Girl’s Gone Global

Back in Portugalate. Lovely view from my room this time. Let me show you.

Not sure if you can click on those to see a larger format (KAT EDIT - Apparently you can’t, so I’ve resized them). Still learning the ropes of this program.

There is a fair going on in Bilbao this week. I’m going to try and visit tomorrow after work and hopefully take lots more pictures. I love being here. I have a much better attitude than my last visit. I think have the couple of comments from people who actually have lived here, with suggestions on where to go has really opened me up to this town. Now I smile at everyone! A Torontonian… smiling! at random people!! Crazy.

Well I got pictures to work finally.

But it takes freaking FOREVER to load. That can’t be right. I’m not a fan of this software at ALL. Though that’s probably because I’m computer iliterate and don’t know how to use it.

Anyhow, here I am in Spain. I’ve been working here for a little over a week, and will be staying several more days. I get tomorrow off, so I’m heading to the beach! I’m a pretty bad traveller. Here I am in this new place, and all I can do is sulk about how lonely it is. My friend Dave put it to me succintly “Get off the internet and go outside!”. That might not be verbatim, but it was pretty much the gist. Dave’s lucky though. He gets to go work in places where he speaks the native language.

Ok, no excuses. Keeping you, my loyal readers (I know that sounds grandiose, but since I figure I have about zero viewers, not even my parents will come here, I think that makes up for it) entertained photographically will keep me off the internet (atleast when I’m not posting said photographs). So far I don’t have too much interesting here on this trip. Some views of the river, buildings, boring stuff. I’m staying in a very nice hotel, I’ll go take a picture of that later. It has a nice little café, and restaurant with insane European hours of operation. Who starts having dinner at 8:30pm! Haven’t they heard that to lose weight you shouldn’t eat after 6pm?

About three or four days a week there is a market out in front, and on Sundays there is a dance with a live band playing in the gazebo. I was just told that there is a discotheque nearby. Do I have the guts to go there on my own?….

this is the problem with going somewhere where you don’t speak the language (or just going somewhere alone really). I feel too vulnerable to do anything interesting. I don’t go into bars or cafe outside of the hotel because I’m just a little scared. What if people laugh at me. What if I’m doing something socially wrong or awkward and I don’t realize. I’m tempted to start asking people were I am working on this trip if I could tag along them somewhere. Tommorrow I’m going to the beach (I can appreciate nature, nature is so nice and doesn’t laugh at you. And I don’t mind bugs or mud at all…. Stop laughing Miles!) in a nice little village. I don’t know yet that it’s actually nice, but this is what I’ve been told. I’m looking forward to that.

Besides working I’ve been pretty much sleeping, eating, trying not to eat, or on the internet. I’m trying to lose weight on this trip, but without having to do much work on that (like run, or actually eat healthy). The fact that the cleaning staff here has to replenish the toblerone and almonds supply in my bar fridge everynight is a testament to that (though good on me, they haven’t had to replenish and liquor). I know, bad me. I am getting walking everyday though, and eating healhty at lunch and breakfast. And I bought cellulite cream which should do all the work for me. I’m pretty sure that’s what the box says, if I was able to read Spanish atleast.

I really need to start learning new languages. It’s just too tough to stay somewhere for so long and have noone to really talk to, or to feel rude everytime you need to go to ask for something from the concierge.

Ok, so enough of this me talk. Here are some observations. Spanish women have big botties. Lovely slim boddies, but just big, round bums. Also, shock and horror, I have noticed a number of women sporting mullets. A number of young, trendy looking women, with mullets. Also I don’t see many blonds. I know that darker hair is more prominent here naturally, but I don’t see many bottle blonds either. Or really, there is an age threshold. The only bottled blonds I see tend to be older than 40. Maybe that is a generational thing. Lots of people sunbathing here, it seems on any available surface. Thus, lots of tans. Lots of too much tans as well. In general though the people here are quite lovely. Fashion is so colourful, lots of bright colours especially pink and reds. Lots of capri pants. Beautiful tops. Álso quite a lot of the fashion I see people wearing seems quite effortless.

That’s really about all for now. I will get some interesting pictures tomorrow. Adios.

I have been in Korea for about a week now. My plan was to be more consistent with this blog, but work seems to have had other ideas. I’m finally getting a chance to type this while on route to my next job assignment.

From what I have seen of South Korea, it is about what I expected. Frankly it looks not much more different from any western country. Cities are big with lots of people and heavy traffic, remote areas are small with a greater predominance of nature and tacky stores. The things I guess that I have found most different about Korea compared with other places I have visited is in little quirks and peculiarities. For example, while vans can be any colour under the sun, cars are either black, grey, white cream etc. Hyundais of course figure prominently. Cars are shaped similarly to north America (in contrast with spain where the cars look like toys).’People seem to be more touchy here. Almost childlike in a way. There is more hand holding between members of the same sex. Gestures that would seem intimate come across as playful or merely kind here. At first it was a bit of a shock, even though I had read something about this online before I came. We are so conditioned in North America. Fashion of course is interesting. Korea I think is known for some interesting styles. I am more and more certain that the world must consider North Americans as very bland or vulgar when it comes to fashion. Here there seems to be a strong inclination to skew lines whereas in Italy it was about fit. Here zippers will be on an angle, hoods and collars will seem extra large making a sweater look like a space suit (though a cool space suit). Slashes across hats and pants for texture, neat rows as opposed to the gaping holes North Americans prefer.I’m still learning more of course, but really, as I’m figuring out on every trip, people are pretty much the same the world over.Some pictures: (I don’t know why the quality is SO horrible!)

13 hour plane ride awaits me, and that’s just the beginning. I will be arriving in South Korea sometime Tuesday morning and heading out on an 8 hour bus ride later that day. Mmm. I love travel.