Victoria Louise K

Looking for the perfect University can seem so daunting and stressful at the beginning...especially when every, single Uni is telling you why you absolutely need to go to them and there's no way you should even consider anywhere else. This in itself just adds to the confusion, so take a step back and follow these simple steps:

The first thing you should do is choose your course, what subject area or career are you interested in? If you're struggling then there are many online 'course finder' tests which you can take to give you a few suggestions! This will then whittle down some of the Universities straight away as not all of them will offer your course!

Once you've chosen your course, the next thing you should do is to decide what type of University you're looking for; for example, if you're sure that you want to stay close to home then there's no point even considering travelling hours to University Open Days which are really far away! There are many aspects to consider, such as how the course is taught...does it suit your style of learning? The accommodation which is offered....is it guaranteed that you will have somewhere to live? Social Life...if you're looking for the party lifestyle, is it available in that area?

Next thing, organise to visit a few of your chosen contenders at Open Days! These will offer you a much better insight into everything about the University and what you will be able to expect if you studied there. There are also lots of opportunities to ask any questions or queries that you have in mind, so don't forget to take a notepad and pen! Also, take someone along with you so you can compare opinions. After the visit, try to make a note of your initial thoughts so that you don't forget or get it mixed up with another Uni at a later date! The last thing you want to do is choose a Uni then turn up and realise you'd got them mixed up and your dream Uni was actually 'the other one'!!

Consider the grade requirements. Be realistic with what grades you're likely to achieve and consider if there's any point applying for a University which recquires grades you could never get, equally if they're low grade boundaries and you think you'll definatley surpass them, then take this on board when making your decision.

You get to choose three options through UCAS when applying so make sure you consider these thoroughly! After that, it all comes down to your grades and offers, so be sure to put in the time and effort in order to reap the rewards afterwards. Finally, after your exams are all done, you can only sit back, relax and await the results and offers!

Being English, I'm used to cold, gloomy, rainy days, trapped indoors like a prisoner; feeling as miserable as the weather. Don't get me wrong, I adore cozying up with a hot chocolate in front of the TV or whilst reading a good book, a burning fire warming your bones, crackling steadily in the background...and there's nothing better than waking up to a thick, white blanket of snow covering the ground and turning everything into a magical, Winter wonderland! But I have come to realise that enough is enough, there's only so many books you can read, TV shows and movies you can watch and logs you can burn before you long and crave for that thing called SUN...remember that??...

It's not just the weather which has enticed me to move abroad but the lifestyle which often accompanies it! Most people I know, work all year and indulge themselves with a 2 week holiday abroad and although it's only a minuscule amount of time in comparison to how many hours they've worked all year, the excitement and memories, which a fortnight away can bring, can last a lifetime! Now, what if that 'holiday feeling' and relaxed, carefree lifestyle could become your life? Perfect!

Of course, you can't spend your whole life living a holiday, staying at hotels and doing nothing but going to the beach and sampling new restaurants every day. But, living abroad you can do! And maybe, you should do! Right now I'm sat on the balcony of my flat writing this blog in a floaty, summer dress in the South of Spain, and yes it is only March! It's safe to say that I've definitely got that 'Summer feeling'; the cool breeze is gently brushing down the street whilst the sun steadily warms the clear, blue sky, with not one single cloud in sight. Now, tell me that doesn't make you want to jump on the next flight and leave the frozen depths of Britain behind!?
A lot of people dabble in the idea of emigrating, or even just buying a property abroad but are put off by various conundrums such as the risk and of course leaving behind family and friends...well this is where things have changed! Flight prices can cost as little as a good cut of beef from your local butchers and you can be in your destination quicker than it would take you to watch a double Corrie omnibus! Also, with Skype, Facetime, Snapchat etc. etc. etc it's now easier than ever to keep in touch, so you won't even feel like you're leaving people behind at all!
If you've got children it can seem like a lot of pressure to take them abroad to live, or even to buy a property abroad but it's also so beneficial for little ones! Children absorb information like sponges and there's no better stage to learn a language than infancy, equally there's no better way to learn a language, than being surrounded completely by it. I can't stress enough about how beneficial it is to be able to speak a foreign language! Finally, children make friends almost instantaneously wherever you take them so you don't need to worry about that either!!

If, on the other hand; you're young, carefree and sans famille then why not just jump on a flight and sort out the minor details of accommodation and a job when you arrive? I know it sounds unbelievably daunting and risky but, if you book a few nights into a hostel before you arrive, from there it's normally a breeze to find a place to rent in a matter of hours and it seems there's always a ton of English teaching jobs available wherever you go. If you just sort out a few minor details beforehand, it couldn't be easier!

So many of us will spend lifetimes complaining but how many of us will actually do something about it and change what they're not happy with?

Here's a short blog entry, giving you an insight into my life lately, according to the pictures on my mobile.



The top left picture was taken in Granada when visiting the gorgeous Alhambra where Ian and I went for Valentines weekend. Also, the middle photo on the right, is a picture I took of the view over part of the city from the top of the Alhambra.

The top, middle picture is of the cathedral in the center of Murcia, Spain on a glorious sunny day, a few weekends ago. As you can see, the temperature's not bad for February!!

