Back to the gym

Due to the fact that I have 4 months of not having to do anything ahead of me, I thought I would re-join my old gym. It had been about 9 months since I had last been and my God was it a wake up call. I'm not aching as badly as I thought I would be which, touchwood, will carry through until tomorrow morning.

I didn't work myself too hard as I thought I'd ease myself in gently. So, metaphorically, today was the dipping of the toe into the proverbial exercise pool. The pool metaphor is doubly significant because the gym has a pool, as well as a jacuzzi and sauna; the latter two being excellent allies to soothe aching muscles after a long session. I'm thinking of making some more use of the pool than I did last time I was a member, to work on my cardio a little more.

The membership was a lot more expensive than I thought it would be, due to the fact that I'm joining on a short term basis at £28.99 a month. I was expecting something more in the regions of £17 so when she gave me that figure my wallet groaned a little. Who'd've thought you'd have to pay so much to put yourself in such excrutiating pain?

Also today, me and Luke got hair cuts and I now feel like my ruffian exterior I have had as of late has been peeled away by the groomed and tidy young man within. Life back home is good. And I haven't even been for a beach BBQ with my friends yet, or had a night out.

My first night out is this Saturday. We're going to The George to watch England, then straight into town from the match. I hope they let me in clubs in my England shirt.

I've delved back into reading. The book I have on the go currently is Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol; sequel to The Da Vinci Code. I needed a break from Spanish/Italian literature, of which I have set myself a stack to read for the summer.

I can't wait to move house. I'm sick of living out of boxes. It's a peculiar feeling seeing your whole life up until now packed into a few cardboard boxes, unearthing memories as you dig into the darkest corners of the past; some of which were better left undiscovered.

Well, that's all for now.

The Shadow of the Wind

I finally finished reading La sombra del viento by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, although I did end up reading the second half in my English version of the book, The shadow of the wind.

At first I felt a bit crestfallen, as if I had given up. It wasn't that I had given up however. It's just that when you have to read a 250 page book of 1912-17 Spanish poetry for your course, it's hard to have a Spanish novel on the go as well, especially because reading in a foreign language drains me and is far from the relaxing and effortless experience of reading in English. Another reason for my switch to the English version was that the plot had me gripped to the point where I just had to get to the end and fast. Besides, I did read 300 pages in Spanish and the remaining 200 in English. Not bad for a first attempt at reading a Spanish novel.

It's a brilliant and enchanting book and I would recommend it to anybody. Globally, it is the second highest selling novel to ever come out of Spain; second only to Don Quijote de La Mancha, the cornerstone of Spanish culture and literature. The plot deals heavily with the joys of reading, reinforcing these joys for the reader themselves and it is set in Barcelona, Zafón's own home town which he describes with such fluid accuracy that it feels as if he is holding your hand as you float through the city on the wings of his words. If you click the cover below it will take you to Amazon so you can read about it, if you're interested.

There's a first time for everything

Today I put a deposit on a house for the first time in my life. We have been viewing many student houses over the last few days and today we saw the perfect one. It is wonderful compared to these halls of residence and now that we know that it's ours we all want to move in straight away.
The lease starts on 1st July so I can go up whenever I want in my car with a couple friends who can sleep on the couch in summer.

I haven't been blogging much lately due to the fact that I've been occupied with all these house viewings and the only topic I would have been able to blog about would have been the sheer amount of work I have to do.
I have had to put my reading of the Spanish novel, La sombra del viento, on the back-burner because we have now started a new Spanish literature module in which I have been set the task of reading a whole book by Wednesday.
So I'm currently juggling reading with the preparation of my presentation on climate change which I will give for my Spanish oral exam. It's weird how fast this first year is going.

Back in Caerdydd

So once again I bade farewell to home on Saturday, shaking off the cobwebs from my messy farewell party from the night before.
I spent the weekend with my parents in a hotel up here, showed them round and, most importantly, ate out at some lovely restaurants; an occurrence which will become pretty scarce in the months that are to follow.

Today I got stuck into my lessons again with surprising enthusiasm. After such a long Christmas break, it is nice to have a worthwhile outlet to put my mind at work.

