Living in Catalunya 6 – what’s it really like? Michael

May 7, 2015April 9, 2015 ~ Kate Wilson ~ 1 Comment

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live abroad?

This is one in a series of interviews with people who came from other countries to live in Catalunya. I asked them the same questions that people often ask me to see what different stories emerge. You can read them here over the next weeks.

MICHAEL’S STORY

living in Catalunya — And remember that Catalunya is not Spain!

Tell us a bit about yourself

I’m an English teacher living in Barcelona, married to a Catalan and bringing up our child here.

How long have you lived here?

13 years

Are you working here and if yes, what do you do?

Yes, I’m an English teacher.

Three favourite things about living here?

Enjoying my family, my life and being a parent here. Enjoying the climate and the virtually permanent sunshine. Eating good healthy food and the whole experience of shopping and cooking fresh food (the clichéd Mediterranean diet).

Three things you don’t like about life here?

Corrupt fascist politics, politicians and businessmen. Pickpockets and the lax laws that make it easy for them to operate with virtual impunity. Mass tourism and the failure of the the city authorities to prevent Barcelona city centre from becoming a theme park (or perhaps that is in fact their goal).

What do you miss most about your ‘home’ country?

Being closer to my parents and family, and not being able to be there for them in times of need. The countryside, national parks and the smells and senses of being immersed in them. Being able to visit places I love with ease and frequency (ie. I can still visit from here, but the time I spend when I’m there has a premium to it which means I have to prioritise and therefore never get to do some of the things I love).

Three things you have learned about yourself or life since living in Catalunya?

That I can make it here, survive a new way of living, and come to love it. Many things unrelated to having moved here, but more to do with greater experience, wisdom, family and parenting, and having the privilege of living with a child and sharing their experience of discovering their world. That I had to stop eating croissants, ‘cos my cholesterol went through the roof!

What language(s) do you speak in your daily life here?

English and Spanish, whilst receiving but not producing Catalan.

Do you plan to return to your native country and in what circumstances would you definitely want to go back?

If I go back it’ll be related to caring for my parents, but not really for any other reason.

What advice would you give to someone thinking of moving to this country?

Take it easy! Don’t expect your own standards of efficiency or punctuality, equal opportunities (don’t exist) or health and safety (what’s that?). Give yourself more time than you expected to have to, to soak it all up and find your place here. Learn about Catalonia and remember that “Catalonia is not Spain” is not a tacky slogan, it’s a reality. Enjoy the adventure!

Have you read all six interviews? Were there any questions you would have asked these people about their experiences? Do let us know in the comments and I will try to do a follow-up later in the year.

This post is scheduled to be the final interview for the moment but I have some more people who would like to join in with their stories so perhaps later this year I will make space for some more. It would be interesting to hear from more men, and from people from different countries or who have been living here for many more years. Let me know if you would like to contibute.

Meanwhile, follow my posts by signing up to receive them directly to your inbox and for more photos and information about Catalunya, click LIKE on the facebook page.

Thank you so much for your support and for visiting my blog

Living in Catalunya 5 – what’s it really like? Oreneta

April 30, 2015April 9, 2015 ~ Kate Wilson ~ 1 Comment

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in Catalunya?

Or just to move abroad?

This is one in a series of interviews with people who came from other countries to live here. I asked them the same questions that people often ask me to see what different stories emerge. You can read them here over the next weeks.

Oreneta’s Story

Please tell us a bit about yourself ?

I’m a Mom, a Sailor and adventurer, a traveller and a teacher. Oops, that’s most of it in one. I love a challenge and I love to relax, though I don’t get to enough.

How long have you lived here?

8.5 years.

Are you working here and if yes, what do you do?

Whew! yes indeedy! I have 4 jobs here, mostly though I teach English and I parent and I wife.

Three favourite things about living in Catalunya?

People, weather/food tied.

Three things you don’t like about life here?

The economy, the politicians, the corruption (see 1 and 2)

What do you miss most about your ‘home’ country?

Friends, family, wider range of food cultures

Three things you have learned about yourself or life since living here?

Geez. I still stink at learning languages, I still have tremendous stamina (good thing too that) and I still love my husband, all good.

What language(s) do you speak in your daily life here?

English and Catalan

Do you plan to return to your native country and in what circumstances would you definitely want to go back?

At some point, probably, we return every year for 2.5 months, and would like to continue to do so. If the economy melts down here or the politics get too firey, we’d move on.

What advice would you give to someone thinking of moving to this country?

Make sure you’ve got your financial ducks all lined up, cause the job market is terrible.

