Why is it that every time that I feel on the verge on collpasing due to severe hypoglycaemia (a subjective low level of glucosa that of course never gets below 95 mg/dL :P) I have the urge to punish myself by checking new blogs on French patisserie and Italian focaccia?

Decisions in life are never easy. Everytime you solve out a dichotomy and you choose a path over another one, you render a monosyllabic answer with all the power of turning your life upside down.

I have always held myself responsible for the decisions I have made, but I think I have been pretty lucky. At the end of the road, before my mind pronounces itself, there is always a key component that makes the whole process easier. Some kind of hint that leads the way...sometimes it comes in the shape of a scholarship, others, it desguises as an internship, a trip, a rewarding chat, a new friendship...an inextricable maze that peacefully explains itself.

Funny that I am writing this post while I "attend" a webinar on Public Health Education that is being lauched on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean! Communication nowadays is clearly not hindered by 6,000 km and I find it very intersting that continuing education can be achieved without even moving from my desk...
I am also impressed by how my 2 hemispheres cooperate with each other to let me write this post while I am actively listening to the presenter online. Chances are that I will probably forget about both things and push them to the back of my mind in a few hours.

The whole lecture is about "Publishing criteria for scientific papers"... I have always been interested in publishing my findings.But until I find a way to break my ideas, I will make do with my scarce posts on this blog :P

Something I cant quite describe makes me keep going back to Duisburg.
Now, back in Spain and after a memorable week in Germany and Holland, I ve rescued this extract from my diary. It is already some months old but let me tell you that first impressions do last =)

November 2011

"Days go by, paperwork piles up on my desk and exams draw nearer, but somehow I always manage to devote some time to travelling. So many rewarding experiences compacted in short trips! For educational and social purposes, travelling can easily lead the way. But while these goals may abruptly dilute in some trips, travelling still holds an amazing potential for crafting new and innovative ideas…

Today I am just recopiling some impressions of my last trip to Germany which was supposed to last for 72 hours but ended up in a 3 week stay in some wonderful cities: Duisburg and Frankfurt.

Events did not turn out as planned and I was given the two sided news that I would be stranded in Germany for an unpredictable period of time (most probably a couple of weeks). With no passport to cross the border, my mind had no other option but to abide by the idea. Germany! Not that it was my first time in the country but surely the first time I was compelled to stay with no previous plans whatsover. Reasons that are not worth mentioning in this chronicle set my new coordenates in the West, and so I spent 48 hs in Frankfurt before settling down in Duisburg.

The only time I had visited Duisburg had not been extremely memorable, just a lightening business trip for a couple of hours on a super busy weekend. So I was a bit unsure about what to expect. Oh I can´t believe reviews do not make justice to such a beautiful city. How can someone fall in love in a city whose language and culture are completely incomprehensible? I don’t know. But I did. I simply fell in love with Duisburg.

Koningstrasse is the backbone of the city centre which extends from the Train Station to the river/riverside. Magazines follow one another on what seems to be a neverending avenue…for a couple of blocks, the joy of consumption can easily be satisfied. Globalization plays its part here so there is no point in going into details. Shops, plus shops plus more shops…similar to the ones you can find in almost every German city: Mac Paper, Rosenthal, Starbucks, H&M, so on.

The city centre, though similar to many others, still retains some Duisburg-ish characteristcs: the old Opera near City Palais, and a couple of kitsch sculpture which I personally don´t like but consider them useful to find my way around: such as the Michelin like man at the entrance of Deutsch Bank and the rosy cheek David on the corner of the main park facing Kaufhof galleries.

One of my favourite “parcours” is trying some fresh fruit from the street market while browsing second hand books at local bookstores…nothing compares to the frustrating pleasure of examining books in German and trying to work out what the words mean, especially when it comes to medecine or noveaux romans. An extra plus the city has is the inspiring music from street musicians that enlightens the urban atmosphere…Hungarian violas and violins tangling together in complex melodies!"

I can´t let you swipe me off my feet again...you taught me how to love but you also taught me how to move on. There is no way I can disappoint you.

Life is a real roller coaster. Up and down and back again. You never know when you are going to swirl up in the air or fall down on your knees. One moment everything is great and the next you are holding to your foundations, trying not to let go. And then, the cycle starts again...

Well, a short post before plunging back into my studies.

Just recently I have been speculating about all the places I would have visited if my mothertongue was English. While I was still a Uni student, I fantasized about spending my holidays working as a receptionist in some pretty resort in Aspen, or collecting kiwis in the remote New Zeleand countryside. However, pursuing two degrees meant that (except for those spectacular annual holidays with my family), I usually spent the summer taking extra courses so as to not get tangled in overlapping courses during the rest of the year.
Once or twice I tried to apply for one of these appealing summer jobs abroad, but since I did not meet their minimum-available-time requirement, I had to decline their offers. Instead, I took Portuguese and Italian summer courses as a consolation treat. And it sort of worked out for almost 8 years.
When I was about to graduate, the idea of taking some months off to teach English or Spanish abroad became quite tempting again. So imagine how shocked I was when I found out how limited the market had become for English teachers who are not native speakers...and that´s how I quickly relocated my savings from a potential TEFL degree in English to a B2 diploma in French...