you haven't guessed the right answer: I'm in Starbucks! ;) Though the Philippines may com soon as, together with some friends, we're planning to go there the first week of May. I'll keep you updated...

But now it's time to explain you how everything is going on here. To start with, daddy Pere is here, so I'm having an awesome weekend! And with great weather, just sunny and hot the whole day long, so what else can I ask for? Yesterday we went sightseeing, strolling around the nicest places in Suzhou -Jinji lake, ShiQuanJie, LiGongdi, the old town...- while holding really interesting conversations, updating about each other's life, etc. And today we just came for a coffee beside the lake, because we both needed to work for a while, and afterwards we're going to go back to Shanghai, as daddy Pere is -unfortunately for me- going back home tomorrow. However, I have enjoyed every single second he has spent here. :) And I hope that's just the start of many people -family, friends... come on!- coming to visit me! "Come on"©  -this expression is under copyright-, doesn't happen everyday that you have a relative/friend living in China, who "speaks" Chinese and can be your guide, so TAKE THE CHANCE!

And about the last two weeks, they've been a non stop, like always: from Monopoly games to Tennis, while having a great time with friends, meeting new people, etc. The only problem, I've been sick for 5 days, but that hasn't stopped me of doing anything and now I'm 100% recovered! So it was nothing but an anecdote...

Well, I'll go now, it is time to enjoy the great weather in great company. I hope you are all having a great time and to see some of you, soon, in China! All the best!!

El xino

PS: Have you seen the Chinese Quijote?

Diary of an awesome week!

Hi everyone! Here I am back again, completely wet but ready to explain you all my Chinese adventures. And why wet? Well, because today's evening we played badminton -in the street- with some friends and afterwards we decided to go together to the street food for dinner. However, suddenly it started to rain and most of my friends -cowards! :P-, in fact everybody except THE AWESOME Bianca, decided to go home. So I went together with Bianca to eat the 非常好吃 Chinese burritos while having a great talk, catching up under a refreshing rain.

Whatever, today I wanted to let you know what I did last week, let's see what you think...

• Monday: tough day as together with my sis we moved up to level 3 -we want to learn faster-. But after class, 2 hours of tennis followed by some study time and, to end with, a... POKER NIGHT! Unfortunately I lost, couldn't face Magnus' "all-in" start.
• Tuesday: after class, some more tennis and gym. And at night? Time for a date!!
• Wednesday: third day in a row with good weather -we hadn't seen the sun since I came- so after class, tennis again. You don't know how much I love it! And at night, as it is a tradition, friends + beer + funny talks at The Drunken Clam!
• Thursday: bad weather came back, it was raining the whole day so I took it easy and, after school, gym and studying, I just stayed home and relaxed, saving energies for the crazy weekend that was about to come...
• Friday: there we are again, weekend is back! After the daily routine -school, study and gym- I went to Raphi's -or Todd's, can be called both ways- for a beer, to warm up, and afterwards we went to a friend's surprise birthday party, were we tried to break a piñata -no success...-, we met many friends... And then, party!
• Saturday: Saint Patrick's day. Therefore, is there any better plan than to gather with friends, drink beer and party? The answer, obvious: NO. So that's what we did...
• Sunday: some gym, study and, at night, movie night. And my sis was finally back from Shanghai so I wanted to meet her!

Well, well, well, what's your opinion of my last week?
I have to go now, it is time to relax already. I hope you all had a great week too, and to have news from you soon!
xoxo

降龙

PS: By the way, don't get me wrong, don't think I just have fun and don't study hard. On the posts I just write about the interesting things, not about the routine because you'd get easily bored. But if you want to know it, I study every single day, plus I go to the gym nearly everyday too. ;)
PPS: Raphi, you know what it means already?

What a nice week!

Hello everyone!! Before I start telling the story, I just want to say that today I'll write in Catalan because I feel freer, I can express myself far better. And the second reason is that I have to practice it, as in China I've spoken all the languages I know, from German to Spanish, including Chinese and English. But Catalan? Unfortunately not yet...

Així doncs, aquí torno a ser. A on concretament? Doncs ara mateix estic estirat al llit, ben embolicat amb l'edredó -perquè tot i que han pujat les temperatures, segueix fent fred- i amb l'ordinador a la falda. A més a més, ja em va bé un bon descans perquè quina setmana he tingut! Ara us en faré un resum...

Dilluns va ser el dia més tranquil. Després de classe vaig anar amb els amics a dinar per celebrar l'aniversari d'en Todd, després una bona sessió de gimnàs per a cremar energies i, tot seguit, cap a casa la Yanyie i la Bianca, que van organitzar una "movie night". Per cert, que dilluns vam tenir un temps horrible, fred i pluja tot el dia...

