Barcelona

Holly G said:
Hi Angie, yes that's right. The teaching is good on the whole. The TEFL course was really intense and stressful - you are thrown in at the deep end and have to start teaching on your first day and I hated being observed and criticised - I didn't handle that very well at all! :oops: But on the up side you are thrown together with people all day every day for a month so I made some really good mates. It was pretty easy to find work afterwards, although I had to compromise on my unwillingness to teach kids and have 6 hours of classroom time a week with teenagers which can be truly horrendous. The adult classes are generally really good and I enjoy the work. The money is pretty rubbish but even so, I can afford to live in the centre of the city, which is fantastic. You can make enough to survive as a teacher and have a good social life, but I don't have extra for savings/pensions/fancy holidays/fancy clothes etc. Apart from missing friends and family, I can't say I miss London all that much...
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Thanks Holly - really helpful!

Loved Barcelona and seemed like the easiest way to make the move but got some grown-up responsibilities here and not bad salary so it's a tricky one to work out whether you want to live somewhere different or stay put and have money to visit lots of different places!
 
Angie24 said:
Thanks Holly - really helpful!

Loved Barcelona and seemed like the easiest way to make the move but got some grown-up responsibilities here and not bad salary so it's a tricky one to work out whether you want to live somewhere different or stay put and have money to visit lots of different places!
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If you can get out of the responsibilities I think you should go for it! Even if you only do it for a while then return to earning proper money and being a grown-up. I'm really glad I made the move. It is obviously different living somewhere rather than being on holiday. In my first few weeks here it was such a strange feeling seeing people trundling their cases down the street on their way home from holiday and thinking 'I don't have to do that, I LIVE here!?' and you have all the time in the world to explore the city, see the sights etc, but then normal life takes over, you get into working, and it can feel very much like the familiar daily grind. Except sunnier!

Sil, yes, I'm so Spanish now I'm finding it hard to type this in English. :lol: Would love to go to La Terrazza with you...:twisted::p
 
tripehound said:
Im in Barca too in June too. Go to Los Caracoles in Bari Gotic. (port end of ramblas. its very famous. Dont book just arrive and put your name down for a table. Wait may be an hour, and you can leave and come back but if you miss your place its gone. its great place though well worth it.

Advice on any jazz places anyone?
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is that the one with the pig on the spit outside, very gothic looking, a bit of a tourist trap?

if you want jazz - go to to jamboree or harlem

re: teaching - I did some in 97 and 99/00 but the money was lame and my director Dr McLaughlin was screwed up in the head. Totally unprofessional - we were improvising syllabuses much of the time. :eek: I particularly remember standing in International House frantically taking down numbers and then realising I would be sent to some out of town backwater like Sabadell or Rubi to teach bored accountants in their lunch break. The other teachers were a right laugh though. The best classes were those where you had the hangover from hell and would just start a discussion topic to get round your obvious ignorance of English grammar. So I would take the pi55 and say, "right today lets discuss the role of the woman in modern spanish neo-catholic society" and let them thrash it out whilst I shut my eyes and retrod the previous night's mischief at the black sheep. So I miss it and I don't..
 
Holly G said:
If you can get out of the responsibilities I think you should go for it! Even if you only do it for a while then return to earning proper money and being a grown-up. I'm really glad I made the move. It is obviously different living somewhere rather than being on holiday. In my first few weeks here it was such a strange feeling seeing people trundling their cases down the street on their way home from holiday and thinking 'I don't have to do that, I LIVE here!?' and you have all the time in the world to explore the city, see the sights etc, but then normal life takes over, you get into working, and it can feel very much like the familiar daily grind. Except sunnier!

Sil, yes, I'm so Spanish now I'm finding it hard to type this in English. :lol: Would love to go to La Terrazza with you...:twisted::p
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Does sound exciting8)

Olly/Holly - did you speak much Spanish before you went over? I spoke to a girl when we visited and she did a 2 week intensive when she arrived which sounded like a good idea.
 
Intense courses can help but I think it depends on how good you are are picking up languages. I was lucky in already having some family members from the Barcelona area (albeit militantly Catalan ones who prefer to never speak in Spanish!) + the benefit of a castellano module at 2 universities.

As soon as you arrive sign up to the next spanish course at the Escuela Oficial de Idiomas (near Drassanes metro) OR International House (Plaza Urquinaona) - the teachers are excellent + you meet interesting people from all over earth. The downside with that is you can get cosy in a foreign clique and not really get in with the local aspect of the city. But it is certainly useful for learning the basics.

Some people do intercambios (interchanges) - and stick up home-made ads on trees - so some spaniard will leave a phone number with a specific language they're interested in and you kind of speak in each other's tongues at some cafe for an hour. I did this for a bit, and you meet all sorts!

Another useful resource is the British Council/British Library (near Muntaner metro).
 
Just back from Barcelona - best bit of clubbing I did was at Apollo.

I thought City Halls was good, too; they had a minimal night on.

Wrote this on another forum:

That's me just back. It's an interesting city, though I can't say I fell in love with it.

The location of your accomodation is very important, as Barcelona is huge. The underground is excellent (much nicer than London) for getting around, but we always had to get a taxi home after a late night out.

