It's Sunday!

Today it's Sunday.

Normally in any other part in the World you'd be dreading this. Sundays are always those lazy days when you stay at home and feel like doing nothing. Or it's that day where you have to finish homework, or get organised and all the info needed for Monday at work. Or it's that day where you come back from a trip, generally a sad moment. I used to hate Sundays. Not anymore.

The Domingo en la Latina concept:





What do you do when you wake up from a huge hangover? You go out and have a beer, or two.
Every Sunday afternoon in this old part of Madrid you have hundreds and hundreds of people, mainly younger crowds, who gather together and drink, eat tapas and socialize until the night falls. It's like a routine! You meet up with friends there, with people you met during the weekend when you were out clubbing, etc. You hop from one bar to another and meet loads of people.

It just shows once again that this fun city never sleeps! Madrileños have non-stop energy!

A typical Sunday:

Get up at around 3pm with a massive headache. Make a couple of phone calls and decide to meet up at la latina, usually first with JC and Gonçalo. We go to Malandrín at around 4pm where you have great food, ambiance and excellent service. Then one friend arrives. Then another. And another. We meet people at the surrounding tables and they join us. There was just 3 of people. Now we're around 15 people! We leave at around 7pm and then walk around the area and go to another bar or two.
When you feel like of you've had one too many drinks, get self conscious that it's Sunday and you have to work the next day, you decide to go home, normally at about 10pm, and you hit the sack and sleep like a baby...

I recommend...

What an amazing book!

Recommended by my good friend Amandine, she said I would really enjoy reading it and would see myself in the main character, and she was right altogether!

Beautifully written, allying the vocabulary and sentence build-up of a 10 year old kid with the latter's grown-up and wise thoughts, discovering the World and Life at such a young age.

If you can read it in French, it'll make a huge difference!!

Sounds...

Sparks by Coldplay, a melody in its fullest sense

Burning, Whitest Boy Alive, great pop rock

Sun, Moon, Stars by Mos Def, real funky hip hop!

Groove it!

International Day

I have haven't really mentioned what I am doing here in Madrid. I guess it does matter so let's just get it over and done with!

I am working at Imbiosis, a biotech lab specialised in quantitative and qualitative gluten analyses in foods.

You have people who are intolerant to gluten, called coeliacs, who cannot eat gluten at all, due to this genetic disorder.

Laws require food producers to label their products adequately, and mention if, for instance, they contain gluten or not and the levels of presence. They are our clients, mainly.

Born in 2005, we have achieved market leadership in Spain in our domain.

We therefore aim at expanding to foreign, more mature markets, one of the company's main strategic goals for the next 2 years.

That's where I come in. I am responsable for our International Expansion, and I am loving it.

Market studies. In touch with different clients from all over the place. It's also enabled me to travel (my first ever business trip, to Avignon, France) and will continue to do so (Milan, Lisbon - food fairs in May, etc.).

Yesterday was the most international day by far: was on the phone with a French events organiser, with the FDA in the States, exchanged emails with an Italian association, looking for business oportunities in Portugal, had a meeting with a Brasilian woman about how to invest in her country and found out I was going to a food fair in Milan!

What a great experience!

First Visit, on the First Weekend!

Now I was set.

I could focus at work since I had ‘a base’ (indispensable), and make the most out of this experience.

I could start hosting friends and people at my house.

And that’s exactly what just happened.

A few days after moving in, I was informed that 4 of my ‘brothers’, my childhood friends, were coming to visit. It was ‘Carnival’ in Portugal, and so they all had time off and decided to come and see the ‘Mohogné’!

So 4 parasites in my first weekend at residencia Pardiñas, what would Tiago say??? He was gonna kill me, or at least hate me, what a way to start a bond with your new housemate!

But it was all good, I had told them to bring a case of wine for him, and so they did and we all got along great. I even feel like they had come to christian and bring good karma to the apartment and my new journey, in Madrid.

The weekend started off really well, had been invited by the Ambassador’s daughter (Joana from the French Lycee)to a cocktail at the Portuguese embassy for the opening of the ARCO (Contemporary Art Fair of Madrid), with all the Portuguese artist that were exhibiting attending. Had fun, but too much of an artistic lobby and pseudo-intellectual attitude. Then went to meet up with André and a friend at Deja-te Besar, great funky bar. Ended up at Shabay where I had arranged to meet with JC, Marcelo and Sush, awesome night!

On Saturday, went for a run at the Retiro park to kill off the hangover. Ranger, Russini, Falardo and VD came on at night; after a long road trip and I made sure I’d take care of them nicely!