I dimarts ens vam llevar amb Sol, per primer cop des que he tornat a Suzhou! Quina alegria! :D Ja hi contava -ja que últimament segueixo les previsions meteorològiques a diari- i, per tant, havia quedat amb un amic per, després de classe, jugar a... TENIS!! Tots em coneixeu i sabeu que, tot i que el meu nivell tenístic no ho demostri pas, estic enamorat del tenis i hi jugaria a diari si fos possible. Per tant, vaig gaudir molt al tornar a agafar la raqueta i passar algunes boles. Però sabeu què va ser el millor? A la pista del costat hi havia jugant una parella coreana, amb un nivell més que acceptable, i ens van dir si volíem fer uns dobles amb ells. Com no, vam acceptar encantats!! I va resultat que el noi coreà era professor de tenis! Tenia un nivell...  espectacular! Primer em va tantejar una mica i com que va veure que dels 4, a excepció d'ell -el millor i de llarg-, jo era qui passava millor la pilota, em va jugar seriosament. Quin servei, quin liftat que portava la bola i quina velocitat! I si a això li sumes que jugàvem a pista ràpida, ja us podeu imaginar el resultat. Però jo m'ho vaig "passar pipa"! Així que a veure si algun altre dia torno a jugar amb ell...

Dimarts, després del tenis vaig anar al gimnàs a acabar de cremar les energies que em quedaven, després vaig estar fent deures i estudiant i a la nit van venir un parell d'amics a casa a xerrar una estona.

I dimecres va ser el dia més normal, més rutinari. Classe, estudiar, gimnàs i, a la nit, vaig anar amb en Raphi a "The Drunken Clam" a fer una cerveseta i xerrar una estona.

I dijous què? Doncs va ser l'aniversari d'en Magnus. Conseqüentment, a la nit vam tornar a "The Drunken Clam", que precisament aquell dia hi anava un còmic suec -quina casualitat, ja que en Magnus també és suec-. I va ser divertidíssim! No vam parar de riure en tota la nit.

I divendres, doncs després de classe em vaig reunir amb una amiga xinesa, a la qual jo ensenyo castellà i ella a mi xinès. I em va felicitar pel meu nivell! :) És professora de xinès, i dóna classes particulars a alguns companys de classe i em va dir que jo ho feia molt millor. Em va alegrar el dia, la veritat! I a la nit vaig fer un sopar-festa a casa, ja que quan vaig tornar em vaig endur embotits per a que els amics els provessin.

I ahir vaig tenir una cita :) i després vam tornar a celebrar els aniversaris amb una festa a casa la Bianca! Com podeu veure, la meva vida és un no parar... i com m'agrada!

Ah, i una anècdota. Sempre que vaig al gimnàs xerro una estona amb el jefe, un senyor ja entrat en anys però que sempre està allà per ajudar, donar consells, etc. Amb el temps ens hem fet amics i cada dia parlem una bona estona. Doncs no recordo quin dia, però després d'aixecar 100 kg de pit -no està malament eh!- em va voler ensenyar lo fort que està i em va dir que li toqués el pit. Un cop passada la sorpresa inicial, i el moment de: "L'hauré entès bé?", ho vaig fer i... quina roca! Mai m'hagués imaginat que un home d'uns 60 anys pogués estar tan fort... I per cert, també m`'ha felicitat per lo ràpid que estic aprenent xinès!

Crec que això és tot per avui. Realment, no sé que he escrit. Si quelcom  no té sentit o és una mica confús, ho sento, és l'efecte d'una setmana sense parar. Espero que tots estigueu passant un molt bon cap de setmana. 

Una abraçada des de Suzhou!

Flashback - Part 2: Vienna, here I come!

"Hi everyone! I am still recovering from the awesome weekend we spent in Shanghai, it was so funny... And today hasn't been bad either, after school we went for lunch all together because it's Todd's birthday -HAPPY B-DAY!!-, then I studied some Chinese and did the homework, and in around an hour we are meeting at Raph+Todd's place -finally Raphy is back!- for a movie night. Not bad, yeah?"

Well, I started to write this post last Monday and it's already Saturday! So it's not Todd's birthday anymore... though tonight we are celebrating it, together with Magnus' birthday -last Thursday- and Bianca "Welcome in my new apartment" party. It is going to be a funny night, a way of going on with the great week I have had until now.

However, tomorrow I'll write about my week, because today I wanted to talk about Vienna. As most of you already know, when I was back in Spain I took the chance to go to Vienna for a long weekend -from Thursday until Sunday- to visit all the great friends I have in there: some old ones like Niki, Matthias, Peter... -I know them for over 4 years already!- and some others I met during the year I spent working there, at BOKU. All of them are great people, thanks to them I really enjoyed last year living in Vienna! Those were crazy-awesome days, because what else can you ask for, more than being surrounded by great people and having lots of fun? The answer, easy: Nothing!