Oreneta also writes a blog which you can see HERE

This is the first in a series of interviews which I will be posting over the next few weeks. While walking the Camino my plan is to add another interview each week and also send short updates from my phone on how the walk to Santiago de Compostella is going.

Sign up in one of the subscription boxes on this page to get all these posts delivered straight to your inbox. More news from the Camino will be sent to The Catalan Way Facebook page so click a Like on there and you can follow my progress.

Are there any questions you would ask someone about what their life is like after moving to an new country? Let us know in the comments and we will try to get some answers for an updated post later this year.

Photo credit: Ducklover Bonnie / Foter / CC BY-ND

Living in Catalunya 4 – what’s it really like? Helen

April 23, 2015April 9, 2015 ~ Kate Wilson ~ Leave a comment

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in Catalunya?

Or just to move abroad?

living abroad — just in case you need to head for the hills

Helen’s Story

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I’ve been here for 11 years with my partner and children, following my partner’s quest for lifestyle change. Thought I’d integrate once I mastered the language, didn’t realise how big culture is in the way we live and feel. I like the outdoors so love the chance to live outside more, but I hate the hot summers.

Are you working here and if yes, what do you do?

Yes, run a small rural tourism business from our home. Volunteer with Age Concern in Spain (previously professionally employed in the same field). Give shelter to abandoned animals.

Favourite things about living in Catalunya?

Diverse environments and mainly wonderful weather, going skiing in winter, not working 9 to 5, tactile culture and gentler, safer environments in which to bring up teenagers

Three things you don’t like about life here?

Bureaucracy, managing culture differences and feeling like an outsider more often than not, having less real friends less often. The flipside of not working 9 to 5 – longer hours, difficult work/life balance and being less financially secure

What do you miss most about your ‘home’ country?

Retailing- supermarkets with lots of choice and competitive pricing. M&S, TK Max, boot sales and charity shops- but the odd visit deals with that; popping in to see friends and family, familiar landscapes

Three things you have learned about yourself or life since living here?

Life is short so trying new things and getting out of the comfort zone is worth it, maybe. ‘Can do’ attitude definitely required as challenges abound. Real friends and shared cultural references are really important to have from time to time. Recreating or rediscovering your identity takes a time.

What language(s) do you speak in your daily life?

English, Spanish and understand Catalan which is spoken to me a lot. Plus French and German for the business.

Do you plan to return to your native country and in what circumstances would you definitely want to go back?

Not really, but aware that practically, if you have health problems and not enough resources to pay for care, ensure you have a reliable advocate, this is not a good place to be. I guess if I had no family here, I might be persuaded to go back if my immediate family were there.

What advice would you give to someone thinking of moving to this country?

Plan well, and assume you (and any partner) are mortal, so include that in your planning of eventualities. Expect there to be at least as many challenges as opportunities, downs as ups etc.. Give yourself an escape route, in case it doesn’t work out. Learn Catalan

Visit Helen’s web site for more information about the holiday cottages.

This is one in a series of interviews which I will be posting over the next few weeks while I am walking the Camino. When possible I will also send short updates from my phone on how the walk is going.

Sign up on this page to get all these posts delivered straight to your inbox. News from the Camino will also be sent to The Catalan Way Facebook page so click a Like on there to follow my progress.

Happy Horses in Montseny

April 16, 2015March 26, 2015 ~ Kate Wilson ~ 1 Comment

Girls and horses

Many girls enjoy reading novels about horses. I was no different. I remember stories about gymkhanas and trekking and the incredible bond between a human and a horse. Every week I went for riding lessons at the local stables.

Unfortunately it wasn’t a very good school and they never picked up that I was actually terrified of horses. I was happy walking slowly around the fields, being led on a white rein, but trotting edged me close to panic and I never got as far as a canter, let alone a gallop or a jump. I was regularly sent into the stables to muck out and although I loved the earthy peaty smells and the sounds from the stalls, I was very frightened when I had to go into a small space with an actual horse.

Sometimes I was very scared

One of my jobs was to put on a tail bandage – I never knew the purpose of this but I did know it meant I had to ignore my mother’s advice never to stand behind a horse. I would rush through it without enjoying the feeling of closeness or feeling any pride in my work.

They never taught me how to be with a horse and I don’t suppose they ever helped the horses know how to be with a frightened child either.

To show us we were safe, they lined us up with arms linked and raced a large horse towards us. This was meant to prove that horses will never, or rarely, run through a group of humans.

There is another way

Imagine how wonderful it was to discover a place here in Catalunya, near the mountains of Montseny, where people and horses learn to respect each other and to work together with love. That was what I always wanted but never found.

Creating rapport with a horse

Happy Horse is run by Una McLister, a Scottish woman who grew up in New Zealand and has lived in Catalunya for 18 years.

