Preparation is always a good thing!

I was on such a high today, went bowling with a new English girl we met and her boyfriend and had a pretty good time. I didn't win, but did get to show off my incredible bowling tekkers, you will know what this is if you have ever been bowling with me. If not, it involves a weird flick of the arm and wrist and my back leg going up in the air in a strange direction. Didn't help me do well today though, definitely came 3rd overall! I also was the only one who was asked to wear the Bowling shoes, and had to pay 1 euro for the embarrassment of it! Hello boat feet.

The high ended pretty quickly after bowling when I went to withdraw some cash. I have been so so careful about which cash machines I have used that I figured this time it would be fine, it was NOT fine. I used the same bank as I normally do, but one that was a smaller randomly placed machine in a shopping centre. It was such a mistake as it ate my card. It just took it, no reason, no beep, I finished the process and it just didn't give it back. My main debit card too, the one I know everything off by heart for (probably not a good thing anyway). I nearly cried - as you would imagine, anything makes me cry. But thanks to Mumma and some helpful Spanish people behind me in the queue for the machine I got it sorted. Well not completely sorted, but got the card cancelled and a new one ordered and on the way in the post. But, it actually made me think/realise how prepared I was for disasters like this to happen. Pat on the back for me for bringing 4 cash cards to Spain with me, and keeping them all separate (don't worry Mum, I don't carry more than one on me at a time!). Although I was sooo angry it had been taken, I was pretty proud of myself for being so clever when I was packing to come here. Internet banking means I've sorted my life out pretty quick, and pay back the debts I have already made in the 4 hours since it happened! Now I guess I should learn all the details of my second debit card off by heart... ;)

I then decided to cheer myself up, so bought myself some new shoes. How exciting, I rarely buy shoes because my feet just love being awkward. But I bit the bullet, spent 50 euros and have a lovely pair of knee high leather boots - perfectly waterproof for this lovely rainy season that Málaga is enjoying at the moment. Thanks to Charlee too (having worked in Clarks for 4 years) she advised me on which ones would be best for me, so I now am less likely to a) slip over and b) have even worse posture in future than I already have in store for me. I am now really prepared for the rain, wahoo!

Another note which I think is worth a mention is the weather here at the moment. I chose the south of Spain for all year round sunshine, not rain. For the last two weeks it has been constant. Another reason I have been proud of myself, before coming here I was smart enough to consider this may actually happen at some point, so brought my Brum waterproof jacket and umbrella with me, another pat on the back. I've had a few compliments on how 'prepared' the English are for this kind of weather, and how cool my Brum waterproofs look. Who'd have thought I would be getting compliments for wearing the least 'fashionable' jacket I actually own!

But, I just love the way in which the Spanish deal with the rain, it is quite amusing. They just have no clue on how to deal with it. The city just stops, people don't go to class or work, buses take an extra half an hour to get there and everyone moans all the time. No joke, even a bit of drizzle and they hate life, everyone is in wellies and has their umbrellas and thick coats on - and us English are just walking around like it is no bother. Especially Charlee, who still hasn't bought an umbrella! People love to wheel spin here too, it just shows how little they have rain, they don't know how to control their cars when its so wet and slippery! It's fairly homely in a way to have rain, and because it isn't cold we can still get away with just a cardi, so long as you have a brolley! It has rained so much that the 'dry river' is no longer dry. On our first taxi ride into the city on our first day we were told that it had been dry for 40 years, but not anymore! It's a bit shallow, yes, but it still has running water in it!

This probably has been one of the most pointless blog posts I've written yet, but I hope you have enjoyed my rant, Mumma will love it even if nobody else does ;)

Lotsa love x