I'm still plodding away at my Spanish novel, La sombra del viento. I put a good two hours into it tonight.
I found a quote in it that resonated with me somewhat, which I will leave you with:

- Los libros son aburridos.
- Los libros son espejos: sólo se ve en ellos lo que uno ya lleva dentro - replicó Julián.


"Books are boring"
"Books are mirrors: you only see in them what you already have inside you," answered Julián.

The Finish Line

The exams are done; banished from my head and leaving my mind clearer. And I sit here back in Plymouth once again, typing this. My proper return to Cardiff will be this Saturday. Until then I can relax.
The exams all went really well, and I found out today that I got a B in my Spanish assessed grammar test which I did before Christmas. This was one of the best marks out of everyone on the course so I'm pretty happy and have nothing to complain about right now.
I read the whole of Pasta per Due, a little Italian book we had to read over Christmas, on the train today. Even though it's a laughably simple and short book, it's still satisfying to say you have read three books in Italian when you have barely been studying the language for three months.
Right now my head is filled with dreams of travelling to Spain in the summer. I have never been so I am planning on going for at least a month and making it a brilliant trip.
I'm thinking of possibly setting up a travel blog when I go, which I may use for all posting while travelling; especially on my year abroad.
Also my trip to Italy is at the end of the March.
I think this year should be a good one.

A Sunday Smile

There's nothing like a decent cup of tea. Heralded mascot of Britain, the humble cup of tea never fails to boost morale during these cold winter months. Its fellow cupboard-dwelling cousin, coffee, looks on jealously every time I reach for the tea bags, wishing it was in America where it would truly be appreciated.

I retract my statement from my previous post about the snow being shit down here. It was a classic case of saying something too soon, as over the last few days Britain has been blanketed in beautiful white powdery layers of snow. A few days ago, I woke up and looked outside my bedroom window to behold the results of a night where mother nature had been working hard painting me a beautiful picture.

The novelty soon wore off.
Snow seems to make Britain come to a stand still. Transport became erratic with delays and cancellations everywhere. And what better than to have this than at a time where I need to be travelling up to Cardiff in a couple of days for exams?

But the cup of tea tells me in its warm reassuring voice, "Relax, it'll all be fine." And I believe it.

I got a haircut yesterday and it no longer resembles a bush. On the way down from the salon, I stopped off at University Bookshop, a small and cosy little book store where as many books as possible have been crammed in. It's like an Alladin's cave of literature and knowledge.

Naturally, I headed straight for the foreign language section. On perusing the dusty little wooden shelves, I selected my first victim, Crónica de una muerte anunciada. Another piece of glorious Spanish fiction for my linguistic quest for self-improvement. I also purchased a copy of Marcovaldo, an Italian fiction book which looks to be at my level of reading. I will tackle it in the summer when I have more time on my hands.

I then went to Drake Circus in Waterstones. I still am yet to finish La Sombra del Viento however I am almost half way through and have fallen in love with it so much that I chose to buy the English version, The Shadow of the Wind, which will serve two functions. Firstly, rather than having a dictionary by my side as I read the Spanish version, I will merely cement my understanding of the Spanish version by taking a glance at difficult passages in the English version. Secondly, I plan on one day reading the English version all the way through because it is such a wonderful book.

This blog came in a moment of procrastination from my Italian history revision. I better get back to it.

That's all folks.

Taking the plunge

I very nearly missed my Spanish translation class today. Like a fool I thought it was at 2 PM when it was in fact at 1. However thankfully I realized the error of my ways when I checked my timetable after coming out of the library and got into the class 20 minutes late.
Thankfully I had been engrossed in the Spanish literature section of the library earlier on today and so had decided to take out a Spanish novel called 'La Sombra del Viento' (The Shadow of the Wind) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón.

Now, my translation teacher is quite a genius, as all the Spanish teachers/professors are, about Spanish literature and so at the end of class I showed him the book and asked if he recommends it at which point he said he was impressed and glad that somebody is using their initiative to further their language skills in their own time and integrate their languages with their hobbies. Get on Sam. All lateness has been forgotten. He then told me it's a very entertaining read and wants to know how I get on.
So now my challenge I've set myself is to read and finish this novel.

Also, is it too early to be thinking about Christmas yet? I'm getting mighty excited!