I'd like to explain my stay with all the details, but let's say it's not the best of the ideas... :D So I'll summarize it in a mathematical equation:

FRIENDS + PARTY + LIVING WITH NIKI AND MATHIAS = 100% FUN

And I must specially thank Niki, who took care of me during the four days... "Niki, I know it must have been hard, and you may have needed some days to recover, to get back your energies, but thanks for the great weekend!! We have to repeat that soon, as soon as I'm back in Europe and remember, I'm waiting for your visit to Barcelona!!"

Finally, the only thing I regret of my stay is not being able to meet all my friends, like Luis, Stefan... guys, I'll be there again and I won't miss the chance next time!

Well guys, now I have to go, I need to eat something in order to have energies for tonight! Oh, and by the way, finally it has stopped raining!!! You can't imagine how much we were looking forward to that, it has been raining everyday for the last month! And today the sun has finally appeared! Furthermore, if the weather forecast is correct, we are going to have good weather from now on! Wish me luck!

I hope you all have a nice weekend and tomorrow, if I find some time, I'll write again!! See you!

Flashback - Part 1: Welcome back

You know, today is one of those days were you would just lay in sofa and watch some movies, while feeling homesick... Why? Mainly due to the weather, we're having awful weather those past days: cloudy, rainy and cold. What else can you ask for, right? :) And the weather forecast says it will stay this way for the next two weeks...

However, I'm not going to complain, as here in China everything is so crazy, such a non-stop, that whenever you have the chance to relax and rest for a day, take it! You do not know which crazy things will be waiting for you tomorrow... Well, I kind of do: class and language exchange, plus something in the evening, and on Saturday I'm going to Shanghai with many friends. It's going to be AWESOME!

But today is time for a flashback. As much as I like to explain you all the interesting Chinese anecdotes and stories, I think it is fair to dedicate some chapters of the blog to the last month, to the great days I spent back home. So let's start...

Everything started on a Wednesday, 11th of January of 2012. After taking my exams, saying good-bye to some friends who wouldn't be here the next semester -frenchies, we miss you!!- and preparing everything, the day had arrived: it was time to go back home! It was an exhausting day -3 hours by bus, 11h by plane, 2h waiting in Frankfurt for another 2h plane- but at 11PM I was finally back home! :D

It was great to see everyone, from family to friends. Especially my little brother, Ton, that I had missed so much. He was so much taller... I'm afraid when I see him again he'll already be as tall or taller than me! I spent the first days visiting everyone, talking hours and hours about my experiences, and listening to my family and friends, that told me how was everything back home. Luckily, nothing had really changed, it was still the perfect place that I remembered. And that first weekend, David, my eldest brother, came home from Holland to visit me. It was a long time without meeting him, since last August...

About that weekend, I must say that I had a jet-lag attack! Oh God, both days I fell asleep around 5PM, woke up at 9 to have some dinner and went directly straight to bed. The 7 hours difference sucks! :)

So back home I went back to my old friends, picking up old traditions with friends -such as the daily evening beer at "La Consulta"- and with family. I wanted to be and was surrounded by somebody the whole time, sharing the way the life had treated us -not bad at all, in my case-.

Well well well, I think it's time for me to go for dinner, I'm really hungry! I'll eat something before I get too hungry and do what we say back home: "If you are hungry, eat your leg".

If I have annoyed someone explaining my memories -and by being a bit homesick-, don't worry! It's just the rain, I need my portion of Sun!! And it'll come soon. :D

By the way, I will dedicate next chapter to Vienna, it deserves an own chapter as it was amazing! :D See you!!!

 

PS: this picture was taken here in China, last week, and it's dedicated to a great friend that unfortunately had to go back home earlier than expected. Martin, all the best and take care!! :D

Des de Xina amb... humor!!

Bon dia a tots! Here we go again, a l'altre punta del món i pelant-me de fred... Perquè en fa molt, i més encara quan penso en el bon temps que fa a Catalunya, on cada matí surt el Sol i les temperatures són ben primaverals, on cada dia gaudiu d'un cel ben blau, quina enveja! :) Tot i així no em queixo pas, amb el temps he anat aprenent maneres de combatre el fred -sobretot l'any passat a Viena- i, ara mateix, em trobo a la taula de l'escriptori amb el calefactor -aire condicionat- engegat a 27ºC, tota potència i enfocant-me directament. Encara que no puc evitar mirar cada dos per tres la previsió meteorològica, esperant veure el dia en què les temperatures pujaran de 6ºC i en què apareixerà el Sol, ja que tot i poder aguantar el fred, no puc viure sense el Sol i el cel blau...

