Working Girl!

Tuesday

I was about to leave when I was asked what figure I was looking for. ¿How much would I be prepared to accept to work for the charity? It was a shock for me as this was unexpected, but very welcome!

Celebration

I left the interview at about 11.45am and walked with Jamie into town, only about five minutes away. It was time for a mini celebration, so we went to barloko for a few drinks and something to eat.

Interview

I was up bright and breezy yesterday morning. I had an interview with The Horse Charity, I had visited earlier during the week! Jamie walked down to the shop with me for 10am, where I met the Charity owner. She is a great Lady, who gave up everything to help horses and donkeys across Spain. Her and her husband have worked hard with dedication and devotion to a cause close to their heart for many years, without hardly a break in fifteen years. I have a lot of admiration for them both!

This is a charity close to my heart. Any charity that helps animals are worth their weight in gold. Animals have no voice and need dedicated people to help them, when in greatest need! In that respect they are no different to us humans!

I spent a good few hours talking to the Lady and we discussed the shops, their performance and future direction of the charity. I have to say she was upfront and I expected nothing more than a voluntary job initially, but the more we both talked the more I became aware, that my skills in the charity sector, could be utilised fully and I didn´t want to let this one get away.

I explained I could commit for a couple of days a week, because I did have to look for paid work as well. In all honesty I was certainly not looking for anything like I have done in the past, and need very Little cash to survive here in Spain. Life is cheap as they say!

We negotiated a rate of pay and I agreed to start work on Tuesday. I am truly looking forward to starting and meeting everyone next week and can´t wait to get stuck in. Three weeks in and a new job, can´t be bad!

Alicante

Popped to Alicante after Barloko. Darrell was going to buy me a new phone to celebrate the new job. We took a taxi to Soho Mar, our favourite restaurant at the marina, along the front. We think it´s the best place in Alicante and the views from the bar are amazing, next to the old pirate ship!

Benidorm

A Little bit merry, we decided to take the tram to Benidorm, just to get the feel of the place. Darrell and I went to Benidorm about twelve years ago, just for the day, and enjoyed it. This time it was very different.

I think we arrived in the worst part of the city. Benidorm train station is dirty, shabby and very run down, equally the streets around it are filthy. You can actually see the poverty, as you meander down the main strip. I bloody hated it!

After getting lost for a bit, we just decided to call it a day and get on the next tram home. It was a highly disappointing place speaking truthfully.

Initially, before we came to Spain, we were going to move to Benidorm or its outskirts. With the belief, that this would be the best place to get a job, we thought that would be the ideal city to relocate too. Well as we know now, nothing could be further from the truth. It would have been the wrong choice to go there!

We walked down to the front, which wasn´t much better to be honest. I know we are not in the summer season as yet, and I am sure that Benidorm comes into its own then, but my view of the place is based on what I saw, briefly. Anywhere large numbers of tourists travel to stay for a cheap fortnight in the sun, is bound to be run down, without investment and looking worse for wear! We will be back in the summer to see a friend, but until then, Alicante offers all we need!

Where there´s Brits

From previous experience, living abroad, as well as living within communities with a large foreign mix in the UK, I feel that places like Benidorm, do suffer from ´The British Disease´. Where there´s Brits there´s bull. This isn´t the same everywhere of course. There are many areas where the Britsh expat and holiday maker community, coexist happily with the Spanish, like here for example. The cheaper the area, the worse it seems to be!

We left Benidorm rather quickly and returned to civilization at Alicante. We popped in to our local Oxfam shop to get some supplies, bought a flemenco CD, which I have been listening to all day, some DVD´s and a new phone!

oAfter a stroll along the front and onto the marina, we had some dinner and looked at the lights along the front, on a warm winters night. Everything really is beautiful here and we are extremely lucky to have chosen the right place to live in Spain.

I am glad we chose this region and of course the city of Alicante. The pace of life is quieter, the people more friendly and the way of life less stressful.

I am enjoying the warm days and evenings, the food, the culture and of course being part of the expat community. Happiest time of my life!