She uses only techniques which involve love and respect and body language rather than the far too common ones of force, fear, punishment and domination.

We went to watch her working with this beautiful tall black proud stallion.

I don’t want to say he was being trained as it didn’t seem like that. He was being horse-whispered so that he could listen and respond, relax and enjoy, give and receive.

Stallions are often kept away from other horses as they may be ‘difficult’. This difficulty comes from the fact that they are not allowed a normal life, often being kept in confined spaces and only allowed out to mate. They are used for breeding and the more ‘difficult’ they become, the less love and human contact they receive. In the wrong hands a stallion can be a dangerously powerful and frustrated animal.

This graceful intelligent horse had been through this kind of experience and was depressed when he arrived at Happy Horse. Watching Una and her students work with him was deeply moving and unforgettable. He now allows his ears to be stroked – he’s not comfortable but he can cope it. In the past his ears were hurt and so they are highly sensitive and it takes great trust for him to let another human touch him in this vulnerable place. You see in the picture above that his ears are back and he is not totally relaxed – but what a change from when he first arrived and he couldn’t tolerate touch at all.

As I watched the humans and the horses move around the ring together, sometimes using the motion of a coiled rope to indicate direction and speed, I could see the highly attuned sensitivity of both horse and person.

It was like watching a tango.

Tiny movements communicate clear messages. Just the thought of a change of direction ripples through the air and the other responds to it. It is unbearably sad that so many horses are man-handled around the world without any care for their finely tuned antennae.

Happy Horse runs courses both for interested individuals and for those seeking a professional training. I will go there to heal my own past difficulties with horses. I want to learn how to build rapport, to get close to a horse, to communicate and to share a safe space together. Perhaps I will learn to ride too but this is not my main goal. I want to discover how to be present and to open my heart to a horse.

natural horse training — this is Pujol – learning the ways of love

I want to learn how to dance tango with a horse. As in tango, you need to open your heart.

Please help spread the word about this wonderful horse heaven. You can do this by:-

Sharing this post with your friends and especially those who love horses

Visit and like the Happy Horse Facebook page. There are more photos there and updates about how it is going with Cariñoso and Pujol and many more.

Come over and do a course in Catalunya with Una. Her web site is in Spanish but she’s an English speaker so don’t hesitate to ring or email her with your questions.

And don’t forget to sign up below to receive my weekly posts!

Have you ever had riding lessons? Do you feel confident standing behind a horse? Have you ever had a dream about a wild horse? Let us know in the comments section

Till next time, happy Spring

Living in Catalunya – what is it like? Tiffany – 3

April 9, 2015March 26, 2015 ~ Kate Wilson ~ 2 Comments

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in Catalunya?

Tiffany’s Story

Please tell us a bit about yourself?

I’m a stay at home mother of two, a baby and a teenager. I’m Australian, 43 years old and at a relatively low point in my life. 😀 I’m concerned about health issues.

How long have you lived here?

Too bloody long – 5 years

Are you working here and if yes, what do you do?

I work as a yoga therapist, and English conversation teacher/speaker and healer.

Three favourite things about living in Catalunya?

Shops are very close by. Granollers is close to the mountains, the sea, and Barcelona.

Three things you don’t like about life here?

Granollers is not ‘anything’ in itself. It’s not the sea, or the mountains, or a great city. It’s just a point in between the good stuff. People are not friendly or diverse. Not a lot of green spaces.

What do you miss most about your ‘home’ country?

Friendly people. The great outdoors. Support of my family.

Three things you have learned about yourself or life since living here?

That working and earning money was more essential to my self esteem than I expected. You can make a home for yourself by controlling the environment you have around you as much as you can – and its ok. You have got to be kind to strangers. You don’t know their story. Never feel too full up of your own life to let someone else in.

What language(s) do you speak in your daily life here?

99% English 1% Catalan

Do you plan to return to your native country and in what circumstances would you definitely want to go back?

One day, I would like to go back to live. And I would definitely go back if my entire close family died.

What advice would you give to someone thinking of moving to this country?

Learn Spanish, get involved with the society. The hurts you feel are not personal, they are cultural. Keep a happy journal of all the things you love about living here

This is one of a series of interviews which I will be posting over the next few weeks while I am walking the Camino. When possible I will send short updates from my phone on how the walk is going.

Sign up in one of the subscription boxes on this page to get these posts delivered straight to your inbox. More news from the Camino will be sent to The Catalan Way Facebook page so click a Like on there and you can follow my progress.

Are there any questions you would ask someone about what their life is like after moving to an new country? Let us know in the comments and we will try to get some answers and do an update later in the year.