Busy Bee

I can't believe it's nearly been a month since my last post! July has gone by so unbelievably fast! The reason I haven't been posting is because i've been so incredibly busy since I got home. I've been working as a sales assistant for Marks & Spencer in Gibraltar (Gibraltar is only about 20 minutes from my house). I've been waking up at 7.30 am every morning, starting work at 9.30 am, finishing work at 7.15 pm and getting home at 8.30pm every night for the past three weeks. I finish on friday though, so that I can have a week at home with my family before heading over to America for the whole of August.

I've only had three days off these last three weeks, and so i'll share with you what i've been doing other than working. I've been to the La Linea feria twice, which was nice because I hadn't been to a feria since I was about thirteen! Although I don't enjoy big rides, I love the atmosphere in Spain during feria week, everyone dresses in traditional Spanish wear, all the little girls in cute little flamenco dresses. Me and Chloe used to have our own when we were younger, I have a really cute photo of us somewhere with them on. I'll try and find it and put it on here if I manage to.

There are so many cute little food stalls in Spanish feria's, I just had to get a photo of one of them to show you!

This was the entrance to the Feria. It was so pretty! One of my favourite things in the world is lights at night time, whether they be natural lights or artificial. One reason I love Feria's is for their pretty lights.

I just HAD to get a waffle covered in nutella at one of the food stalls! They were just too tempting not to have one! It was delicious, hot straight from the oven! Unfortunately, I had to eat it much quicker than I would have liked (as I got it on the way out and had to finish it before getting back into the car), and therefore couldn't enjoy it as much as it deserved! I had to leave half of it behind! 

One afternoon I went to the pool, which again, I hadn't been to in years! So that was really nice and i'm so happy to finally have my pool back! I have so many childhood memories there, and it's really nice knowing that nothing has really changed in my community.

-Alyssa xo

Happy Bunny

I'm finally home in Spain! I'm so happy to be home, back in my house, back in the sun, back with my puppies, and back with my family! I'm so excited for these next three weeks at home. Full of sunbathing by the pool and on the beach, eating healthy food, going to feria's (night time fairs) and partying, and spending time with my family!

I'm also really happy because I received my final grades for my first year of university this afternoon! I got a first in all my modules! I'm so proud, and so pumped for next year! I'm so motivated to keep up my grades and finish my second year with a first as well. And to make me even happier, I found out that I'm getting the room that I wanted in my new house next year, yay!!

I'm super excited about tomorrow because i'm going to the beach with my sister and her friend (who's visiting from Singapore), and then we're going out for dinner and then a group of us are going to the estepona feria at night. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow, it's going to be a great day!

Make a Change

Having spent the last two weeks looking around different universities in England for my sister, I've come to realise that I really haven't taken advantage of the opportunities my own university has to offer. I didn’t get involved as much as I should have in my first year, and that is something that I regret. I spent a lot of my time in my bedroom by myself, without really realizing it. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t a total loner, I have made a lot of great new friends whom I’m excited to see again in September, and I did experience the average night life experience as a university student. I worked hard, and earned good grades, and I took up an activity of mine that I’ve always loved but hadn’t done in the five years I was living in Singapore; horse riding. I also was involved in charity work for Riding for the Disabled (RDA)…which I am now officially co-organizing for this upcoming academic year. And last but not least, I’ve been able to experience living in a new country. However, I regret having only been involved with one club/society (Bangor Riding Club), and wish I had tried out for the netball team (as I love netball), and wish I had tried something a little bit different. That way I would have spent my free time much more productively, and as a bonus, I would have expanded my friendship circle.

More than my social life, I feel that I didn’t take enough advantage of the academic opportunities that my university had to offer. Although I did attend all of my lectures (apart from two or three) and seminars, I did not go much further than that. I should have asked for advice from my personal tutor for things such as writing up a decent CV, and taking up her offer to write me a recommendation letter for me to give to places I wanted to volunteer at. I should have found out exactly how the Bangor Employability Award works and I should have made sure I was very much on track for receiving one. I should have attended extra workshops to gain extra, helpful and employable skills. I should have taken advantage of the free counseling service when I was homesick or anxious.

But hey, I’m not going to dwell on all the things I regret I didn’t do, but instead take this acknowledgement and ensure that my second year will be better spent and that my employability improves. This university trip around England for my sister, has certainly opened my eyes, and I am so glad that it was now and not a time when it was too late!

- Alyssa xo

Just Plain Ol' Me

I really want to just write… but I have no idea what to write about! 

When I decided to begin a blog I didn’t really consider what style of blog I wanted. I just created it on a whim really, hoping to figure out what I wanted once I started writing. But the truth is… I’m finding it extremely difficult narrowing my blog down to one particular style. Purely because I don’t have a particular passion for just one thing, I have a love for many! I’ve always been a very diverse person, with an interest in many things. Therefore my blog will have it’s own style… and that will be a ‘just me’ style. I’d love for this blog to reflect myself in the best way possible… to have a visual representation of Alyssa! I’ll share my travel experiences. I’ll discuss my life as a university student. I’ll express my opinions and emotions (although sharing my emotions publicly will be quite a challenge for me…but I’ll try my best!). I’ll review literature and films, and whatever else I feel like analyzing. And most importantly, I’ll just be myself without worrying about what anybody thinks!

- Alyssa xo