The next picture along is of me, dressed up before a date-night meal. Hehe!

In the picture on the bottom right, I'm with the kids from the school where I work...I spend most of the time trying to get them to stop hugging me, long enough to actually SIT in their chairs and maybe...even possibly LEARN!!!...they are so cute though!

To the left of the previous picture, I'm holding a pretty bunch of flowers from Ian! ^.^

Next along, is Ian and I, having a picture at the top of the castle in Alicante, with the sea in the background. The view was unbelievable!

Finally, above that, is a drawing which one of the children drew for me. She asked me what my favourite Spanish food was then proceeded to draw me eating it (chorizo). 

*Also, just a tip for everyone, if you ever want your ego boosting, hang out with Spanish kids, they're so complimentary and will make you feel like a complete model from just 5 minutes with them, from the amount of times they tell you that you're beautiful...though when you hear them say it to absolutely everyone, you begin to question their sincerity! Haha 

On Friday morning we woke to the dreaded realisation that the alarm hadn't gone off and therefore we were going to have to rush like mad in order to make the bus to Granada! We ran back and forth, from room to room and through a flurry of clothes, bags, passports and keys we threw ourselves out the front door and hurried off to the bus station. Once on the bus, we relaxed into a tired state of slumber and before we knew it, we had arrived in a somewhat cold, cloudy but gorgeous Granada!


I'd like to say that we quickly found our hostel, and went off to explore the wonders of what this new city had to offer...but unfortunately, as hard as we tried we just could not find it at all, despite being armed with the address and directions! So...what do you do if you're homeless in a foreign city and have no idea what to do...why, go for food of course!!



After a sufficient belly-filling session, we continued on our hunt and eventually, after about 4 hours of looking (no word of a lie!) we found it. With no sign posts or even a sign outside the door, it was a wonder that we ever stumbled across it at all. Buried between the stacked small streets of Granada, piled upon the hill-side, our hostel nestled, hidden away from crazy tourists like ourselves.

By the time we arrived, we collapsed onto the poor excuse of a bed, threw our bags onto the dirty, uncleaned, never-seen-a-brush-let-alone-a-mop-before, floor then went on a brisk, excitement-fuelled exploration of the City and planned our next few days.

The next morning we caught a City tour bus/ tram, purely for the "hop on, hop off", transport factor, and we found a gorgeous little hang out with amazing views of The Alhambra and Sierra Nevada majestically glistening in the distance with a fair helping of snow dusting its' peaks.









http://www.alhambradegranada.org/en/info/buyalhambratickets.asp

I'm writing this blog post snuggled up on the sofa in a miserable Murcia, it's raining and to put it lightly, I'm a little bit freezing....So I thought I'd write a blog post about the amazing Valencia which I explored during the weekend.

On Friday morning we walked to the bus station, full of excitement for the up-coming adventures! There was an on-going battle between sun and cloud in the sky, it was a hard match but after the 3 and half hour bus journey it looked as if the sun had the upper hand, just as we eventually arrived into beautiful Valencia! We found our hostel, dumped our bags then headed off to explore our new surroundings.


















 Then we headed to the football where a crowd of Valencia supporters relaxed outside, beer in hand before the match. We won 3-2 and the atmosphere was great. I must say that the style of football was very different to anything I've ever seen before...but then again, I'm used to watching Stoke FC!

After visiting family and friends in England during Christmas, where we wrapped ourselves in duvet-igloos and cozied-up next to the fire, our hands cradling hot chocolates, it was nice to return to the glorious Spanish Sun.


But it seemed, no sooner than we touched down on Spanish land, we were craving all things British once more and the first meal on the cards for that night was a roast dinner! As if we hadn't had enough of them over the past 2 weeks! Pfftt...We hunted down the ingredients in the local supermarket then hauled them home and began the preparations, a few hours later and voila!!


On our first proper day back, we travelled to Los Alcazares and, a little bit disappointed that I missed out on a good Ol' Wetherspoons burger whilst back in England, I was excited to find a little English restaurant, nestled in the main square which served up THIS... It defo soothed my burger craving.

I know, I know, I know...burgers in Spain?! ...But it was totes worth it!!
It seemed ALL we wanted and missed was food, the next day we went to a nearby shopping mall, which more importantly, was home to the all you can eat Italian buffet! We stuffed ourselves to the brim with plate after plate of pasta, pizza, meat, vegetables, ice cream, profiteroles, cakes, wine and beer then waddled back home with satisfied, full bellies afterwards!


On the final day before we started back at work, we had a stroll around a few of the main squares in the lazy, fading sun. We settled in a cosy café and lapped up the last few drops of the sun whilst indulging in churros con chocolate...wow! A thick hot chocolate, almost like pure melted chocolate, is a traditional Spanish treat, served with churros which are thin, sticks of doughnut more or less. It's hard to find a café which gets them just right (and believe me, I've made it my mission to try them all!!) sometimes the chocolate's too watery or too bitter and the churros are too crunchy, or too doughy....These lot however were perfection! The churros were nice and light, airy and soft, cooked to a golden perfection then lightly dusted in sugar accompanied by a devilishly thick and luxurious chocolate. Heaven!