Per sort, aquesta és la única cosa de la qual em puc queixar. La resta, tal i com us he anat informant, genial! Així doncs, anem per feina...

Tot i portar despert poc més de 6 hores -ara són les 13:15h-, avui ja m'han passat un parell de coses dignes de compartir.

Us posaré en situació. Les 8:30, comença la classe de xinès i, com sempre, jo arribo just en punt però tothom ja està assegut i preparat. Conclusió: tothom m'observa fins que arribo i em sento al meu lloc. El meu estat: semi-despert, semi-dormit. La professora s'adona que encara tinc lleganyes als ulls així que pensa: "Ara veurà..." -mentre fa un somriure maligne- i em crida perquè vagi a la pissarra, davant de tota la classe, a respondre algunes preguntes sobre el tema de la lliçó: llogar un pis. Conseqüentment, em passo els següents 10 minuts responent a preguntes sobre el meu pis: com és, quan costa, on està, si visc sol -pregunta interessada? Qui sap, però la resposta negativa ha generat polèmica-, etc. Al final, quan semblava que ja podia tornar cap al meu lloc -ara ben despert- la professora ha demanat si quedava alguna pregunta. I això que una noia asiàtica -lamentablement encara no distingeixo entre coreanes i japoneses- aixeca la mà, tothom pendent del que dirà, i pregunta: "Et puc fer una foto?". Primer creia no haver-la entès -i ho esperava-, però no, ha repetit la pregunta i jo, amb cara de circumstàncies -i mentre tota la classe no parava de riure- he hagut de somriure a la càmera...

I la segona "anècdota" del dia ha estat quan durant segona classe del dia la professora ha vingut a parlar amb mi per dir-me quant contenta estava de tenir-me a classe, ja que vaig ser el millor alumne del curs a primer. La veritat és que m'ha fet molta il·lusió. :)

Això és tot per avui. Ara em toca estudiar una mica, després aniré al gimnàs a cansar-me una estona i a la nit quedaré amb els amics per anar a prendre quelcom. Amics que, per cert, aprecio moltíssim i amb els quals cada dia fem una cosa o altre -ahir, per exemple, va tocar "story + movie night"-.

Espero que tots estigueu passant una gran setmana, i a veure si m'aneu trucant o escrivint correus informatius! Va, no sigueu mandrosos! Una abraçada a tots!!!

PD: Per què utilitzar camions? Res com la força humana, o no? Jutgeu-ho vosaltres mateixos...

Tot i que no ho pugueu veure -no vaig tenir temps de fer una bona foto- un home arrossega tota aquesta pila de cadires...

China, 2nd part: can it be better than the first?

Hey hey hey!! I'm back! Twice back, in fact. First to China, where I got back last Monday. And second, to the blog. Has been a really long time without writing, maybe too long, but I guessed I lost the inspiration for a while. Or, a more plausible hypothesis, lately I have been having so much fun that I didn't find the time to sit in front of the computer. Yes, I guess the second hypothesis is the good one...

So here I am, back in my beloved Suzhou! :) I must admit it was hard to leave home, I have had so much fun there this last month -but that'll come in the next chapter of the blog-... However, it was just getting to Suzhou, meeting my great friends and the lost smile -luckily! Me without a smile? That's so wierd, isn't it?- was back in my face! How can't I be happy with the life I have? Not to make all of you jealous, but I'm 23 and after living for one year in Vienna, now I have the chance to live in China for at least another year -while studying chinese-, where I'm surrounded by great people! I love it!!

It's my forth day in China and I just can't complain about anything. On Tuesday I went for dinner with Raph's -my swiss bro!- family. They are great and funny people, specially his brother and sister with whom yesterday, together with all my friends, we celebrated the welcome back party.

And luckily the jet lag hasn't really affected me. Well, yes, it did once. I must admit that yesterday I slept for 14 hours!! I don't know why, it may be that I didn't sleep well the last days at home or whatever, but I went to bed at midnight and woke up at 2PM!! It's the first time in my life I sleep so long... Unfortunately, that means I missed class but, to make up for it, I spent a couple hours studying in the afternoon -enough time to learn all the new characters- before going to the party.

And now I just came from having a coffee and dinner with my friends Martin and Raph -the swiss team!-. So, what else can I ask for? The answer, easy: NOTHING!

That's all for today, I'll try to write often in the blog but at the same time, the posts will be shorter as back home I realised that most of you didn't have time -or patience ;)- enough to read the long posts I used to write. Now you don't have ANY excuse!!! :D All the best!

"El xino"