We saw Parc Guell, inside the Sagrada Familia (just a two min walk from where we were staying) and the outside of one of of Gaudi's other buildings; all very impressive.

Another place I enjoyed is CaixaForum, where they have free art exhibitions. I've never considered myself a huge art fan, but loved what I saw there (particularly the Mersad Berber stuff).

Also liked the market off La Ramblas, just for all the weird looking fish.

There are plenty of good bars. We saw everything from 'trendy' drinking spots to places with traditional live music where we were the only tourists. If you like clubbing, try a dance night at City Halls or Apollo. We got nights of minimal/techno, although if you leave before 5am you still feel like you've left very early.

Food-wise, I loved most of the tapas I tried and the grilled beef ribs (
luvlove.gif
) - not something I've had here before.

Personal safety... I was a bit paranoid at first. However, if you keep valuables in secure pockets, you should be fine. There are some shady characters around, but can't say I felt any more scared than I would in London or Glasgow. The prostitutes are very persistent, though; I had my crotch groped, not to mention an arm almost torn out of its socket. My friend had similar hassles.
 
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Olly said:
Some people do intercambios (interchanges) - and stick up home-made ads on trees - so some spaniard will leave a phone number with a specific language they're interested in and you kind of speak in each other's tongues at some cafe for an hour. I did this for a bit, and you meet all sorts!
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I did a two week intensive at International House when I first arrived in Bcn. It's a good school, but one of the more expensive ones (I'm currently doing classes at Mediterraneo, which is quite a bit cheaper).

At International House we did four hours of classes in the morning then had the afternoons free for sightseeing etc with some organised tours and activities. Met some great people from all over the place, went to cheesy tourist discos and generally had a ball. Remember though that if you're a beginner, a two week course will only scratch the surface of the basics, so get started now if you can. The best way to improve once you're here is to have no shame about how many mistakes you're making and to take every opportunity to speak Spanish (something I should really take my own advice on:oops:). It's very easy as an English teacher to hang around with other English speakers and never get much further than 'dos cervezas por favor'.

I've had two failed attempts at intercambios. One was a witch and the other seemed to be collecting English birds with no discernable linguistic purpose. I think they're a really good idea though and am in the process of setting one up with a friend of a friend.
 
olly, yes los carcoles is the one just out of the back corner of plaça reial, with the cochinillo roasting outside. i'm sure silvia once told me she'd never been cos it was a bit touristy, can't remember, but it's a great place and the inside is great. you have to go through the working kitchen to get your table.

also, salamanca is amazing, pretty expensive but cool all the same. the owner has thousands of pictures with him and famous people, fascinating bloke to speak to.

the other rte that springs to mind is botafumeiro, which is just a bit further along after passeig de gracia, near diagonal metro if i remember. really nice grub but a little too formal for my liking.

every time i go to barcelona i walk around the mercat on rambla for hours, lots to see and buy and eat there.8)
 
Holly G said:
I've had two failed attempts at intercambios. One was a witch and the other seemed to be collecting English birds with no discernable linguistic purpose. I think they're a really good idea though and am in the process of setting one up with a friend of a friend.
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:lol::lol:

ahhh rach, glad to see you still know how to pick 'em!!;):D
 
oh and for anyone who has ever been to barcelona, even once, then you should read 'The shadow of the wind' (la sombra del viento) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, a magical story set in pre civil war barcelona. the descriptions, even when translated into english, really make the city came alive, especially if you've visited before and been touched by the city. great book.

he released a prequel called the angel's game, but i've not had a chance to read that yet. anyone else read it, no spoilers please.
 
in truth, I don't usually eat out that much in the city purely because the relatives I visit invariably ensure I never go unfed. One little bar I do love [esp on the tapas tip] is called AGUELLO, which is on calle avignon connecting Plaza George Orwell to the harbour. Has loads of hanging carcuses in the entrance, slightly art deco interior. Pool table uncleaned since 1977. Amazing sangria of the ridiculously sweet and toxic stomach shredding variety. Very friendly place. Well recommended as a starting point before heading out properly.
 
Thats strange....everyone talks about apollo and City Hall...but nothing about Barcelona's greatest small club....Macarena obviously! a must do if u like small places with very good music!
 
was taken to this boss restaurant last night on calle balmes www.centfocs.com

really decent set evening menus all in for €20

a strong recommend if like me, you're tight and enjoy good food that makes you feel bloated after
 
Olly said:
in truth, I don't usually eat out that much in the city purely because the relatives I visit invariably ensure I never go unfed. One little bar I do love [esp on the tapas tip] is called AGUELLO, which is on calle avignon connecting Plaza George Orwell to the harbour. Has loads of hanging carcuses in the entrance, slightly art deco interior. Pool table uncleaned since 1977. Amazing sangria of the ridiculously sweet and toxic stomach shredding variety. Very friendly place. Well recommended as a starting point before heading out properly.
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is this the place we went to?

edit - would appear it is

google brought me to this http://www.noambit.com/2008/05/a-barcelona-bar-that-shouldnt-be-missed-bodega-el-aguelo/
 
Up for a return at some point, as is Dyte. Maybe next June. Fancy doing a few days while Sonar is on again, and a few days in Ibiza.
 
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