Took them straight to MOMA where we were very well waited on by charming Ana, then on to the disco part of that place, where the guys went crazy with the high ratio of good looking women. After a few drinks, heading to Pacha, guest list, then RnB room to unleash some moves! What a night! We even found puto Brandao and puto Dominguez who were in Madrid also!

Next day, the worst hangover ever, but still we managed to go to ARCO and we had such a laugh! Nice dinner at home afterwards, all sat around a table laughing and telling stories for hours and hours. Monday was workday, so they all went off to explore Madrid and at night, their last one, same again, friendly dinner, as funny as ever!

And that was it, they headed back to Portugal and what was left was a great set of brilliant and joyful memories, the sort only your best buddies give you.

Thanks for coming bros, you know you’re always welcome!

NAGASAKI!

The First Few Weeks

I was set for a great adventure from the start!

3 days after my arrival Pedro Leal and Joao Alvellos came to visit from London and stayed at Manuel Sena’s place, where I was too until I’d find my own place. I was endeed staying at his, and sleeping literally on the floor (he didn’t have a spare mattress and his couch was too short!!)…

Adding to that, my cousin Maria Cardim who had already lived in Madrid was in town for business and so we went out for dinner and she made sure she’d introduce me to a lot of people! So by the first weekend, which lasted until Wednesday (because Pedro was loving it, and with a broken foot, was off work for…weeks!! And so he extended his stay), I’d been to how don’t know how many restaurants, bars and clubs, and met loads of people!! It felt like I’d been in Madrid for ages!! What a great start!! And yes, I was hungover and sleepless on my first couple of days at work!...

Funny moment:

I honestly thought I would be comfortable with my Spanish. After 3 years studying it in Nottingham, I admit I didn’t practice it that much, but I still did occasionally and specially in the last month, since I had been working at a Hotel reception (Spanish Chain) and I was great at giving directions! Hehe…

And speaking to people in Madrid on the first weekend had been no problem whatsoever, but on my first day at work… I had a meeting with my supervisor, who is IMBIOSIS’ Director (or General Manager or CEO, as you wish), for about 3h and if I understood half of it I feel blessed!! The guy talked at 300km/h swallowing most words and using vocabulary I had never heard of and with swear words in between each sentence!

Still nowadays, when I go out for lunch with colleagues, I either keep quite and follow the conversation, or if I try to intervene, they’ve already changed subject twice!!

Nonetheless I am making an effort and my level is getting better… I hope at least! Joder!

Back to what I was saying…

So after a lot of fun, after starting to adapt to my work environment, I still didn’t have my own flat… How hard is it to find an apartment in Madrid??!! Was I asking for too much??

I wanted to live in my own flat, studio, or 1 bedroom. I have lived on my own since I was 18 and it doesn’t bother me. Furthermore, I knew a lot of people are coming to visit and my last wish is to go and live in a house and not get along with my flatmate(s). That’s exactly the sort of hassle I wanted to avoid being here for only 9 months!!!

But it seemed impossible, I went from 600 to 750eur for rent, any sort of apartment and anywhere in the centre, but no way josé!!

So after 3 weeks of constant house hunting and sleeping on my mate’s floor, I was desperate so I sent a general email to a yahoo group called ‘tugasmadrid’ asking if anyone knew of an available apartment or even a room!! Yes, I had changed my mind, I was willing to share a flat, it had come to the point where all I wanted was just my own bed!

And the day after I called a call from Tiago, a 35 year old guy who actually looks 27, from Porto, saying he was looking for someone for his spare room.

I arranged to go and see it and there I was at Calle General Pardiñas, 28 – 1 D the next day.

It was a proper job interview, maybe even harder than that. I arrive and I see his friend Carolina who I recognized from Lisbon (yeah Portugal is a very small village!), she went to the French Lycee too so the link was established, I was earning points.

We chatted for over an hour and, question after question, we all started getting along, laughing and loosening up (no, it’s not gonna end the way you’re thinking you pervs).

I left thinking I had made a good impression and foreseeing I could get along with this Tiago dude.

By the way, the apartment is 110 m2, 3 bedrooms (one for friends to crash), big living room, kitchen, 2 wc and a long corridor! In Goya, a nice residential area in the centre of Madrid. All the comfort, furnished and with internet and Canal +, I felt at home already!

The week after, I get a call and I was accepted!! I was in hysterics!! I had finally found a place and what a place!

So I packed my bags, said goodbye to Manuel with some nostalgia already, he had been such a good friend, got a taxi and installed myself! The real Madrid adventure was about to start.

For those who understand Portuguese, who can read the full on story (I know this one is long enough though!) at the following link:

http://visaocontacto.blogs.sapo.pt/4407.html