Roller coaster ride
What a ride this year has been. A definite roller coaster ride. In so many ways similar to that experience as you feel sick at some points and also crazy happy at others. Scared, excited, worried, ecstatic, confused... you name it. But, as with any roller coaster ride, minutes after getting off.. you are ready for another ride.
I don't really know where to start. I started the year off unemployed in a foreign country where I only spoke a very elementary portion of the local language. I'd fallen in love with Barcelona by that time, but that love was a bit sour as things weren't moving as fast as me and Flor had hoped. But at that very moment, while celebrating New Year's in Madrid, I got a call from Chaplin's school and was told they wanted me to come teach a few classes for them. It was only about 33% of a job, but I couldn't have been happier at the time. Just getting out there and getting to know a normal life was a huge step.
The teaching went fine and I was lucky with students. The train rides involved were a lot, but doable with so few classes. Soon enough I got more hours and before the month was over I was doing 50% work with a very immediate potential of more. And so I went, happy with how were progressing, learning as I went and pleased with the results. I still had some good luck in store as I had already started the interview process with a software company in Barcelona for a Technical Writer job that I applied for in November 2008. At the end of January, after two separate interviews, they called me in for a psych/tech test (really a test of IQ, logical thinking and sanity). A week or so later I was formally offered that job. A full time job none the less.
The months that followed were simply crazy. I was battling with learning the skills and information needed for the new job, while running between trains in the evenings to make it for the classes I was teaching.
During all this me and Flor were learning our ways around the city, system and lifestyle and considering the limited means, doing pretty darn good. We managed to find our favorite restaurant, have a few walks here and there and were slowly starting to build some social life (way too slow for our own taste though).
In 2008, the economic crash hit the world quite hard, but in typical Spanish style, the Spaniards decided to say mañana hoping the crash would pass like any other weather storm. But, the inevitable happened and serious signs of it started to show in the spring. Unfortunately, the airline that Flor worked for ran into some financial problems and before too long, Flor and I decided it was best for her to resign and move on to something else. Shit scared of what was about to come we got lucky once again, and our old employer Air Atlanta called up offering us to go to Jeddah to work there in operations. After some intense thinking and discussing we decided to go for it - albeit a little reluctantly at the time. So for the fourth time in less than a year, I resigned from a job. Leaving Tango was very hard as I had grown to like my co-workers a lot and the spirit of the company was beyond anything I'd experienced before. I still hope my path leads me back there one day.
So off we went, with less than two weeks notice, to Saudi Arabia. I had been here before, some 5 years back, in 2004. Not much had changed in terms of way of life but as elsewhere in the world construction took over sensible thinking. We started our jobs here quite well and it didn't take too long to get up to speed on the airline and operations business. We had signed a contract which has us working 8 weeks followed by 2 weeks vacation. A pretty nice deal it seemed from the get-go but we both admit now, 7 months down the line, that the 8 weeks can feel very long.
This rotation pattern has however allowed us to do some traveling. On our first vacation in July we went off to Madrid for a week followed by a week in Prague. Next vacation took us to Iceland, where we hadn't been for a year. Finally, the last vacation we took we visited Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Sydney and Brisbane in Australia. Pretty sweet. Flor had also taken the chance to go to Argentina earlier in the year while I opted a few weeks later for Majorca to see my grandmother while she was on vacation. So this year has most certainly been marked by the places we've been to. All in all we were in eight countries and saw some new stuff.
I made some serious progress in 2009 in terms of exercise. Although I can't say I lost any kilos (put on a few if anything) I really took off with weight lifting. In Tango there was an in-house gym I managed to be disciplined about visiting 3-4 times a week. I also did some running in and around Sabadell, our home town in Barcelona. In Jeddah I've been hitting the gym although the two weeks off sometimes extend a little bit. But I'm pleased with the progress I've made, while also thinking I could've done a lot better. As before, the effort continues.
In 2009 me and Flor also discussed a lot regarding the future. One of the major challenges when two different nationalities come together in love is to plan where to live life. This can be especially hard when you come from opposite poles of this planet and has resulted in much confusion this year. We did however find out this year, during our time in Barcelona but probably even more since leaving, that Barcelona is a great compromise for the two of us. The topic is still up for discussion and I believe in any relationship like ours the two home countries keep pulling people back. We are still set on going back to Barcelona in 2010 but we are also well aware, all things considered, that plans can, may and probably will change.
In retrospect, as hectic as the year has been, I'm relatively happy with everything. Times have been tough in so many ways as during one time we struggled to scrape enough money for food to last the month, while at another time we had the money but no activities or social life to attend to. We've also had even bigger challenges this year, which I am in no doubt have marked us for life and I can't see anything in the near future testing us as much, but for now those are kept for us only. Important thing is that we both pulled through with hair on our heads and landed on pretty much both feet.
Oh, and I saw Pearl Jam. After 17 years of wanting to see this band, it finally happened.

Everyone I come across, in cages they bought
They think of me and my wandering, but I'm never what they thought
I've got my indignation, but I'm pure in all my thoughts
I'm alive...
Wind in my hair, I feel part of everywhere
Underneath my being is a road that disappeared
Late at night I hear the trees, they're singing with the dead
Overhead...
Leave it to me as I find a way to be
Consider me a satellite, forever orbiting
I knew all the rules, but the rules did not know me
Guaranteed
- Eddie Vedder

And now we enter yet another year. Although I've had some years pass where the future was uncertain I usually had some idea of what was to come. This time around, I don't. Where I'll be three months from now, a year from now or five years. I haven't got the slightest idea. And you know what, I don't really care. All I know is that with whatever comes up, whatever change happens, whatever rough patch I hit or whatever joy I get... I am going to try and enjoy every single second of it.

as written by Tobbi G. at 1:01 AM GMT