A holiday in Austria

03.03.2024
I’m sitting on the aeroplane to Austria. It’s hard to think about my time in Valencia. I’ve only spent two months there, but it feels like I’ve been there for a year. I can’t even believe that my South/North/Eastern Europe Road trip was only three months ago. To me, it feels like it’s been forever. Sometimes, I feel like time is passing slow and fast at the same time. Everything that’s happening in Valencia is absolutely insane and I would not have believed a single word of it if you had told me any of it six months ago.

Although I’m very impatient with my Spanish, it’s been getting on a decent level fast, and I’m trying to give myself more grace. I developed a good plan and schedule and am currently between A2 and B1. This is what I try to do daily:

• Read at least one Spanish newspaper article
• Do at least one section in DuoLingo
• Watch one episode of a Spanish series or a Spanish YouTube video
• Talk to one of my Spanish-speaking friends or send them a voice message
• Do one writing exercise in Chatterbug

It includes all four parts to learn a language: reading, listening, writing, and talking. The latter one is the most important, in my opinion. While talking with people, you learn the most and quickest.

Another thing that’s going really well in Valencia is my workouts. I really fell in love with fitboxing and want to increase my weekly sessions from two to three. In the beginning, I went to Yoga twice a week, but now I have changed one of the yoga sessions to Pilates, which I like better and takes less time. I also did workouts at home, but I find less and less motivation for them. That’s ok, I learned that I regularly need to adjust my workout plan to my needs and how I feel about them. Fitboxing showed me that working out can be fun. Because I really enjoy football, I got in contact with some people who play on a weekly basis and want to join them in April. Additionally, I also try to walk 10.000 steps every day, and so far, it has worked out well. I’ve noticed that it gets easier and easier for me and I have many days where I do 15.000 to 20.000, sometimes even more. When I arrived in Valencia, I also made the plan to try to go to the beach on a daily basis, and that also has worked out well so far. Only one day last week was the first time where I wasn’t able to. That’s ok as well, I knew that one time this day would come. I’ll continue to stick to my goals and hope I’ll be able to move my body in Austria as well.

Austria. That’s a whole different story. I have to be honest: I really feel like I don’t want to go there. I’ve left about four months ago and miss absolutely nothing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m looking forward to seeing my family and friends, but it’s already stressing me out, and I haven’t even arrived yet. Every day I have so many things to do, it really is a hustle. And I haven’t even told many people that I’m coming. One thing I am looking forward to, though, is to get my summer clothes. I’ve only taken winter clothes with me because I knew I would need to come back in February or March for a doctor’s appointment. I’m sure Summer will start when I return to Valencia.

Valencia. I miss it already. Not only the vibes and the people but the whole life I’ve started to build there. The sea, my apartment, my friends, the opportunities, the nightlife, the cafés, the fruterías. I’ve just left, but I’m already super happy to be going back and live my life to the fullest!

15.03.
All my thoughts before arriving turned out to be very accurate. I only have two more nights in Austria, and I’m so eager to go back to Valencia. The past two weeks have been exhausting. Travelling around without a car needs a bit of organisation, and my schedule has been wild. I’ve visited my coworkers, family, and friends.

I had to work as well, I only took two days off this week, which turned out to be quite the opposite of resting. Not only did my workload increase a lot because of my days off, but I also spent the time at my friend’s place, and unfortunately, she complained all day long. She complained about her boyfriend, children, work, mothers from school,… The list is endless. Basically, she complained about her whole life, and we barely took ten minutes to talk about mine, which was frustrating to me. Even when I finally did manage to tell something that’s been going on in my life, I didn’t have the feeling she really listened, let alone understood anything. But it’s ok, I take it as a lesson for me to know that I will definitely spend less time there next time and won’t take time off work.

Another thing I noticed is that it’s harder for me to control my eating disorder here. The longer I’m here, the harder it gets. I don’t really know why, but I definitely don’t feel as happy here as I am in Valencia. I managed to do my 10.000 steps every day, but it also is a lot harder for me here than in Spain. I even did a run one night and was surprised how long I was able to do it, but I feel a lot less motivation here. I think besides the mood, the size of my apartment might be a factor. In Valencia, I live in a small one-bedroom apartment, and here I have plenty of space. As soon as I finish work in Valencia, I close my laptop and head out. I also spend a lot of time outside, I’m barely at home. Here, I have plenty of space and feel super lazy. Therefore, I’m really proud that I still got myself up every day to go out for a walk and also do the other things I wanted to:

• Learn Spanish daily
• Practice the flute daily
• Continue to read my current book

One thing I know for sure is that I don’t want to come for two weeks again, it’s way too long. At least not to my hometown. I am super happy, grateful, and proud of the life I’ve built in Valencia and looking forward to coming back and seeing the Fallas!